Veggie or Non-Veggie

Personally , I don't want to write controversial topics.....But the writer in me is asking to write a one...Here it is.....

Let me ask these questions and try analysing this topic . My friend Sarvesh Upadhyaya, Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University helped me a lot in gathering points..Most of the points are from our debate!!!!!!!!!

(1) What is a vegetarian ???? (Let's fix the STANDARD definition first..)

(2) Is there any difference between vegetarian and non-vegetarian ???

(3) Man (Homosaphiens) by evolution (nature's creation) is veggie or non-veggie ???

(4) Is it meaningful to be a vegetarian ???

Definition: Only Herbivorous (i.e: plant eating including fruits) are all vegetarians. We don't want to go into debates such as egg i and milk s vegg ie or non-veg. Lets "assume" these controversial egg and milk items are non-veg.

Is there any difference between eating plants and animals ?? ..................................................

Scientifically, plants and animals are all living beings. They have the same system except animals have well developed nervous system. Plants infact have a better system to adaptability. They funtion similar to animals (except locomotion) . There is no biological and functional difference between a plant or even a single celled amoeba (or even bacteria). They do most of the activities similar to animals. No clear demarcation line can be drawn indicating the basic functional differences. If animals have spirit or soul, then plants do have same spirit as their functionalities are similar. But the main difference exists in the form of chemical composition . For ex: Plants have more cellulose and animals have more proteins.

Is eating meat a sin??................................................................

I don't think eating meat is sin because the nature who created us has created lion and tiger who devours herbivourous animals. If concept of sin is applied to us, then it is applied to all the carnivorous animals including lion and tiger.

Man (Homosaphiens) by evolution (nature's creation) is veggie or non-veggie ??.........................

Man by evolution is vegetarian. simple argument is Homosaphiens when evolved don't have stronger teeth, bigger mouth and stronger nails (incomparison to carnivorous). These three things are essential for the meat eaters. Say for example, all the carnivorous uses these three basic systems to devour on another animals. Nails are used to tear the flesh, kill the prey. Bigger mouth and stronger teeth is used to bite at the neck of the prey. Ours are comparitively much weeker even though we are advanced creatures of the nature, which means we are not created as a non-veggie.

Is it meaningful to be a vegetarian ??............................................

By the second argument, yes it is not meaningful to be a vegetarian as eating plants and animals are all one and the same (all living being with most of the similar functionalities). But being the matured race of the evolution, I feel it is important to save the other species. Also, by evolution (when created) Homosaphiens are only vegetarians. If we believe nature as the god (so evolution a god's process), then our default state is vegetarian.

Finally to conclude, If you are satisfied with your current state as veggie or non-veggie, better stick with it...because it gives you satisfaction.

I welcome all of your comments on this controversial topic. I believe each others belief is respectable.

Note: I am still a type of veggie ( sometimes egg, most of the times milk products) .

The tenth day.....

This is a sad story about one of my best friends.........

One of my childhood friend is a nice, handsome, intellectual and enlightened guy. He can influence lot of people with his charisma. He attracts people with his funny and humorous character. I am personally a fan of him. This friend visited me in an official tour, when I was working after my graduation. He wanted to stay there for some couple of days (may be a month or so). This is the sad story happened during these days...

I introduced him to my friends circle. Even in the first few hours of his visit, he got popular. Within a day or two, he got around 20 friends. Unfortunately at the third day, I got an urgent call from my native place and I had to leave to my hometown. I gave him my house key and I asked him to reside in my home.


In the meantime, He was getting more popular. People started visiting him daily especially in the evenings when all their work has been finished. He was celebrated like a Bollywood hero. Everyone started praising him , prepared and brought variety of dishes. There he was forced to eat their dishes. Each day people were competing to attract him. He was very happy. This continued until the tenth day.

Then the sad incident happened. In the tenth day evening, as usual lot of people visited him. They celebrated him and four strong guys came forward from the crowd, they lifted him and carried him to the nearby river. The crowd followed him. My friend thought that there is a special party arranged for him near by the river bank. But he was not aware of the real situation. They took him inside the river, Immersed him there, left him there, informed him that "This is the place you have to reside, this ceremony is for leaving you here only" and then they returned back.

