A vegan life, contrary to popular thought, is much more than a diet. To be vegan is to learn the meaning of empathy and compassion. It’s living life with ahimsa — the Sanskrit word for harmlessness. It’s like the doctors’ Hippocratic oath to “first, do no harm” which rightfully should be the oath of all human beings.
There is no more important task for all of us who seek a cause greater than ourselves, and who obey the feelings and direction of their conscience. The animal holocaust we are trying to end is still going on all over the world. We, the vegans of the world, can’t stop until the cruelty that animals of all kinds suffer is eradicated from the face of the earth, along with the cruelty that people also suffer all over the world. These two beliefs are conjoined. Cruelty itself should be abolished as a practice and even as a word in our language. There is no valid argument in favor of torture, cruelty, and killing.
Veganism is a rare panacea — good for the animals, and the people who prey upon them. It’s good for the environment (such as with methane and other greenhouse gases) as well as being good for our health, and good for otherwise starving humans whose food is being taken away to be fed to the animals we eat. It’s good for your self-esteem, and an antidote to depression because you are dealing with a life choice bigger than your own self, and you are damn proud of yourself for becoming a hero to every sentient animal on the earth.
We must not despair over the fact that so many people still don’t see such an obvious truth. That is indeed extremely frustrating. But we must always keep in mind that ahimsa and veganism are ideas whose time has come, and there is nothing that can stem the tide of an idea whose time has come.
I am more confident in the victory of light over darkness. I’ve lived from when even the word (let alone the practice) was totally obscure. And now today, pretty much every person I meet, from all walks of life, has heard the word, even if they don’t necessarily know its true meaning. If they’re open to it, we can be knowledgeable, and confident, but we must also be kind and gentle, as no other behavior will meet the desired ends.
