And to the People of India - The Vegetarian World Forum, Summer 1957
The
Vegetarian World Forum
No. 2 Vol. XI - SUMMER 1957
pp.16-17:
AND TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIA
ALL my life I have longed to visit India, for I have always felt it to be my
old homeland, with
its ancient culture, noble ideals, and philosophies. It will be a great
privilege for me to attend the Indian Congress as the representative of The Vegetarian Society, parent
society of the
vegetarian movement. My heart is already with you and will be full of joy at
the reunion.
Pride is not a good thing, but in its best sense you must be proud of India
and. always cherish
your own culture, which has preserved aspects of truth so lacking in Western
civilization.
We, in our growth as an industrial nation, have made every possible
mistake, though we like
to think there has been, and still is, some good in us. We are very
imperfect and, as a nation, still
kill for food, for sport, and for political and economical expediency. I
mention these things, not to
run down my own people, who are just emerging from a long dark age with you,
but to emphasize
that scientific knowledge and material possessions should only be a means
to an end and not an
end in themselves.
Never forget that Mahatma Gandhi's creed of non-violence and the
implications of Ahimsa
are as vital to the whole world, as they are to you and the creature
kingdom. They are your supreme
gift to the world. In Ahimsa you have something which will lift us all from
the abyss in which
we find ourselves.
Having a great heritage is an equally great individual responsibility. Every time
an individual
takes a downward step the whole nation goes down that much - so does mankind - for in a cosmic
sense this earth is a living unit.
For many of you vegetarianism is natural, because your parents brought you up without fleshfoods for religious reasons, or because of economic pressure But for some time now religious bonds have been loosening, and this is a good thing which should not be resisted or feared It is desirable that we should do our own thinking and reasoning - a man is not spiritual just because he behaves outwardly like one who is. So in this period of change, increased prosperity, and re-assessment, we must be careful to recognize what is good and what is bad - and act accordingly.
Vegetarianism is one of the good things and is absolutely essential for
spiritual evolution; your great religions and your yogis have taught this for ages. Flesheating
and cannibalism, are
different only in degree and,are downward steps back to the jungle.
"A man winnows his neighbour's faults like chaff, but his own fault he
hides." Nevertheless,
though we greatly admire those who stand by their principles, we sometimes
find Indian students
and engineering apprentices, boys with generations of vegetarianism behind
them, coming to
England and thinking it is impossible to be vegetarian here and making but
little effort to try.
Some think it is clever to copy Western habits. We admit that it is not
always easy here, but it
is never impossible and there are at least 80,000 vegetarians living good
healthy lives, and about
45 local vegetarian societies, all of which will do their best to help.
Retrogression may come about because children brought up as- vegetarians do
not necessarily
know the real reasons why only that some bygone religious leader laid down a
law. We find the
same thing happening in England among life vegetarians - the parents remain
steadfast because
they did their own thinking, while the children may be drawn away by
orthodox habits and the wish
not to appear different from the herd. To young people brought up to use
their own minds and
powers of reasoning, custom, however hallowed, is not sufficient - it may have
been in the past,
but it is not to-day.
To stem any possible recession from a truly wholesome way of life vegetarian societies are essential and should be established in every town as centres from which a balanced propaganda can go out - with hard facts which show why fleshloods are bad for health, faulty sources of nutrition, bad for the nation's economy, bad morally, a hindrance to creature evolution and to true progress in every sphere of life.
It is our earnest prayer that the 15th World Vegetarian Congress will stimulate a greater interest in the neglected science of nutrition and be instrumental in establishing vegetarian societies throughout India.
Yours sincerely,
Geoffrey L. Rudd
Representative to the indian Congress from The Vegetarian Society
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