My friends
and relatives, who have met me since the last quarter of the last year, are
often surprised by the fact that I have taken to Vegan diet. Though for me this
seems to be a natural progression and NOT a big deal but my friends and
relatives think otherwise considering my one-time strong preferences for fish,
egg and chicken. They often express their wonder by saying, it’s ok to be pursuing the path of Krishna
Consciousness but is it really necessary to give up on fish? In this way they
often tend to indicate to me that being a Bengali, am I not getting too carried
away by all this and losing my identity? I see this question always light up
like red-traffic signal in the eyes of (primarily) my mother, wife, son and
generally for all others. For my mother and wife this is an unwanted ‘problem’
that has come up as they have to now “think” about my ‘vegetarian meal’. My 9
year old son is also kind a taken aback by this change in his KFC happy dad! He
remembers of the good old days of kebabs, tikkas, rolls and grills. It’s not
that I have stopped him from having these food pleasures rather I sit opposite
to him while he enjoy a chicken burger, I enjoy my paneer burger!(What made KFC
to offer veg meals?) I guess out of the
three – my mother, wife and son, my son seems to be the only one who has
somehow took pity on me and have accepted to a large extent my shift. Though
sometimes he expresses his wonder as to what the fuss is about not eating meat.
My answer to him ‘son, you will get it one day!’ I am waiting.
I have observed
that many who take to Krishna consciousness inevitably end up following
vegetarian diet and which in itself is NOT a big deal for the devotees rather
it becomes a BIG concern for the people around, especially in Bengal. Consider a Bengali wedding and vegetarian
food, well they don’t fit in the same frame. I guess the veg item decisions are
NOT even taken by the family they are just left to the chef to decide. And the
Chef as a routine goes for one of the princely dishes - alu-chhola, alu-gobhi
or mixed-veg. Please read it again any ‘ONE’. Now I joke with my brother “Khaya ya Dekha”
(did you eat or see). Yes we two are the odd ones in the family (recently my father
joined the group too). Actually, my brother is the one who is responsible for all of
this.
I am not
sure about others but as far as I am concerned there are very few basic ‘realisations’
for me to opt for vegan side. I wouldn’t go into the disputed zone that
veganism is something of very high philosophy or some kind of very high moral
standing. From the point of Krishna consciousness
it’s obvious and a very natural progression.
As per
Srila Prabhupada, devotees who wish to further in the path of Krishna
consciousness should strictly avoid taking any kind of meat or for that matter
any eatable that can be considered as intoxicant. This even includes tea,
coffee, any form of liquor and any eatable that leads to any form of
intoxication. From a spiritual perspective the reason for giving up such items
is simple – unwavering love and devotion for Krishna.
Krishna is
supreme, He is the only one who can be loved the most, He is the only one with
whom the Soul can have the most pure and sacred relationship. With such a view
a devotee gives up or tries to give up
impurities. To present and offer the most pure love to Krishna one tries to
reach a state of purity- in words, thoughts, actions and behavior.
Not eating meat and any kind of intoxicant is just one small step through which
the devotee attempts to bring purity within so that he/she can approach Krishna
for his mercy. The devotee is cognizant of the fact that in the entire creation,
all living entities (plants and animal alike) are Lords reflections. Even
killing plants is sinful. Eating is an existential requirement and by
restricting the diet to vegan the devotee is trying to limit his sinful
activities. Srila Prabhupada stated that a devotee is absolved of the sin of
even the vegan meal when it is offered to the Lord and after offering it to the
Lord it is consumed by the devotee as a prasadam.
This
concept of self-purification is NOT only exhibited in food but also in thoughts
and actions by listening to Lords pastime and chanting Lords name. Therefore
vegan food and all related aspects are nothing but a form of Bhakti (devotion).
Srila Prabhupada succinctly defined bhakti simply as honesty and purity. It is
devotee’s honesty and purity that propels him towards bhakti and through bhakti
only, one can genuinely surrender to Lord and receive mercy. The supreme lord
is free from desires or pleasures. It is only for the sake of devotee’s desire
he accepts our bhakti. Only through our bhakti we can please the Lord.
A mother
expecting a baby becomes very conscious of everything – what she eats, sees, hears
or even thinks. All actions of mother are purely driven by her honesty towards
the baby in the womb. It’s mother’s devotion to the unborn that propels her to
do those things. Similarly a devotee is carrying love for Krishna within ones
heart. All the actions of a devotee are driven by the motive of preserving and
increasing that pure love of Lord.
The act of
self-purification is evident in all religion. People wash hands and feet before
entering religious places. People in various religions do fast. In several religions
there are some specific time period when people avoid meat, intoxicant,
unethical/immoral behavior and acts. During those period people experience a
heightened sense of spiritual connection with self and the Almighty. Research has
proved that people during this period are rarely stressed, generally happy, more
peaceful, energized mentally and physically and experience a very different
level of existence. Krishna consciousness makes this simply a way of life rather than an intermittent approach. Srila Prabhupada often said that Krishna consciousness
is the eternal and the most advanced science given by the creator to its
creation. The Krishna consciousness enables devotees to follow the eternal
science on a continuous basis. Meat and intoxicants are a huge impediment in
spiritual journey and that’s why they should be abandoned for once and for all.
We have
been taught that Man is on the top of the so called Food Chain as it can devour
literally everything. Through my humble experience I would submit that Man
needs to come down few steps lower on the food chain to really enjoy ‘The
Higher Taste’.
Supreme Lord states “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a
flower, a fruit, water, I will accept it.”
Chapter
9.Text 26, Bhagawad Gita.
Hare Krishna!
