by Laurence Main
Many acknowledge the Christmas message in the eleventh chapter of the
book of Isaiah: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; and the spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge." But few connect
this "Prince of Peace" with the words of Isaiah a little later (verses 6
to 9): "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall
lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling
together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of
the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
THEY SHALL NOT HURT NOR DESTROY IN ALL MY HOLY MOUNTAIN: FOR THE EARTH
SHALL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD, AS THE WATERS COVER THE
SEA."
Despite such a message, Christmas has become synonymous with an orgy
of killing and eating birds and animals. The Church seems to condone
such practices, and few that would call themselves Christians restrict
their diet to that which God originally gave to man in Genesis, Chap.1
verse 29: "And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing
seed, which is upon the face of all the Earth, and every tree, in the
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for
meat.'
Being free from commitment to any religious group, the Vegan Society
has kept clear of the controversy of what defines a Christian. It is
worth recording, however - if only for our self-defence against
Christians convinced of the sanctity of eating flesh, that some believe
a vegan diet to be consistent with the original Christianity that was
later corrupted. A feature of the final years of the Age of Pisces has
been the recovery of lost records and the discovery of cross-references
which give hope of a more accurate picture of Jesus Christ and the early
Christians. One prominent researcher is Hugh J. Schonfield and it is
interesting to note, on page 154 of his book "Secrets of the Dead Sea
Scrolls", that: "Hegesippus, as quoted by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. Bk. ll
xxiii), says that James, (the brother of Jesus Christ), called the Just
by All, 'was consecrated from his mother's womb. He drank neither wine
nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never
came upon his head, he never anointed with oil, and never used a bath
(i.e. a public bathing establishment). He alone was allowed to enter the
sanctuary. He never wore woollen, only linen garments'."
This same James became the leader of the Christians after Jesus
Christ's disappearance and was eventually martyred by a stone-throwing
mob, whom he prayed that God would forgive 'for they know not what they
do.'
Modern Christianity is derived more from the beliefs of Paul, which
were at variance with those early "Followers of the Way" who actually
knew Jesus. Even so, in Romans, Chap. 14, verse 21, we find: "It is good
neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy
brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." These words are
preceded in the same chapter, verse 14, with the reminder: "... the
kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and
joy in the Holy Ghost." Such a reminder illustrates the fact that
veganism is only a part of a greater whole. A vegan way of life is a
practical expression of love which can only be approached with humility
and a deep desire to avoid hurting others.
Throughout history appalling crimes have been committed by people in
the firm belief that they were doing nothing wrong - even 'saving
souls'. Intolerance is a species of violence, but our attitude to others
should be positive appreciation rather than negative toleration. Gandhi
recognised no other God than Truth and the only means for the
realisation of Truth is love or Ahimsa. Knowledge of Truth and the
practice of love are impossible without self-purification, with only the
pure in heart able to see God. Gandhi's mark of spirituality was not
exile from the natural world but work in it with love for all. "Love to
the loveless shown, that they might lovely be." This condition is
absolute. There must be freedom and equality of status. We must not
degrade the vision to the demands of the actual but must raise the
actual to the pattern of the ideal. Our love of liberty and justice must
exclude the passive violence of refusing to reform a situation which is
contrary to the professed ideals. If greed, cruelty and contempt of life
have gone to the making of our established way of life, we must change
it. Until we act honestly in this matter we cannot secure a better
world. We must adopt a policy of non-violent non-co-operation with evil,
based on hatred of the wrong and love for the wrong-doer.
We are controlled by unchecked science and technology, no longer
troubled by such doubts as those so wisely expressed by Leonardo da
Vinci when he suppressed his invention of the submarine "on account of
the evil nature of man."
There is no political way out of the world's mess, with politicians
living from day to day and basing their policies on selfish interests,
even stooping to use conspicuous minorities as convenient scapegoats. As
it becomes harder to maintain and justify our accepted extravagant and
cruel way of life, politicians can be expected to become tougher in its
defence, tightening their grip on foreign states and taking emergency
measures to protect their domestic position. Dinosaur-like vested
interests cannot be expected to develop necessary change. The
responsibility is ours. We must perceive reality. All selfish interests
must be dropped, along with greed and envy. The final years of this
century hold a spiritual crisis which will demand a great leap forward
in our consciousness. As Ronald Higgins writes in "The Seventh Enemy:
The Human Factor in the Global Crisis": "Rarely has so much hinged on
our power to love."
Our faith in the New Age will enable us to recognise its birth-pangs.
We must turn from the single vision of objective reason, the
'rationality' that makes scientists torture animals. The Truth is more
elusive - the visionary awareness of the poet or mystic. No barren
precision is sought, but the encompassing mystery, the knowledge OF
rather than the scientific knowledge ABOUT. Animals present us with a
test case, and by our conduct to them in their innocence and weakness
our own standards are truly fixed. Admit that the strong have the right
to exploit the weak and the essential lesson of life is lost. What use
is science if it is not governed by ethics?
The feminine principle needs liberating. This is far from advocating
that women should take on the role of men. We need to be more receptive,
less assertive, associated with love rather than with power. By
welcoming our tensions we can raise our consciousness. By recognising
our evils we can overcome them and be made whole. This Christmas we must
look forward to a second coming, at least in our hearts. Perhaps unseen
powers are at work in ways that we cannot comprehend, though we can
sense and even apprehend them if we are willing to be silent and listen.
"Everyone of us, every group with which we live and work must become
the model of the era which we desire to create. We must live the future
now." - Ivan Illich ("The Celebration of Awareness")
From The Vegan (Winter 1982)
Reproduced with thanks.
