The Spiritual Aspect of The Vegetarian
Diet EVERYONE seeks rest and peace, but they
remain as elusive as ever. All our efforts in this direction come to naught and
prove fruitless. Why? Because we work on the wrong lines. Man lives on two
planes, the outer and the inner. First, we have to settle things outside to
bring peace on the outer plane before we can enter within. There three factors
that count a great deal in this connection: ·
RIGHT OCCUPATION ·
RIGHT CONDUCT ·
RIGHT DIET The greatest purpose of human life is
that one should now one's self and know God, and all the rest is mere
dissipation. "Sound mind in a sound body" is a well-known
aphorism. One has therefore to work for these before anything else. We have to
keep both body and mind in a healthy condition before these can be used as
instruments for spiritual advancement. For this, we have of necessity to resort
to food. We cannot do without food for keeping the Body and soul together. Our first and foremost problem then is
food, for food conditions body as well as mind. Right
Type of Food Rightly
Earned Rightly
Taken helps a lot in
this direction. One must, therefore, earn his daily bread by the sweat of his
brow, as the saying goes, and should not depend on others' earnings. We must
for our livelihood engage in some honest and useful pursuit, may be physical or
mental, but it must be free from all guile, hypocrisy, ill will and animosity,
for Karmic Law is inexorable in its working. Every action leads to reaction and
thus the endless series rolls on interminably. Hence, the need for an honest
living, howsoever poor it may be. You cannot have riches by honest avocation.
Riches grow by the groans of the poor and the downtrodden, the hewers of wood
and the drawers of water, and thrive on the lifeblood of our fellow beings. We
ought not, therefore, to run after rich food and dainty dishes, for these bring
in their train much bloodsucking and are tainted with the untold miseries of
the lowly and in the long run make us miserable as well. All of us are being consumed in the
invisible fires of hell, and yet know it not. Food, as you know, is made for man and
not man for food. We have to make the best use of food like all the other
things of life. One who is a slave of the palate can not do anything useful. By
a righteous control of the palate, we can control our entire physical and
mental systems A simple diet is more nourishing and wholesome and conducive to
spiritual advancement than all the so-called delicacies which the modern
culinary art provides. It will always give a comfortable feeling and serenity
of mind, help you to live within your means however limited they may be,
without extending your hand before others. When I was about to retire after my
long government service, I was asked by my Chief if I would like to have an
extension, but I politely declined the offer saying, "I don't want any
extension as I know how to arrange my affairs within the limited amount of my
pension." Now, foods are of three kinds: ·
SATVIK: Pure foods: milk, butter, cheese. rice, lentils, pulses,
grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts. ·
RAJSIK: Energizing foods: peppers, spices, condiments, sour and
bitter things. ·
TAMSIK: Enervating foods: stale foods, eggs, meat, fish, fowl and
wine, etc. Out of the above, we should always
prefer SATVIK or pure foods. These do a lot of good. Again, even of these, we
must partake a little below the saturation point of the appetite. When we get
delicious foods, we are tempted to eat more than what is actually needed; and
the extra food taken, instead of giving extra health and energy, proves
baneful. The food which is not digested properly and assimilated in the system
causes colic pains and aches and in some cases even cholera, and one has to pay
with one's life itself. "Do not overload the motor of your stomach,"
else you fall an easy prey to nausea. A surfeit of even what is good does prove
harmful at times. A moderation in victuals and viands helps in the growth of
vital powers in man. In the Purartas (ancient Hindu scriptures) there is an
allegory of the Food-god complaining to the Lord Vishnu, the Sustainer of the
Universe, that people misused him a great deal. To this Lord Vishnu humorously
replied, "Those who eat you too much, you must eat them up, for that is
the only remedy." Fresh air is the most essential part of
our food. One must take long breaths, retain them a while and then exhale them
out fully so as to cast out all the impurities of the body. Besides, one must
drink a lot of pure water and take fruit juices to flush the system through and
through to make one clean. But avoid all types of hot and soft drinks,
spiritous liquors, and intoxicants, for they render the mind and intellect
morbid. Grains and fruits should form our normal and staple foods. Man, as said before, must earn his
livelihood for himself by all fair, legitimate, and honest means. Again, it is
the moral duty of the housewife to cook the SATVIK food with heart engrossed in
sweet remembrance of the Lord. A food cooked like this, with the mind
entrenched in the Beloved and the hands engaged in the work, becomes a manna
from heaven and proves a blessing to those who partake of it. The Great Master,
Hazur Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, often used to give us an instance of an
Indian peasant with his hands on the plough but singing paeans of
soul-enthralling songs to his lady love. Such indeed should be our attitude in
these things. In the year 1921, I was working as
Accounts Officer in the Sikh Unit No. 36. I got an orderly-cook in the field. I
told him that I would not mind what his life was in the past, so long as he
cooked my food while repeating the Holy Names of God on his lips and did not
allow anyone to enter the kitchen and divert his mind in idle talk. The cook
promised to do this and everything went well for two or three days, but on the
fourth day as I sat for my meditation I felt that my mind was not steady. In
the middle of the night, I called the cook and inquired of him if there was
anyone else with him in the kitchen while he was preparing the food. At first
he denied it, but ultimately confessed that a person had come and had engaged
him in conversation and thus diverted him from the sweet remembrance of God. He
was warned against this and thereafter he always followed my behests
