Why Be Vegetarian: by Stephen Knapp

Why Be Vegetarian
By Stephen Knapp
On the spiritual path, there are several reasons why a person is

recommended to be vegetarian. One primary reason is that we need to
see the spiritual nature within all living beings, and that includes the
animals and other creatures as well. Universal brotherhood means
nonviolence to both humans and animals. It consists of understanding
that animals also have souls. They are alive, conscious, and feel pain.
And these are the indications of the presence of consciousness, which
is the symptom of the soul. Even the Bible (Genesis 1.21; 1.24; 1.30;
2.7; and in many other places) refers to both animals and people
as nefesh chayah, living souls. Those who eat meat, however,
because of their desires to eat animals or see them as a source of food
for ones stomach, are not so easily able to understand the spiritual
nature of all beings. After all, if you know that all living entities are
spiritual in essence, and that all living beings that are conscious show
the symptoms of the soul within, then how can you kill them
unnecessarily? Any living creature is also the same as we are in the
respect that it is also a child of the same father, a part of the same
Supreme Being. Thus, the killing of animals shows a great lack in
spiritual awareness.
Many portions of the Vedic literature describe how the Supreme
Being is the maintainer of innumerable living entities, humans as well
as the animals, and is alive in the heart of every living being. Only
those with spiritual consciousness can see the same Supreme Being in
His expansion as Supersoul within every creature. To be kind and
spiritual toward humans and be a killer or enemy toward animals is not
a balanced philosophy, and exhibits ones spiritual ignorance.
The next reason for being vegetarian is to consider the amount of
fear and suffering that animals experience in the slaughter industry.
There are countless stories of how in fear cows cry, scream, and
sometimes fall down dead while inside or even before they are taken
into the slaughter house. Or how the veins of dead pigs are so big that
it shows they have practically exploded from the fear the pig felt and
the adrenalin that was produced while it was being led to slaughter.
This certainly causes an immense amount of violence to permeate the
atmosphere, which goes out and falls back on us in some form.
Furthermore, the adrenalin and fear in the animal also produces toxins
which then permeate the body of these animals, which meat-eaters

ingest. People who consume such things cannot help but be effected
by it. It causes tensions within them individually, which then spreads in
their relations with others.
The ancient Vedic text of the Manu-samhita (5.45-8) says, He who
injures innoxious beings from a wish to give himself pleasure never
finds happiness, neither living nor dead. He who does not seek to
cause the suffering of bonds and death to living creatures, but desires
the good of all beings, obtains endless bliss. . . Meat can never be
obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings
is detrimental to the attainment of heavenly bliss; let him therefore
shun the use of meat.
The Bible (Romans 14.21) also says, It is neither good to eat
flesh, nor to drink wine. Another biblical commandment (Exodus 23.5)
instructs us to help animals in pain, even if they belong to an enemy.
The Buddhist scripture (Sutta-Nipata 393) also advises: Let him
not destroy or cause to be destroyed any life at all, or sanction the acts
of those who do so. Let him refrain from even hurting any creature,
both those that are strong and those that tremble in the world. It is
also said in the Buddhist scripture, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, The
eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.
For Jews, the Talmud (Avodah Zorah 18B) forbids the association
with hunters, not to mention engaging in hunting.
In the New Testament Jesus preferred mercy over sacrifice
(Matthew 9.13; 12.7) and was opposed to the buying and selling of
animals for sacrifice (Matthew 21.12-14; Mark 11.15; John2.14-15).
One of the missions of Jesus was to do away with animal sacrifice and
cruelty to animals (Hebrews 10.5-10).
We especially find in Isaiah where Jesus scorns the slaughter and
bloodshed of humans and animals. He declares (1.15) that God does
not hear the prayers of animal killers: But your iniquities have
separated you and your God. And your sins have hid His face from
you, so that He does not hear. For your hands are stained with blood. .
. Their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed innocent blood. . . they
know not the ways of peace. Isaiah also laments that he saw, Joy
and merrymaking, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of
meat and drinking of wine, as you thought, let us eat and drink, for
tomorrow we die. (22.13)
It is also established in the Bible (Isaiah 66.3), He that killeth an ox

is as if he slew a man. In this regard St. Basil (320-379 A.D.) taught,
The steam of meat darkens the light of the spirit. One can hardly have
virtue if one enjoys meat meals and feasts.
Thus, we should find alternatives to killing animals to satisfy our
appetites, especially when there are plenty of other healthy foods
available. Otherwise, there must be reactions to such violence. We
cannot expect peace in the world if we go on unnecessarily killing so
many millions of animals for meat consumption or through abuse.
The third factor for being vegetarian is karma. As Newton's third
law of motion states, for every action there must be an equal and
opposite reaction. On the universal scale this is called the law of
karma, meaning what goes around comes around. This affects every
individual, as well as communities and countries. As the nation sows,
so shall it reap. This is something we should take very seriously,
especially in our attempt to bring peace, harmony, and unity into the
world. If so much violence is produced by the killing of animals, where
do you think the reactions to this violence goes? It comes back to us in
so many ways, such as the form of neighborhood
and community crime, and on up to world wars. Violence breeds
violence. Therefore, this will continue unless we know how to change.
Isaac Bashevis Singer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature,
asked, How can we pray to God for mercy if we ourselves have no
mercy? How can we speak of rights and justice if we take an innocent
creature and shed its blood? He went on to say, I personally believe
that as long as human beings will go shedding the blood of animals,
there will never be any peace.
In conclusion, we can mention the March 10, 1966 issue
of LOsservatore della Domenica, the Vatican weekly newspaper, in
which Msgr. Ferdinando Lambruschini wrote: Mans conduct with
regard to animals should be regulated by right reason, which prohibits
the infliction of purposeless pain and suffering on them. To ill treat
them, and make them suffer without reason, is an act of deplorable
cruelty to be condemned from a Christian point of view. To make them
suffer for ones own pleasure is an exhibition of sadism which every
moralist must denounce. Eating animals for the pleasure of ones
tongue when there are plenty of other foods available certainly fits into
this form of sadism. It stands to reason that this is counterproductive to
any peace and unity or spiritual progress we wish to make. It is one of
the things we need to consider seriously if we want to improve
ourselves or the world. So here are a few reasons why a genuinely

spiritual person will choose to be vegetarian.
BEYOND VEGETARIANISM
In the process of bhakti-yoga, devotion goes beyond simple
vegetarianism, and food becomes a means of spiritual progress. In
the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says, All that you do, all that you eat,
all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may
perform, should be done as an offering unto Me. So offering what we
eat to the Lord is an integral part of bhakti-yoga and makes the food
blessed with spiritual potencies. Then such food is called prasadam, or
the mercy of the Lord.
The Lord also describes what He accepts as offerings: If one
offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will
accept it. Thus, we can see that the Lord accepts fruits, grains, and
vegetarian foods. The Lord does not accept foods like meat, fish or
eggs, but only those that are pure and naturally available without
harming others.
So on the spiritual path eating food that is first offered to God is the
ultimate perfection of a vegetarian diet. The Vedic literature explains
that the purpose of human life is reawakening the souls original
relationship with God, and accepting prasadam is the way to help us
reach that goal.
[To find out more, refer to these articles: "Prasada: The Power of
Sacred Food", "The Significance of Deities and Deity Worship"]

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Why Be Vegetarian

On the spiritual path, there are several reasons why a person is

which then permeate the body of these animals, which meat-eaters

It is also established in the Bible (Isaiah 66.3), He that killeth an ox

ourselves or the world. So here are a few reasons why a genuinely

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