In his interesting book True Stories of the Philosophical Theater, published in 2009 by Xlibris corp; Yerucham narrates his journey of fifteen years in Asia and Isreal in an endless search for wisdom and inner peace. A convinced vegetarian, the principle of non-violence towards all living creatures pervades his story, demonstrating that vegetarianism and wisdom walk together.
In this exclusive interview with S.P.H Yerucham, the author shares his ideas about the spiritual reasons behind a vegetarian diet, and the principle of ahimsa.
What is the relationship between vegetarianism and spirituality?
Much of spiritual advancement depends upon being freed from desires, greed, lust, hatred, attachment and so on. Whatever you may think about the life-force in animals, in order to eat the meat from their bodies, it is necessary to kill them. The desire for meat is a desire. Case closed.
Meat is unnecessary (except in extreme climates) and it is almost unanimously agreed upon that it is unhealthy, except in small amounts. Mass meat production is also one of the biggest factors in the decline of our natural environment. If you have the desire for an occasional piece of cake, yes, it is a desire. But it is best to first try rooting out the desires which are likely to cause harm or pain to anyone else. Eat the cake in the mean time, if you’re struggling to get off the meat. Desires are like parasites in the mind, always needing to be fed; growing, bloated—never satisfied. If a person experiences a significant loss in desires, that person becomes truly aware of how desires and excessive needs enslave people. We have been long trained by a grossly mutated modern form of modern commerce that feeding our desires is a show of liberation!
In your opinion, what can be done to diminish animal suffering?
Many vegetarians may disagree, but I think it best to give credit to the real family farms and ranches which raise animals with compassion and authentic free range movement. I did a summer’s work on one, years ago, before returning to a vegetarian diet (the place has since been transformed into something of a dude ranch). These places are not enough to supply excessive demands for meat, but they would be sufficient if people were to moderate their intake.
The small amount they would eat each week would cost a lot…but I’ll tell you, I firmly know that animals bred in confinement and brutality result in meat which brings an extra toxic return to those who consume it. Don’t we all have this feeling of confinement? Do we confine ourselves? We are only doing to animals what we are doing to ourselves, and by confining the animals we eat, and doing violence to them, we become inhabited by toxicity from their more severe confinement.
What do you think about the common criticism against vegetarians?
Many people accuse vegetarians and vegans of being proud and self-righteous, and they use this as an indirect argument against vegetarianism: very poor reasoning. And so the abolitionists were proud and self-righteous, and so were the emancipators of women, and so the early advocates of workers rights… We all take pride in things. If you take a look at a lot of things that people pride themselves in, their beauty, how many sexual encounters they have had, the size of their Thanksgiving turkey, how many lies they have gotten away with, then you realize, as with desires, pride should also be channeled to good use. No sense pretending we don’t have it. So let righteous acts and lifestyles and philanthropy contain a little pride.
You mentioned something about animals in children's books...
When reading children’s illustrated literature with my daughter, I am always struck by the dominance of animals in human roles in the stories. It is not mere anthropomorphizing: it is really translation into human language and conduct of what really goes on in the animal world: their lives and natures are very much like ours.
At the same time, most children are also being educated to eat animals in excess in real life. What this does to children who care so much for these dear animal characters is something really worth studying. It must cause a serious division and sickness in the mind.
More Information about the author
S.P.H. Yerucham lives with his wife and daughter in San Francisco Bay Area, California. If you want to read the first pages of True Stories of the Philosophical Theater for free, go to Xlibris website, or visit the author's blog to learn more about his book.
To learn more about the author's views on vegetarianism, spirituality and the conflicts in the Middle East, see Exclusive Interview with S.P.H Yerucham.
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