________________
162
food into three kinds, and not, as Western scientists do, into two, saying that there is one kind which is nitrogenous and another which is non-nitrogenous, meaning simply the elements necessary for the support of the human body. We say that there are three kinds, one having the property of passivity aud purity, another having the property of activity, and the third having that of grossness; and we make these three divisions because we wish to take into consideration the moral influences of the food. When we eat of a certain kind of food, it may be nutritious so far as the physical part of the body is concerned, but at the same time it may create peculiar enanations from the body which would lower us so far as our moral nature is concerned. Therefore, notwithstanding its nutritious character, we will avoid that kind of food because it is according to our philosophy, of the third kind, having grossness. It may be nutritious, but it may excite the passions, may stimulate and therefore hurt us. The scientists also will say the same thing, but they would say that we should eat that kind of food because it stimulates the palate and therefore does not injure health. Everything is to be judged, from your standpoint of healthy food, simply by its effect on the physical organism. But when we take into consideration the influence of that food on other beings besides ourselves we must take into consideration the nature
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org