http://www.nytimes.com/201
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My thoughts on this subject:
I routinely offer a workshop called “Yoga for Lunch” .. where I prepare a rich and fragrant vegetarian meal. Otherwise, Yoga is one of six philosophies. No where does it advocate a purely vegetarian diet except for the spiritually pure, or those who strive towards a wholly spiritual life. Ayurveda – Yoga’s health system – suggests meat for every body type.
Meat eating was essential in the ‘youth’ of humanity – when life was rajasic, or “action, activity” – when survival called for building bulk, potency and verve to meet the demands of daily life. For those who seek a sattvic life – “equilibrium, self-responsible for health and contentment within body and mind, conscious and aware” – to live gently within themselves and upon the earth, a vegetarian diet is a first step, if not essential to realization.
In 1998 the sun passed close to the galactic center, and will do so again in 2012. There are those who feel this ‘window’ of time is indicative of humanity moving towards a place of consequence of its collective consciousness. Likewise, these same individuals feel that world events – human and geophysical / weather – is further evidence that time is accelerating towards a particular point of awakening and awareness. So it is that many at this time feel compelled to embrace these last few years with full sattvic consciousness, because we are all living within a moment of great rapidity – rushing towards a .. a pause, a stillness, a quiet centeredness. As such, how one deals with such information is paramount to how one will live through that moment in time. Therefore, for many, embracing a vegetarian diet is simply a way to raise their sattvic vibrational level to better match the increased energy of the greater galaxy around us.
Again, Yoga does not advocate a vegetarian diet for everyone. Those who practice Yoga with a sattvic aim, become vegetarians. Meat and cheese, according to Ayurveda, are considered sandra, “dense”, meaning they increase the compactness of the body, making one more grounded. So that if a Vata bodytype were to eat meat and cheese, they would feel stable. The firmness, density and strength of muscle is Kapha (another bodytype), so this will increase in those who eat meat or cheese.
Just as the body carries a genetic tendency, so does the mind carry khavaigunya, “space-defective, weakening”, or a tendency towards a weakness within the body that comes from the mind. Modern science has shown this to be true (reference my wall post and link on “epigenetics”). So that if one's family ate meat, then one is more prone to meat cravings, for example. In India, there are generations of families that have never ate meat, unlike here in America. So transitioning to a vegetarian diet can be challenging for the average individual if its not already part of their genetic make-up, or stemming from an innate spiritual inclination.
Certainly, Yoga has become something different from its ancient Indian ‘parent’, but, such is the nature of every child. Yoga in America is an exploratory journey, one that fully captures the American spirit of adventure and discovery. In India, for example, Yogins are spiritual souls, divinely inspired men and women who forsake the world to wander homeless. In the States, that’s called a ‘bum’. In India, it is commonplace to encounter Yogins and Swamis who are spiritual guides and wise counselors on every aspect of life and living. In the States, one pays hundreds of dollars to attend weekend ‘intensives’ with such souls. In India, one practices what one preaches, so being ‘more yoga than thou’ is a foreign concept. In the States, it seems that Yoga teachers and students compete with each other over who is better at meditation or a particular asana, or a vegetarian, or has a singular guru, or is wearing the latest Yoga fashion item. Yes .. Yoga in America is akin to a child, exploring the Yoga landscape, reaching an understanding of self through and in Yoga. A few more decades and I imagine our childhood will give way to maturity and such matters will no longer be topics, but relics of our youth.
AUM Peace!
Yogini Valarie Devi
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