________________
YOGA AND MEDITATION
147
on Jambūdvīpa (our present earth). What we eat has a huge influence on our psychology, and that is why vegetarianism is an absolute precondition for the practice of yoga, and one is supposed to eat sattvic, i.e. ‘wise' food. Excessive, fatty, spicy food or foods of a bad quality, such as leftovers and meals that are prepared with indifference should be avoided. Milk and diary products are however regarded as “vegetarian" by the Jains, and they call it “the nectar of Mother Cow.” But the cows are not milked mechanically. One allows the calf to drink first, or takes care that enough milk is left for it. A Jain has a friendly relationship with his cattle, and the cow generously gives the milk she doesn't need for the calf; and if she doesn't want to give milk she just jumps away.
Our food determines our psychology, and our psychology influences our meditations and mental activities. Jains feel that non-vegetarians are selfish by nature, greedy, impatient, cruel, and without compassion - that is what the Jains think, but not say. Such people pay attention to their own satisfaction and to their own sufferings only, and are not interested in those of others. This mentality can induce someone can become inclined to kill other living beings for the sake of his own palate and food.
It can be argued that plants are living beings as well, and that one can not eat them without killing them. But the Jains teach that the jīva – the soul - leaves a corn grain when it has ripened and dried (after an incubation period, when germinating, a new soul has entered the grain; hence, Jains do not consume germinated seeds). Fruits fall off by nature or can easily be taken when ripe. If one picks parts of a plant, such as, a number of leaves, this does not kill the plant. On the contrary it stimulates its growth and thus produces a higher yield and produces enough seeds. Jains who take their religion seriously do not take tubers or bulbs, because this kills the whole plant. Thus one develops the right mentality for meditation through compassion and caring for other lives.
One should constantly remember the twelve subjects of reflection. These are: 1. the evanescence and shortness of
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
