Monday, May 02, 2005
Tibetans and vegetarianism
I had mused in one of my previous blogs on the Dalai Lama's non-vegetarian lifestyle. The Dalai Lama has his own excuses for eating meat, however unconvincing they are!
I came across what came closest as a reason why so many Tibetans are non-vegetarians. In the book Aghora II: Kundalini, Swami Vimalananda mentions that the mantra "OM MANI PADME HUM" chanted by the Tibetans "inflames the fire in their bodies. This is good for them because they live in a cold country and have very little food to eat, so a strong internal fire keeps them warm. Those who have plenty of food available to them however tend to develop an obsessive desire for food."
There are some Tibetan sites, and - I would extrapolate - preachers too, that propagate chanting the mantra to counter balance the karma involved in eating meat. From Vimalananda's prespective, this does not seem very valid. But then as Vimalananda says, Tibetans probably are "not perfected yogis".
Talking of the Aghora series of books, this is a good read if not anything else just for curioisity purpose. Aghora III: The Law Of Karma however is a must for everyone. It is a very practical and reading it makes one aware of how to lead a life with minimal self-identifying karma.
He works best who works without any motive, neither for money, nor for fame, nor for anything else.
I had mused in one of my previous blogs on the Dalai Lama's non-vegetarian lifestyle. The Dalai Lama has his own excuses for eating meat, however unconvincing they are!
I came across what came closest as a reason why so many Tibetans are non-vegetarians. In the book Aghora II: Kundalini, Swami Vimalananda mentions that the mantra "OM MANI PADME HUM" chanted by the Tibetans "inflames the fire in their bodies. This is good for them because they live in a cold country and have very little food to eat, so a strong internal fire keeps them warm. Those who have plenty of food available to them however tend to develop an obsessive desire for food."
There are some Tibetan sites, and - I would extrapolate - preachers too, that propagate chanting the mantra to counter balance the karma involved in eating meat. From Vimalananda's prespective, this does not seem very valid. But then as Vimalananda says, Tibetans probably are "not perfected yogis".
Talking of the Aghora series of books, this is a good read if not anything else just for curioisity purpose. Aghora III: The Law Of Karma however is a must for everyone. It is a very practical and reading it makes one aware of how to lead a life with minimal self-identifying karma.
He works best who works without any motive, neither for money, nor for fame, nor for anything else.
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