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| Don't I have to be a vegetarian to do Yoga? |
Is it important to be a vegetarian to get the most from Yoga?
Yoga originated in India. India today has a population of well over one billion people. It wasn't
always that way.
In ancient times, everyone ate meat, if they could get it, because there was plenty to go around.
Like the rest of humanity, the residents of the Indian sub-continent descended from tribes of
hunters. As the population density of the fertile valleys increased, the nomadic hunting lifestyle
gave way to the settled agrarian culture. More and more of the food came from crops and
livestock.
As the population continued to grow over the millenia, a caste system developed. The basic
division can be pictured as a triangle, with the workers at the bottom, followed by the merchants
and then the warriors, with the priests at the top.
Yoga originated in India. India today has a population of well over one billion people. It wasn't
always that way.
In ancient times, everyone ate meat, if they could get it, because there was plenty to go around.
Like the rest of humanity, the residents of the Indian sub-continent descended from tribes of
hunters. As the population density of the fertile valleys increased, the nomadic hunting lifestyle
gave way to the settled agrarian culture. More and more of the food came from crops and
livestock.
As the population continued to grow over the millenia, a caste system developed. The basic
division can be pictured as a triangle, with the workers at the bottom, followed by the merchants
and then the warriors, with the priests at the top.
Cultural norms became very rigid. Each caste was bound by what they must do, and what they
may not do. For example, the workers had to work. It was their job to grow the crops, weave the
cloth, sew the clothes, mine the minerals and build the homes, streets, docks, fortresses, palaces
and temples.
To the merchants fell the obligation to buy, sell, store and distribute the production of the
workers.
The warrior caste was responsible for defending the country from attack, as well as keeping order
within the borders.
Finally, the priests had the job of interacting with the divinity, performing the rituals of prayer
and sacrifice.
Each caste was essentially forbidden to participate in the activities of another caste.
As India became more crowded with teeming masses of people, meat became scarce. The first
change to remedy this shortage was to deny meat to the workers. This made sense to the higher
castes. There are always more workers in a thriving society than there are merchants, priests and
warriors. Especially with the low technology of ancient days, it was important for there to be
enough producers to supply the wants and needs of all of the higher levels who didn’t produce
anything.
Then as now, the efforts of the merchant class were essential to the economy. Their activity
insured that food, clothing and shelter were available to all. Accordingly, the merchant caste felt
justified in consuming their share of the beef, chicken, mutton and fish.
Unfortunately for them, and largely due to the success of the system, the population continued to
expand. Eventually meat consumption was restricted to the upper classes, the higher castes, the
warriors and the priests.
With the merchants out of the loop there was plenty of meat to go around for the members of the
two higher castes. The workers still herded cattle; the merchants still sold it, but their customers
now were limited to the warriors and priests.
Little by little, the soldiers and police lost their rights. In time, only the higher echelons of the
warrior caste, the princes, generals and rajahs, along with their families, were allowed to consume
flesh. Inevitably, even they were forced to join the ranks of the vegetarians.
The irony in this sequence of events is that as the market for meat grew more restricted and the
portion of the population that depended on beans and grain for their calories grew larger, it
became prohibitive to allocate great amounts of the crops to the bellies of animals. All of the
wheat, rice, barley, oats and millet was needed to keep the workers producing, to keep the
merchants happy, and to keep the warriors strong and content. Eventually, even the priests had
to forgo the luxury of steaks and roasts. The few animals that were slaughtered were sacrificial
offerings. Even that came to an end. The “sacred cow” is a vestige of that ancient practice.
Arising as it did during millenia of Indian history, it should not surprise us that the practice of
yoga became associated with vegetarianism. However, it is helpful to remember two things:
All of the preceding information merely clarifies how and why the home country of Yoga had
evolved into a vegetarian culture. Where does that leave a modern student of Yoga, like
ourselves?
It is helpful to think of the application of Yoga as primarily a collection of exercises tht promote
good health. This may seem a little pedestrian for the one who is seeking transcendent bliss, but
there are many aspects of health: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Patanjali, in his Yoga
Aphorisms, speaks of five observances, one of which is contentment. We might reflect that
contentment is a quality of life that might very well be related to health. It’s hard to stay content
when one is sick.
Several issues need to be addressed in a discussion about whether eating meat is an obstacle to
achieving health and success with yoga. They are:
may not do. For example, the workers had to work. It was their job to grow the crops, weave the
cloth, sew the clothes, mine the minerals and build the homes, streets, docks, fortresses, palaces
and temples.
To the merchants fell the obligation to buy, sell, store and distribute the production of the
workers.
The warrior caste was responsible for defending the country from attack, as well as keeping order
within the borders.
Finally, the priests had the job of interacting with the divinity, performing the rituals of prayer
and sacrifice.
Each caste was essentially forbidden to participate in the activities of another caste.
As India became more crowded with teeming masses of people, meat became scarce. The first
change to remedy this shortage was to deny meat to the workers. This made sense to the higher
castes. There are always more workers in a thriving society than there are merchants, priests and
warriors. Especially with the low technology of ancient days, it was important for there to be
enough producers to supply the wants and needs of all of the higher levels who didn’t produce
anything.
Then as now, the efforts of the merchant class were essential to the economy. Their activity
insured that food, clothing and shelter were available to all. Accordingly, the merchant caste felt
justified in consuming their share of the beef, chicken, mutton and fish.
Unfortunately for them, and largely due to the success of the system, the population continued to
expand. Eventually meat consumption was restricted to the upper classes, the higher castes, the
warriors and the priests.
With the merchants out of the loop there was plenty of meat to go around for the members of the
two higher castes. The workers still herded cattle; the merchants still sold it, but their customers
now were limited to the warriors and priests.
Little by little, the soldiers and police lost their rights. In time, only the higher echelons of the
warrior caste, the princes, generals and rajahs, along with their families, were allowed to consume
flesh. Inevitably, even they were forced to join the ranks of the vegetarians.
The irony in this sequence of events is that as the market for meat grew more restricted and the
portion of the population that depended on beans and grain for their calories grew larger, it
became prohibitive to allocate great amounts of the crops to the bellies of animals. All of the
wheat, rice, barley, oats and millet was needed to keep the workers producing, to keep the
merchants happy, and to keep the warriors strong and content. Eventually, even the priests had
to forgo the luxury of steaks and roasts. The few animals that were slaughtered were sacrificial
offerings. Even that came to an end. The “sacred cow” is a vestige of that ancient practice.
Arising as it did during millenia of Indian history, it should not surprise us that the practice of
yoga became associated with vegetarianism. However, it is helpful to remember two things:
- the yoga asanas, as designed by the ancients, were modeled on the bending and stretching
done by the wild cats in the jungle, and - the Buddha died from choking on pork.
All of the preceding information merely clarifies how and why the home country of Yoga had
evolved into a vegetarian culture. Where does that leave a modern student of Yoga, like
ourselves?
It is helpful to think of the application of Yoga as primarily a collection of exercises tht promote
good health. This may seem a little pedestrian for the one who is seeking transcendent bliss, but
there are many aspects of health: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Patanjali, in his Yoga
Aphorisms, speaks of five observances, one of which is contentment. We might reflect that
contentment is a quality of life that might very well be related to health. It’s hard to stay content
when one is sick.
Several issues need to be addressed in a discussion about whether eating meat is an obstacle to
achieving health and success with yoga. They are:
| What do we mean by Purity? |
| Yoga for Carnivores by Jay Dyck |