Veganism and Vigai
Ruchika Chitrabhanu
Vegan is a term coined in 1944 by British animal rights activist Donald Watson, a Westerner, who was inspired to become a vegetarian at the age of fourteen after witnessing the slaughter of a pig on his uncle’s farm. Eighteen years later, understanding that dairy production was unethical, he stopped consuming dairy. He founded the Vegan Society, to make a distinction between a vegetarian and a vegan lifestyle which excludes all animal products. Though the term was coined recently, the philosophy can traced back to Jainism, where Ahimsa broadly embodies non-violence in our lifestyle, with a particular emphasis on a diet that aligns with veganism. The term used by Mahavir is “vigai”. Today, Jainism has become synonymous with a diet that avoids root vegetables, but it overlooks the significance of "vigai tyaag" and the detrimental impact on the soul caused by the consumption of vigai.
What is Vigai?
णव विगईओ पण्णत्ताओ, तं जहा – खीरं, दधिं, णवणीयं, सप्पिं, तेलं, गुलो, महुं, मज्जं, मंसं ।
According to Sthanang Sutra 9, Vigais are of 9 kinds -
Milk, curd, butter, ghee, oil, jaggery, honey, wine (alcohol) and meat.
The term Vigai means:
Gai- means 4 gatis (gati is a place of birth for life - Human, celestial beings, hell beings and animal and plant kingdom)
Vi - means vishesh - that which increases the movement
Thus, Vigais are foods that increase the transmigration of the soul in the four gatis or place of birth for life
Vigai gives rise to agitation (vikrati or vikaar)
Vikrati or agitation can be at the physical, mental or psychological and spiritual level
At the psychological level, Vikrati is mental agitation or distortion of normal senses that arises with the consumption of Vigai. These foods enhance the अनुपशांत अवस्था (anupshant avasta) or the restless state of the mind.
Vikrati or Mental agitation gives rise to 4 Kashays ( negative passions) which are:
Anger - Krodh
Ego - Maan
Deceit - Maya
Greed - Lobh
These four are the basis for Attachment and Aversion (Raag and Dvesha), the cause that prevents the soul from achieving its true potential. Did you know, that greed comes first and then brings in, it’s other three friends?
At Physical level, vigai are responsible for “Pramaad” or lnertia, the main reason for attracting Karma. Inertia is the tendency to remain unchanged and remain disconnected from the soul.
At Spiritual level, the nine vigai which cause agitation become a reason to destroy Brahmacharya and this leads to the downfall of the soul . These foods, especially animal based products such as meat, honey, butter, milk, yoghurt and ghee give rise to sensual desires. Jaggery and its derivatives give rise to diseases which become the cause of obstacles in the life of an aspirant. All kinds of alcohol and wine cause harm to the brain, and oil too gives rise to diseases and agitation at different levels.
“Brahmacharya” is not always relating to sexual desire but seen as attachment to senses and the desire to gratify the senses. Our attachment to our senses is “parigraha” or possessiveness to the material world.
These foods involve multiple stages, from the stage of planning to the stages of execution (Aarambh and Samarambh). It starts with an idea followed by implementation and execution using time, natural resources like land, air, water, and simultaneously causing harm to other life forms in every stage of execution and expansion of such activities. Every life form, from one sense being to five sense beings are caused harm, and in most cases are killed in obtaining these products.
For example, forest are cleared for rearing farmed animals. Due to deforestation various plant, insect and animal species are killed. Many insects, animals and birds are left homeless and various species over the last few decades have gone extinct.
“Iriyavahiya-e sutra” mentions the term- “Thana-O -Thanam”, which means physically and emotionally displacing any living being, causing them distress and fear. This too is a form of violence.
Why is it difficult to give up Vigai?
Foods made with vigai are desired by our senses. We often remember the tastes of foods which we have relished. Similarly, we like to see, smell and hear things which are pleasing to our senses. Taste is the strongest of all the senses and therefore we find it difficult to give up such foods. For a meat- eater it is difficult to give up meat, even though she/he might be aware of the cruelty behind the food. Likewise, for a vegetarian it is hard to avoid dairy products, because they appeal to our taste buds. In the last couple of decades dairy products have penetrated so deeply in to our lifestyle that every meal of ours will have some component of dairy. It has become our comfort food. If we genuinely cared for those cows and buffaloes, we would not consume their products. But we are blindly attached to the taste of these products. This attachment is Aasakti, an attachment that is a form of Parigraha. Let’s be honest, if we genuinely cared for the well being of those cows and buffaloes, we would not consume dairy, as all those cows eventually go for slaughter. The torture it bears its entire is life even more heart- breaking. While we can take leeway in oil and jaggery, animal derived products like dairy and honey should not be consumed.
Can we consume “Ahimsak” Milk or “Ahimsak” Ghee?
Ahimsak comes from the term “Ahimsa”, which means cause NO HARM. Can milk be derived without causing any harm? In order to get the milk, the cow needs to get pregnant, which is either done through artificial insemination or an atmosphere is created where the cow “mates naturally” with the bull.This is a form of violence. In reality, there will be a few hundred cows and a handful, not even a dozen, of bulls making them pregnant. The cow will produce milk only after it delivers the calf. Logically, nature is producing that milk as food for the calf. Therefore taking that milk, which is not made for us, is stealing. As any woman would know, pregnancy is painful. Most times, the cow is made pregnant without her consent, and undergoes emotional and physical stress for nine months. The very desire to keep a cow so that we can make use of her to produce milk, the thought itself is rooted in violence. Therefore, the milk derived through certain practices, can be said to be less violent, but definitely not Ahimsak, even if the cow is not sent for slaughter. Using such a term would be misleading and a lie.
Likewise, ghee, silk, wool, eggs, honey, irrespective of how the animals are raised and kept, cannot be termed as Ahimsak.
Ayurveda promotes milk and ghee for health. Then why can’t we consume it?
Ayurveda does not give a blanket solution and say that dairy should be consumed.
Even in places it is prescribed, Dairy in Ayurveda also has to be taken in very small quantities, more like medicine. Can we make a meal out of medicines? Ayurveda practiced in ancient days was different than it is practiced today. The well being of the cows/ buffaloes was equally important. They were kept in backyards, treated as a family member, people bathed and looked after them, took them grazing, which created a bond between the animal and humans. Calves were allowed to drink as much milk they wanted, any number of times in a day, unike today where we dictate that the calf can drink milk twice in a day. In most dairies today, calves don’t even see their mothers in their lifetime and are fed food formulated by humans to produce more milk. Today we don’t even see the cows, we don’t know how they are kept, and often we are becoming the reason for separation between the mother and child. In today’s times, milk comes from exploitation, physical and emotional pain and such milk is not even promoted by Ayurveda. Ayurveda says to avoid dairy if it is coming through physical and emotional pain and such dairy becomes the root cause for diseases. Cows/ buffaloes are injected with antibiotics and hormones. This is causing antibiotic resistance, which is harmful even from the perspective of Ayurveda.
Ayurveda comes from Hinduism. Mahavir says Vigai tyaag which includes dairy products. Ayurveda also promotes Honey, which Mahavir says is a “Maha Vigai” and the gateway to hell.
Both Vigai Tyaag and Veganism stem from Ahimsa. Both promote health, environmental and spiritual benefits. One observation was that when vigai tyaag is done with the intention of evolving spiritually, it supersedes veganism.
For Jains to simply avoid meat or root vegetables is not sufficient adherence to the teachings of Tirthankars. Moving towards Nirdosh Aahar is essential. The first step on that journey is to stop harming five sense animals by moderating and eventually eliminating the consumption of animal-derived Vigais
