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Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet Kindle Edition

by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 75 ratings
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The health benefits of a vegetarian diet are well known, as are the ethical aspects. But the spiritual advantages should be studied by anyone involved in meditation, yoga, or any type of spiritual practice.

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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From the Publisher

Abbot George Burke

In his many pilgrimages to India, Abbot George had the opportunity of meeting some of India’s greatest spiritual figures, including Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Anandamayi Ma.

Christ of India cover
Praise from Readers

Abbot George’s writing is "as informed and informative as it is inspired and inspiring"

–James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review

"[His] writing is well crafted and stocked with anecdotes, humor, literary references, and beautiful quotes... I found it entertaining as well as illuminating."

–Reverend Gerry Nangle, President, Johrei Fellowship

"Highly recommended for earnest spiritual aspirant, especially those who might need a prod to keep them moving."

–Anna Hourihan, Vedantic Shores Press.

  • The Unknown Lives of Jesus and Mary
  • Living the Yoga Life: Perspectives on Yoga
  • May a Christian Believe in Reincarnation?
  • Satsang With the Abbot
  • Spiritual Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

Abbot George Burke

(Swami Nirmalananda Giri)

Abbot George is the founder and director of the Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram) in Cedar Crest, NM, USA.

He has been studying, teaching and writing on practical spiritual life for over 60 years.

He has written over 20 books on Meditation, Original Christianity, and Original Yoga, as well as the Dharma for Awakening Collection: commentaries on major scriptures of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Taoism and more,

Below are some of his best sellers:

  • Soham Yoga: Its Theory and Practice
  • The Christ of India
  • The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening
  • The Dhammapada for Awakening
  • The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Been wondering for quite a while now as to why spiritual people are so insistent on becoming vegetarians and here comes this book which gives the most complete and detailed answers I've been waiting for. Awesome!!!" -21Reviews.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XCB4RSK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Light of the Spirit Press (February 26, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 26, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 984 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 66 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 75 ratings

About the author

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Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)

Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)

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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

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
75 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

D. Spring
5.0 out of 5 stars Swami Nirmalananda Giri's wisdom, compassion, and humor shine through this fantastic exploration of vegetarianism!
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2017
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I'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!
2 people found this helpful
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CM King
4.0 out of 5 stars A motivational viewpoint
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2020
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This 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.
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Tracy A Minton
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2022
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I 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.
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Debs view
5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoy reading everything by Abbott George Burke
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017
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I 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.
One person found this helpful
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Emily
3.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017
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While 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.
One person found this helpful
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Vicky
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2021
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He focuses on why we should not kill animals and why eating meat is demonic. Simple and easy to read.
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TERRY MAY
4.0 out of 5 stars I agreed with lot of what the book was saying.
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2018
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I'm a vegetarian, I enjoy the energy it has given me so I enjoyed reading this book because a lot of what the author was saying I've already witness it. Also it enlightened me on some things I agree with that I didn't know. Good book.
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Morivivy
1.0 out of 5 stars What a disappointment!
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018
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While is a fact that a vegetarian diet is healthier than just meat and potatoes, I believe that a person who calls himself a servant of God should use fear to promote change. Fear is the antithesis of faith. I thank God I didn't pay $ for this book.
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