Like many Westerners, I came to yoga for the physical benefits. In my mid-forties, I felt I was losing flexibility, or thought I would as I aged. My dear friends Mark and Janet Causey had been attending classes with Lisa Flannery at Full Moon Yoga, and they invited me to join them. In my first class, I put my body in positions I had never experienced before. Yet, once I understood what to do, my body cooperated well – except for the balancing poses. After my first class, I felt great like I had had a chiropractic adjustment or a massage. I continued taking weekly classes for months, then took an Ashtanga workshop one weekend. Ashtanga was incredibly challenging, but fabulous at the same time; I was instantly hooked. I continued taking Ashtanga classes once or twice a week as they were offered. I tried to practice in between as I could, but wanted to do more. I knew Yoga East offered classes six days a week, but the Mysore style was intimating to me, and I knew Yoga East was serious yoga. Yet, when I got serious about doing Ashtanga regularly, I made the switch to go to Yoga East.
Even before switching to Yoga East, I had the realization that yoga offered more than physical perks; there was a spiritual element that could not be denied. As I connected to the breath, the concept of yoga as union of body, mind, and spirit was very real for me. I had considered myself health conscious, but as yoga became more a part of my life, I became more conscious of my food choices. I significantly increased my vegetable intake, and my desire to eat meat went away. I chose to become a vegetarian. I connected to the idea of Ahimsa – non-harming; having always loved animals, I realized I could no longer eat animals. Sometime later, it dawned on me that if I do not eat animals because it is harmful (death) to them, I could no longer wear leather.
Over the last few years, I have felt a much deeper connection to the idea of Ahimsa in my spiritual journey, as I have become vegan. I wanted to explore the concept further, hence it is the topic of this paper - particularly in light of yoga. While vegetarianism has been the tradition for many yoga practitioners, several famous yogis see no problem with eating meat, and few yogis see the need to become vegan. As yoga has become main stream, vegetarianism is not necessarily the norm.
“Ahimsa comes from the Sanskrit verb hims which means to hurt, injure, or cause harm”. (Dayananda, 2001). Ahimsa then is to not cause pain or harm. Swami Dayananda points out that vegetarianism is based on the Vedic mandate to “do no harm”, and in addition to the ethical issues, there is evidence that human bodies are better suited for a plant based diet than a diet that includes meat. (Dayananda, 2001). Dayananda (2001) goes on to say if one does not want to be eaten by another, then one should not eat another animal.
In her article in Yoga Journal, Kate Holcombe (2015) presents a different view. Holcombe indicates she tried to be vegetarian, but when she was pregnant, became anemic and was told by her doctor to eat red meat. She states that the next sutra that follows ahimsa and the yamas in II:31 states jati desa kala samaya anavicchinna sarvabhaumah mahavratam – Patanjali says only those very rare individuals who have taken the “great vow” are able to always practice all five yamas. Patanjali goes on to say everyone else must adapt these principles to one’s individual lives and circumstances. Obviously, everyone must take care of herself/himself in the way that makes sense personally, and no one can tell another how to live. A part of ahimsa is compassion to others even when they have different views or lifestyles.
Interestingly enough, in Light on Yoga, BKS Iyengar (1993) comments on this same passage presenting a differing perspective. “The five components of yama are called ‘mighty universal vows’ as they are not confined to time class, place, time, or concept of duty. They should be followed unconditionally by everyone, and by students of yoga in particular, irrespective of origin and situation, with a reservation concerning cultural phenomena such as religious ceremonies, vows, and vocations of certain people” (Iyengar, 1993).
Ahimsa is a core value as the first of the yamas. Vegetarianism is a long held tradition for many yogis. If one believes one should not harm another individual, then how does one justify killing an animal for food, when it is not necessary for survival or health? Sharon Gannon (2008) says Pattabhi Jois stated that a vegetarian diet is a requirement for the practice of yoga. She tells of a conversation with Pattabhi Jois in which she asked him why he first refused to teach Westerners. He said “It was because they were not vegetarian. If someone is not a vegetarian, they won’t be able to learn yoga. They will be too stiff in their body and their mind”. He told her he made assumptions about Westerners, but when he learned they were vegetarians, he felt they could learn and he started teaching them.
Avoiding meat seems to be a logical progression in applying the principle of ahimsa. In addition to the killing of animals, the life of a farm animal is far from the ideal life one is led to believe. Factory farm animals have so little space that they cannot turn around or lie down comfortably. Conditions are filthy and antibiotics are given to make animals grow faster and to keep the stressed animals alive. Most factory farmed animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger or produce milk or eggs than they ever would naturally (Peta, 2016). Some chickens and turkeys have breast so large that their legs cannot support their weight. Even on organic and “humane farms” animals the outcome is still the same – death. If they do not die of disease or injury, they are slaughtered alive. (Peta; Robbins ,2011; Moran, 2015).
Americans have long been taught that milk and dairy products are necessary for calcium and a healthy lifestyle. Yet, besides lots of scientific evidence to the contrary, the dairy industry provides a horrible existence for the animals. We speak of cows giving milk, but in reality, cows give their milk to their calves, not to people.
