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| What about Spirituality? |
Another frequent objection to the eating of meat among those who would aspire to lofty heights
of piety and reverence is that such a diet drags one away from spirituality and down to the
wickedness of the body.
Suppose that we contemplate, for a moment, the spirituality of a mountain lion versus that of a
cow. Which is the more ethereal being, the falcon or the chicken? Are mice and rabbits in some
way more cosmic than foxes?
These comparisons are useless, for spirituality, by its very essence, is not measured by any
standards of the material world. It’s easy to imagine a baron, or perhaps a Samurai, with deeper
devotion to the divine quest than a peasant mucking about in a pig pen. But in actuality, the dirt
farmer is just as likely to have attained the beatific vision as the mighty warrior. That is because
the ranks of mortals are not the same as the echelons of saints.
That said, it is important to realize that one’s physical reality is intensely woven with the
spiritual. The farmer who does not love the earth, the flocks and herds, and the weather, is as
unlikely to have attained transcendent awareness as the warlord who views himself as evil,
courage as vanity, and who has no respect beyond fear for the sword and the enemy.
I found it fascinating to learn that, in India, some of the great gurus prefer to meditate while
seated on the skin of a tiger.
There is a certain vanity to our discussing spirituality. Each of us knows, has known, or will
know subjective manifestations of transcendence. We tend to agree that the subject is not
physical, mental or emotional. But we must admit that any awareness, comment upon or study of
the spiritual depends on exactly those factors.
Without a living body, complete with feeling and intelligence, the experience of spirituality
remains moot.
of piety and reverence is that such a diet drags one away from spirituality and down to the
wickedness of the body.
Suppose that we contemplate, for a moment, the spirituality of a mountain lion versus that of a
cow. Which is the more ethereal being, the falcon or the chicken? Are mice and rabbits in some
way more cosmic than foxes?
These comparisons are useless, for spirituality, by its very essence, is not measured by any
standards of the material world. It’s easy to imagine a baron, or perhaps a Samurai, with deeper
devotion to the divine quest than a peasant mucking about in a pig pen. But in actuality, the dirt
farmer is just as likely to have attained the beatific vision as the mighty warrior. That is because
the ranks of mortals are not the same as the echelons of saints.
That said, it is important to realize that one’s physical reality is intensely woven with the
spiritual. The farmer who does not love the earth, the flocks and herds, and the weather, is as
unlikely to have attained transcendent awareness as the warlord who views himself as evil,
courage as vanity, and who has no respect beyond fear for the sword and the enemy.
I found it fascinating to learn that, in India, some of the great gurus prefer to meditate while
seated on the skin of a tiger.
There is a certain vanity to our discussing spirituality. Each of us knows, has known, or will
know subjective manifestations of transcendence. We tend to agree that the subject is not
physical, mental or emotional. But we must admit that any awareness, comment upon or study of
the spiritual depends on exactly those factors.
Without a living body, complete with feeling and intelligence, the experience of spirituality
remains moot.
| What about Physiology? |
| Yoga for Carnivores by Jay Dyck |