Hygiene is that what is conducive to one's existence and growth. It should be our duty to see in everything as to what keeps one's existence and growth in tact. Tested truth in this respect should be alluring to us. We should observe and practice it in our day to day life as long as we wish to live. We should not mind to hold on to it irrespective of the country it is discovered and tested retaining our specific instinctive trait in tact.
What harm if one procures one's nutritive value from the non-vegetarian diet? I had such impressions in my childhood days. So I experimented with fish-eating. What I found was at least for a couple of week following eating of fish, my finer visions remained obscured. It hampered concentration of mind. Really what little I knew. I began to think like that. It was better to follow the teachings of those Great Masters who on had the basis of their realization recommended vegetarian diet as Ideal food. I had also noticed, vegetarians were not so vitally affected by any diseases as in the case of non-vegetarians. Human system as well as animal belonged to the same category. In many respects we are all alike. Of course individual distinctive characteristics- wise exception was there. But it was a fact that animal diet was not easily digestive. Because animal diet generated toxin in the body which irritated the nervous system. It reduced human capacity for tolerance. What ever may be the cause the more one's nervous system was incapacitated and unbalanced, the more one fell victim to ego, anger, violence and intolerance. Man had acquired plenty of knowledge, yet he was far behind. He had yet to learn and accomplish a lot. We could not comprehend this because we did not have such finer vision. Our body was the result of a long accumulated accomplishment of our ancestors. That which guided this body towards further perfection was Dharma. Instinct and libido within it were the prime capital. Gifted with these resources, one should be God-centric.
Non-vegetarian diet can never be natural diet. It may be called a distorted taste. The agonized felling and suffering of an animal when it is killed, is as good as of a human being too. How strange is it that merely to satisfy our palate, we do not hesitate in the least to kill an animal of flesh and blood, exactly like ours? I feel each animal is an undeveloped human being. It is really astonishing that we are scared when a human being is sacrificed but do not react at all when an animal is killed. If our sensitivity is so badly stained with passion, it tends to become heartless and unsympathetic, then in the interest of our complexes if need be, we will not hesitate to assault on human being too. So I say better not to eat non-vegetarian food. Let them (animal) enjoy their little days. They have weal and woes, they also want their own good, they also posses mind of their own, why shall we cause pain to them? As far as I know vegetarian food is good both for body and mind as well.
Apart from milk, one can get plenty of protein from boiled dal, pasted sesamum and pasted nuts also. Instead of drinking so much of tea, if one take a cup of milk and sips it, is better. It extends one's life span. But take care that one should take the quantity as much as one can digest easily.
Instead of throwing away the water with which you have washed your rice, it is better to prepare other food with it (water). It is not good for health to press out excess water from the boiled rice. Add salt to your curry just before bringing it down. Do not do it earlier, so that its food value is spoiled. Don't spoil the natural sugar of the vegetables putting sugar in to it.
I think there is hardly any food as nutritious as Havisyanna (Sacred Rice). It consists of sunned rice, green plantain, pasted dal, pasted sesamum, ghee, milk, banana, etc. I feel, it makes up for all kinds of deficiencies. It is also good to eat some fresh fruits and vegetables. But see that fresh fruits and vegetables should not be taken with Havisyanna while observing for the sake of penance. I feel, if one labors hard, practices Holy Name, regularly, enjoys peace of mind and is able to digest simple rice and dal, can absorb enough nutrition from it also. I also feel, instead of costly tonics, if one can digest panchamrits (five kinds of nectars) such as milk curd, ghee, honey and sugar, gives better result. If all these ingredients are pure, it is likely to digest easily.
-Sri Sri Thakur
