This lecture is undoubtedly going to be somewhat controversial for some! Brace yourselves!

In this week's Bhakti Yoga lecture, we take a few excerpts from Swami Vivekananda's "The Methods and the Means (for practicing Bhakti Yoga)" from Volume III of the Complete Works to explain the role of diet, ethics and other preliminaries in spiritual life.

"If I want to practice spirituality, then, should I become a vegetarian? How important is a vegetarian diet to spiritual life, anyway? Should I avoid onions and garlic and other rājāsic foods? Should I stay clear of mushrooms and leeks and such tamasic foods? What really qualifies as a "sattvic" diet, after all?"

These questions naturally come to mind when we take up spiritual life, especially within the context of Sanātana Dharma.

Also, a naturally related question to vegetarianism is the ethical question of Ahimsā, non-violence. The Buddha and Mahavīra, the founder of Jainism made this ideal the very heart of their respective traditions and everywhere it is emphasized: one should not harm others in word, thought or deed. But what does that really mean? And do I have to be perfectly non-violent before I can take up spiritual life?

As we explore these dietary and ethical pre-requisites, we discover that there is only one real pre-requisite to spiritual life which Swami Vivekananda emphasizes towards the end of the reading: strength! Physical and mental strength!

May Swami Vivekananda bless us all with strength!

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