Huzur Baba Sawan Singh: The Karmic Law of the Vegetarian Diet
Sawan Singh: "I must point out that animal food, even if a single particle is eaten, is detrimental to spiritual progress." (Spiritual Gems, Letter 21)
"A human being cannot comprehend the existence of God and His creation until he has succeeded in getting his soul free from the bondage of the five Tattwas, the twenty-five Prakritis, the three Gunas, Maya and Mind — all of which are enveloping it here — until he has emancipated his soul from every one of these errors and taken it beyond the sphere of mind and intellect, and opened his internal vision. Only then is the soul able to know itself and understand what it is made of.
"After that, it becomes fit to seek its Creator and to find out the ocean from which it originally descended, as well as the means to regain it. Consequently, before a disciple has succeeded in getting rid of these chains, it shall be sufficient for him to know that this world can be divided into two parts, land and water.
"The creatures of water live upon each other. Nature has not provided them with any other means of subsistence. Big fish are eating the little ones, etc. The same holds true of the land. Lions and tigers eat up wolves and jackals. The latter subsist on the meat of sheep, goats, etc. They, in turn, eat plants. Hawks eat smaller birds. Birds eat insects, and men eat most every form of life, so far as climate and special circumstances of their own countries permit.
"Every grain, every plant, has life in it. Hindu philosophy has acknowledged this fact since very ancient times. Dr. Bose has demonstrated this fact to the European world by his experiments, showing that plants feel and breathe, and have souls. If a ray of light is allowed to penetrate a dark room, the microscope reveals numberless germs floating in the air of that room. The whole room seems to be full of this germ life. When we breathe, these tiny creatures go inside of us and die. When we walk, numberless creatures are killed by contact with us, and countless others are crushed beneath our feet. The same is true when we drink water. The microscope reveals myriads of tiny creatures in a tumbler of water; and these we drink to their death every day. Souls would appear to be literally packed together in all space in our world. If we put down a needle point on the earth, countless germs may be found beneath its point.
"And so, in our world, life is everywhere destroying life. In such a world where one creature is eating up another, it is impossible to expect either justice or peace of mind. (There is no rest or security anymore.) Therefore, when the ancient sages found that in this world creatures were destroying each other, they decided it was better to give up the world. They found that in such a world there could be no peace of mind, and it was impossible to attain bliss until and unless the soul breaks away from the bonds which have kept it enchained; and that it was folly to regard the pleasures of this world as a means to happiness, because they lead to hell and further bind the soul with Karma and dirt.
"They determined that it was impossible to find peace of mind in any worldly object, and that happiness lies within man himself and that ocean of which he is a drop. Therefore, the Sages thought, as long as they were confined in the prison of this world, they would adopt the course which was the least harmful; they would subsist on creatures the killing of which was the least sinful. They discovered that all living beings of this world could be divided into classes as regards the composition of their bodies and the number of elements they contain. By elements they did not mean the ninety or so elements discovered by modern scientists, but the main conditions or divisions of matter.
"There are five such classes of substances. According to their classification, under class one, came all of those creatures in whom all five of these substances are active, that is, man. In the next class came those in which only four substances are active and one dormant, and that is quadrupeds. In them there is no sense of discrimination, because in them the Akash Tattwa is dormant. In the third class fell creatures in which only three substances are active, namely air, water, and fire. They are birds. They lack earth and Akash. The fourth class is made up of insects, in which only two substances are active, air and fire. Then comes the last class, the fifth, in which only one element or substance is active, that is, the vegetable world. In them, water is the only active element. Experts have proved that, in many vegetables, there is as much as ninety-five percent water. When the creatures of the other four classes are killed or injured, they cry out in pain, but not so the vegetables, though they have life. So the Sages concluded that the eating of vegetables was the least sinful, (the least burdened with karma). Although the eating of vegetables produced some karma, yet it was of a light nature, which could be easily worked off by spiritual exercises. They thus chose the course of least resistance, and so abstained from the killing of other forms of life.
"The method of practice of the Sound Current is the only method by which to escape this jail into which we are born. This method is natural, and it was not designed by man. It is as old as the beginning of creation. The Creator is ONE, and therefore the Way to reach Him is ONE, and it is in the interior of every human being. It is incapable of alteration, modification, addition, or improvement. Man is to reach the ocean of his Origin by means of ascending the Sound Current, irrespective of any caste, creed, nationality, or sex. It is a practice for the awakening of powers within us. By slow degrees, our souls will emerge from the grave of the body or vacate it. In the body there are nine openings through which the soul communicates with this world, and these the soul learns to close and to fix its attention at the back of the eyes. Then it begins to traverse higher planes. When it attains Turya Pad (astral), it will acquire control over the mind, senses, lust, anger, avarice, attachment, and egotism. At present the soul is under the control of mind, which itself is under the control of the senses. When we gain the astral, after leaving the material, the soul gains control over the mind. When we get beyond the astral and the heavens and hells which are within the astral, all of these are left behind. The soul will then hold these in contempt, and then it will go to Brahm Lok, or the Causal plane, which contains Mukti, or Salvation planes.
"Brahm is also the servant of Par-Brahm. Therefore, leaving Brahm, the soul should go to the ParBrahm, where it will be freed from all its shackles. On reaching Par-Brahm, all the material, astral, and causative coverings of mind and matter that envelope the soul are removed. Then the soul is pure spirit. This is self-realization. Here there is no form, no cover, no shape, no youth nor old age — only the soul, shining in its pure radiance —a drop of existence, knowledge, and bliss, capable of comprehending the Great Ocean, its Creator. Now the drop tries to reach and mingle with the Ocean.
"So, it is here, in Par-Brahm, that one begins to realize the full significance of Sant Mat. Hence, the only medicine for all of our ailments is the practice of the Holy Sound together with the Master’s spiritual help and guidance. The Master is not a body only. He is the Power which guides and helps us at every stage and in every region during our inward spiritual journey. When we are in the physical body, He instructs us in His physical form. When we go inward to the Astral Planes, He is in the Astral Form, and, as we proceed further, He assumes the form of each region all the way up to Sach Khand (our true home)."
-- Huzur Baba Sawan Singh -- Published by Ruhani Satsang
