"From purity of food follows the purity of the internal organ" -Chandogya Upanishad "When one’s food is pure, one’s being becomes pure" – Chāndogya Upaniṣad "Of curd when it is churned, that which is its subtle part rises upward. That becomes clarified butter. In this very way, of food when it is eaten, that which is the subtle part, that rises upward, and that becomes mind" -Chandogya Upanishad "Mind is surely made of food, vital force is made of water,and speech is made of fire"- -Chandogya Upanishad ‘When nourishment is pure, reflection and higher understanding are pure, memory becomes strong. When memory becomes strong, there is release from all the knots of the heart.’ -Chandogya Upanishad Let him (the knower of Brahman) never condemn (deprecate) food; that is the vow. The prana (vital breath or vital energy) is, verily food; the body is the eater of food; for the vital force is lodged in the body. The body rests on the prana; the prana rests on the body. Thus food rests on food. He who knows this resting of food on food is established; he becomes a possessor of food. He becomes great in offspring and cattle (prosperity) and in spiritual radiance (luster of holiness) and great in fame. -Taittiriya Upanishad From earth herbs, from herbs food, from food seed, from seed man. Man thus consists of the essence of food – Taittiriya Upanishad One should not belittle food – the life breath is food… One should prepare a lot of food. The earth is food. - Taittirīya Upaniṣad Out of Brahman, who is the Self, came akasha (space); from akasha, air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth; from earth, vegetation; out of vegetation, food; out of food the body of man. The body of man, composed of the essence of food, is the physical sheath of the Self. -Taittiriya Upanishad When he provides food and shelter to human beings, he becomes thereby a world for human beings – Brhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad Food and the eater: that is the extent of the whole world. - Brhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad “You must not use your God-given body for killing God's creatures, whether they are human, animal or Whatever.” - Yajur Veda You must not use your God-given body for killing God’s creatures, whether they are human, animal or whatever” -Yajur Veda "Supreme Lord, let there be peace in the sky and in the atmosphere. Let there be peace in the plant world and in the forests. Let the cosmic powers be peaceful. Let the Brahman, the true essence and source of life, be peaceful. Let there be undiluted and fulfilling peace everywhere" – Atharva Veda “By not killing any living being, one becomes fit for Salvations.” -Manusmriti Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to the attainment of heavenly bliss; let him therefore shun the use of meat. Having well considered the disgusting origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh. - Manusmriti Having well considered the origin of flesh-foods, and the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let man entirely abstain from eating flesh. - Manusmriti He who permits the slaughter of an animal, he who cuts it up, he who kills it, he who buys or sells meat, he who cooks it, he who serves it up, and he who eats it, must all be considered as the slayers of the animal. There is no greater sinner than that man who though not worshiping the gods or the ancestors, seeks to increase the bulk of his own flesh by the flesh of other beings. -Manusmriti He who does not seek to cause the sufferings of bonds and death to living creatures, (but) desires the good of all (beings), obtains endless bliss. He who does not injure any (creature) attains without an effort what he thinks of, what he undertakes, and what he fixes his mind on. -Manusmriti He who injures harmless creatures from a wish to give himself pleasure, never finds happiness in this life or the next. -Manusmriti By the restraint of his senses, by the destruction of love and hatred, and by the abstention from injuring the creatures, he becomes fit for immortality. -Manusmriti “Ahimsa is the highest Dharma, ahimsa is the best Tapas, Ahimsa is the highest self-control, ahimsa is the highest sacrifice. Ahimsa is the highest power, ahimsa is the highest friend. Ahimsa is the highest truth, ahimsa is the highest teaching.” -Mahabharata A Brahmin (priest) should abstain from meat. -The Mahabharata The sin of eating meat is ascribed to three causes. That sin may attach to the mind, to words, and to acts. It is for this reason that men of wisdom who are endued with penances refrain from eating meat. -The Mahabharata Well-dressed, cooked with salt or without salt, meat, in whatever form one may take it, gradually attracts the mind and enslaves it. -The Mahabharata He who desires to augment his own flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may take his birth. -The Mahabharata If there were nobody who ate flesh, then there would be nobody to slay living creatures. The man who slays living creatures kills them for the sake of the person who eats flesh. If flesh were not considered as food, there would then be no destruction of living creatures. It is for the sake of the eater that the destruction of living entities is carried on in the world. Since, O you of great splendor, the period of life is shortened by persons who kill living creatures or cause them to be killed, it is clear that the person who seeks his own good should give up meat altogether. Those dreadful persons who are engaged in the destruction of living beings never find protectors when they are in need. Such persons should always be molested and punished even as beast of prey. -The Mahabharata The purchaser of flesh performs violence by his wealth; he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does violence by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are three forms of killing. He who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts off the limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells, or cooks flesh and eats it--all these are to be considered meat-eaters. -The Mahabharata That wretched man who kills living creatures for the sake of those who would eat them commits great sin. The eater’s