Silence, Suffering, and the Fork in the Road

A few months before my awakening, I started to feel a pull toward becoming vegetarian. Something had stirred inside me. It was during a two-week trip to Bali in June, my heart was slowly opening. Gently but surely.

I loved my border collie, Zep, deeply. And it just didn’t make sense anymore to say I loved animals while supporting their suffering and death. It felt completely off.

But it didn’t happen overnight. I struggled for about three or four months. I’d call myself vegetarian, then come home late from work and find leftover meat in the oven and eat it. It was a slow unraveling of old habits.

After my awakening in August, I went home and told my mum I was vegetarian. I come from a traditional Greek family, she was bewildered and deeply offended at first. I wasn’t eating what she cooked anymore. But over time, she came around. My mum and my Yiayia began making vegetarian and vegan versions of Greek food. It actually worked out beautifully.

These days I’m 100% vegetarian, and pretty much vegan. I don’t like the idea of wearing leather. Occasionally there might be a bit of milk or cheese in something, but that’s it. I was fully vegan for 12 months. And for six of those months, I was organic vegan, no alcohol, no drugs of any kind, not even caffeine.

But the truth is, it had been a rollercoaster journey for me eating meat, not eating meat, vegan, not vegan, vegetarian again. Be patient with yourself and let things happen. If you're feeling a pull towards a life more compassionate and empathetic, let it happen. For six months last year, I completely regressed back to eating meat and the party lifestyle. But it was temporary. It was a slingshot. I got pulled all the way back and shot into a whole new level of consciousness.

It’s been a nine-year journey of ups and downs. You know the saying: fall down seven times, get up eight. Just keep persisting with yourself. Things will change. I know they do. I’ve lived it.

Food on the spiritual path matters. What you put into the body affects the mind. If you’re drinking alcohol or doing drugs, walking the path becomes almost impossible. The whole point is to still the mind not to distort it.

What the Masters Said

Ramana Maharshi was asked about eating meat and intoxicants. He was clear:

“Moderation is the key. But meat and alcohol do stimulate the passions and are not conducive to spiritual growth. They disturb the mind. The mind that is tranquil is better able to turn inward.”— Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 27

In another instance, he said:

“The quality of food influences the mind. The mind feeds on the subtle part of food. Sattvic food (pure vegetarian) helps calm and steady the mind.”— Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 261

Sathya Sai Baba was even more direct.

He often linked the act of killing animals to a serious loss of spiritual merit:

“You take great pains to cook and eat the flesh of animals, but you do not realise the amount of pain you cause them. Why should you trouble and torture another being to appease your taste? Man is not born to cause pain to others.”— Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 7, Chapter 21

“Animals also have the Atma. Why kill them for food? It is a great sin. Meat eating and drinking will dull the spiritual sensitivity and poison the body. It is against the principle of non-violence (ahimsa).”— Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 10, Chapter 28

“How can you expect compassion, peace, or spiritual growth if your stomach is a graveyard for animals?”— Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 18, Chapter 5

“Eating flesh involves killing. Killing is a tamasic act — full of darkness, violence, and cruelty. How can such food promote light and peace in you?”— Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 9, Chapter 10

“Do not crave flesh. It is not food fit for human beings who are seeking the Divine.”— Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 6, Chapter 42

Sathya Sai Baba didn’t merely suggest vegetarianism — he called it an essential step for anyone on the path of truth, peace, love, and non-violence.