E Books, Blogs,
Websites, and Videos on the Wisdom of Following a Non-violent
Vegetarian or Vegan Diet
Vegan Myths - Great Information and Introduction to Veganism:
Read for free online, The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity, by Akers, Keith:
Read for free online, The Vegetarianism of Jesus Christ, by Charles Paul Vaclavik:
American Vegan Society:
I believe, based on
the current practices of the dairy industry in India and around the
world, that classic Saints such as Guru Kabir, Guru Nanak, Tukarama,
Ravidas, Tulsi Das, Namdev, Dariya Sahib, etc... if they were here
today, would not only be advocating a vegetarian diet but a vegan
diet. These days, many are making this transition, including in Sant
Mat. This is the direction that the vegetarian movement is headed in.
Vegetarianism is going vegan.
It’s hard to reach
more subtle states of tranquility in meditation on an animal/flesh
diet based on the suffering of other beings. “It is no measure of
health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” (Jiddu
Krishnamurti) In addition to the disability produced by living in an
unaware, high violence culture that doesn’t see the problem with
that, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are actual chemical
influences in the meat that adversely effect meditation, along with
the other health issues (growth hormones, antibiotics, cardiovascular
decline, inflammation, carcinogens) that have been documented.
"All living creatures seek a life of peace,
So pass your days on this Earth humanely.
Even the heart that beats in an animal’s breast
Knows sympathy, brims with love.
So look on all living creatures with loving compassion –
bring to humanity’s night the light of dawn."
— Darshan Singh, from, Jadah-e Nur (Pathway of Light),
Love’s Last Madness, the new expanded edition, 2018
"I can say about flesh eating that the Spirit has shown me repeatedly that I could not refine my body and make it a harmonious instrument for the soul, so long as I continued to fill it with the cells of dead animals." -- Charles Fillmore, founder of the Unity School of Christianity
''As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will always be battlefields.'' (Leo Tolstoy)
“As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. for as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.” (Pythagoras)
“Men dig their graves with their own teeth, and die more by those instruments than by all weapons of their enemies." (Pythagoras, 582 B.C. vegetarian) The world will get caught up to 582 B.C. adopting the ahimsa values of sages like Pythagoras one of these days, hopefully soon.
A Pythagorean saying quoted by several ancient sources: "A light, meatless diet sharpens one's spiritual perception, while a diet containing meat weighs the soul down." (quoted in, The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, Johan C. Thom, published by E.J. Brill)
On Abstinence from Animal Food (De Abstinentia), by Porphyry of Tyre (c. 234 – c. 305 CE), prominent Neoplatonist philosopher and a student of Plotinus:
Apollonius of Tyana, Pythagorean and Vegan:
"If any say he is my disciple, then let him add, he keeps himself apart out of the Baths [decadent public baths I believe is the cultural reference there], he slays no living thing, eats of no flesh, is free from envy, malice, hatred, calumny, and hostile feelings, but has his name inscribed among the race of those who’ve won their freedom." (Apollonius of Tyana)
Orphic Communities:
“If, however, someone should think it is unjust to destroy brutes, such a one should neither use milk, nor wool, nor sheep, nor honey. For as you injure a man by taking from him his garments, thus also, you injure a sheep by shearing it. . . . milk, likewise was not produced for you, but for the young of the animal that has it. The bee also collects honey as food for itself; which you, by taking away, administer to your own pleasure.” (Porphyry, a 3rd century AD Neo-Platonist philosopher, in, On Abstinence from Beings with a Soul)
The Laws of Manu, a Hindu scripture which is dated anywhere between 10,000 years ago in the 7900s BCE and 200CE depending on the scholar, states: “Meat cannot be obtained without injury to animals…He who does not eat meat becomes dear to men, and will not be tormented by diseases. There is no greater sinner than that man who seeks to increase the bulk of his own flesh by the flesh of other beings. … Thus having well considered the disgusting origin of meat and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh.”
