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Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet Kindle Edition
Although diet is commonly considered a matter of physical health alone, since the Hermetic principle “as above, so below” is a fundamental truth of the cosmos, diet is a crucial aspect of emotional, intellectual, and spiritual development. For diet and consciousness are interrelated, and purity of diet is an effective aid to purity and clarity of consciousness.
The purification of our subtler levels depends upon the purification of our physical entity. This makes sense when we realize that all that goes to constitute a human being is formed of energies of various types, and the only source of energy is that which is brought into the body through sunlight, air, and food. And it is material food that provides by far the greatest amount of the energy from which our multilevel complex is shaped.
When we realize that any physical object has all the levels which we do, namely, the physical, biomagnetic, sensory, intellectual and will bodies, we can understand the importance of the kind and quality of food we eat. For not only does the physical substance of the food become assimilated into our physical body, so also do the subtler energies become united to our inner levels.
The Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet explains in detail about how diet affects not only the body, but the mind, the will, higher perceptions, and conscious evolution, all of which are so important for an effective spiritual life.
The next section, Christian Vegetarianism, continues with a consideration of the esoteric side of diet, as well as the vegetarian roots of early Christianity, as well as an insightful exploration of vegetarianism in the Old and New Testaments.
The Spiritual Value of Vegetarianism
The major thing to keep in mind when considering the subject of vegetarianism is its relevancy in relation to our explorations of consciousness. We need only ask: Does it facilitate my spiritual growth–the development and expansion of my consciousness? The answer is Yes.
For anyone interested in exploring the spiritual advantages of a vegetarian diet, this book is essential reading.
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Product details
- ASIN : B06XCB4RSK
- Publisher : Light of the Spirit Press (26 February 2017)
- Language : English
- File size : 1.0 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 68 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #627,045 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #8,163 in Food, Drink & Entertaining (Kindle Store)
- #17,848 in Food, Drink & Entertaining (Books)
- #21,979 in Personal Health eBooks
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) is the founder and director of the Atma Jyoti Ashram (Light of the Spirit Monastery) in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, USA.
In his many pilgrimages to India, he had the opportunity of meeting some of India’s greatest spiritual figures, including Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Anandamayi Ma. During his first trip to India he was made a member of the ancient Swami Order by Swami Vidyananda Giri, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, who had himself been given sannyas by the Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Bharati Krishna Tirtha.
In the United States he also encountered various Christian saints, including Saint John Maximovich of San Francisco and Saint Philaret Voznesensky of New York.
For many years Swami Nirmalananda has researched the identity of Jesus Christ and his teachings with India and Sanatana Dharma, including Yoga. It is his conclusion that Jesus lived in India for most of his life, and was a yogi and Sanatana Dharma missionary to the West. After his resurrection he returned to India and lived the rest of his life in the Himalayas.
He is the author of a number of books on meditation and practical spiritual life, including Soham Yoga: The Yoga of the Self, The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening, The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening, May a Christian Believe in Reincarnation?, and The Christ of India: The Story of Original Christianity.
Customer reviews
Top reviews from India
Top reviews from other countries
- D. SpringReviewed in the United States on 7 April 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Swami Nirmalananda Giri's wisdom, compassion, and humor shine through this fantastic exploration of vegetarianism!
Verified PurchaseI've come to really love all the writings by Swami Nirmalananda Giri, as they are a perfect synthesis of the wisdom of East and West, written in an extremely accessible way for any reading. I find myself very often pointing friends and clients to his works, as they really elucidate deep philosophy in a way that really makes sense to the modern mind. I think it's especially wonderful for many Westerners who were brought up in a Christian faith to be able to see how well the wisdom of Christ and the Bible mesh with the spirituality from the Vedic and Hindu traditions, providing a truly nurturing interfaith discussion that will help any person find deeper meaning and purpose in whatever faith they may currently follow.
The writings on vegetarianism are no exception to this. While it's wonderful that vegetarianism and veganism are becoming so mainstream due to the political, animal welfare, global environmental, and physical human health impacts, some might still not quite understand the reason behind so many spiritual paths espousing it as well. The information provided in the Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet make it abundantly clear the subtle energetic effects and benefits of a plant-based diet, which can provide even more clarity on why adopting such a diet would be desirable.
The chapter I most love, however, is the one that goes into the Christian views of vegetarianism. So often you hear people using the verse speaking of G-d giving dominion over the animals to man as a justification for their consumption. However, as Swami Nirmalananda Giri lovingly points out, this is really based on mis-translations and misunderstandings of the true context of the scriptures. Without resorting to melodramatics or an overly righteous tone, which can easily turn off someone exploring the topic, you can hear his wisdom and compassion shine through while he highlights the actual Christian teachings on the matter. I absolutely love it!
It's an easy to read offering, which I highly recommend to any and everyone!
- CM KingReviewed in the United States on 16 February 2020
4.0 out of 5 stars A motivational viewpoint
Verified PurchaseThis book is helpful for anyone and everyone on the path of enlightenment. He covers eastern and western religious pathways to higher consciousness and the necessity to abstain from meat, fish and eggs. I wanted to know why eggs are bad but I did not see it covered here.
There were several repetitious paragraphs that I thought was an editing problem but is just reiterations. It's a good read but I do not believe everyone acts like the meat they eat or take on their lower instincts. There are spiritual masters that have eaten meat and also attained great heights of enlightenment and miracle working.
It is interesting to hear about the effects on our environment of raising more and more animals for food and the waste, pollution and gases that are produced...It is enormous. If more people realized this they would take the vegetarian path.
- Tracy A MintonReviewed in the United States on 2 December 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book
Verified PurchaseI have this book on my Kindle app on my phone. I very much enjoyed it, and it has been one piece of many that have helped me return back to eating a vegetarian / whole foods, plant-based diet. I have remorse for having fallen back into the meat eating vortex, and was happy to read about meat eating v. vegetarianism from a more spiritual / energetic perspective.
- Debs viewReviewed in the United States on 3 April 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoy reading everything by Abbott George Burke
Verified PurchaseI really enjoy reading everything by Abbott George Burke. I love the way he brings together a combination of research from various sources and puts it together with his own professional commentary. Spiritual Benefits To A Vegetarian Diet is no exception. It's an informative read. From my own personal experience I already know this is true. The cleaner your diet the more you get to know who you really are and find your spiritual self and so much more. In this book I love how Abbott George Burke has brought together so many sources to confirm this truth and it's practice and put it all in one place to share with everyone.
- EmilyReviewed in the United States on 25 May 2017
3.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Verified PurchaseWhile I don't necessarily agree with the author and some of his interpretations, I found this book to be well-written and easy to read. He made some very interesting points and backed them up with research. The book also had a good flow to it. Did it convince me to switch to vegetarianism? No. It did remind me to be conscious of the quality and sources of my food and to be more conscious of where my meat comes from and how it's raised, even though that wasn't a goal of the book. I do think it presents spirituality in a unique light.