Gandhi Before Gandhi

Author(s): Bipin Doshi, Priti Shah
Publisher: Jain Academy Educational Research Center Promotion Trust Mumbai

Page 129

GANDHI BEFORE GANDHI
New York that the price of cotton has fallen fifty percent. When he opens the telegram and reads it, and if you feel his pulse you will find that there is a very great change in the state of his pulse, although he has done nothing except reading a few words on a piece of paper. If this is the effect of the mind upon the
physical state of the human being, what would be the effect upon the animal, of the knowledge that it was to be killed?
right rules of diet in the beginning in order to avoid any kind of artificial medicines later on. There are intellectual and moral reasons which are of more importance. Those who take animal food are not superior to those who live on vegetables. Animal food creates animal instincts. It is necessary not to increase these instincts by taking in animal food. Rather our mental and moral natures should command our physical body. The animals whose flesh we eat live on vegetables and the animal character and propensities are added to the vegetable, it is not well therefore the human being to take, that kind of food, when these animal qualities have been added to it.
INSIS
Besides this, the animals which are eaten are given the elements which are injurious and these are assimilated into their systems. The physical impurities, the injurious hormones and ethers of an injurious nature are always present in animals which are especially raised for the purpose of food. The turkey is fed with food, and is made fat and plump. To try the same experiment with the human being, it would produce a state of body which you can all imagine. If we eat something which is not necessary for us we know that the result will be injurious, and that is the experience of all people in all countries of the world.
In India when a deep philosophical subject is discussed, the masses understand at once without asking a single question, and even the streetsweeper too understands these questions better than the missionary who is sent to convert him. No intelligent person would stick to this habit when he realizes various facts about animal food, he will come to the conclusion that animal food is not designed for human beings. It certainly is a cause of many diseases. Cancer is caused by meat-eating. The heart of vegetarians is healed sooner than those of flesh-eaters.
In the West people argue about cold climate, non availability of vegetarian food, higher nutritive values of non vegetarian diet but they miss out the focus on the moral, mental and spiritual aspects of food.
In more ancient times the life was simpler, but now the discovery of all these different medicines for curing dyspepsia shows that people are suffering from this disease. In this country, we know that there are so many kinds of pills and medicines used. We even have those in India now. These things show that not only in America but in all the countries of the world we have to recourse to artificial means for necessary nutrients because people are not aware of right rules of diet. It is better to follow the
With the Jain communities, there are many rules which are not observed by other people in India. One is not to take any food after sunset, because the beneficial influence of the sunlight is withdrawn. Of course, there are other reasons, based on occult science, for not taking food after sunset. Jains also do not eat various other kinds of food like underground vegetables as they are considered to have infinite souls in it and they also
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