In the discussion on meditation, a healthy body is a must.
To keep a healthy body proper food and asanas are obviously twin subjects that cannot be ignored. Practitioners of tantra yoga adheres to vegetarianism as a key ingredient in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Below are some of many arguments to support vegetarianism :
1) Is it natural for humans to eat meat?
Human beings are natural non-carnivores. His or her digestive system evolving for over a million years living on fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables manifest a slow digestion of vegetables and fruits shown by having bowels 12 times the length of the human body.
Human digestive system, the structures of jaw and tooth and bodily function are distinct from that of carnivorous animals.
The bowels of carnivores is shorter, only 3 times the length of the body, for faster expulsion of putrerfactive bacteria from decomposing flesh; stomachs with ten times as much hydrochloric acid as non -carnivorous animals, to digest fibrous tissues and bones.
2) What are the dangers in eating meat?
Before and during the agony of being slaughtered the biochemistry of the terrified animal undergoes changes as it struggles and hang on fighting for dear life.
Toxic by-products and large quantities of adrenalin are forced throughout the body, thus poisoning the entire carcass, leaving toxic wastes in the blood and tissues.
The fats of animal flesh such as cholesterol line the walls of blood vessels of the non-vegetarian, and as the meat-eater gets older, the openings of his vessels get smaller and smaller.
Pressure on the heart increases often resulting to heart failure, high blood pressure and stroke.
It is interesting to note that these diseases are not prevalent in countries where meat consumption is low. Among the most notorious wastes that meat-eaters store in the body are urea and uric acid. Beefsteak contains 14 grams of uric acid per pound.
An American doctor analyzed the urine of meat-eaters and vegetarians and found that the kidneys of meat-eaters have to do three times the amount of work to eliminate poisonous nitrogen compounds in meat than do the kidneys of vegetarians. When people are young, they are usually able to bear this extra burden so that no evidence of injury or disease appears; but as the kidneys age and become worn out prematurely, they become less efficient resulting to kidney disease.
When kidneys can no longer handle the excessively heavy load of a meat-eating diet, the unexcreted uric acid is deposited throughout the body. There it is abssorbed by the muscles like a sponge soaking up water and later it can harden and form crystals.
When this happens in the joints, the painful condition of gout, arthritis, rheumatism result; when the uric acid collects in the nerves, neurithis and sciatica occur. Many doctors are advising patients suffering from these diseases to stop eating meat completely or reduce intake drastically.
3) Is it right to kill animals?
P.R. Sarkar, the Renaissance Man and a profounder of vegetarianism, teaches:
4) The politics of hunger.
Meat is the most uneconomical and inefficient food we can eat.
In order to produce meat vast track of land is used to grow cattle feed. The cattle consumes about ten times more protein and calories than they return in form of their meat. In other words, 90% "goes down the drain."
Adding the expenses of cattle feed to the other costs of cattle raising, the cost of meat protein comes to about twenty times the cost of plant protein.
Instead of wasting land for meat production these land could be used far more productively if utilized to plant grains, beans and legumes for direct human consumption. The following data taken from "What's Wrong with Eating Meat, " an Ananda Marga Publication, lists more economic reasons why vegetarianism is gaining ground as an alternative lifestyle :
To keep a healthy body proper food and asanas are obviously twin subjects that cannot be ignored. Practitioners of tantra yoga adheres to vegetarianism as a key ingredient in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Below are some of many arguments to support vegetarianism :
1) Is it natural for humans to eat meat?
Human beings are natural non-carnivores. His or her digestive system evolving for over a million years living on fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables manifest a slow digestion of vegetables and fruits shown by having bowels 12 times the length of the human body.
Human digestive system, the structures of jaw and tooth and bodily function are distinct from that of carnivorous animals.
The bowels of carnivores is shorter, only 3 times the length of the body, for faster expulsion of putrerfactive bacteria from decomposing flesh; stomachs with ten times as much hydrochloric acid as non -carnivorous animals, to digest fibrous tissues and bones.
2) What are the dangers in eating meat?
Before and during the agony of being slaughtered the biochemistry of the terrified animal undergoes changes as it struggles and hang on fighting for dear life.
Toxic by-products and large quantities of adrenalin are forced throughout the body, thus poisoning the entire carcass, leaving toxic wastes in the blood and tissues.
The fats of animal flesh such as cholesterol line the walls of blood vessels of the non-vegetarian, and as the meat-eater gets older, the openings of his vessels get smaller and smaller.
Pressure on the heart increases often resulting to heart failure, high blood pressure and stroke.
It is interesting to note that these diseases are not prevalent in countries where meat consumption is low. Among the most notorious wastes that meat-eaters store in the body are urea and uric acid. Beefsteak contains 14 grams of uric acid per pound.
An American doctor analyzed the urine of meat-eaters and vegetarians and found that the kidneys of meat-eaters have to do three times the amount of work to eliminate poisonous nitrogen compounds in meat than do the kidneys of vegetarians. When people are young, they are usually able to bear this extra burden so that no evidence of injury or disease appears; but as the kidneys age and become worn out prematurely, they become less efficient resulting to kidney disease.
When kidneys can no longer handle the excessively heavy load of a meat-eating diet, the unexcreted uric acid is deposited throughout the body. There it is abssorbed by the muscles like a sponge soaking up water and later it can harden and form crystals.
When this happens in the joints, the painful condition of gout, arthritis, rheumatism result; when the uric acid collects in the nerves, neurithis and sciatica occur. Many doctors are advising patients suffering from these diseases to stop eating meat completely or reduce intake drastically.
3) Is it right to kill animals?
P.R. Sarkar, the Renaissance Man and a profounder of vegetarianism, teaches:
"As far as possible articles of food are to be selected from amongst the sets of items where the development of consciousness is comparatively littlle, i.e. if vegetables are available, animals should not be slaughtered. Secondly, under any circumstances before killing any animals having developed or undeveloped consciousness, it is to be considered whether it is possible to live in a healthy body without taking such lives."
4) The politics of hunger.
Meat is the most uneconomical and inefficient food we can eat.
In order to produce meat vast track of land is used to grow cattle feed. The cattle consumes about ten times more protein and calories than they return in form of their meat. In other words, 90% "goes down the drain."
Adding the expenses of cattle feed to the other costs of cattle raising, the cost of meat protein comes to about twenty times the cost of plant protein.
Instead of wasting land for meat production these land could be used far more productively if utilized to plant grains, beans and legumes for direct human consumption. The following data taken from "What's Wrong with Eating Meat, " an Ananda Marga Publication, lists more economic reasons why vegetarianism is gaining ground as an alternative lifestyle :
- If we conserve our grain supply and gave it to the poor and malnourished, instead of to the cattle, we could easily feed all of the chronically underfed people of the world.Clearly the decision whether to eat meat or not is a personal one but based on the arguments against it; it is rather difficult to find a case in favor of meat-eating. (Unless of course, where it is absolutely necessary for physical reasons.)
- If we ate half as much meat, we could relese enough food to feed the entire " developing world."
- Recent studies by nutritionists have shown that reducing meat production by just 10 % would relese enough grain to feed 60 million people.
- The shocking and tragic truth is that 80-90% of all grain grown in America is used to feed meat animals.
- Twenty years ago, the average American ate 50 pounds of meat annually. Because of America's "fixation on meat" , most eat twice the daily recommended protein allowance. Learning the real facts behind the "food shortage" is fundamental to an understanding of how we can properly utilize the world's resources.
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