sin is not as great. That wretched man who, following the path of religious rites and sacrifices as laid down in the Vedas, would kill a living creature from a desire to eats its flesh, will certainly go to hell. That man who having eaten flesh abstains from it afterwards acquires great merit on account of such abstention from sin. He who arranges for obtaining flesh, he who approves of those arrangements, he who kills, he who buys or sells, he who cooks, and he who eats it, [acquire the sin of those who] are all considered as eaters of flesh. [Therefore] that man who wishes to avoid disaster should abstain from the meat of every living creature. -The Mahabharata Abstention from cruelty is the highest Religion. Abstention from cruelty is the greatest self-restraint. Abstention from cruelty is the highest gift. Abstention from cruelty is the highest penance. Abstention from cruelty is the highest sacrifice. Abstention from cruelty is the highest power. Abstention from cruelty is the greatest friend. Abstention from cruelty is the greatest happiness. -The Mahabharata Hence a person of purified soul should be merciful to all living creatures. That man, O king, who abstains from every kind of meat from his birth forsooth, acquires a large space in the celestial region. They who eat the flesh of animals who are desirous of life, are themselves [later] eaten by the animals they eat. This is my opinion. Since he has eaten me, I shall eat him in return. This, O Bharata, forms the character as Mamsah [meaning flesh] of Mamsah [me he, or “me he” will eat for having eaten him]. The destroyer is always slain. After him the eater meets with the same fate. -The Mahabharata A Brahmin (priest) should abstain from meat. -The Mahabharata Well-dressed, cooked with salt or without salt, meat, in whatever form one may take it, gradually attracts the mind and enslaves it. -The Mahabharata The sin of eating meat is ascribed to three causes. That sin may attach to the mind, to words, and to acts. It is for this reason that men of wisdom who are endued with penances refrain from eating meat. -The Mahabharata That food which increases life, purity, strength, health, joy and cheerfulness, which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are dear to the Sattwic (pure) people. – Gita The food also which is dear to each is threefold. – Gita,17.7 The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning are liked by the Rajasic and are productive of pain, grief and disease. - Gita From Sattwa (purity) arises wisdom or knowledge; from Rajas (passion) arises greed; and from Tamas (inertia) arises heedlessness, delusion and ignorance. - Gita That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten and impure refuse, is the food liked by the Tamasic. – Gita Sattva food increases the duration of life, purifies one’s existence and gives strength, health, happiness and satisfaction… Such foods are wholesome and pleasing to the heart – Bhagavad Gita, The food we daily take has its effect on our psychology and character. It may be satvik, good and strengthening to the spirit; or destructive of serenity, passion-producing, rajasik; or wholly bad causing deterioration of mind and intellect and increasing inertia, tamasik. - BhagavadGita Sattva – lucidity…full of joy, something of pure light which seems to be entirely at peace – Garlic (and) onions… are not to be eaten – The Laws of Manu For more Hinduism quotes click here --> Hindu Quotes
“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (9.26) Bhagavad-gita One is dearest to God who has no enemies among the living beings, who is nonviolent to all creatures. – Bhagavad Gita "Whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away-do that O son…as an offering to me" – Bhagavad Gita He alone sees truly who sees the Lord the same in every creature...seeing the same Lord everywhere, he does not harm himself or others. - Bhagavad Gita Be fearless and pure; never waver in your determination or your dedication to the spiritual life. Give freely. Be self-controlled, sincere, truthful, loving, and full of the desire to serve...Learn to be detached and to take joy in renunciation. Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all. Cultivate vigor, patience, will, purity; avoid malice and pride. Then, you will achieve your destiny. - Bhagavad Gita I look upon all creatures equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to life in them. - Bhagavad Gita Avoiding harm to all creatures... this is true knowledge. All else is ignorance. - Bhagavad Gita The concept of harmlessness towards all has been created by Me alone. - Bhagavad Gita Avoiding harm... and working towards the happiness of all living creatures is the duty of everyone. Bhagavad Gita Nonviolence... and mercy to all life forms are the goals of godly persons who are endowed with My nature. Bhagavad Gita I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth. Mahatma Gandhi It is necessary to correct the error that vegetarianism has made us weak in mind, or passive or inert in action. I do not regard flesh-food as necessary at any stage Mahatma Gandhi I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants. Mahatma Gandhi I abhor vivisection with my whole soul. All the scientific discoveries stained with innocent blood I count as of no consequence. Mahatma Gandhi I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it Mahatma Gandhi It is very significant that some of the most thoughtful and cultured men are partisans of a pure vegetable diet Mahatma Gandhi I still believe that man, not having been given the power of creation, does not posses the right of destroying the meanest creature that lives. The perogative of destruction belongs solely to the Creator of all that lives. Mahatma Gandhi The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated Mahatma Gandhi Complete non-violence is complete absence of ill-will against all that lives. It therefore embraces even sub-human life, not excluding noxious insects and beasts. They have not been created to feed our destructive propensities. If we only knew the mind of the Creator, we should find their proper place in His creation. Mahatma Gandhi For more Hinduism quotes click here --> Hindu Quotes