A Vegetarian Saying of Jesus
There’s a very old Syriac-Aramaic manuscript of the Gospel of Luke that even predates the Syriac Peshitta called Evangelion da-Mepharreshe. It contains some “textual variants”, differs from the Greek gospel manuscripts, and the now standardized, conformist approach used by most New Testament translators. There are two surviving editions of Evangelion da-Mepharreshe, the Curetonian Version of the Four Gospels as well as the Sinai Palimpsest, also known as The Old Syriac Gospels. Evangelion da-Mepharreshe represents a translation and “one of the earliest witnesses”* of an even older collection of gospel manuscripts that no longer exist but once were “in circulation between the second and the fifth centuries”*.:
*Note: Page xviii, “Peshitta New Testament, The Antioch Bible English Translation”, Gorgias Press, discussion from the Preface about the history of the early Syriac-Aramaic manuscripts of the gospels.
“Probably the most interesting of the changes from the familiar New Testament accounts of Jesus comes in the Gospel of the Ebionites description of John the Baptist, who, evidently, like his successor Jesus, maintained a strictly vegetarian cuisine.” (Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew, pp. 102, 103)
“The consumption of animal flesh was unknown up until the great flood. But since the great flood, we have had animal flesh stuffed into our mouths. Jesus, the Christ, who appeared when the time was fulfilled, again joined the end to the beginning, so that we are now no longer allowed to eat animal flesh.” (St. Jerome, Latin name Eusebius Hieronymus, 345-420 A.D., Christian monk and scholar whose outstanding work was the production of the Vulgate, the principal and official Latin translation of the Bible)
Read for free online, The Lost Religion of Jesus: Simple Living and Nonviolence in Early Christianity, by Akers, Keith:
Vegetarian Diet: Article: Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were Vegetarians: “James was a vegetarian….” (Robert Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus) “James, the brother of the Lord, lived on seeds and plants and touched neither meat nor wine.” (Epistulae ad Faustum XXII, 3) “The Apostle Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, hard-shelled fruits, and vegetables, without flesh.” (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 2, Chapter 1) Peter said, “I live on olives and bread, to which I rarely only add vegetables.” (Clementine Homilies 12,6; also see, Recognitions 7,6) @ Medium: https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/b8784ac42506
The Dietary Divide: Vegetarianism as a Wedge Issue in First-Century Christianity, by Christopher M. Sartain:
The Bible and Vegetarianism:
Vegetarian Christian Saints,
by Holly H. Roberts:
Judaism & Veganism: The Intersection of Two Paths:
Tree of Life Foundation / Essene Order of Light (Rabbi Gabriel Cousens):
The Vegan Shul (Rabbi Akiva Gersh):
Jewish Vegan Movement -- Vegan Shabbat:
Back to Eden: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.'" — Genesis 1:29 (ESV)
Veg Saying of Jesus from Islam: Christ said, “Flesh eating flesh? How offensive an act!” - The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, by Tarif Khalidi:
The saying above reminds me of The Gospel of Thomas, Saying 112: Soul should be independent of flesh: Jesus said, “Woe to the flesh that depends upon a soul. Woe to the soul that depends upon flesh.” (The Gnostic Scriptures, Bentley Layton, David Brakke)
The Vegan Muslim Initiative:
Vegan Bahai Faith:
“The steam of meat meals darkens the spirit. One can hardly have virtue if one enjoys meat meals and feasts. In the earthly paradise [Eden], no one sacrificed animals, and no one ate meat.” (Saint Basil the Great)
The Gnostics Were Vegetarians
The vegetarian Prayer of Thanksgiving is part of the Hermetic scriptures of Egypt and is also part of the Nag Hammadi Library, the Gnostic Gospels. At the end of the prayer the final verse reads: “When they had said these things in the prayer, they embraced each other and they went to eat their holy food, which has no blood in it.”*
* “Vegetarian food” — footnote from the Marvin Meyer’s translation of this in, “The Nag Hammadi Scriptures”.
* A vegetarian meal. This passage is also found in the Epilogue of Asclepius, in “HERMETICA,” translated by Sir Walter Scott: “Having prayed thus, let us betake ourselves to a meal unpolluted by flesh [animalia] of living things.”
* The G.R.S. Mead translation of the same passage: “With this desire we now betake us to our pure and fleshless meal.”
