my meal is not worth your life!!!

When I tell someone that I am a vegetarian the first question I get is, "is it by religion???" My answer is "yes and no, yes because I am a Hindu and Hinduism advocates Vegetarianism, no because I am not a Brahmin and no one insists me to remain a vegetarian." In fact, I am a vegetarian by my choice and conviction. I am a converted vegetarian, who enjoyed all kinds of food till I was 18. My parents were vegetarians and when I started realising that cooking non-vegetarian food for us was not really comfortable for them, the first stir of emotion rippled in me. Kind of hesitation like being given food in separate plate and washing with separate sponge, keeping the cooking vessel and plates separately. Being a teenager, this made me to think of being treated differently. Not parents' fault, just my thinking when blood was young and boiling :-). Later during my degree I happened to be a member of nature club and used to write articles and poems for its magazines and came across 'People for Animals' by Maneka Gandhi. After reading so many articles against the cruelty towards animals and how ill treated their souls and bodies are when taken to the butchery made me to think that their lives are of much worth than my meal. I wrote to Maneka and she replied to continue to work in my region and fight against the cruelty towards animals. I was thrilled and excited but couldn't go into much of the social activities in between balancing the academic work. One fine day when I was not feeling well, I felt having non-veg and told my mom. She prepared in her usual tasty manner and I had it mindful , stomach full and soulful and decided that its the last time I am having it. In one day I could conquer my mind, thoughts, body and quit being a non-vegetarian. I started feeling much better, lot of lethargy disappeared, body started feeling light and I knew I liked it.

When I see documentaries on how people are struggling to rescue animals I really feel like laughing. How many chicken might have lost its life just for those people's meal ?? And how can one life be better than another life??Isn't the pain of losing one's life same for all the beings?? And when losing life, wont the animals have adrenaline rush?? Wont the adrenaline remain in its dead body and reach the people while having the food?? I am not trying to say that one is good and one is bad or one gives human longevity and other one doesn't.

Biologically, all that goes into human as dead becomes a part of living body and excretes out of body as a non living and again goes into nature become part of a living creature and when it is killed/dead become part of another one's diet....and this cycle continues. This is the inevitable cycle of nature. We humans have the choice of selecting what should be the source of new cells in our body.

World, I am not arguing over whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet is good. Please stop pouncing over me with questions and putting forth your reasons that one is better than the other. Its just a humble being's choice and reasons to remain a vegetarian just because she thinks that her meal is not worth another being's life!!!