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Vegetarianism Stella agreed to arrange a visit to his memorial
I asked her, "Do you know that this unique artist like Rubens was himself a vegetarian ? Since he wanted to make immense paintings, he wanted to maintain physical fitness, so he never allowed even the meat-smell nearby him. He believed that meat was hard to digest. It made the mind and body dull. Everyday he used to work till s o'clock in the evening, then he would go for horse-riding. On returning, he would relish vegetarian food."
Jainism: The Cosmic Vision leaves and vegetables only? I think, you don't know about the concept of being a 'vegetarian'."
Stella Maria said, "It is so simple. He that eats vegetables is a vegetarian."
I said, " Vegetarian doesn't mean this. It has originated from a Greek word vegetas which means totally healthy, fresh and vigorous. It means that our food provides complete energy for the body and keeps the physique healthy. Far from being stale or stinking, it is ever fresh and gives vitality to the organism."
Stella did manage for my vegetarian food, but she was not satisfied with my definition and explanation. I asked her to have some another meeting at some other time.
She said, "Besides me, my friends Rene and Paul are as well deeply interested in it. They will also join us. They are doing research about various experiments on vegetarianism being carried out in different countries. They have also been trying some of them on themselves."
These two names alerted my attention.
Soon I told her that I wanted to see the unique paintings of Peter Paul Rubens. In fact, Rubens' paintings were another attraction for my visit to Antwarp. The house, in which this alltime great artist was born on 28th July 1517, has now been purposefully converted into a museum of his beautiful paintings. I had read very little about the life and works of this artist, but I was thrilled with the idea that I would be able to see the paintings themselves. While making his paintings, Rubens happened to be overwhelmed with so much joy that he could quickly and easily finish a painting even in serious moods and bright colours.
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She was amazed with the details I provided during the talk. I had obtained this information from the data collected by French author de Pills whose source was Phillip Rubens, painter's nephew.
Then I had a meeting with Stella, Rene and Paul. In the course of our conversation some strange issues were also raised.
Disclosing her embarrassment, she said, "I hope you will excuse me for such a querry, but if all the human beings were to turn vegetarian, I think the entire world would be overcrowed with animal beings, out-numbering the humans to a minority. Man would not have a place to stand and the earth would be a huge animal farm inhabited by sheeps and goats and hens alone.
"I think you're missing the basic issue", I said and added, "The meat requirement for the non-vegetarians is ensured by rearing the animals in the farm. Some artificial remedies are also applied so as to enhance breeding and ensure more number of animals and thereby more quota of meat ! If they are left to their natural and free way of life on this earth, their number shall diminish automatically."
