Visitor: On what grounds do you prohibit meat-eating ? Swami Sivananda (He was an Allopathic doctor and worked among the workers in Malaysia): "On medical, psychological, moral and spiritual grounds. The mind is made up of the essence of the food that a man takes. Tamasic food results in a Tamasic mind (inert, dull). Meat is Tamasic and hence should be avoided. When an animal is killed or butchered, a contraction of its nervous system takes place on account of fear. (And you might have felt certain disturbances in your own stomach when you have experienced fear.) This leads to the secretion of certain poisons in the liver, etc., of the animal. These poisons are cumulative in their nature and are never removed or lost during the process of boiling or cooking meat. Hence, meat-eating is poisonous and dangerous in the long run. There is no difference between you and an animal when both are considered as souls inhabiting the bodies... From whichever source you derive the right to live and enjoy in this material body, from that very same source, the souls of these animals have derived equal rights to live and enjoy in their material bodies. Hence, we do not possess the moral right to kill a single living being, however small it may be. Last, but not least, there is One Consciousness which has expressed itself in the form of the various beings, animate and inanimate. And this makes you one with all beings.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 04:27:04 +0000