I will never be able to settle this inner struggle. But I know that I can survive for days on end on veg food. On the other hand, I don’t think I can survive forever that way.

But then who survives forever anyway?

oj-da

I loved reading this article on a non-IL platform. Not that I have anything against it. It just makes one’s work a wee bit more subjective in the sense that we are not so conscious about people watching each and every move of ours. Secondly, it is something like belonging to a caste less society – no community, our space, our place.

I turned veggie after waging a long battle with my non veggie desires. Conditioned to eat non veg food since childhood, it took me years to realize that killing animals and munching into their flesh certainly does not give pleasure in the real sense. And, I wanted a peaceful joy, not a kill and eat kind of joy.

Nice Writing OJ Da.
Shail

Thanks for reading this. After going through your comment, I took one more look at what I had written in this post and discovered a typo. I had said “prey” when I should have used “pray”. That was a bad slip. So, I re-worked on that line for things to make sense.

Your philosophy of life made good sense. I don’t know if I could have thought as clearly as you on the subject, but, inadvertently as it were, I might have followed the same course through my now “almost over” journey.

Also, your observation that plants too are living made good sense. Reminded me of an aunt (no more), who got into an argument along the same lines with a veggie travelling in a train from Delhi to Kolkata. She even took extra pride in pointing out that J.C.Bose, the scientist who established proof that the plant world was living. Her companion I am afraid took her to be a looney, not having ever heard of Bose.

Arguments apart though, I do feel somewhat unnerved when faced with an animal’s dying pangs. Plants fortunately don’t protest in a manner that invades our sensitivities.

Yet your point is pertinent. For life to continue, life needs to destroy life! Paradox?

oj-da

My husband hates his veggies and the reason he gives is that he is a staunch biologist ) Most vegetarians claim they do not kill a life when they eat the plant products, but given my limited knowledge of how tubers are reaped, doesn’t the plant get killed? Would that not be counted as life? Ah well, you are right, we can continue on this discourse and never reach anywhere

Anyway for me, this is what I think my life ought to be:
“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming … WOW! What a ride!”

So, till then I would go around enjoying delicious food – veg or non-veg till the end

Cheers,
Sujatha