Dairy cows suffer tremendous grief when their babies are taken away (within twenty-two to seventy-two hours from birth), often crying for days (Moran, 2015). The males that are usually taken away for slaughter or raised for veal, living in very small spaces to restrict their movement, and often malnourished and anemic, to keep their flesh light to make their meat more profitable (Robbins, 2011). Cows are kept pregnant so that they will continue to have milk. Once a cow can no longer provide milk, she is no longer valuable to the dairy farmer, so she is slaughtered.
Milk is a key part of Indian cooking, with the cow considered sacred, and her milk holding a significant role in Ayurveda. Many within the yoga tradition have felt dairy was a necessary part of their diet, with strong roots in Ayurveda. In no way do I want to criticize their culture or thousands of years of a system that has worked for so many. Certainly, folks much further on the yoga path than I have great wisdom and spirituality that I cannot even fathom. Yet even Gandhi recognized a problem with the use of another animal’s milk. His physician prescribed milk for Gandhi’s digestive issues, and Gandhi complied, but referred to his dependence on goat’s milk as ‘the tragedy of his life’ (Moran, 1997).
Talya Lutzker , a Certified Ayurvedic practioner, yoga teacher and professional chef proposes alternatives for replacing animal products in Ayurvedic cooking. Lutzker (2012) in her book The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen, says that for every milk based food in traditional Ayurveda, there is a whole food alternative that provides a similar effect on one’s dosha. Lutzker (2012) replaces milk, ghee, buttermilk, and yogurt with other nurturing foods such as coconuts, avocados, raw almonds, raw tahini, and coconut juice. She replaces honey with brown rice syrup, dates, frozen fruit juice and other natural sweeteners. While I want to honor the long held traditions of Ayurveda, I feel ethically I cannot support an industry that causes such suffering. Lutzker’s approach gives me an alternative.
The egg industry is horrible as well. Chickens are kept in cramped cages, and even “cage free” or “free range” have little meaning. There is no use for the boy chicks, so they are thrown away in bags to suffocate, or they are thrown into a meat grinder (Robbins, 2011).
As a yoga practitioner who wants to live the principle of ahimsa, I cannot support the harmfulness, and inhumane treatment of animals. I had been naïve about the dairy and egg industry for years as a vegetarian, but when I became educated about the industries, I chose to become vegan.
In her book Yoga and Vegetarianism, Sharon Gannon (2008) addresses all the yamas in light of veganism. She discusses detailed information on the horrible treatment of farm animals, and how contrary that is to ahimsa. For satya, truthfulness, she talks about how the meat and dairy industries have hidden the truth from us, and how we have bought into the lie. She talks of asteya - nonstealing- and sites how throughout history, animals have been enslaved for our use. She sites taking milk from a cow which was intended for her baby calf as a prime example of stealing (Gannon, 2008). In discussing brahmacharya, she says brahmacharya means “to respect the creative power of sex and not to abuse it by manipulating others sexually”. She tells of the abuse of animals, not only by artificial insemination, but also the sexual abuse by farm workers (Gannon, 2008). In her chapter on aparigraha – greedlessness, she says seeking the happiness at the expense of others is greed. Certainly using animals for our own desires classifies as greediness, particularly at the volume we consume. In addition to the land animals, Shannon points to the devastation of the oceans (2008).
Animal farming is also harmful to the environment. Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 % of greenhouse gases – more than the exhaust of all transportation combined (Cowspiracy, 2014). In addition, animal farming uses immense amounts of water; a dairy cow requires up to fifty gallons of water a day, and 683 gallons to produce just a gallon of milk (Peta). According to Peta, “Animals raised for food in the U.S. produce many more times excrement than does the entire human population of the country.” Runoff from factory farms is the main cause of pollution in the rivers and lakes (Peta). In addition, animal farming has been responsible for much of the deforestation.
Many speak of ahimsa in terms of not harming ourselves. Numerous studies point to animal products being linked to illness and disease. While the meat and dairy industry lobby to keep such information hidden, more and more studies show the benefits of a whole food plant based diet as preventing, and sometimes even reversing disease. The China Study (Campbell,) and How to Stop and Reverse Heart Disease (Esselstyn) ,the more recent How Not To Die (Gruger, 2015) are just a few books highlighting such studies. I became vegan for the animals as I tried to apply ahimsa to my life, and I am convinced a whole food plant based diet is the healthiest way to live.
Ahimsa involves developing an awareness in all areas of one’s life. How can I avoid harming others in thought, word or deed? How do my choices affect others and the environment?
Being vegan has been very much a spiritual experience for me. Food is spiritual, and our choices should be mindful ones. As I become more committed to living out ahimsa, I have become more compassionate, and more aware of other areas of my life to apply ahimsa. Am I supporting fair trade (rather than oppressive businesses)? Am I being a good steward of the environment? Am I taking more than I need? Do I react from emotion, or are my reactions conscious, thoughtful, and compassionate? I am certainly far from perfect, and have much work to do in many of these areas, but I feel living as vegan is helping me to examine these areas of my life as well. I feel it is an authentic expression of living my truth to love animals, and live a life of compassion.
Om Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
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