The argument about vegetarianism and vasanas
Why do Brahmins practice vegetarianism really? And not all of them do too! They are not exactly non-violent in other spheres of life...what really do these feudal residues mean anyway... one may wonder. What exactly is the traditional Indian argument about preferring vegetarian food?
Lets see, here is how I can explain it...
A google search would reveal a variety of definitions for Vasana, here is one:
vasana: (Sanskrit) "Subconscious inclination." From vas,
"living, remaining." The subliminal inclinations and habit
patterns which, as driving forces, color and motivate one's
attitudes and future actions. Vasanas are the conglomerate
results of subconscious impressions (samskaras) created
through experience. Samskaras, experiential impressions,
combine in the subconscious to form vasanas, which
thereafter contribute to mental fluctuations, called vritti.
The most complex and emotionally charged vasanas are
found in the dimension of mind called the subsubconscious,
or vasana chitta.
An argument for vegetarianism could argue that all living things, like plants and animals carry a sense of their experience that accumulate as memory and personality. Formed of the particular experience of the individual, there could be good things about these experiences or bad. Irrespective of either the goodness or badness of living beings, one could generally argue that consuming a living thing leads to a situation of consuming the vasanas of its being too. This adding to the miseries we already have, and the vasanas we already carry. In the case of grains etc, it could be argued that these do not form a part of the living body of the being, in other words vasanas follow an embodiment logic, and therefore can be consumed safely. Perhaps this is what was meant when we are told that our rishis lived on dried fruits and roots. The drying up here would indicating the perishing of the body in such a way that the vasanas are not to be found there anymore. In India, there is always an emphasis on eating vegetables that are well-cooked. This too, it is my hunch, follows from the same logic, that cooking a vegetable takes away its life in a manner so as to kill vasanas. Forbidding Onion and Garlic which sustain themselves for long periods even after being pulled out of the earth probably is based on allied thought. The Onion though can be seen as a literal metaphor as well. Days after you have cut onions, the smell lingers. Eating it too leaves a considerable amount of smell behind in our bodies.
To the question, so doesn't air carry vasanas, doesn't water carry it etc...I can only remember the emphasis on 'do not meet the eye of the stranger' caution. Apart from, of course, do not touch them, perhaps this is what led to notions of untouchability and caste. In any case, whatever vasanas we create and those that we receive from others, can be talked in terms of good and bad energy, and one can be sure that there is no running away from it all. However, if you are spiritual practitioner or a knowledge seeker/preserver (like some Brahmins were), then you would be advised to keep your energies to yourself. Suffer them for their goodness or badness, at least don't contract the energies of others that might dilute the focus of your actions, your being, your tapas and your vasanas, the Indian traditions are possibly saying. In the business of all this, love was so different, parents would touch children less or not at all after they were grown up, the elderly practiced 'madi', so that at least now they could concentrate upon keeping their minds as empty as possible, as free of unnecessary thoughts as possible perhaps, and think thoughts in the proportion required, and in the manner appropriate.
The famous quotable incident here is that of Vishwamitra eating a dog when hunger threatened to cut the connection from his body and life source. He needed the body for meditation, to preserve it is his dharma. But to eat a dog caused the problem of possibly...vasanas, but the sage knew how to cleanse himself after that. So then, there is actually no argument in the Indian traditions about an inherent preciousness to life. Life thrives everywhere, changes form all the time, varies its assortments based on what it is made of. Life and Death are nature's laws! While the Indian traditions emphasize on preserving life and not losing it foolishly or wasting its possibilities, it accepts the law of nature and has nothing wonderfully grand to say about life as would WesternChristian ethics. This is also possibly the reason why human rights and the discourse around it is such a big flop in India. Unfortunately, Martha Nussbaum uses some of the human rights arguments in a slightly less westernized version to seek equality, justice, choice-making and so on! I will soon write a critique of her essay and explain why these arguments don't resonate in the minds of Indians. Sadly, the dignity of human life remains obscure in India, but for lesser known reasons such as the economy of energies, not for any less regard for life...but for the more of such regard!
