As I searched myself deeper, the necessity for changes both internal and
external began to grow on me. As soon as, or even before, I made
alterations in my expenses and my way of living, I began to make changes
in my diet. I saw that the writers on vegetarianism had examined the
question very minutely, attacking it in its religious, scientific,
practical and medical aspects. Ethically they had arrived at the
conclusion that man's supremacy over the lower animals meant not that
the former should prey upon the latter, but that the higher should
protect the lower, and that there should be mutual aid between the two
as between man and man. They had also brought out the truth that man
eats not for enjoyment but to live. And some of them accordingly
suggested and effected in their lives abstention not only from
flesh-meat but from eggs and milk. Scientifically some had concluded
that man's physical structure showed that he was not meant to be a
cooking but a frugivorous animal, that he could take only his mother's
milk and, as soon as he had teeth, should begin to take solid foods.
Medically they had suggested the rejection of all spices and condiments.
According to the practical and economic argument they had demonstrated
that a vegetarian diet was the least expensive. All these considerations
had their effect on me, and I came across vegetarians of all these types
in vegetarian restaurants. There was a Vegetarian Society in England
with a weekly journal of its own. I subscribed to the weekly, joined the
society and very shortly found myself on the Executive Committee. Here I
came in contact with those who were regarded as pillars of
vegetarianism, and began my own experiments in dietetics.
I stopped taking the sweets and condiments I had got from home. The mind having
taken a different turn, the fondness for condiments wore away, and I now
relished the boiled spinach which in Richmond tasted insipid, cooked
without condiments. Many such experiments taught me that the real seat
of taste was not the tongue but the mind.
The economic consideration was of course constantly before me. There was in those
days a body of opinion which regarded tea and coffee as harmful and
favoured cocoa. And as I was convinced that one should eat only articles
that sustained the body, I gave up tea and coffee as a rule, and
substituted cocoa.
There were two divisions in the restaurants I used to visit. One division, which
was patronized by fairly well-to-do people, provided any number of
courses from which one chose and paid for a la carte,
each dinner thus costing from one to two shillings. The other division
provided six-penny dinners of three courses with a slice of bread. In my
days of strict frugality I usually dined in the second division.
There were many minor experiments going on along with the main one; as for example,
giving up starchy foods at one time, living on bread and fruit alone at
another, and once living on cheese, milk and eggs. This last experiments
is worth noting. It lasted not even a fortnight. The reformer who
advocated starchless food had spoken highly of eggs and held that eggs
were not meat. It was apparent that there was no injury done to living
creatures in taking eggs. I was taken in by this plea and took eggs in
spite of my vow. But the lapse was momentary. I had no business to put a
new interpretation on the vow. The interpretation of my mother who
administered the vow was there for me. I knew that her definition of
meat included eggs. And as soon as I saw the true import of the vow I
gave up eggs and the experiment alike.
There is a nice point underlying the argument, and worth noting. I came across
three definitions of meat in England. According to the first, meat
denoted only the flesh of birds and beasts. Vegetarians who accepted
that definition abjured the flesh of birds and beasts, but ate fish, not
to mention eggs. According to the second definition, meat meant flesh of
all living creatures. So fish was here out of the question, but eggs
were allowed. The third definition included under meat the flesh of
living beings, as well as all their products, thus covering eggs and
milk alike. If I accepted the first definition, I could take not only
eggs, but fish also. But I was convinced that my mother's definition was
the definition binding on me. If, therefore, I would observe the vow I
had taken, I must abjure eggs. I therefore did so. This was a hardship
inasmuch as inquiry showed that even in vegetarian restaurants many
courses used to contain eggs. This meant that unless I knew what was
what, I had to go through the awkward process of ascertaining whether a
particular course contained eggs or no, for many puddings and cakes were
not free from them. But though the revelation of my duty caused this
difficulty, it simplified my food. The simplification in its turn
brought me annoyance in that I had to give up several dishes I had come
to relish. These difficulties were only passing, for the strict
observance of the vow produced an inward relish distinctly more healthy,
delicate and permanent.
The real ordeal, however, was still to come, and that was in respect of the other
vow. But who dare harm whom God protects?
A few observations about the interpretation of vows or pledges may not be out
of place here. Interpretation of pledges has been a fruitful source of
strife all the world over. No matter how explicit the pledge, people
will turn and twist the text to suit their own purposes. They are to be
met with among all classes of society, from the rich down to the poor,
from the prince down to the peasant. Selfishness turns them blind, and
by a use of the ambiguous middle they deceive themselves and seek to
deceive the world and God. One golden rule is to accept the
interpretation honestly put on the pledge by the party administering it.
Another is to accept the interpretation of the weaker party, where there
are two interpretations possible. Rejection of these two rules gives
rise to strife and iniquity, which are rooted in untruthfulness. He who
seeks truth alone easily follows the golden rule. He need not seek
learned advice for interpretation. My mother's interpretation of meat
was, according to the golden rule, the only true one for me, and not the
one my wider experience or my pride of better knowledge might have
taught me.
My experiments in England were conducted from the point of view of economy
and hygiene. The religious aspect of the question was not considered
until I went to South Africa where I undertook strenuous experiments
which will be narrated later. The seed, however, for all of them was
sown in England.
A convert's enthusiasm for his new religion is greater than that of a
person who is born in it. Vegetarianism was then a new cult in England,
and likewise for me, because, as we have seen, I had gone there a
convinced meat-eater, and was intellectually converted to vegetarianism
later. Full of the neophyte's zeal for vegetarianism, I decided to start
a vegetarian club in my locality, Bayswater. I invited Sir Edwin Arnold,
who lived there, to be Vice-President. Dr. Oldfield who was Editor of
the The Vegetarian became President. I myself became the Secretary. The club went well for
a while, but came to an end in the course of a few months. For I left
the locality, according to my custom of moving from place to place
periodically. But this brief and modest experience gave me some little
training in organizing and conducting institutions.