02/07/2020
*Why Vegetarianism Is Preferred in Spirituality*
*Gurydev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji*
There are many benefits to being vegetarian. If you run a search on Google, you will find plenty of research available on this topic. Otherwise, the world would not take to it so promptly. A few decades ago, vegetarian food was not available in Berlin and many parts of Europe. Today, Berlin is the vegan capital of Germany. Veganism has grown exponentially in Europe, America, and India.
If you look back, some of the greatest thinkers of this world, like Einstein, have been vegetarian. If you take a stock of how many great scientists and thinkers on this planet were vegetarian, you will find a large number of them were. So, somewhere, being vegetarian has a connection with the way the mind works.
A vegetarian diet enhances mental refinement
According to our ancients, vegetarian food is important, especially for people doing mental work. If you are doing only menial work, it is okay to be on a non-vegetarian diet. But if you are intellectual, and want to have a more refined thinking and a subtler experience, then you need to tweak your diet accordingly. And such a diet must not just be vegetarian, but it is also preferable to avoid pungent, stale, and old food. Such is a dietary prescription for someone who wants a heightened consciousness.
A vegetarian diet keeps your system attuned to nature
Even in the Bible, on one of the lost scrolls, there is a lot of talk about being vegetarian. But over time, for whatever reason, it has been shoved aside. So, the choice to be vegetarian or not is yours. I am not saying you cannot do meditation if you are not a vegetarian. But the most preferred diet is vegetarian since it keeps your system attuned to your own nature.
The human body is made for a vegetarian diet
Our immediate ancestors, the monkeys, are vegetarians. There is a substance called Ptyalin in our saliva, which is only present in the saliva of herbivores. If you were meant to be carnivorous, your teeth and enzymes would be different. Ptyalin, which is only found in herbivorous animals, would not be in your saliva.
A horse is vegetarian; have you ever seen it eating meat? Elephant, the most powerful among animals, is vegetarian. Do you see, the most domesticated animals are all vegetarians – mostly! Yes, cats would eat rats, and dogs are different, but look at cows, sheep, etc.
You should look into the mechanics. Our human system is made for vegetarianism! Vegetarian animals have long intestines, which is not the case for carnivorous animals. Your intestine is taller than you; you have a 6-foot-long intestine, all coiled up. If you were meant to be carnivorous, your intestine would have been half the size, only 3 feet long. All this indicates somewhere that the diet most suited for you is vegetarian.
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