Generation Gap

Author(s): Dada Bhagwan
Publisher: Dada Bhagwan Foundation

Page 28

contain life. The egg has a potential for life, but people have misconstrued this and taken advantage of it. One should never eat eggs. When children eat eggs, elements of passion and restlessness are introduced into their body, which will then lead to loss of control and discrimination. Pure vegetarian food is good for you even when eaten raw. Doctors may tell you to include meat in your diet, but they cannot be blamed because they act according to their understanding and intellect. But you are responsible for your own spiritual development. We have to look after our own spiritual development (P.130)
One parent complained to me about his children eating meat, I ask him whether he ate meat, he said he did sometimes and he would also occasionally drink alcohol. I told him that his children would stop when he stops. What do you expect from the children when they see their own father doing it? They think it is good for them to eat meat and drink alcohol since their father does it.
I asked the children if they get upset when they cut vegetables or fruits and they said they did not. Then I asked them if they would be able to cut a goat or a chicken and they categorically replied that they would not able to do so.
So you can only eat things that you can cut without hesitation. You must not eat things your heart will not accept, otherwise the effects will be detrimental and the resultant parmanoos will have an adverse effect on the heart. The children accepted and
understood this and became vegetarians. (P.131)
Someone once asked George Bernard Shaw the playwright, why he did not eat meat and he replied: "My body is not a graveyard! It is not a cemetery for chickens. I want to be a civilized man." (P.132)
Questioner: Is it all right to feed magas (a heavy and rich sweetmeat made with a lot of ghee) to the children?
Dadashri: No, you should not feed magas to children. Magas or any such heavily fat-laden sweets cannot be given to the children. Children's diets should be kept simple. Even their milk intake should be limited. People keep stuffing their children with dairy products. Such foods promote passion and excitement in children. Even at the age of twelve, a child will begin to have sexual thoughts. You should give your child the kind of diet that will decrease such hyperactivity. Children have no idea about all this. (P.132)
Questioner: If we suspect that our child is stealing, should we allow him to continue because we do not want to say anything?
Dadashri: You should express your disapproval on the outside, but from within, you should maintain equanimity and remain undisturbed. You should not be ruthless towards him if he steals. If you lose equanimity, you will become merciless. The entire world becomes merciless. (P.135)