Mahatma Gandhi & Ahimsa 4 - Ahimsa And Diet Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon
Mahatma Gandhi & Ahimsa 4 - Ahimsa And Diet
Abstinence from certain
Food items does not
Make one virtuous.
One may avoid brinjals,
But does it make one wiser?
One may avoid potatoes
But does it make one self-righteous?
Can one flatter oneself
That we are practising Ahimsa
Does it not make one blush?
Ahimsa is not a matter of dietetics
Ahimsa transcends food!
What does it matter?
What man drinks or eats?
It is the self restraint that matters.
A man may allow himself
Wide latitude of food
Yet, could be a personification
Of Ahimsa! His heart overflows
With love and melts at others' woes!
But a man over-scrupulous in diet
May be an utter stranger to Ahimsa
Callous and indifferent,
Hard-hearted or a pitiful wretch,
A slave to selfishness!
M.K.Gandhi. Extracts from the chapter - ‘Ahimsa in Education'
Part 2. I have no personal deep-seated difficulty with eating meat- -I only have a personal deep-seated difficulty with killing the animals to obtain the meat. If that was the only way I could get meat, I would perforce be a vegetarian. There would be no virtue in that choice for me to brag about that is for sure. Love this poem and your philosophy behind it.10++++++++++++++++++.
Part 1. 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.- - Mahatma Gandhi. Is this the diet that is the topic of your poem? I enjoyed your rebellion! !
Diet was a major point in Gandhiji's life. He believed in 'fasts' mainly to gain control over the mind. His fight for Satyagraha always accompanied fasts. During his lifetime, there were lots of queries posted to him and endless debates continued specially regarding the practice of Ahimsa.
Hi, Geeta! Hope this finds you well in all ways. To this poem, amen! Though it took me a while to come to this. I did a lot of experimenting with diet and fasting in my early twenties. Today the main thing I’d say is that we should eat primarily for strength and enjoy what comes with that. Convenient, yes? , how God makes pleasure accompany necessities. -Glen
Thank you Glen for your nice comment. Amen! Eating for necessity and eating for pleasure are two different things. Moderation is the key here. God is testing man to see how far he can control his mind.
This beautiful poem gives me hope. Fasting for a lot of people had became ritualistic and is no reflection of the personality concerned. The true purpose of fasting had been long lost. Thank you Geeta.
Thank you for your generous words. I truly value them Loke.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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7/27/2025 1:18:33 AM # 1.0.0
Thank you Susan for your honest and nice comment on this poem. Though, Diet plays a great role in the constitution of personal health, yet, in the practiice of Ahimsa, the higher purpose prevails i.e. where the heart flows with love and compassion for all.