scrupulously. This then is the best criteria to weigh one's spiritual
advancement and the purity of the foodstuff that one takes, both in procuration
and in preparation. Sheikh Saadi, a great mystic poet of
Shiraz in Persia, always preached to divide the stomach into four compartments:
Two for filling with a limited quantity of simple diet; one for pure and dear
water; while reserving one for the Light of God. We read of an incident in the
life of Hazrat Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam. One day a physician came unto
him and offered him his services for the sick and ailing in the Umat, the
Prophet's following. He remained there for about six months in idle indolence,
as none of the Prophets followers fell ill He approached the Prophet and asked
for his permission to leave as no one there felt the need of his services. Hazrat Mohammed, with a gentle smile on
his lips, said goodbye to the physician, saying: "So long as the
congregation followed the instructions, there would be no chance of any of them
falling sick, for they all lived by one panacea— To always eat a little less than what
one may, in his hunger, otherwise like to take; To lead a chaste
life with honest earnings. Baba Jaimal Singh Ji, a great Master in
his time, used to buy some loaves of bread or chapatis and would wrap them in a
piece of cloth and hang them on a branch of a tree. He would devote himself to
meditation all the day long and when he would get up from his Samadhi, he would
take one loaf of bread, soak it in water, and partake of it before going into meditation
again. Whole wheat bread is a complete food in itself and we deprive it of
vital elements by removing the husk and by grinding it into white flour by
power-driven mills and thus destroy the phosphorus and oil in the grains and
make a terrible mess of it. I very often witnessed with my own eyes Hazur Baba
Sawan Singh's food which was always very simple and consisted of just a few
wholesome items in very small quantities. All the Saints live on a very frugal
repast. So did Shamas Tabrez, a Muslim devout, and Swami Shiv Dayal Singh Ji,
both of whom lived by the principle: Eat
Less and Remain Happy. With a life of simple food and high
thinking coupled with high morals and chaste conduct, one needs no tonics which
glut the market in these days. The luxurious food not only upsets the motor of
the stomach but leads to dire consequences that at times prove very dangerous.
Very often persons complain that they do not seem to progress on the path, but
little do they realize that it is due to faulty diet and wrong living. Prophet
Mohammed, we read, lived mostly on barley-bread. The SATVIK food keeps the head
and heart free from all types of impurities. We every day read that crime and
corruption are on the increase and various types of special police squads are
formed to meet this growing menace. "Eat, drink, and be merry" is the
order of the day. Everyone wishes to have a good time in traveling and in
visiting places of enjoyment and in watching movies, etc., and all beyond his
scanty means. But how to get more money? Nothing but Alladin's wonderful lamp
can help you to it. An honest man can hardly keep his body and soul together. But very few can escape the temptations
and snares of the glittering world. Most of us live a lustful existence: some
suffering from the lust of eyes, others of ears, and still others of various
lusts of the flesh we have no consideration for the wives, daughters, and
sisters of others and follow them blindly. The world is in the grip of a
fast-growing retrogression. "A man is known by the company he
keeps." If you want to know how your children are growing, have an eye on
their companions and from them you can easily judge your children. We have all been created by God. All of
us are embodied souls. Soul is of the same essence as that of God and God is in
all of us and we should, therefore, love one another. That is what St. Paul
taught all his life. It is written in the Koran: O
human beings, do good, Be
good to your parents, relatives, orphans, the needy and the poor, your
neighbors, and your fellow beings, Such
a life pleases Allah. Allah
is within each one of us, The
haughty one who is selfish is not cared for by God. A Master Saint always enjoins: ·
Love and reverence for all creation from highest to the lowest. ·
Observance of nonviolence even in the depths of the heart. ·
Truthfulness. ·
Non-injury to one's feelings by thoughts, words, symbols, and by
deed. ·
Kindly treatment toward all. ·
Cheery temperament. ·
Faith in the innate goodness in man. ·
Avoidance from giving bad names to others. ·
Non-indulgence in slanderous and amorous talks and idle pursuits. ·
Avoid accusations, for they boomerang with greater intensity. If one is keen for God-realization then
one must not hurt anyone's feelings, for heart is the seat of God Have you ever
realized that a mango seed when embedded gathers all the sweetness from the
soil, while a pepper seed attracts all the bitterness in it? As a man thinks,
so he becomes. Nothing is good or bad in the world, but
our thinking makes it so. We, like the one or the other of the seeds, draw upon
impulses from the atmosphere as suits our own mental make-up. We have in Mahabharata, the great epic
poem of ancient India, that outer signs of a chaste and clean life are good
deeds. Just as a tree is known by the fruit it bears, so is a man by what he
does. This is a great teaching of a great value. It helps a man to flourish and
receive a good name both here and hereafter. He will be the friend of all
creatures for he resolves not to hurt or kill any of them, not even the humble
bee nor the lowly ant. Such a person will surely know the Truth one day. Prince Dhrit Rashtra, the son of Kuru
the mighty king of Bharat, once hurled a rebuke on Gandiva, the great bow of
Arjuna, the Pandav Prince. Arjuna got angry and, touched to the quick, put his
arrow on the Gandiva. Lord Krishna, who happened to be near at hand, asked
Arjuna what he was doing Arjuna replied that he, as a Kshatriya prince, had
taken a vow "that if anyone would say a word against my mighty bow, I
would not spare him." Lord Krishna said, '0 Arjuna, could you tell me the
fruit of Dharma or Righteousness. Is it pain or pleasure?" Arjuna replied
that Dharma or Righteousness consisted only in the resultant love and harmony.
