The Twilight episode

 

 

 

I was waiting for Bella outside her office on a Friday evening. She had left a message an hour ago, asking if I could drop her off at her dad’s farmhouse after work. It was getting late, and she had stayed back in office to attend a team party. I was revving the car engine, as I waited for her, just to amuse a few toddlers who were watching attentively from the window of a house nearby.

Ah..there she comes.

She stormed out of the office and walked briskly towards the car. Uh-oh.

She got in the car, slammed the car door as well, took out a carrot from her Gucci bag and started munching it vigorously.

(hmm…and they say I am weird)

 

What’s up doc? (I asked, in my best Bugs Bunny imitation voice, as I pulled out of the driveway)

“Huh. Huh. Very funny”

(As you all know by now, humor has never been one of my strong points)

Hey, Cheer up. What’s with the carrot?

“That’s my dinner”.

Why? Are you on lo-fat, lo-carb, hi-fiber, hi-protein, low-cal?

(hmm…Strike two! her glare confirmed that wasn’t the reason)

“No. It’s the only thing I could eat from the entire snacks platter. The morons who organized the party were all non-veggies – and you know how strict a veggie I am.”

Oh. That’s sad. You should have told them your meal preference before the party.

“Yeah, (she sighed). I guess so. It’s just that… I just can’t stand the non-vegetarian eating habit. It depresses me. That’s why I generally avoid these office parties.”

 

“I have strong principles about vegetarianism.”

“So, when I am with non-veggies, I try convincing them to convert to veggie. And they don’t take it too well.”

Oh!

So you don’t feel comfortable being with others who don’t share your principles?

(She nodded).

I see the difficulty now.

“Good. So…tell me”

Tell you what?

“Should I continue preaching vegetarianism at every party or should I act against my principles and keep quiet?”

(Gee…how come I get all the easy questions every time? : (

 

(I was lost for a few minutes– as old memories and teachings flooded my mind.

It became darker and I switched on the headlights. We had left the city limits and there wasn’t much traffic on the road.)

“Knock..knock”, she said softly.

Hmm?

“You have a dark, glazed look in your eyes….looks scary”

Huh? Sorry…don’t worry…This is not a Twilight episode.

“Oh that?” (she laughed). “Yeah..poor Bella…my namesake..”

What about her?

“What can I say? Poor thing..She landed up in freaksville. Gawd! Practically no one in that town is normal.”

Yeah. Much like the world we live in, isn’t it?

“Our world? How so?”

Everyone appears to be a freak to everyone else. No one can accept another as they really are.

“Hmm…so you are saying I should just accept non-vegetarians as they are, and not preach?”

Light is easy. Darkness is easy. Twilight is harder to deal with.

“Are you saying this is a ‘grey’ area, so I shouldn’t preach about it?”

 

Preaching is easy, Bella. But its effect on others is short-lived. What is worse, the one who preaches has to face the consequence of his own preaching some day.

“Is that so?”

Yeah. When we preach to someone, we have already pre-judged them to be worthy or not worthy of belonging. When we judge them, we judge creation itself. So, be careful. Expect a rebound.

“What other option do I have?”

Develop awareness, Bella. It is much harder, takes longer, but its effect lasts a lifetime. The one who simply develops awareness in himself and others has nothing to worry about…because he never judges.

“How do I develop my own awareness on this issue?”

You know the process, Bella. It’s covered in web sites, in magazines, office training courses…

“Oh…yeah…Always, calm down. Take a step back, have an open mind and then look at the issue that is bothering you.”

Yeah…only, in this case…you need a very open mind and step back quite a bit.

“How far back? ”

Very far back.

 

“Ok. I am ready. Try me.”

Isn’t it the same universe that creates both – the food, and the one who eats it?

“Huh…yeah..so?”

So..is this a vegetarian or non-vegetarian universe?

“What the @#$! “, she exclaimed.

You said you were ready.

“Guess I was not. Just keep it simple, ok… do you support Veg or Non-Veg?”

 

When you say ‘veggie’, are you referring to the food or the person eating it?

“The food, I guess”

If you are referring to this carrot as a veggie, you must know…it has not always been a carrot since the beginning of the universe. it has gone through many shapes and forms before it became a carrot. Neither has a chicken always been a chicken.

“Ok…it’s not the food, it’s the person”

If you are referring to the person as a veggie, you must know…you have not always been a vegetarian through the many moments of your life. You destroy many life forms in a day, even as you breathe, walk and digest normally.

“Perhaps…it’s neither the food nor the person. It’s a habit.”

If it’s just a habit, there is no reason to feel self-righteous about it. You chose certain types of food that have some positive effects on your body or mind. No issue with that. But why the self-righteousness?

 

“That reeeally hurts. But at least I know I’ll be safe from any negative karma of killing, if I eat only vegetables.”

Tell me…suppose a cow died of exhaustion while plowing the farm where this carrot came from? Will you receive the bad karma of the cow’s death or not?

“But I didn’t have anything to do with the cow’s death. Why should I be affected by the karma of its death?”

It’s not that simple…who does bad karma go to? The one who is a criminal or the judge who signed his death sentence or the hangman who tightened the noose or the crowd that stood by and watched?

“But aren’t all vegetables supposed to be pure food?”

Where do you find purity in a carrot?

If you eat a vegetable with anger and lust in your mind, are you still pure?

If you eat a piece of meat with compassion and humility are you impure?

“Hmmm…I see your point. I feel now…it’s the state of mind with which you eat it that determines whether the act is pure or not.”

 

OK…now that you have stopped discriminating, find the solution

“I guess I’ll just shut up.”

Don’t sulk. Examine your principles again. See what it is you really care about so deeply.

(a few minutes passed in silence).

“Actually… It’s not about whether someone should be vegetarian or non-vegetarian. It is about whether people should feel connected with other life forms or not. That really was the core principle in my heart.”

Beautiful…That is the awareness you can help develop

“How?”

Live it by example. Whether it is an ant crossing your path or a bug falling off a leaf, be aware, step aside and let them live that 1 minute longer.

More importantly, connect with the non-vegetarians too. It is after all, just a habit, as you yourself said.

 

“Great. I feel better knowing that I can set the example myself. But how do I sustain the connection?”

Connection to what?

“The connection with all life forms in the universe”

Well…you could start with that carrot.

“What about it?”

Try talking to it

“Talk to a carrot? Which planet do you think I am from?”

The same one the carrot came from. That’s why I am telling you

“I have never talked to food before. This is a wicked idea!”

(I laughed). Talk to them from your heart. That way, you connect with them, and don’t end up looking silly either.

 

A master taught long ago, how this can be done

“When you kill a beast, say to him in your heart

By the same power that slays you, I too am slain;

And I too am consumed.

For the law that delivered you into my hand
shall deliver me into a mightier hand…

 

And when you crush an apple with your teeth,

Say to it in your heart,

Your seeds shall live in my body

And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart

And your fragrance shall be my breath

And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons”

 

“That is so cool. What about all those beings who don’t have food to eat and are starving? Can I pray for them in a similar way?”

You can do more than that.

“Really?”

With your heart…open your awareness to include all beings – near you, around you, as far as possible.

 

(courtesy: Sparsa)

 

Every time you practice, feel the awareness spread wider and deeper to be connected to as many beings as possible.

It is said…

When you reach a deep state of connection with those beings …even a single morsel of food, eaten with love, will ease the hunger of all those beings, at that moment – if that is your will.

(She was still looking at me with her eyes wide open in shock and disbelief, as I dropped her off at her dad’s farmhouse.)

(hmmm…guess it turned out like a ‘twilight’ episode, after all!)