"People will watch television and they see those cowboy movies, and cowboys used to take raw meat and eat that, and they get like that. They got like animals and they used to kill anyone around. How you eat, so you become. See, the way you eat, the way you become. And that's why I want there should be much less food, because that makes you more active. If you just think about eating, eating, eating, you will get lazy like an animal. Eat less, it will make you more active.

But just don't stop eating. Lord Buddha, when He was trying to serve this Knowledge, when He was trying to serve this Truth, went in the jungle, sat there and He tried to meditate and He gave up food and everything. And what happened was, His body got really thin.

And Indra, who is supposed to be the master, who is supposed to be the god of all gods - small gods - He sent some people so as to distract Him from Meditation. But what Buddha hears from the songs they are playing was that you must meditate, and you must eat enough to survive, because you're not going to get anywhere like that.

It's not going to help you because if you are dead, you are not going to be able to meditate anymore. So eat to be alive O.K. ? This is a statement that scientists have been making, and other people have been making that "Eat to live, but don't live to eat." You understand ? Eat to live - eat enough so you can survive, but don't survive just to eat."

(July, 1972 - Denver)

"Q: Maharaj Ji, does it make a difference if a person eats meat or not ? Does it affect their Meditation.

Guru Maharaj Ji: I know one thing - 'what you eat, so you become'. I say from experience. I'll tell you one thing, since it's not meant for human beings to eat meat and there's a very logical explanation - may be you even know it.

You know, it's like people or the beings that are supposed to eat meat, like cats, lions or animals like that, they always lick water. They don't, they don't suck water. They always lick it. They take their tongue out like that. You have seen how a cat drinks water and how a dog drinks it.

But beings that suck water don't eat meat. And that's the way it's supposed to be. And man sucks water - does not lick water, since he is not supposed to eat meat. And God has provided him and made him the king of all nature - not to kill other beings, but to...

He has given all the fruits in the world, anything he wants, a big head up here ….. so he has just to utilize everything. And try to understand the beauty and to grasp the beauty of the fruits God has given us.

Because I'll tell you, it's really healthy too. Body can just really accept it. And that's the way it is. Yes ?

Q: Why wouldn't you say that when you pick a plant killing the plant too ? I mean............

Guru Maharaj Ji: Well, because that's, that's the thing; that little killing is meant to be for you. And that's O.K.

Q: A plant still has consciousness.

Guru Maharaj Ji: A plant has consciousness, but where is the consciousness?

Q: I don't know.

Guru Maharaj Ji: See, this is the thing. Where is the consciousness?

Someone: The root.

Guru Maharaj Ji: The root is the consciousness, but where does the consciousness actually lie ? Because root, if you take root itself, it's in a seed. You see, there is a little explanation to that. If you are eating meat, you are eating out of a being, right ? Like supposedly, some people eat cow, right? Cow comes from life, a mother. Right ? And that also come from a life, and it's a life to a life to a life circle. But a plant does not come from a life. It comes from dead, from a seed which is dead. It doesn't need any nutrition. It's a dead seed. When you plant it, and that's when it becomes (alive), for it to grow, and to give you fruits.

Q: What if you eat an animal that comes from a seed? I mean, an animal.........

Guru Maharaj Ji: well, I wouldn't object to.........

Q: You could call an egg a seed. A chicken comes from an egg; an egg is a seed. Isn't it? Is an egg alive? The one you buy in a store?

Guru Maharaj Ji: No. The egg is killed already. Then... see, it's like, it's not like a seed. Still it isn't like a seed. Because seed is inert, dead. If you put an egg, it'll rot. Because it has a life, and it has a period of life.

You see, everything has come from man's own conception. Because somebody… If I put a man into a cell, the day he is born from, he will never know whether a plant has a consciousness or not. It's man's own conception of it. And so far it all seems again into a conception, into a conception, multiplied by it. It all seems that these fruits are given to a human being to eat them. A man would not be able to live on meat alone. He'll have to still come to nature and ask for its fruits. But a man can live on fruits."

(January 21,1974 - Phoenix, Arizona)

"So that's it. No more reason to be confused. Just forget about it, you know. Say: "I'm not going to eat eggs, so I'm not going to eat eggs. Forget it. I'm going to eat what He tells." You wouldn't be confused about it. It's like, if you really get into explanations, man, you can go night and day long, and start giving explanations about vegetables, and about eggs, and about meat, and still come to no point.

So I just think that, really if you have to go one way, you know, make determination and go ! Really do it. Because, it's like God has given us fruits, you know, now why did He give us fruits ? He gave us fruits to eat, and He gave us all those things to eat. But if you only want to get into a discussion, you can also say, "Well, means, plants have lives in them, and when we eat them, you know, that's really bad."

Well, You know, if you cut your arm, you are not supposed to cut your arm. But if you cut your nail, it's just fine. That's the difference. Because the nails grow to be cut, not the hands. They don't grow to be cut. That's the little difference.

The plants grow for us to be eaten, to be cut by us. And all the other things are just like there, and have their own life."

(January, 1974 - Los Angeles)

"Q: Maharaj Ji, Some people say, it is not good to eat meat. Why ?

Ans: If you eat meat you will find you get more angry and impatient, and that is harmful to you. I have heard there was a time when saints told people to eat meat, but at that time there was no other food. Today we have got plenty of food, so there is no need to kill animals.

How many animals are being killed, because we eat them ? Very many. If the animals have died in a natural way, then it would be OK, may be, but then animal doctors won't allow you to eat them."

(Published in 'The Sayings of Guru Maharaj Ji' - Part IV - Divine United Organization, Shri Sant Yogashram, Hans Marg, Mehrauli, New Delhi - 110030 - Phone: 666852)