$JES 921 Book of Compassion Reverence For All Life Reference Book

Author(s): Pramoda Chitrabhanu, Pravin K Shah
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

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6. - VEGETARIANISM - A COMPASSIONATE APPROACH TO LIFE
'Reverence for Life,' reverence for the impenetrable mystery that meets us in our universe, an existence different from ourselves in external appearance yet inwardly of the same character with us Terribly similar, awesomely related. This dissimilarity, the strangeness between us and other creatures are here removed. Reverence before the infinity of life means the removal of the strangeness, the restoration of shared experiences, and of compassion and sympathy." In this way when we learn to see the animals as ourselves, we change our perception of them and become more compassionate towards them. When such an understanding dawns on us, the first change occurs in the food pattern. One then starts to observe what one puts into the body, where the soul is housed. For we know that, we are what we eat. What we eat reflects in our thinking and our thinking reflects in our action. If we want a healthy body and a healthy mind, the body should be provided with healthy and wholesome food, pure and untainted by blood and negative vibrations. One is often not aware of the fact that when one eats meat, one takes in protein as well as the chemicals that are injected into the animals to fatten them up and to control diseases and viruses. One also forgets that in flesh, the negative vibrations of pain, fear and rejection do exist, and they permeate every cell of the human body creating the feeling of fear, pain and rejection.
How does one hope to live with good feelings of health, happiness and sound mind when negative vibrations of pain blended with chemicals are working in the body? These are the causes that lead to the fatal diseases of the mind and the body. That is the reason why we see so many people suffering from psychological and physiological diseases. Statistically, approximately two million Americans die each year of which 68% are victims of the three major chronic diseases in which diet is a major contributory factor: heart disease, cancer and stroke. The foods that have been singled out for special concern in connection with these diseases are eggs, meat, poultry, sea- food, animal fat and many more. So, feeding the body with food that involves minimum of violence, environmental damage and ecological imbalance creates harmony within and harmony without.
It is good to know the statistics. It takes 273 liters of water to produce 450 grams of wheat, 1136.5 liters of water to produce 450 grams of rice and approximately 9092 to 27,276 liters of water to
THE BOOK OF COMPASSION
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