The Sayings of Guru Maharaj Ji - Part IV
Divine United Organization, Shri Sant Yogashram, Hans Marg, Mehrauli, New Delhi
I do not know from where the first paragraph is excerpted but the 18 year old Rawat did the question and answer session in Phoenix, Arizona on January 21, 1974 which was published in the Elan Vital magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1 of Autumn 1977. It was by this time or shortly thereafter when the 17 year old guru, Perfect Master, Lord of the Universe and Ultimate Ruler began eating meat though he did not publicise this fact nor did he inform his followers that it was alright for them to eat meat. He continued to demand vegetarianism in his devotees who lived in ashrams until the ashrams were disbanded in 1983.
Guru Maharaj Ji: People will watch television and they see those cowboy movies, and cowboys used to take raw meat and eat that, and they get like that. They got like animals and they used to kill anyone around. How you eat, so you become. See, the way you eat, the way you become. And that's why I want there should be much less food, because that makes you more active. If you just think about eating, eating, eating, you will get lazy like an animal. Eat less, it will make you more active.
Q: Maharaj Ji, does it make a difference if a person eats meat or not ? Does it affect their Meditation.
Guru Maharaj Ji: I know one thing - 'what you eat, so you become'. I say from experience. I'll tell you one thing, since it's not meant for human beings to eat meat and there's a very logical explanation - may be you even know it.
You know, it's like people or the beings that are supposed to eat meat, like cats, lions or animals like that, they always lick water. They don't, they don't suck water. They always lick it. They take their tongue out like that. You have seen how a cat drinks water and how a dog drinks it.
But beings that suck water don't eat meat. And that's the way it's supposed to be. And man sucks water - does not lick water, since he is not supposed to eat meat. And God has provided him and made him the king of all nature - not to kill other beings, but to…
He has given all the fruits in the world, anything he wants, a big head up here … so he has just to utilize everything. And try to understand the beauty and to grasp the beauty of the fruits God has given us.
Because I'll tell you, it's really healthy too. Body can just really accept it. And that's the way it is. Yes ?
Q: Why wouldn't you say that when you pick a plant you are killing the plant too ? I mean…
Guru Maharaj Ji: Well, because that's, that's the thing; that little killing is meant to be for you. And that's O.K
Q: A plant still has consciousness.
Guru Maharaj Ji: A plant has consciousness, but where is the consciousness?
Q: I don't know.
Guru Maharaj Ji: See, this is the thing. Where is the consciousness?
Someone: The root.
Guru Maharaj Ji: The root is the consciousness, but where does the consciousness actually lie ? Because root, if you take root itself, it's in a seed. You see, there is a little explanation to that. If you are eating meat, you are eating out of a being, right ? Like supposedly, some people eat cow, right? Cow comes from life, a mother. Right ? And that also come from a life, and it's a life to a life to a life circle. But a plant does not come from a life. It comes from dead, from a seed which is dead. It doesn't need any nutrition. It's a dead seed. When you plant it, and that's when it becomes (alive), for it to grow, and to give you fruits.
Q: What if you eat an animal that comes from a seed? I mean, an animal..
Guru Maharaj Ji: Well, I wouldn't object to…
Q: You could call an egg a seed. A chicken comes from an egg; an egg is a seed. Isn't it? Is an egg alive? The one you buy in a store?
Guru Maharaj Ji: No. The egg is killed already. Then… see, it's like, it's not like a seed. Still it isn't like a seed. Because seed is inert, dead.
- Guru Maharaj Ji (1975) The Sayings of Guru Maharaj Ji - Part IV Divine United Organization, Shri Sant Yogashram, Hans Marg, Mehrauli, New Delhi - 110030