Milk and Eggs

One of the most commonly asked questions when we first come to this path is: Both milk and eggs are animal products, so why are we allowed to drink milk but not eat eggs – even if they are not fertilized and would therefore not interrupt a life cycle?

To answer that question logically, let’s first discuss ‘tattvas’, which we might roughly translate as ‘elements’.

In A Treasury of Mystic Terms, the author explains that the word ‘tattvas’ can be rendered as ‘elements’, though they’re something very different from chemical elements. A tattva is the primary element of the essence of matter, of which this creation is made – everything that exists on the physical plane. The highest essence is ultimate reality or God himself. The basic elements of earth, air, fire, water and ether, are generally seen as referring to the gross state of matter found in the physical world, but we should understand that in the context of Sant Mat all are a reflection of more subtle states.

All elements are present in all the 8,400,000 species of this creation. Species are divided up according to the number of elements ‘active’ within each, the other elements being present but ‘dormant’.

Let us consider the active elements in some of the known species:

• Vegetables have only one active element: water – the other four being dormant.

• Insects and their eggs have two active elements: fire and air.

• Fish and their eggs have two active elements: fire and water.

• Reptiles and their eggs have two active elements: fire and earth.

• Birds and their eggs have three active elements: water, fire and air.

• Mammals have four active elements: water, fire, air, and earth. They lack only ether, which gives the power of discrimination.

• Humans, and only humans, have all five elements active in them: water, earth, fire, air and ether. Ether is the element from which all other elements are derived. Humans are therefore called ‘the top of creation’, the only species having the power of discrimination.

All life subsists on life in this world. In order for us to survive, something else has to die, and this carries a karmic debt. This is why the Masters instruct their disciples to abstain from eating flesh foods, including fertilized or unfertilized eggs.

Eggs, whether they are fertilized or not, may be regarded as part of the reproductive system of their species. They have as many active elements as the species that produced them and they carry the same karmic debt.

Milk is not a part of a mammal’s reproductive system but a nutrient provided by the cow for the calf, which we can share without harming the cow or the calf. There is no karma in drinking milk, and therefore the Masters do permit the use of milk.

We must realize that when the Master says that an element is ‘active’, this activity is provided by the divine power. Therefore the more elements that are active, the more active the divine power is in keeping that plant or creature alive. This has a direct bearing on the consequences of karmic interaction which is responsible for keeping souls bound to the creation. The higher the life form taken, the greater the karma that will be incurred.

Of course karma is not the only factor that determines whether a soul will be tied to the creation indefinitely. Divine mercy and grace may allow any soul to be marked to return to the Father, even in this lifetime. But the Master asks us to condition our bodies and our minds to make such a return easier by following a vegetarian diet and living a wholesome life.

This mind-body conditioning is necessary, not only for our health, but also for our peace of mind and the ability to concentrate our attention, all of which are necessary to meditate. Meditation is the camino real, the royal road that turns the attention toward the Sound, the Shabd, by means of which the Masters take their disciples to levels of higher consciousness, and ultimately back to the Father.

The law of karma is very clearly expressed in the Bible in such words as: “for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7), and “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:23, 24; Matthew 5:38).

No, that does not mean that people are exhorted to exact revenge. This means that we must pay for every atom that we take from this creation, and collect every atom owed us, before we can leave the creation and attain liberation.

Our Master will always do his job and he will certainly take us out of this creation and back to the Father, but we must cooperate by leading an honest life, by taking the least possible from this creation, and by doing our meditation.