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Thursday, Apr 25 2024
VEGETARIANISM - 7 NOVEMBER 2005
“As the food, so is the head; As the head, so is the mind; As the mind, so is the destiny” My humble Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Swami. Sai Ram uncles, aunties, gurus, brothers and sisters. My name is Rahul and I am from Group 4. Today I am going to talk about vegetarianism.
Many people turn a deaf ear to this idea as they do not want to give up eating meat. Most meat eaters never realize the distress that is caused to the animals. In the United States alone, more than 100,000 cows are slaughtered everyday for food. Animals, like humans, are living beings and they have every right to live.
Swami has said “Anything that comes from a cow, a little milk, butter, cheese is alright for the spiritual aspirant. There is no harm to the cow. Even dogs can be trained to cease to relish meat when trained to relish vegetarian food. When you kill an animal you give him suffering, pain, harm. God is in every creature, so how can you give such pain? Sometimes when someone beats a dog, he cries. He feels so much pain. How much more pain than in killing? Animals did not come for the purpose of supplying food to human beings. They came to work out their own life in the world.”
Yet animals are killed to satisfy our tongue and stomach. It has been said that one visit to a slaughter house will make us a vegetarian for life. Before the actual slaughter process, research has proven that an animal knows it is about to be slaughtered. This triggers extreme fear in the animal. DO YOU WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE IN EXTREME FEAR? No, it’s not when exam marks come out (humour). Extreme fear is when you are picked by your neck and dropped into boiling water or when you are chased with a large knife or when you stand in line as you watch your fellow animals being slaughtered.
When a chicken is picked up by the neck and placed in boiling hot water or has its neck slit, the chicken is filled with fear and the adrenalin in its body increases to its maximum. This remains in the dead body. Even after you boil the chicken for a long time or cook it for ages, the adrenalin is still present, and toxic in large amounts. All the negative emotions such as fear, anger and anguish of the chicken is transferred to us when we eat the chicken.
We are also creating negative karma for ourselves. We have to face the consequences of our negative actions either in this life or in our next life. There is no escape. In the words of Buddha, “Meat eating is just an acquired habit. We are not born with a desire for it.” According to the Gita, “A person who hurts a sentient being will never be blessed by God. So avoid taking flesh”.
To conclude, Swami has said, “Those who call themselves Baba devotees must not eat meat, drink alcohol or smoke”. Be fair. Harm yourself first before you even think of harming others, then you will realize how painful it is. By practicing vegetarianism, we are practicing what Swami says and that is HELP EVER HURT NEVER.
Jai Sai Ram
Bro Rahul
SSEHV Group 4 |