The Vegetarian Prayer of Thanksgiving from the Gnostic Nag Hammadi Library:
Mandaean Gnostic Vegetarian Passages:
"Before him they do not offer a sacrifice, do not eat meat..." (Ginza Rabba)
"And they do not slaughter (sacrifice) before Him, nor do they eat any flesh-meat..." (another translation from the Ginza Rabba)
"Do not eat animals. Don't eat a dead one, not a standing one, not a falling one, not a pregnant one, not one that has ambushed a wild animal. Eat the flesh of the animals that come forth from the fruits of the water- have been called '). The portion of the light shall be given to the light, the portion the darkness of the darkness." (Ginza Rabba)
"The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion." (Buddha, The Mahaparinirvana Sutra )
“If a man can control his body and mind and thereby refrains from eating animal flesh and wearing animal products, I say he will really be liberated.” — The Buddha, Surangama Sutra
"Veganism is simply letting compassion guide our choice of food. As such, it is a basic Buddhist practice that ought to be expected of everyone who takes refuge vows." (Norm Phelps, The Great Compassion: Buddhism & Animal Rights)
“I fully endorse
veganism as the most humane and compassionate diet that enhances our
spiritual life. It is also the best diet for caring for the
environment.” (Dr. Jagessar Das, President of the Kabir Association
of Canada: http://www.kabir.ca )
RUMI the Sufi Poet Was Vegan:
Getting Back to Eden: “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.’” (Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1:29, New International Version)
Interfaith Vegan
Alliance:
Vegetarian Diet:
Article: Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were
Vegetarians: "James was a vegetarian...." (Robert Eisenman,
James the Brother of Jesus) “James, the brother of the Lord, lived
on seeds and plants and touched neither meat nor wine.” (Epistulae
ad Faustum XXII, 3) “John never ate meat.” (Church historian
Hegesipp according to Eusebius, History of the Church II 2:3) "The
Apostle Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, hard-shelled fruits, and
vegetables, without flesh.” (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor,
Book 2, Chapter 1) Peter said, “I live on olives and bread, to
which I rarely only add vegetables.” (Clementine Homilies 12,6;
also see, Recognitions 7,6):
https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/b8784ac42506
Vegetarian Diet:
Article: Uncovering A Vegetarian Jesus at the Beginning of
Christianity: "Now beware in yourselves that your hearts do not
become heavy with the eating of flesh and with the intoxication of
wine and with the anxiety of the world, and that day come up upon you
suddenly; for as a snare it will come upon all them that dwell on the
surface of the earth." (Jesus, Luke 21:34, from a Syriac-Aramaic
manuscript of the New Testament):
https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/9279741be7c4
Abu al-Ê¿Alaʾ al-MaÊ¿arri (973–1057) Vegan, Philosopher, Born in Syria:
“Do not unjustly eat fish the water has given up,
And do not desire as food the flesh of slaughtered animals,
Or the white milk of mothers who intended its pure draught
for their young, not noble ladies.
And do not grieve the unsuspecting birds by taking eggs;
for injustice is the worst of crimes.
And spare the honey which the bees get industriously
from the flowers of fragrant plants;
For they did not store it that it might belong to others,
Nor did they gather it for bounty and gifts.
I washed my hands of all this; and wish that I
Perceived my way before my hair went gray!”
PODCAST: Vegetarian Sayings of Jesus:
PODCAST: The Vegetarian Apostles and Scriptures of the Original Jesus Movement...& Prayers for a Vegan World:
PODCAST: Loaves Without The Fishes in Early Christian Writings:
PODCAST: The Karmic Law of the Vegetarian Diet by Hazur Baba Sawan Singh... Simran Practice... and Sach Khand:
PODCAST: The Ebionites Recognized Those in India Who Worship the One God, are Vegetarians, and Follow Ahimsa:
PODCAST: The Vegetarianism of Guru Nanak and the Sikh Scriptures:
PODCAST: Vegetarian Sayings of Jesus, Rumi, Rabia & Bawa Muhaiyaddeen in Sufi Islamic Sources:
PODCAST: World's Oldest Passages Referring to Being VEGAN:
Some Early Church
“Heresy Hunters” used to require meat-eating on Sundays as a way
to discover who the vegetarian Gnostics were in their midst! Since
Gnostics were generally vegetarians, anyone refusing to partake of
fleshly meals would be suspected of heresy:
One of the Greatest Books Ever Researching the Vegetarianism of the Jesus Movement, Authored By Keith Akers, "Disciples":
And by Keith Akers..."The Lost Religion of Jesus":
Evidence That Jesus and The Original Aramaic Christians Were
Vegetarians, By James Bean:
Early Christian Vegetarian Communities:
Also see: Sayings of Jesus (Yeshua), Ebionite (Nasoraean, Jewish or Hebrew Christian) Scriptures and Vegetarian Gospels -- Sant Mat Radhasoami Books, The E Library: Ebionite/Hebrew Christianity Section:
The Most Ancient
Pro-Vegan Scripture in the World, The Surangama Sutra of Buddhism:
@:
and @:
Vegan Diet: Youtube:
The China Study — Lecture by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.,
Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University,
describes The China Study, the most comprehensive study on health and
nutrition ever conducted. He discusses the importance of a
plant-based diet in the prevention of diseases such as cancer.
