Spiritual Code and Restraints

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 48

materials like food or drinks is known as Bhog, while that of durable materials like home, furniture, clothes, vehicles etc. that can be repeatedly used, is known as Upabhog. People generally tend to make use of consumable or durable materials without thinking whether they are necessity or worthwhile. The purpose of this restraint is to restrict such indiscriminate use.
Restricting the use of durable goods can be accomplished by laying limitations on possessions as required under the fifth restraint. This restraint therefore mainly deals with the articles of food and with some trades and occupations that involve too much violence.
Every use directly or indirectly involves some degree of violence. Religious strictures are intended to avert such violence to the utmost possible extent. For this purpose, we have first to consider whether the use that we make is necessary or unavoidable. Then we have to examine the intensity or degree of violence that such use would involve and consider whether our purpose can be served by making use of other material that may involve lesser degree of violence. Since this restraint is primarily concerned with consumption of food articles, let us first examine these aspects in light of our requirements of food.
As long as we live, we need food for maintaining the body and its energy. The major ingredients that we need for this purpose are protein, carbohydrates and fats, though we also need vitamins, certain salts and some trace elements. The three major ingredients we can get from animal kingdom or vegetable kingdom. Animal products involve depriving the animals of their lives, while vegetable products involve full or partial destruction of plant life. In this connection, it is worthwhile to point out that the intensity of violence depends upon the nervous system of the victims. As such, depriving animals of their lives obviously involves greater degree of violence than cutting or uprooting the plants. Since all the ingredients that we need, can be procured from the plant life, it is clear that we should not resort to food derived from animal life. So our primary criterion should be to stay away from taking food that contains meat, fish etc. and restrict ourselves to the vegetarian diet.
The exception was made for the dairy products, because procuring milk does not involve deprival of life. Moreover, milk-giving cows and buffaloes were humanely treated and were not sent to slaughter house, when they stopped giving milk. Besides, the calves were carefully reared because they were useful in farming and transportation. The conditions have totally changed by now. The modern dairy industry does not extend humane treatment and does not afford to maintain the animals, which stop giving milk. Moreover, calves are no longer required for farming etc. and are generally sent to slaughter houses. As such, treating dairy products as part of the vegetarian meal needs to be reexamined.
Even the vegetable product of every type does not involve the same degree of violence. We have therefore to use discrimination in that regard. Since the plants usually grow out of seeds, the degree of such violence can be considered in proportion to the fertile seeds that we directly or indirectly happen to destroy. Take the instance of the berries of Banyan or Pipal tree. Every such berry contains almost uncountable number of seeds and