Vegeterianism v/s Non Vegeterianism

May 25, 2004

Sai Ram. L.T. Salian,

Reading the e-mails on this topic, I was thinking the EXACTLY the same

thing...but could not express it as well as you have.

I have always been a vegetarian (because my parents brought me up this way) and

have lived with non-vegetarian roommates and till recently my husband (who

has now become vegetarian). I have had to, often, think about this topic

Vegeterianism v/s Non Vegeterianism and my views have matched yours, 100%.

Thanks for expressing them so well.

-- Namita

P.S. Here is a silly question that often comes to my mind: Should someone with

a tamasic nature eat rajaswic food (or vice versa) to achieve sathwic-ness

quickly?... and then stay on a sathwic diet.

-

L.T. SALIAN

saibabanews

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:04 AM

[saibabanews] Vegeterianism v/s Non Vegeterianism

Though I endorse that Vegeterianism as ideally suited for Spiritual Living. It

is not an end by itself. I have come across some Non Vegetarians who otherwise

are God fearing and live a life full of human values. I have also come across

some Vegeterians who are absolutely Tamsic in nature.

So essentially I feel, what is important for each one of us in the Sai Family is

living a life full of human values &; eradicating the Tamsic qualities.It is no

use saying that we are Vegeterians but otherwise possessing animal qualities.

Developing Sathwic qualities is a constant process and does not happen

overnight. For some it may take many lives, for some a lifetime and for a rare

few &; fortunate the transformation can be instant and total as a result of

their good Karmas (I call it Karmic credit) &; Sai's Grace. To conclude I will

say Vegeterianism is not a spiritual tag to be worn as a visiting card but to

be sincerely used as a tool for spiritual pursuit &; spiritual development.

These are my humble views and I stand to be corrected.

Sai Ram

May 25, 2004

There's an excellent experience from a devotee regarding this subject, let's

have a look at it. I got this

from http://www.saibaba.ws/experiences/chugani.htm website, pls see the link

for more experiences.

The experience of Mr. Arjan Chugani Here is the personal experience of Mr. Arjan Chugani.

I ate meat for fifty-two years of my life, until, step by step, Bhagvan Sri

Sathya Sai Baba changed me into a vegetarian. It started in 1992. In a dream,

Baba said to me "From today, whatever food you eat, you must offer to

me."Begining that day, I offered Him vegetarian food breakfast, lunch and

dinner. On the days when I was vegetarian - Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays - I

offered Baba the food I was having my self. When I ate meat on the other days of

the week, I offered Him a vegetarian dish or some dried fruits.This went on for

two years until one Sunday in December, 1994. The day at lunch I offered some

vegetarian food to Baba, setting meat dishes aside for myself. As I sat down to

eat the vegetarian prasadam- along with the meat dishes- I heard a Divine voice:

"What you eat, I wish to eat." Starled, I wondered if I had imagined it. But the

voice said again, "Whatever food you eat, that food I want to eat". The voice

said no more and I wondered whether the words had come from Baba or from my own

mind.Even after the experience, I did not give up meat. I continued my usual

practice of being vegetarian on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and eating

meat on other days. But something else started to happen. On the days I ate

meat, I sneezed and got nose bleeds - mildly at first, but

increasinglyprofuse.In January 1951, I awoke as usual at five in the morning to

do my prayers. I sneezed and blood flowed from my nose. My wife and I became

worried. I held my nose and prayed to Baba: "Please stop this, I can't take

this anymore!"Suddenly, the Divine voice said: "Are you afraid of blood? "Yes,

Baba" I replied. "I am afraid of blood". Baba answered: "When you go to the

market, choose a chicken and give it to the slaughterer to kill, and when the

blood flows, why are you not afraid? Do you think your blood and the chicken's

blood are different? When the man at the market cuts off the

chicken's head and it runs about in agony, you stand like a rakshasa(demon)

looking on, indifferent to the pain of the living being. Isn't that so?" The

voice went on. "So , when you see your blood, you are scared. But when you see

the chicken's blood, you are not scared. I am in your heart. I am also in all

living beings."When I heard that, I sad, "O.K., Baba. Beginning today, I want

to be a vegetarian. I will not eat meat again. But help me. Baba. Let me not be

tempted to eat meat anymore". A month later, at Thursday satsang, the Divine

discourse of Baba's sixty -ninth birthday was read. Bhagvan asked His devotees

to stop eating meat, drinking alcohol and smoking if they really loved Him. I

listened and said in my heart, "I have already given up eating meat. From this

day forward, I promise not to smoke or drink alcohol ".

Thank you

Sai Ram.