So one must first think of the result before doing or even contemplating any
deed. It will certainly prolong one's span of life. A person with a virtuous life will never
entertain any evil idea against any person and will never lose his temper and
get excited. Such a one gets longevity in life, The life process is calculated
by means of breaths. Normally, breathing is going on very rhythmically—some ten
to twelve per minute. But when a person is in a paroxysm of rage and is
excited, he takes twenty to twenty-three breaths in a minute. Thus there is a
veritable truth hidden in the saying that good deeds or virtues prolong life,
while evil deeds or vices shorten the span of one's life. Remember, you may even do meritorious
deeds, but if you do not live a good moral life you are nowhere. Try to live by
the precept of the Master and then alone your words can have weight with your
friends. You cannot preach of chastity with lust in your heart and a leer in
your eyes. you cannot dupe people for any length of time. Sooner or later the
cat will be out of the bag. The public cannot trust you blindly for long and
take you at your face value. Excuse me, if I were to question as to why
societies and preachers very often get a bad name: it is because they do not
live by the teachings they preach to others. A Godly person is possessed with a right
mind and right heart. He has both within and without a perfect spring of peace.
His dealings are fair, open, and unquestionable. Truth springs from the very
bottom of his heart The audience is spellbound and gets a feeling of comfort by
hearing him, as his utterances are drenched from the cooling effect of the
loving and chaste thoughts within him and everyone feels satisfied. A one among
many, he stands as a tower of strength, because of the purity of his heart.
Lord Tennyson, a great poet, speaking of Sir Galahad, one of the Knights of the
Round Table, puts in his mouth the words: My strength is
like the strength of ten because my heart is pure. It is said that out of the abundance of
heart a man speaks. On the other hand, if a person is selfish and mischievous,
he cuts with his own axe the tree of his life on which he sits with complacency
Everyone will be afraid of him and live in terror of him. People dread even to
see his face and consider him an unlucky anathema. A righteous person on the
other hand has eyes on his weaknesses and through self-introspection weeds them
out one by one. Swami Shiv Dayal Singh Ji advises that one should pick up his
failures one by one and cast them out. All other Saints have said this thing in
the same strain: Love
thy neighbor as thyself. Do
unto others as you would wish them to do unto you. The whole of the religious philosophy
hangs by these two cardinal principles. If one puts before him these two golden
rules, his life will surely be transformed. The person who has no element of
sympathy in his heart nor a human touch, is not fit to be called even a man and
he cannot know God. He who treats his enemies lovingly will disarm them in no
time. Insofar as you can, try to do no injury to anyone. Be good to all and you
will be at peace with yourself and be a radiating center of loving grace around
you. The prayers of others to whom you may have done good will help you. The
good thoughts of others will swarm around you with a benediction. The very idea
of doing good will first affect you and draw all good vibrations from the
surrounding atmosphere. In a nutshell, we have just laid a Panch Shila or five
fundamental truths on which we can build the wonderful mansion of spirituality.
These are: ·
Nonviolence in
thought, word, and deed. ·
Truthfulness. ·
Chastity. ·
Love for all and
hatred for none, irrespective of position, wealth, or learning. ·
Selfless
service—physical and financial—and a willing share in the joys and sorrows of
others. The Living Master cuts asunder the
Gordian knot of an initiate. The disciple of the Master refrains from
sins. Those who will follow the above will
enrich their lives here and hereafter. They will control their mind and
outgoing faculties by coming in contact with the living Word of God through the
living Master Saint. Param Sant Kirpal Singh (Ek
Onkar) |