I didn’t know you were vegetarian. When did you become vegetarian? Have you been vegetarian your entire life? Have you ever accidentally eaten meat? Have you ever wanted, or will you ever try meat? When people find out that I am vegetarian, they often ask me a host of questions like these. They are curious about why I am vegetarian and the fact that vegetarians are so uncommon piques their interest. For me, being vegetarian is a fundamental part of my identity and is tied with both my religion and my culture.

I am a Jain, meaning that I belong to the religion Jainism, which at its core has five fundamental beliefs. The first one is restraint from violence and an avoidance of harm to other living creatures, which is the reason very close to all Jains (only 10 million worldwide) are vegetarian, vegan, or have additional dietary restrictions (the strictest Jains don’t eat ground vegetables because they are killed when harvested). I am also of Indian descent and one third of India, made up of mostly Hindus, is vegetarian.

Vegetarianism and abstaining from violence have a deep cultural element in the historic Indian thought as well. This relatively small amount of violence caused by religion before the last century compared to other parts of the world allowed many different religions to flourish in India. A key distinction I would like to make about religion in India is that it is fundamentally tied to philosophy in India. Other philosophical systems are often viewed as opposed to religion because they incorporate logic (supposedly opposite religion), like Greek philosophy, which was the base for all western philosophy.

I know this is not the case in Jainism, as philosophy is a very major and active part of its beliefs. At its very core, Jainism does not even have a god (although many worship traditional ones) and instead, believes people should follow a set of moral principles to the best of their ability. Many religions will contain rituals, and so does Jainism, but ultimately the prevailing belief is that these rituals hold less importance than to one’s moral character (related to the belief of karma). Although I am vegetarian because of my religion, it is not just an absentminded ritual, like many practices in religion are regarded, but it is a conscious and important aspect of my identity and my beliefs. To me, my beliefs and values come from my religion and my upbringing, both of which make me who I am. Learning and understanding what I have about my religion from my parents and surroundings, I would not want to have it any other way. I pride myself in being a Jain with a strong set of core beliefs that guide me.

Jainism is a flexible religion in the sense that there is a belief that one should follow as much as they think they are able to. Many laypersons follow basic forms of each of the core beliefs. In the end, I believe that each of these beliefs should be strived for in life and make up a good code to live life by. Nonattachment especially is something that is difficult to follow fully but can be strived for. In case anybody was wondering, the core beliefs of Jainism are listed below, most important of which is Ahimsa.

Ahimsa (nonviolence) – the belief that one should not harm any living thing

Satya(truth) – never lie and always be truthful

Asteya(not stealing) – do not steal from others

Aparigraha (nonattachment) – one should not be overly attached or reliant to physical objects and “things” in the world, but one should try to be content with what has or, often, they will be unhappy

Anekantavada (multisided reality) – no one has a perfectly accurate grasp on reality, and everybody has a different perspective, even on the same event. One should understand and accept other viewpoints, knowing that everybody views things in a different way.