Dear Friends,
Namaste!
One of the main points related to healthy eating over which several divergent views have been expressed is whether or not we should eat non-vegetarian food.
What is Yoga Shastra’s take on this?
The science of Yoga strongly recommends vegetarianism, however it does NOT forbid eating non-vegetarian food as long as it constitutes only a moderate portion of our overall diet.
Yoga is all about logic and it is not at all about magic. Obviously, there are good reasons why the science of Yoga takes the above stand on vegetarianism.
We must carefully consider the logic behind vegetarianism being promoted as one of the Best Practices in Yoga. We must also understand why Yoga does not treat even non-vegetarianism as taboo. Then we must look at what considerations apply to our persona and accordingly choose whether to be a vegetarian or not.
In this discussion, we will see the reasons behind the encouragement Yoga Shastra has given to vegetarianism:
a) Vegetarianism is healthier
If we wish to drink pure Ganges water, we must go to ‘Gangotri’, the very source of the Ganges river. If we wish to know Yoga at its authentic best, we must refer to ancient texts such as “Bhagvad Geeta”, “Patanjal Yoga Sutras”, “Gherand Samhita” and “HathaYoga Pradeepika”.
Likewise, if we wish to partake of “pure” food, we should eat food that is as close to the solar energy in the food chain as possible. Solar energy is the most fundamental of all forms of tangible cosmic energy. Vegetables perform photosynthesis to live off it. If we live off vegetables than living off animals consuming vegetables or indeed other animals, the contamination is reduced!
b) Vegetarian food is easier to digest
Non-vegetarian food, unlike the vegetarian food, is rich in proteins. Proteins are more difficult to digest than carbohydrates, fibres etc. Increased vegetarian content in our diet is more soothing on our digestive system.
c) Vegetarian food helps us to be more alert
When we eat, the digestive system draws more blood supply in order to digest food. If we eat too much proteins (read non-vegetarian food), more blood is drawn to digest proteins. This comes at the expense of blood supply going to our other systems including the nervous system. It is a common observation that we feel drowsy after eating too much or eating ‘heavy’ food which is difficult to digest.
Yoga is all about “awareness”. The feeling of awareness, alertness, aliveness that we experience every moment is directly linked to the functioning of our nervous system. Therefore Yoga would never consciously recommend anything that would deplete blood supply to our nervous system!
d) Non-violence is one of the most important cornerstones of Yoga teaching
Yoga preaches non-violence as a rule and accepts violence only as an exception (specifically to fulfil natural hunger, in defence of one’s life or in performance of duty). If vegetarian options are available then not resorting to non-vegetarian food would mean following “Ahimsa” (Non-violence).
“Ahimsa” is one of the five “Yama”s (Value System proposed by Yoga Shastra – as we shall see later). The Yamas nourish and nurture ‘Life’. Hence vegetarianism is conducive to non-violence which in turn promotes and enriches life. Therefore, vegetarianism is recommended as one of the Best Practices in Yoga.
e) Vegetarianism encourages better behaviour
If the input to our system is purer, the output from our system will also become purer. If we eat too much proteins day-in-day-out, it will overstrain our digestive system and it will wear out sooner. Also, since proteins are “Rajasic” food, they will lead to more “Rajasic” thoughts, speech and actions on our part.
For all-round progress, we must maximize “Sattvic” thinking and minimize “Rajasic” and “Tamasic” thinking. Thoughts lead to speech and action. Hence once we get our thoughts right, automatically the speech and actions will be sorted out.
But what is “Sattvic”, “Rajasic” and “Tamasic” food? We will discuss these three “Guna”s (properties) in more depth later. Here it is sufficient to say that any food that leads to disinclination to perform righteous activities is termed as “Tamasic” food. Food that leads to performance of self-centred activities is termed as “Rajasic” food and food that leads to performance of righteous activities (activities performed in larger interests) is called “Sattvic” food.
Well balanced diet consisting of 40% carbohydrates, 30% fibre, 20% proteins and 10% fat is essentially “Sattvic”. Non-vegetarianism, especially where the protein percentage exceeds the threshold, can disturb the balance and make us tilt either towards “Rajasic” or “Tamasic” behaviour.
However, the foregoing discussion must not be looked upon as rationale that mandates pure vegetarianism for all human beings!
The next time we meet, we will look at the other side of this coin. Why non-vegetarianism (in moderate portions) is also acceptable in Yoga.
Until then…
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