Presented to the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOEeTJY5zCM
The following is from the Yoga Shastra, a scripture of Jainism: “Non-injury to all living beings is the only religion…this is the quintessence of wisdom; not to kill anything. all breathing, existing, living sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. this is the pure unchangeable law. Therefore, cease to injure living things. all living things love their life, desire pleasure and do not like pain; they dislike any injury to themselves; everybody is desirous of life and to every being, his life is very dear.”
Sikh And You Will
Find: The Vegetarian Diet, Sikh Gurus and Scriptures, A Collection of
Passages — Some have suggested that the Sikh Scriptures are not
very clear on vegetarianism, the need to strictly adhere to a
vegetarian diet for spiritual and ethical reasons. Not so. Let’s
have a look. There are numerous vegetarian passages preserved in the
Sikh Scriptures (Adi Granth, Shri Guru Granth Sahib) and related Sikh
texts — quotes from Guru Nanak, Kabir, Guru Arjan Dev, Guru
Gobind Singh and others. I’ve also included quotes from Bhai
Gurdaas Ji and a Persian historian and scholar of comparative
religion who wrote about Guru Nanak and the early Sikhs — how
the original disciples were all vegetarians:
https://medium.com/sant-mat-meditation-and-spirituality/f66bab1f8f8d
Vegetarian Diet and
the Sikh Gurus: “The merit of pilgrimages to the sixty-eight holy
places, and that of other virtues besides, do not equal having
compassion for other living beings.” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg
136) “Do not cause pain to any creature, Go back to your Home with
honour.” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg 322) “Keep your heart content
and cherish compassion for all beings; this way alone can your holy
vow be fulfilled” (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, pg 299) Nanak abstained
from animal food and enjoined against cruelty to animals: “Having
prohibited his disciples to drink wine and eat pork, he (Nanak)
himself abstained from eating flesh and ordered not to hurt any
living being.” (Mohsin Fani, DABISTAN-E-MAZAHIB) “Countless are
the cutthroats who trade in violence. Countless are sinners who keep
on sinning. Countless are liars, wandering lost in their lies.
Countless are the impious who live on unwholesome food.” (Guru
Nanak, Jap Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 4) “You kill living beings,
and call it a righteous action. Tell me, brother, what would you call
an unrighteous action? You call yourself the excellent sage; then
whom would you call a butcher?” (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1103).
“Kabeer says, the dinner of beans and rice is excellent when
flavored with salt. Who would cut throats to have meat with his
bread?” (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1374) “Kabeer: for those who
consume marijuana, fish and wine, no matter what pilgrimages, fasts
and rituals they follow, they will all be consigned to hell”. (Guru
Granth Sahib Ji, 1377). “Do not say that the Vedas, the Bible and
the Koran are false. Those who do not contemplate them are false. You
say that the One Lord is in all, so why do you kill chickens?”
(Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib, 1350) “Telling lies, they eat dead
bodies. And yet, they go out to teach others. They are deceived, and
they deceive their companions. O Nanak, such are the leaders of
men.(Shri Guru Granth, 139)
“One who does not
steal, commit adultery, slander anyone, gamble, eat meat or drink
wine will be liberated in this very life (i.e. Jeewan Mukt)”. (Guru
Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru, Sudharam Marag Granth — Shri Guru
Gobind Singh Ji’s “Updesh” to Bhai Daya Singh ji which is
mentioned in “Sudharam Marag Granth”, and also found written in
some old handwritten volumes of Sri Guru Granth Sahib):
http://www.info-sikh.com/PageM1.html
“His Disciples, Soaked in The Bliss of Nam, gave up opium,
hashish, poppy, liquor and various other intoxicants. They would not
eat meat. They would not steal. They foreswore adultery and
deception. They Practised Saintliness.” (Sri Guru Panth Parkash):
http://namdhari.faithweb.com/panthparkash.htm
Vegetarian Diet and
the Sikh Gurus: “Living by neglect and greed, the world eats dead
carcasses. Like a goblin or a beast, they kill and eat the forbidden
carcasses of meat. Control your urges, or else you will be thrown
into the tortures of hell.” (Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Granth Sahib Ji,
723). Bhai Gurdaas Ji said: “They eat meat by cutting throats, what
will their own condition be?” (Vaar 24, Pauree 17) “To take what
rightfully belongs to another, is like a Muslim eating pork, or a
Hindu eating beef. Our Guru, our Spiritual Guide, stands by us if we
do not eat those carcasses. By mere talk, people do not earn
Liberation. Salvation only comes from the practice of truth. By
adding spices to forbidden foods, they are not made acceptable. O
Nanak, from false talk, only falsehood is obtained.” (Guru Nanak
Dev Ji, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 141) “You kill living beings, and
call it a righteous action. Tell me, brother, what would you call an
unrighteous action? You call yourself the excellent sage; then whom
would you call a butcher?” (Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 1103). “You
keep your fasts to please Allah, while you murder other beings for
pleasure. You look after your own interests, and so not see the
interests of others. What good is your word? O Qazi, the One Lord is
within you, but you do not think or contemplation on Him. You do not
care for others, you are mad about religion, this is why your life is
wasting away.” (Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, 483):
http://www.realsikhism.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1248309400&ucat=7
Also See: Cruelty
and Food Sikh Discussion:
Also See: Even More
Shri Guru Granth Vegetarian Passages — Adi Granth on Meat:
Baba Banda Singh
Bahadur (1670–1716)
“On 3rd September
1708, Guru Gobind Singh Ji administered the vows and Amrit (blessed
necter) to Madho Das, a Hindu Sadhu or ascetic, and gave him a new
name, Banda Singh. At the same time, he gave Banda Singh a Nagara
(war drum), Nishan Sahib (banner) and five arrows from his own quiver
as symbols of Authority. Banda Singh was also accompanied by five
Sikhs to assist him to build up his forces so as to repel the tyranny
of the Mughal
Empire.” — http://sikhcoin.blogspot.com/2013/05/baba-banda-singh-bahadur-1670-1716-and.html
Hukamnama (edict or
order) to the Sikhs of Jaunpur by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur on 12th
December 1710. “Ek Ongkar Fateh Darshan. Sri sache sahib ji ka
hokum hai sarbat Khalsa Jaunpur ka Guru rekhega, guru japna janam
savraega, tusi sri akal purakh ji ka khalsa ho, panj hathear banh ke
hukam dekhdiya darshan awna. Khalsae di rahet rahena, bhang, tumakoo,
hafeem, posthe, dharoo, amal koyee na hi khana, mas masheli paeaj na
hi khana, chori jari nahi karni, asa satjug vertaeya hae aap vech
pyar karna, mera hukam hae jo khalsae di rahet rahega tesdi Guru
bahori kareaga. Methi Poh 12 samvat pahela satrathes.”
English Translation
of the Hukamnama Shown Above
“Ek Ongkar Fateh
Darshan. By the order of the true king, all the Khalsa of Jaunpur
will be protected by Guru ji, Pray to the Guru for he will improve
your life. You are God’s Khalsa, wear the five weapons and on being
ordered, present yourself. You must obey the principals of the
Khalsa. You are not to consume hemp, tobacco, opium, poppy seeds or
alcoholic drinks. You are not to eat meat, fish and onions. You must
not steal. We usher in a new era, Satjug — the Age of Truth.
Love one another. This is my order, those who should live according
to the principals of the Khalsa will be protected by God. Dated 12
Poh samvat pahela 1 (= 12 December
1710)” — http://sikhcoin.blogspot.com/2013/05/baba-banda-singh-bahadur-1670-1716-and.html
#vegan, #veg,
#vegetarian, #veganism, #vegetarianism, #compassion,
