The Baha'i Way of Kindness to Animals, Earth, the Poor, and Self

By: Jera Jones

March 17, 2009

The exemplar to Baha'is, 'Abdu'l-Baha, has written: "Regarding the eating of animal flesh and abstinence therefrom, know thou of a certainty that, in the beginning of creation, God determined the food of every living being, and to eat contrary to that determination is not approved. For instance, beasts of prey, such as the wolf, lion and leopard, are endowed with ferocious, tearing instruments, such as hooked talons and claws. From this it is evident that the food of such beasts is meat.... But now coming to man, we see he hath neither hooked teeth nor sharp nails or claws, nor teeth like iron sickles. From this it becometh evident and manifest that the food of man is cereal and fruit. Some of the teeth of man are like millstones to grind the grain, and some are sharp to cut the fruit. Therefore he is not in need of meat, nor is he obliged to eat it. Even without eating meat he would live with the utmost vigour and energy.... Truly, the killing of animals and the eating of their meat is somewhat contrary to pity and compassion, and if one can content oneself with cereals, fruit, oil and nuts, such as pistachios, almonds and so on, it would undoubtedly be better and more pleasing." (From a Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha to an individual believer, Selections from the Baha'i Writings on Some Aspects of Health and Healing, a compilation of the Universal House of Justice, Baha'i Publishing Trust, New Delhi, 1974, pp. 7-8.)

Reasons that this writer has heard Baha'is give for rejecting the plant-based diet advanced by 'Abdu'l-Baha include the following:

* They don't want to appear "extreme" to others in the community to whom they wish to teach the truths of the Baha'i Faith.

* The wordings of the passages in the writings on vegetarianism and kindness to animals seem to excuse those "in poor health" from living up to the ideals stated.

* There are references in the Baha'i writings to "the future" when discussing the reasons for a plant-based diet. Even with passages a hundred years old, some Baha'is aren't convinced that "the future" is here yet.

Baha'is are being severely persecuted in certain parts of the world, such as Iran, and it is not the intent of any dedicated souls in the world-wide Baha'i community to draw criticism upon themselves or their community for anything other than their steadfast devotion to this divine dispensation. Already, we are adherents of a minority religion, we don't drink alcohol or use narcotics, we keep different holy days, we skip lunch 19 days a year, we have an additional litany of prayers and holy writings, we believe in all the Holy Messengers of God, we believe in the unity and the equality of mankind. Do we need to add the extreme vegan diet and lifestyle to the list of how we differ from everyone else? The tide is beginning to turn. We don't want to be the last to get on board. There is a growing movement of people who decry the mistreatment of the animals used in the human food supply, who have learned of the health benefits of the plant-based diet, and who would possibly be offended if they went to a Baha'i function and saw dead animal carcasses on the table. Many in the vegan movement already accept the oneness of religion and the oneness of mankind. Once they recognize Baha'ullah as the Divine Messenger for the current age, they will embrace the faith in droves. Bringing meat to a Baha'i potluck may suddenly become gauche.

"O ye beloved of the Lord! The Kingdom of God is founded upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every living soul. Strive ye then with all your heart to treat compassionately all humankind--except for those who have some selfish, private motive, or some disease of the soul. Kindness cannot be shown the tyrant, the deceiver, or the thief, because, far from awakening them to the error of their ways, it maketh them to continue in their perversity as before. No matter how much kindliness ye may expend upon the liar, he will but lie the more, for he believeth you to be deceived, while ye understand him but too well, and only remain silent out of your extreme compassion.

"Briefly, it is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. For in all physical respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by animal and man. Man hath not grasped this truth, however, and he believeth that physical sensations are confined to human beings, wherefore is he unjust to the animals, and cruel.

"And yet in truth, what difference is there when it cometh to physical sensations? The feelings are one and the same, whether ye inflict pain on man or on beast. There is no difference here whatever. And indeed ye do worse to harm an animal, for man hath a language, he can lodge a complaint, he can cry out and moan; if injured he can have recourse to the authorities and these will protect him from his aggressor. But the hapless beast is mute, able neither to express its hurt nor take its case to the authorities. If a man inflict a thousand ills upon a beast, it can neither ward him off with speech nor hale him into court. Therefore is it essential that ye show forth the utmost consideration to the animal, and that ye be even kinder to him than to your fellow man.

"Train your children from their earliest days to be infinitely tender and loving to animals. If an animal be sick, let the children try to heal it, if it be hungry, let them feed it, if thirsty, let them quench its thirst, if weary, let them see that it rests.

