Modern Day Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is the theory or practice of living solely on vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts. It is practiced for moral, ascetic or nutritional reasons
In Western society today meat in many different forms is readily and economically available, yet the current trend shows a growing number of voluntary vegetarians around the world. In the United States, roughly 3 to 4 percent of the total populations are considered vegetarian. The origins of modern day Vegetarian philosophy and its influences can be traced back nearly three thousand years. . Most vegetarians are people who have understood that to contribute towards a more peaceful society we must first solve the problem of violence in our own hearts. So it's not surprising that thousands
The fundamental is known as the Dharmic law of reason. Ahimsa, the law of noninjury, is the Hindu's first duty in fulfilling religious obligations to God and God's creation as defined by Upanishadic scripture. The Spiritual Reason is that food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousnesses, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of the butchered creatures. For these reasons, vegetarians live in higher consciousness and meat-eaters abide in lower
It is considered essential for self-purification, as well as the development of an ethical, merciful and compassionate self. In the modern philosophical era, Leo Tolstoy an influential Russian writer and philosopher was an advocate of vegetarianism.
" By killing man suppresses in himself, unnecessarily, the highest spiritual capacity-that of sympathy and pity towards living creatures like himself, and by violating his own feeling becomes so cruel." (Letter to Mrs. C.P. Farrell)
"A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral." - On Civil Disobedience
Tolstoy has mentioned a new linguistic twist on to an ancient Eastern philosophy. Cruelty has been introduced. Many contemporary vegetarians today, will not eat meat because of its inherent cruelty and immorality. This is not as controversial as abortion or mercy killing yet, but it has become a moral issue on randomly selected