History Forum / General / General Topics / June 2006

Insofar as the question of consuming eggs is concerned let me elaborate
this way:-

1.

Grains like fruits, leaves & stem are 'PARTS' of plant which with the
efflux of time start maturing and fall off the plant. They are
considered as organs. In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of
the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically,
it is the part of the carpel, which holds the ovule(s) and is located
at the basal portion of the flower. After pollination, the ovary will
grow into the fruit, while the ovule(s) become the seed(s).

True this is part of natural reproductive process. But, all the food
habits as prescribed in Hindu Scriptures have a very scientific &
essentially a spiritual reason. The main purpose is to focus on God -
introspecting every moment whether God is at the center of all our
activities? For this and also it is scientifically proved that what we
eat has influence over our thinking abilities & on our attitude &
behaviour. Hence aahar shuddhi (clean diet) is prescribed for vichar
shuddhi (clean mind & soul).

When a hen lay eggs & as also for other animals the reproduction is
done by mating process. Though a natural process, there is kaam vaasna
or lust essentially involved in that process. Again the main reason
being all these life forms have blood flowing in them which caries the
lust hormones secreted by our body. Even we have experienced this lust
in our previous births. We do not remember as only atma is eternal &
not body and hence we can have knowledge of only atma gyan or inner
spiritual knowledge.

The pollination amongst plants involves least lustful quality/desires,
since blood is absent and importantly the wind & flying insects like
bees are carriers of the polination fertile eggs, unlike as in case of
other life forms.

This is the only reason why many sages & rishis then & now live only on
milk & minimum consumption of fruits and avoiding grains altogether.
Also during fasting an attempt is made to avoid food altogether & if
one has to eat, he/she can eat only such food which are grown without
ploughing - reason being our body should get minimum minerals so as to
lessen production of semen & ovarian eggs & thus try & reduce & cutoff
from desires to link oneself with God.

All the practices in Hinduism are with the sole intention to remove
desires & vaasnas.

2.

Once egg is laid it has to mature & a life will come out of it. The
shell of egg is the womb provided by nature to the little one inside,
which is like womb of mother (humans) for embryos to develop to fetus
to an unborn developed child. Now poultry has become a serious
commercial business. Hence, for our selfish gains & taste we forcibly
make hen lay eggs against nature. These eggs do not hatch chicken. They
decompose after a longer time. The reason being process involved is
injecting hen with certain hormones and also feeding them special
hybrid fertility inducing seeds which delivers a dead chicken (similar
to still born child / miscarriage cases). Thus process uses, over-uses
and abuses the ovary of hen and a dead child is born. Its so depressing
to even write about it. Mankind has made hen a manufacturing machine of
miscarried chicken. Just imagine someone forcing your wife or sister to
produce time & again dead children from her womb.

This is the concept of ahimsa we bear in our minds before deciding our
food.

3.

Also, in every country there are minimum dietary norms specified for
poultry farming & animal husbandry. These birds & animals - are born
not naturally but 'produced' with commercial intentions and are not
part of nature's 'own' habitat. The amount of grains & grass fed
to them during their life time is so much. Then again they are not fed
left-overs - its after all a big business to commercially produce
their food. All this boil downs to food of just one person for one
time. A chicken or a goat fed for life till its adult age is
slaughtered to become one time lunch for just one family!!! Imagine the
quantum resources would be freed if the world stops non-veg consumption
- so much of grains getting available for poor, so much of fertile
land available for cultivation of healthy fruits & nuts, so much of
investment available for charitable purposes!!!

4.

A Hindu lunch or dinner concept is not entirely based on grains
altogether. Major portion of it is vegetables, nuts, fruits & milk.
These products do not involve loss of life. They grow on plants & even
if they are not consumed, they fall off the plant/tree when they ripe.
Grains involve harvesting of crops, hence to that extent, yes, it
involves loss of life. But then a single crop bears so many grains!! So
for one time meal of one Hindu person, maximum 1 or 2 crops are
sufficient. But for a chicken-meat eater in addition to the killing of
one hen, it takes life of so many crops fed to the hen till it got
killed!!! Now imagine who's more cruel to nature & other life-forms?