The Real (Spiritual) Reason to Not Eat Meat that I See No One Talk About
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Quit judging and thinking meat-eaters are not “spiritual”
One of the funniest incidents of being a vegetarian in my life is this:
At 15-years-old, I went on an educational trip to Nice, France to stay with a family and learn about the French culture, I was asked what I’d like for dinner.
This was my first day at their home. Our hosts obviously wanted to ensure we had a good meal. But knowing that I was a vegetarian, they were perplexed, to say the least.
The family had two children — a boy and a girl. The (older) boy gave different meat options to both of my friends, who, being hearty meat-eaters, were excited to taste dishes that they’d never heard of before!
After the non-veg menu was decided, the boy turned to me and asked (albeit through gestures; I was still picking up the French language) “And what would you like?”
After a couple of word exchanges aided by Google Translate, we decided upon Broccoli. Just Broccoli. That was my dinner! Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to the meal.
When the time came for dinner, I’d accepted the fact that I’m going to eat only Broccoli for dinner. But no. My hosts had their own plans. Since they didn’t have enough Broccoli, they gave me a platter of sliced tomatoes, which was the one vegetable I hated at that point in my life!
As I ate the tomatoes while maintaining a fake smile, my friends savored the pork and the butter and whatnot.
Ever since then, my friends remind me of the consequences of being a vegetarian and try to convert me to the “good side where there’s more variety.” I decline every time, with a made-up reason like “meat doesn’t suit me,” or “it’s not good for the planet or animals.”
And while those reasons do make sense, there’s a deeper reason that I find hard to explain to others.
The Real Reason to Not Eat Meat
There’s a deeper spiritual reason behind not eating meat which you’ll hear from anyone who is sensitive to energy and is on a spiritual quest.
It’s not about paleo or no paleo, vegetarianism, veganism, animal rights, science, or ideologies. It’s about higher awareness and energetic sensitivity.
As you start to become more aware of your energy and inner world, you start to notice things that others don’t. This is just a natural consequence of a rise in consciousness.
I’ve seen many meat-eaters leave meat after having developed this inner awareness. The simple realization such people have is simple —
When you eat an animal, you’re not only consuming the flesh but its consciousness.
The last emotion of every animal when being slaughtered is that of fear, anger, and aggression. Imagine a cow who’s being kept in a shed large enough only to cover its body and fed unnatural food just to make it bigger and fatter for more beef. How do you think they feel when they know that they’re being fed to be killed?
By eating that animal, you take its negative emotional energy inside you. Most people can’t feel any difference because they likely have been doing it since childhood. But again, when you feel it, you won’t eat it.
Meat ≠ Spiritual?
All that said, it’s not that meat-eaters can’t be spiritual. Spiritual development isn’t binary — it has levels and gradations.
You can eat meat and be the most loving person. You can eat nothing but fruits and be a horrible person. It’s more than your diet.
However, just like an Olympic runner will do even the smallest thing if it helps him improve, the spiritual seeker will also make such small changes to nudge him in the right direction.
Since many of us have been conditioned to eating meat, it can take time to quit it. When one of the disciples of Paramahansa Yogananda wasn’t well, he advised him to eat a little chicken once a week since his body was not habituated to quit it.
He also said that if one needs to eat meat, he should go for chickens, lambs, or fish rather than beef or pork since the latter have a higher consciousness. The higher the consciousness of an animal, the more negative emotions he’ll feel while being killed.
Aren’t plants alive too?
Many of my friends pose this argument to justify their meat-eating habits. But when we look at it from the energy point of view, we clearly see the difference.
Plants do not have blood, a heart, organs, a brain, or a nervous system like most animals. They don’t have a consciousness high enough to have those negative emotions when they’re uprooted.
Final Thought
With all that said, I don’t want to make anyone feel guilty about eating meat. It’s fine. When people start on a spiritual quest, they don’t give up meat as a prerequisite.
Instead, as they advance in their own meditation practices, they find their desire for meat (and other “pleasures of life”) fall away. It’s completely natural to one who has experienced it.
To someone who hasn’t felt it, it’s hard to explain. Maybe you find this whole post useless.
So the final takeaway is this — be more aware of your body. Listen to it and see what it tells you. If you feel the need to quit meat, do it for some time to see how it feels. It’s all about experimentation that makes your body fit.
There’s no need to eat certain foods just to be “spiritual” while doing damage to your body. As your consciousness expands, everything in your life will change to accommodate that inner change — that includes your dietary choices as well.
My job is not to judge you. For by doing that I do myself harm. My job is to get you to think and make the right choice. Don’t make a decision based on what others do around you. Think this one out for yourself. And whatever you decide at the end, I’m sure will be in your best interest.