Being Vegetarian

Dear Children,

Our ancestors recommended a vegetarian diet. Do you know what it means 'to be a vegetarian? Well as the name suggests, it means 'to eat vegetables (and no meat). One of the reasons, why our ancestors recommended a vegetarian diet is that, they did not approve of killing animals to eat their flesh. The other reason is that by eating Vegetarian food the mind becomes conducive to meditation.

Today, new biological discoveries tend to show that flesh eating is not essential for good health and some biologists are even of the opinion that flesh eaters are more susceptible to illness than vegetarians.

The ancient Hindus were however not fanatic about whether to eat meat or abstain from it but looked more Into the practical aspect.

A Certain sect of Hindus. the Sindhis, are told to eat fish only on the day of the new moon. As mentioned earlier, the moon has an effect on the tides of the ocean, hence on the fishing. There are certain kinds of fish that tend to come to the surface during that time. The catch of the fish is easier. Fish, being a perishable commodity, is better consumed as soon as possible. So if you are not a vegetarian, would it not make more sense if you eat fish on new moon day when fish would probably be cheaper and fresher? Of course, I am talking of the time when this custom started when cold storage, as we know it, did not exist.

Certain sections of modern English-speaking Hindus believe that one should not eat fish during the months that have no 'R' in it i.e. May. June. July. August. Note that the months coincide with rainy months in India during which fishing is a problem.

As a matter of fact many Hindus observe the "Chaumasa". During these months, Hindus abstain from meat and perform fasts and prayers. Because of the rainy season, vegetables are plentiful and fresh. Besides most of our important Indian festivals fall during these months namely Ramzan, Nagapanchami, Dussera, Nariel purnima, Janmastami, etc.

With love,
Dadi Ma Nani Ma