Anantha Krishnan explains why much of India prefers to eat shoots and leaves.

"Those high soul persons who desire beauty, faultlessness of limbs, long life, mental and physical strength and memory should abstain from any acts of injury"..... Mahabharata

The doctrine of ahimsa or non-violence advocated by all the three major religions of India, Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism, not only towards fellow mankind but all living beings, laid the foundation for vegetarianism in India for centuries. Due to this deep-rooted philosophy of compassion, India is still a place on this planet to find slews of vegetarians, a testimony to human existence without the need to take life. Since the time of the seers of these faiths, in the recent past, it was no less a personage than Mahatma Gandhi who combined his observance of a non-violent path to freedom struggle with vegetarianism. “A nation is judged by the way it treats its animals,” said the saintly man. It is only appropriate that the “World Vegetarian Day” is held during the week of Gandhi’s birthday in October.

The annual event in Chennai, the southernmost city in India, is organized by the Indian Vegetarian Congress (IVC), an affiliate of International Vegetarian Union, UK. IVC was founded in 1959 by Ms Rukmini Devi Arundale, a classical dancer and social worker, to disseminate information on scientific, nutritional and ethical aspects of vegetarian diet.

It is said that the Buddha's definition of truth is "what works." His pithy statement points toward one of the essential teachings about truth also contained within the path of yoga: impermanence. Knowledge and information come into our consciousness at an appropriate time, enhance our being, and when we have integrated the lesson, it passes. The intelligence to accept the impermanence of all experience is the seat of true knowingness.

Great joy can arise when we experience new layers of truth. It can be so enticing that there is the temptation to hold onto it in attachment and perhaps proselytize to others. We often identify with what we know. Every time you say, "This is the way things should be done," you close yourself down to the possibility of a new, perhaps more evolved, efficient or friendly way of being. You also distance yourself from those who do not know, increasing division along lines of right and wrong. Even in the world of yoga, we sometimes find ourselves debating about the "right" method.