I say, you could eat what you want, really, if you could live with it!
Lets see, here is how I can explain it...
A google search would reveal a variety of definitions for Vasana, here is one:
vasana: (Sanskrit) "Subconscious inclination." From vas,
"living, remaining." The subliminal inclinations and habit
patterns which, as driving forces, color and motivate one's
attitudes and future actions. Vasanas are the conglomerate
results of subconscious impressions (samskaras) created
through experience. Samskaras, experiential impressions,
combine in the subconscious to form vasanas, which
thereafter contribute to mental fluctuations, called vritti.
The most complex and emotionally charged vasanas are
found in the dimension of mind called the subsubconscious,
or vasana chitta.
An argument for vegetarianism could argue that all living things, like plants and animals carry a sense of their experience that accumulate as memory and personality. Formed of the particular experience of the individual, there could be good things about these experiences or bad. Irrespective of either the goodness or badness of living beings, one could generally argue that consuming a living thing leads to a situation of consuming the vasanas of its being too. This adding to the miseries we already have, and the vasanas we already carry. In the case of grains etc, it could be argued that these do not form a part of the living body of the being, in other words vasanas follow an embodiment logic, and therefore can be consumed safely. Perhaps this is what was meant when we are told that our rishis lived on dried fruits and roots. The drying up here would indicating the perishing of the body in such a way that the vasanas are not to be found there anymore. In India, there is always an emphasis on eating vegetables that are well-cooked. This too, it is my hunch, follows from the same logic, that cooking a vegetable takes away its life in a manner so as to kill vasanas. Forbidding Onion and Garlic which sustain themselves for long periods even after being pulled out of the earth probably is based on allied thought. The Onion though can be seen as a literal metaphor as well. Days after you have cut onions, the smell lingers. Eating it too leaves a considerable amount of smell behind in our bodies.
To the question, so doesn't air carry vasanas, doesn't water carry it etc...I can only remember the emphasis on 'do not meet the eye of the stranger' caution. Apart from, of course, do not touch them, perhaps this is what led to notions of untouchability and caste. In any case, whatever vasanas we create and those that we receive from others, can be talked in terms of good and bad energy, and one can be sure that there is no running away from it all. However, if you are spiritual practitioner or a knowledge seeker/preserver (like some Brahmins were), then you would be advised to keep your energies to yourself. Suffer them for their goodness or badness, at least don't contract the energies of others that might dilute the focus of your actions, your being, your tapas and your vasanas, the Indian traditions are possibly saying. In the business of all this, love was so different, parents would touch children less or not at all after they were grown up, the elderly practiced 'madi', so that at least now they could concentrate upon keeping their minds as empty as possible, as free of unnecessary thoughts as possible perhaps, and think thoughts in the proportion required, and in the manner appropriate.
The famous quotable incident here is that of Vishwamitra eating a dog when hunger threatened to cut the connection from his body and life source. He needed the body for meditation, to preserve it is his dharma. But to eat a dog caused the problem of possibly...vasanas, but the sage knew how to cleanse himself after that. So then, there is actually no argument in the Indian traditions about an inherent preciousness to life. Life thrives everywhere, changes form all the time, varies its assortments based on what it is made of. Life and Death are nature's laws! While the Indian traditions emphasize on preserving life and not losing it foolishly or wasting its possibilities, it accepts the law of nature and has nothing wonderfully grand to say about life as would WesternChristian ethics. This is also possibly the reason why human rights and the discourse around it is such a big flop in India. Unfortunately, Martha Nussbaum uses some of the human rights arguments in a slightly less westernized version to seek equality, justice, choice-making and so on! I will soon write a critique of her essay and explain why these arguments don't resonate in the minds of Indians. Sadly, the dignity of human life remains obscure in India, but for lesser known reasons such as the economy of energies, not for any less regard for life...but for the more of such regard!
I say, you could eat what you want, really, if you could live with it!
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