VEGETARIAN-FOOD AND JAIN-CONDUCT > Morality of Vegtarianism
Even in the context of propagating vegetarian food one point is worth considering.
While publicising in favour of vegetarian food some persons merely talk about this
point only that vegetarian food is wholesome for health and is also cheap; whereas
meat-eating is the cause of many diseases and is dearer too. But they do not pay
attention to the fact that it is impure, immoral, injury-causing and the cause of
countless miseries.
Similarly, some persons do emphasize the impurity and immorality involved in
meat-eating, but do not throw light on the worldly harms resulting from it.
In the masses, people of all kinds are found. Some people are of aesthetic nature,
afraid of ir-religious deeds, possessing non-injurious dispositions. Such people
discard impure articles and products involving injury even at the sentimental level.
They are not influenced by the arithmetic exercise of worldly profit or loss
arising out of use of such products. But some other people have a totally worldly
point of view. They evaluate everything on the scale of worldly and economic profit
and loss and arrive at some decision on that basis only. Unless such people are not
shown benefit or harm relating to health or economic profit or loss, they are not
able to arrive at any decision.
When we have to publicise use of vegetarian food in all types of persons then we
should publicise keeping a balance between both the point of views. The extent to
which the economic loss and harm to health is emphasised by use of meat, to the same
extent it is necessary to create distaste also for the use of meat-based food at the
moral, non-injury and spiritual level. The expected success can be achieved only by
propagation and publicity at both levels.