.png)
Introduction:
Embarking on a spiritual journey often involves a profound transformation of one's lifestyle, including choices related to diet. A prevalent suggestion among followers of spiritual paths is to adopt a vegetarian diet, steering clear of non-vegetarian options. But why is this so? Could it be linked to the concept of karma , sounds weird right! Come on , let's find out!
What is Karma Exactly?
To keep it simple , it's cause and effect phenomenon. That is in scientific terms , we can understand it using these two laws: Newton's third law and Law of Energy Conservation.
To know this concept completely you can navigate to this topic in our blog by the following link.
Vegetarian Food and It's Connection in Spirituality:
In a more scientific light, the idea revolves around the concept that every living entity is born to fulfill it's desires and to reap the results of it's past actions, which is nothing but karma. In order to sustain the body, we have to depend on other living entities. Now comes our topic , why only vegetarian food needs to be inculcated? Now, we need to understand that our body's karmic action which ever it is ,pleasant or unpleasant needs to be worked out through this body and mind itself. Now for the sustenance, we have to depend on some other living entity. Therefore our body is energized through this food right , that is some other living entities energy we have partaken. So now that body is transformed into our body and it's energies are now ours, accepted? Now what's next. As this living entity is also born to reap it's karma , but now it's been inherited by our body, so obviously our body has to reap the results of our body's and also the partaken body's. Wondering how, then continue to read!
<a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/brunette-woman-eating-salad_4540605.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=27&uuid=fba48865-cd6e-4060-a20c-916dfb1ff348">Image by freepik</a>
Imbibing Energies:
When we consume food, it is known that the energies inherent in the once-living creatures become a part of us. Wondering how, then it's just transformation of energy that is it's just changing it's form from one to other. Nothing other than that . Now we should not only deal with our own karma but also that of the consumed entities . If we carefully observe ,compared to plants and animals , animals have more kinetic energies compared to plants ,that is they can not only physically move as we can, but can also hunt it's prey as we do and so they have a similar karmic bundle as ours, acceptable right!
In contrast, sattvic foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and dairy products, are considered to have minimal karmic impact due to their very low kinetic energies.
Is This The Reason For Sattvic Food?:
The emphasis on sattvic foods in spiritual diets revolves around the idea that the bodies of plants have less kinetic energies. This implies that these foods have fewer rajasic and tamasic actions, leading to the term "sattvic." But in non-vegetarian options rajasic and tamasic actions will be performed by these living entities, so in turn those should also be carried out by our body after consumption. Finally without our intervention we have to reap all these reactions of our body's and the in-taken entities too. So it will not expedite our process in spiritual journey as our mind can't distinguish that, this reaction is because of our bodies or the in-taken bodies. So naturally due to it's lack of understanding it reacts for all the situations and again these reactions results should be reaped. Finally again we will be in the cycle of this births and deaths reaping the results of our actions and again reacting for the situations and creating karma. This continues. In order to control this cycle of births and deaths we need to have minimal karmic baggage. That is one which we have carried from our previous births and the other from our in-taken entities. The first isn't under our control which is obvious but we can have command over our in-taken entities , acceptable isn't it?
What About The Soul Of This Living Entity :
A question arises what about the soul of the in-taken entities? Remember, until the body is dead, the soul can't leave the body. That is ,even if we cut and fry the vegetables the soul will not be separated from it . If we see some fruit is spoiled then we won't eat it, right. That is then the soul has left the body and so the body is now decaying.
We can see the same kind of reference in Garuda Puran.
It's mentioned that after the death this soul is placed into a kind of body where if it has to go to hell , this body will be capable to adapt to those conditions. So now if this body is fried in hot oil ( Kumbhipakam ) the so called soul experiences that immense pain but will not get liberated from that body. So if the soul is present then it has to carry on it's Karma , which is quite obvious. So be cautious and pick up minimal karmas through the survival instincts.
<a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/frying-cheese-ball_3763161.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=26&uuid=2bd601af-88a8-46d5-9a1b-c3a69326aa6d">Image by jcomp on Freepik</a>
Hope now all our questions are answered , I guess.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it is better to avoid consuming organisms with complex biological structures similar to humans. From an evolutionary perspective, it is preferable to choose organisms that evolved much earlier, such as fish if you prefer non- vegetarian, rather than those with more complex bodies resembling ours. Since the actions and energies of these simpler organisms are far beyond our human nature, they are more suitable for a spiritual seeker. By consuming foods with minimal karmic impact, one can support and enhance their spiritual journey.
The connection between diet and spirituality takes on a more scientific dimension when considering the concept of karma. While beliefs surrounding karma and the consumption of non-vegetarian food may vary, the overarching theme remains one of mindfulness and interconnectedness. By choosing sattvic foods, followers of spiritual paths seek to align themselves with a diet that minimizes karmic implications, fostering a sense of harmony and balance on their spirituality.
Comments