He was surprised. He was surprised that "Why people showed lot of love to me, celebrated me???..I never asked for celebration or love, Why after ten days, they throw me out???". He was confused. He was sobering "Why people have done this to me. What mistake I did? Is this ups and downs are a part of my life?".

Note:- The guy whom I am talking is Lord Ganesh. On the occasion of Ganesh Chathurthi (Birthday of Ganesh), He (typically statue made of sand) will be celebrated for 10 days and on the tenth day, that Ganesh statue will be immersed and dissolved into the river or sea (called Visarjan). Visarjan is done to point out that creation & destruction, birth & death are a part of ones life.

Drinking Beer

Note: I am not a competitive drinker...Until now just three times..in period of two yrs in Canada. These are the view points of an Amateur drinker...

"I am a good guy.. I wont take beer.... I will remain a good guy...."

" People who take beer are frustrated guys.. They try to enjoy their life in a pseudo world...".

This is what i was thinking when I was doing my undergraduate. My friends called me a "fruit" because i was not drinking even beer. I continued to live the same after I my undergraduate degree.

Seasons changed. Monsoons returned. I entered Canada. I saw people roaming with glasses of wine and bottles of beer in their shirt and pant pockets. "Really all these people are frustrated ? Really they don't know how to enjoy their real life ???" I asked myself.

Once in my friends home, I wanted to try the experiment. " How a beer will taste like ??". I remembered one of my friends words "Beer will taste like a bitter yogurt". Being from South India, I like yogurt very much. and I wanted to try that new type of yogurt which comes in beer bottle.

Then, I started having a sip of beer. I was not liking it. I started asking my friends " How people love it ? Why they want to drink it ? They love the taste or the 'relaxed behavior' or drinking is hyped as form of socializing ?". They replied "Don't ask , just do it". They said again "Drink three to four times, three to four cups. You will come to know". I thought I will be feeling guilty of having the sip of beer. But I was not. Meanwhile, one of my friends also gave me a biological opinion about beer. "Beer is good for health. It cleans your digestive system. It kills bacteria."

In the meantime, I met some of the Germans who drink about 4 liters of beer per day and do a good job. For some people, beer is like water. They don't drink water. After some analysis and my good experiments, I finally concluded "people drink beer mainly for socializing. It gives them a relaxed feeling". It is hyped much in Indian cinema that drinking is bad. Yes drinking is bad..too much of drinking is bad. Drinking without control is bad.

To end, "Drinking beer is not always bad for health. But drinking more up to the point of losing consciousness is bad. It makes you look crazy. It affects your liver. ".

Now here is my new thought process.............

" I am not a frustated guy... I am a real happy guy.... I am not taking more beer"

" I am a good guy... I take only limited beer.. I will remain a good guy by taking limited beer..."

The defender

"I was sweating in the AC room...."

It was really tough time. They drilled, roasted, fried, barbiqued me. After I came to Canada (nearly 2 years), this is the first time my friends found me sweating. Lot of questions about everything, almost anything from whatever i worked on my thesis. It was 90 minutes continuous shoot up. It was an open defence. Some of my friends here in my University were more scared than me. They said "It was like watching horror film".

Finally when the committee head said me, "Bala, you have passed your Master's ......". I was not even had energy to celebrate it. But I know I was really happy to hear it out.

I understood at the end of my defence "what a friend in need means", why is it necessary to have good friends?. I was proud of myself; not in my technical ability, but in my ability to make good friends. I feel afterall the technical stuffs will never go beyond some extent.

I also feel that as far as anything ends in a constructive manner, destructive things can happen. I know that these "nice" things happens once in my life time. If I pass sooooo smooth, then there is no fun in it. I know I was scared enough. But I enjoyed the thrill of the ride. And it ended up with a big celebration.

Finally, I thank all of my friends who travelled with me in this ride.