Walking the Path of Ahimsa

Every animal has some fundamental rights-and the time has come when we must formulate a charter of animal rights. This naturally implies a charter of man’s duties towards the animal kingdom

You would all agree with me when I say, these are troubled times, indeed turbulent times that we live in. Insensate violence and strife are all pervasive. Murder, mayhem, corruption, and cruelty have become the norm of ‘news’ content to which we listen daily, too numbed even to react. Very occasionally, we revolt in horror, only to relapse into our habitual apathy. But beneath the veneer of indifference, beneath the numbed response to the violence, there is the despair of the thinking mind, the sensitive heart: what can I do? How can I make a difference?

The answer is clear: we must make a start; we must make a difference, in our own, small, humble way. We must learn to live at peace with ourselves. We must learn to live in harmony with Mother Nature and God’s Universe. We must learn to live and let live. We must feel at one with all of God’s creation. We must recognise and respect the inviolate sanctity of all life. We do not require manpower, materials, resources, and backup to do this: all it takes is a little sensitivity, a little compassion, a little self-discipline and commitment to the values of ahimsa. And we will be amazed at the difference it makes to our lives and attitudes. The change that we seek can begin with as simple a thing as our diet.

Man cannot live without air, water, and food. While air and water are available to us in the natural state, food is selected, prepared and eaten by our own choice. My appeal to you is: make the right choice for your food practices.

In practical terms food can be of two categories: food of violence or himsa-food that includes fish, flesh, and fowl; the alternative is the food of ahimsa or non-violence-in other words, a vegetarian diet. During the last fifty years or more, medical experts and nutritionists have largely inclined to the opinion that a vegetarian diet is the best option for good health.

It is my firm belief that the food of non-violence is the diet of the new age; vegetarianism is the way of life for the Twenty-First Century – indeed, for the new millennium. Vegetarianism is no longer the diet of the neglected few, the freak or the eccentric.

People all over the world are turning to a vegetarian diet, for it has been recognised as a way of life that promotes health and the ancient rishi of the Ishopanishad sang, Ishavasyam Idam Sarvam: all that is, is a vesture of the Lord. God comes to us, putting on different vestures, different garments. Clad in different garbs, the Lord comes to us to test us, to find out if we truly love Him, as we say we do.

Are you aware, that on an average, a person eats 7500 animals in a lifetime? The time has come when we must decide once and for all, that all types of exploitation, all types of human tyranny must cease, if we are to have lasting peace in the world. It is only through a shared reverence for all life that the dream of world peace can be turned into a realisable goal.

Every animal has some fundamental rights- and the time has come when we must formulate a charter of animal rights. This naturally implies a charter of man’s duties towards the animal kingdom. The very first fundamental right of an animal is the right to live. No man can take away that which he cannot give. Since we cannot give life to a dead creature, it goes without saying that we have no right to take away the life of a living one, just to pamper our palates and indulge our taste buds.

Let us therefore, cultivate what Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani calls “Cosmic Consciousness”-to commune with the earth-spirit, to have a new feeling for the ‘animal’ world. For the so-called ‘lower’ animals are also children of Mother Earth. To treat them harshly is wrong. To take them to the slaughterhouse is a sin.

This is not to preach, but to help you practice a way of life that is bound to be your first step towards a more sensitive, caring, compassionate, healthful way of life.