"Most human beings are sinners, but the beasts are innocent. Surely those without sin should receive the most kindness and love--all except animals which are harmful, such as bloodthirsty wolves, such as poisonous snakes, and similar pernicious creatures, the reason being that kindness to these is an injustice to human beings and to other animals as well. If, for example, ye be tender-hearted toward a wolf, this is but tyranny to a sheep, for a wolf will destroy a whole flock of sheep. A rabid dog, if given the chance, can kill a thousand animals and men. Therefore, compassion shown to wild and ravening beasts is cruelty to the peaceful ones--and so the harmful must be dealt with. But to blessed animals the utmost kindness must be shown, the more the better. Tenderness and loving-kindness are basic principles of God's heavenly Kingdom. Ye should most carefully bear this matter in mind." (From Selections From the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Section 138, http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAB/sab-139.html)

In the late 19th to early 20th centuries, when Baha'u'llah's son and heir, 'Abdu'l-Baha, was lecturing and writing in Palestine, Europe, and America, the feed-lot system had not yet developed to it's present degree of mercilessness. Animals are penned in small cages side by side and tiered above and below, newborn and mothers are deprived of one another, branding, ear-notching, castration, and beak clipping are done without anesthesia, butchering is a heartless assembly-line affair, forests are being cleared at an alarming rate to make way for more feedlots and dairies, the great aquifers are disappearing, the ocean ecosystem is on the verge of collapse due to overfishing. Your diet is either part of the problem or part of the solution. In fact, if you consume meat and dairy, your diet has a greater impact on resource depletion and global warming than does your transportation -- no matter what you drive.

Regarding the health benefits of a simple, plant-based diet, 'Abdu'l-Baha writes: "If humankind were free from the defilements of sin and waywardness, and lived according to a natural, inborn equilibrium, without following wherever their passions led, it is undeniable that diseases would no longer take the ascendant, nor diversify with such intensity. But man hath perversely continued to serve his lustful appetites, and he would not content himself with simple foods. Rather, he prepared for himself food that was compounded of many ingredients, of substances differing one from the other. With this, and with the perpetrating of vile and ignoble acts, his attention was engrossed, and he abandoned the temperance and moderation of a natural way of life. The result was the engendering of diseases both violent and diverse.... The Bab hath said that the people of Baha must develop the science of medicine to such a high degree that they will heal illnesses by means of foods.... Observe how an animal will graze in a field where there are a hundred thousand kinds of herbs and grasses, and how, with its sense of smell, it snuffeth up the odours of the plants, and tasteth them with its sense of taste; then it consumeth whatever herb is pleasurable to these senses, and benefiteth therefrom. Were it not for this power of selectivity, the animals would all be dead in a single day; for there are a great many poisonous plants, and animals know nothing of the pharmacopoeia. And yet, observe what a reliable set of scales they have, by means of which to differentiate the good from the injurious. Whatever constituent of their body hath decreased, they can rehabilitate by seeking out and consuming some plant that hath an abundant store of that diminished element; and thus the equilibrium of their bodily components is re-established, and they are rid of their disease.... At whatever time highly-skilled physicians shall have developed the healing of illnesses by means of foods, and shall make provision for simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind from living as slaves to their lustful appetites, it is certain that the incidence of chronic and diversified illnesses will abate, and the general health of all mankind will be much improved." (Selections From the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Pages: 152-156, http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAB/sab-135.html)

There are now some physicians who attempt to help people heal by fasting and simple foods, but these are persecuted by the mainstream: unjust lawsuits have driven many of them out of practice. Pharmaceuticals are big business. Unfortunately, the profit motive seems to force the curriculum of doctors toward drugs and surgery, and away from herbs, fasting, and simple foods. There is very little research being done on nutrition, and many physicians, who are quite capable of expert surgical and drug interventions, do not give adequate, or even helpful, dietary advice to their patients. I have seen people suffer and die saying, "I am only going to follow my doctor's instructions"; others survive and thrive after exploring alternatives, such as a raw plant-based diet.

Children are indoctrinated both at school and by the media on behalf of the interests of the big food corporations. Only by questioning everything you think you know can you eventually arrive at the truth. God willing, you can do that before it is too late.

Baha'u'llah teaches us that this world and the next are comparable to the life in the womb and this life. We develop senses, organs and limbs in the womb that do not become functional until after we are born into this life. In the same way, we are developing attributes in this life that will not become particularly functional until our transition into the next world, which, according to Baha'u'llah's simile, should last approximately 100 times as long. It will be very important, then, to have developed those faculties that will be useful in that world. I am sure that one of them is compassion. Having compassion in this world means about as much as having legs must mean to a fetus. It's too cramped in the womb for legs to be particularly comfortable, they get in the way. Similarly, having compassion in this world kind of cramps your style; it is more a limitation than a benefit. We know nothing of the next world. All we can do is trust the prophets, the seers, and the Manifestations of God when they tell us what it will be like. We will need to have developed some spiritual attributes by the time we arrive there, or we will be as crippled as a person who failed to develop legs during gestation.

Jesus tells of the sheep being separated from the goats: one group being thanked for their acts of compassion, and the other being reprimanded for their lack thereof. They ask, "When did we see You hungry or thirsty or naked or in prison and failed to minister unto You?" He replies, "When you failed to give unto the least of these My brethren, you failed to give unto Me."

Perhaps you never realized that what you choose to load up on your plate produces an effect that touches the lives of the poor of the earth. If you choose the foods of the elite, the poor of the earth suffer for your choice. If you choose humble, simple foods, there remains more for the lowly also to enjoy. It takes ten pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. However, more than ten people will starve when I eat a meal of beef, because, by creating a greater glut for grains when I chose grain-fed beef, I caused the price of even simple plant foods to rise beyond the means of many of the earth's poorest. Their starvation deaths are on me because I chose to fill my belly with meat.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen. --Saint Francis of Assisi