Many spiritually-minded people say, " I feel guided to be a Vegetarian. " When we ask them for clarification, they say, " Something inside of me is telling me to eat a lighter, plant-based diet."
" If one is trying to practice meditation and is still eating meat, he would be like a man closing his ears and shouting loudly, and then asserting that he heard nothing. "
- Surangama Sutra
Q What is the link between being on the spiritual path and a changing relationship with food?
It has little to do with a desire to lose weight, although most people on vegetarian diets inevitably shed pounds and inches.
Most spiritually-minded people seem to choose Vegetarian Diets because some inner guidance directs them to do so. Vegetarianism has an ancient history, much or it tied into spirituality, philosophy, and religion.
Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism embrace vegetarianism as a path to attaining bliss, achieving optimum health, making a greater connection with the Creator, and honoring the sacredness of animals' lives to a greater extent.
The Buddhists and Hindus also believe that" Karmic law makes any suffering that we cause·· to animals or humans .. come back to haunt us at a future time ". And the Jains are strict' vegans " because they believe animals used for dairy products or meat are made to suffer needlessly.
The Bahai Faith vegetarians, their spiritual texts, prophesize :
" The food of the future will be fruit and grains. The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. Our natural food is that which comes out of the ground. The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food. "
The Essenes, an ancient mystical Jewish group who wrote " The Dead Sea Scrolls ", held Vegetarianism as their Spiritual Law. They especially favored eating raw and uncooked vegetables and legumes. They believed that this way of eating led to optimal health and spiritual cleanliness.
The Greek philosophers Pythagoras and Seneca also promoted vegetarianism as a way to higher consciousness and to avoid adding suffering to the world through animal slaughter. Trappist Monks, a sector of the Roman Catholic Church, practice vegetarianism, as do many Orthodox monks and nuns.
Philosophers and spiritual leaders have also practiced and promoted Vegetarianism because they view animal slaughter as in-human and unnecessary.
Henry David Thoreau, the great American philosopher and author, wrote, "I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals ".
Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist, said, " Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to Vegetarian Diet. "
When we eat inhumanely treated animals, we are literally eating the energy of pain. We are ultimately composed energy, and everything about our body can be broken down into energy. When we eat meat that is saturated with fear, we absorb the energy and chemicals of fear, which in turn, is held in the body.
Praying, blessing the food, and offering gratitude for our food is vital in decreasing the impact that this fear energy has upon our body.
Health is certainly one of the major reasons why people become vegetarian. The direct health benefits of a Vegetarian Diet are impressive. Vegetarians consume more antioxidants. Antioxidants may reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and possible arthritis and cataracts. Vegetarian Diets are typically between fifty to hundred percent higher in vitamins' C ' and ' E ' than carnivorous diets. Vegetarian meals are rich in phytochemicals. Phytochemicals have beneficial purposes, such as supporting the immune system, detoxifying, blocking carcinogens from attaching to the body's cells, and acting as antioxidants, which cleanse the bloodstream.
On the spiritual path, you become more aware of your feelings and thoughts; and meditation, prayer, yoga, and other spiritual practices can help you listen. A natural extension of this effect is to listen to your body's reactions to specific foods and beverages.
Foods that are grown above the ground, in the bright sunshine, have an expanding , 'yang' force, while foods grown below the ground, in the Earth Mother, embrace a contracting 'yin' force. Above-ground 'Yang' , foods open our psychic gifts and spiritual energy. The below-ground 'Yin' foods help to ground us, and are helpful if you ever feel' spaced-out'.
Different foods have varying effects on our chakra energy system. They can support, hinder, or be neutral to it. Dense foods ( with a low lifeforce energy ) tend to close the chakras, while light foods ( with higher life-force energy levels ) tend to open them. For example, meats that have a low lifeforce energy have a chakra-closing effect. A fresh fruit salad, in contrast, can help chakras become larger and brighter.
There are enlightened masters, yogis, and others who aren't affected at all by what they eat. Some have even ingested lethal doses of pharmaceuticals without any effect. These individuals are on a higher vibrational level than most of the populace. But, along their path to get to this level, most of these mystics went through a vegetarian and purification stage in their development. In the same manner, the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras had the students in his mystery school adopt a Vegan Diet.
The most common reason why people switch to Vegetarianism is to gain a greater feeling of well-being. This well-being is experienced as having more energy, thinking more clearly, and having a greater connectedness to animal and plant life.
Source: " Eating in the Light " by" Doreen Virtue & Becky Prelitz "