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.

So where is the need for an organization like IVC in the home of vegetarianism? “Yes, India is predominantly a vegetarian society and everyone is a vegetarian and even a person who adds one or two meat items on his dinner plate is called ‘non-vegetarian’ as his/her diet is largely vegetarian. ‘‘What we do is update the society with the benefits of vegetarianism on a scientific basis with tested results. We are not into ‘converting’ people but give them facts and highlight vegetarian food as the most natural diet for human beings. Of course, with eateries like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC et al making in-roads under the tag ‘Westernization of India’, our presence is all the more important to educate the public of the harmful effects such foods can have on health, environment and other living beings,” says Tarachand Dugar, the president of IVC.

As I stepped inside the AVM Rajeswari Hall in downtown Chennai for the events, the walkway was dotted with bookstalls selling all imaginable titles on metaphysics and vegetarianism, indicating the clear link between the two in the Indian context. As is the case elsewhere, organic products are not easily accessible to an average Indian consumer, both in terms of cost and availability, yet personnel from Enfield Agrobase Ltd., an organic farm located south of Chennai, were pitching the benefits of their products to people milling about their table. “We are a multi-product organic farm set up in 1994 and cater to a global clientele, spanning Hong Kong in the East to Europe and the US in the West. Our commitment towards the sustained well-being of the environment is reflected in our continuous search for better organic farming methods - a fruit processing unit running on solar energy, an oil extraction unit using the ‘cold-pressed’ method.”

The day-long events started with drawing and painting sessions for children. “Kill not the animals, but kill the animal in you” reads a sign, signed by a girl in fifth grade. “It is very important to inculcate that sense of compassion when they are young. Besides loving their children, if only parents would teach them to love all life forms, it will go a long way and make our world a peaceful place,” said a teacher who was keeping a watch on the wards. “A few decades ago, a vegetarian in the West was considered as a freak, but today, it is accepted as a way for healthy and moral living. But due to a lack of understanding of the proper combination of foods, vegetarianism suffers setbacks and vegetarians have developed an inferiority complex. So education is very essential to set this right.” About 200 school children from class KG-V participated in the drawing and painting competitions. “We need to get this message across to children as they are going to be the torchbearers of our future society. So we involve teachers and get them updated on the subject as they are the most influential person in children’s life during the school days. In fact, we involve people at all stages and in all walks of life,” says Dugar. A debate for college students, a teachers’ seminar, talks on nutrition and health and a cookery competition followed.

A pontiff of the Madhava school, a columnist and the proprietor of an international vegetarian chain of restaurants addressed the evening gathering at the conference hall, the walls of which were adorned with the works of children calling for a vegetarian and harmonious world. The attendance in the hall was about 1200 people. The Pontiff Vidyasagara Thirtha said anti-vegetarianism would destroy the very essence of humaneness. “In the olden days selling food was a taboo for food has to be served with love.” Quoting from the Indian epics and Vedas, he dwelt on the positive virtues of vegetarianism and ahimsa to smaller living beings. “There are specific stipulations in the scriptures for the renounced like myself, that we should not be travelling during the monsoon time of four months in order to avoid inadvertently stepping on and crushing the seasonal critters. “One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma or moral duty. Yielding to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma or disrespectful of moral duty. We need to develop an attitude of reverence for all life, kindness to animals and avoidance of any exploitation of animal life.” The pontiff even touched upon the diet for yoga practitioners. He said the prescribed diet is Mitahari, Mita meaning enough-tonourish and ahar meaning food. But this moderation does not imply only quantity, but also quality. The gunas of the food also need to be paid attention to, as only the sattwic food contributes to serenity and keep the human organism sweet and clean. Rajasic and tamasic food have to be eschewed. “Hatha Yoga consists of ashtanga or eight facets, one of which is yama which includes ahimsa.”

S. Gurumoorthy, a columnist, said “Vegetarianism was a symbol of the high point of Indian culture. It was a respectable habit but today the threat to vegetarianism is not from non-vegetarians but from modernity.” The serpentine lines seen in India in front of McDonalds and Pizza Huts alone could justify that statement. On an optimistic note, he said vegetarianism was a growing movement all over the world with the help of scientific facts. “Beginning as a vegetarian is not complicated. Some abruptly stop eating meat. Others begin by using a meat-alternative for one meal, then expanding that to more days a week as they become comfortable with avoiding meat. Hosting or attending vegetarian potluck meals is another way to explore the variety of alternatives available.”

More vegetarian food items are available in regular supermarkets and any good bookstore will carry a selection of vegetarian cookbooks to delight any palate. In India finding vegetarian dishes in any restaurant is no problem. ‘‘All foods contain different amounts of amino acids. By consuming a variety of protein sources throughout the day, vegetarians get all the protein and amino acids they require. (In fact, meat-eaters consume more than twice the amount of protein they need, which increases calcium loss and overworks the kidneys). Although iron is often associated with meat, vegetarians are no more likely to be iron deficient than non-vegetarians, and actually have equal or greater iron intakes than meat-eaters.

“It is never too early to begin eating a plant-based diet. Children who eat well-planned vegetarian diets can meet all of their nutritional requirements for growth as most of us in India never had meat since birth. ‘‘Scientific evidence shows that this is probably the most effective diet for the prevention of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer, stroke, hypertension, and obesity. Most wonderful of all, a vegetarian diet, besides providing opportunities for improved health, is probably the most direct and personal activism for animal welfare you can perform. The real issue is to fight at an individual level the modern ways that legitimize non-vegetarianism. The vegetarian way contributes to man’s return to his true nature as the humane, living denizen of the World.”

Rama Prasad Bhat, proprietor of the franchise Udipi restaurants, said “Being a vegetarian is a way of life that benefits the dignity of mankind and will ensure a civilized society.” A delicious date-fruit-paratha (Indian bread) was adjudged as the best cookery contest entrant and the award went to an octogenarian, Ms. Krishnaveni, who had the advantage of cooking years behind her in addition to her timeless enthusiasm. The evening concluded with the distribution of prizes to the winners of various competitions on the day’s theme. IVC has been rendering significant service to the cause of vegetarianism since its inception and gets its message out though journals, videos and other literature. In its publications, it emphasizes that vegetarian food is nutritionally balanced, scientifically sound, healthful and humane, ethically unassailable, ecologically superior, has natural flavour and delicious taste.

To quote Gandhi again, “Vegetarianism is building of the spirit and not of the body. 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.” Though the spirit is housed in the body, we are on this journey for spiritual evolution and perhaps adopting vegetarianism as just another path might very well aid us in our eternal quest.