Fanatical vegetarianism

Sw. Venkatesananda:

A vegetarian - she's a fanatical vegetarian - asked me, "Is pure vegetarianism necessary for yoga practice?"

I said, "Not so important. Let's talk about something else."

And she was horrified. She came back to me and said, "How can you say that? You can't say that vegetarianism is of secondary value. You must say it's of primary value."

I replied, "Forgive me - I said something, but it doesn't really matter."

I then asked her, "Do you believe in war, defence forces, defending your country, and so on?"

"Yes," she said, "otherwise how can we live? We have to."

I replied, "If I call you a cannibal, how do you react to that? This man kills a small animal to sustain his life, but you are willing to kill people to sustain yours. Like a cannibal."

She didn't like that, but I think she saw the point later.

Pp. 190-1, discussions between Swami Venkatesananda and J. Krishnamurti, Four sayings chapter, The Awakening of Intelligence, J. Krishnamurti, 2016, KFI.

I am not against a vegetarian diet, and Krishnamurti was a strict vegetarian throughout his life (as far as I know). But ahimsa (non-injury), one of the bases for vegetarianism, is unconditional and applies to all actions, not just eating.

Sahaj Marg recommends vegetarian food primarily to match with spiritual growth. But, if necessary to save a human life, non-vegetarian food is not forbidden. Better use of resources (a kilo of rice costs less to grow than a kilo of meat) and consistency in ahimsa are other reasons to be vegetarian.