Veganism, the fundamentalist branch of meat-free lifestyle is gaining popularity, with even mere vegetarians today being seen as centrist cop-outs. Formula One star Lewis Hamilton is the latest high profile convert to the cause, citing ethical, heath and environmental reasons for his dietary switch: “The pollution [in terms of global-warming gases] coming from the amount of cows that are being produced is incredible", he said, "They say it is more than what we produce with our flights and our cars, which is kind of crazy. The cruelty is horrible and I don’t necessarily want to support that and I want to live a healthier life.” Bravo, Lewis.
The second house is Jyotish’s food zone, and Hamilton’s second lord Mars is in idealistic Aquarius, conjunct lagnesh Venus, which shows the issue is close to his heart and he will make a strong advocate for it. Saturn and Ketu closely conjunct here also show a discipline and quasi-spirituality around diet. Hamilton said he first gave up red meat ‘a couple of years ago’, which would coincide with his Mercury dasha starting June 2015. Natal Mercury at 0° Sagittarius is close enough to be counted in the second house, and is also in the second by Bhava Chalit. Transiting Saturn crossing back and forth over Mercury in 2017 must also have toughened his resolve.
January 7th 1985, 03:30am, Stevenage, UK
From a Western standpoint, Neptune has transited Lewis’s Mars over the last eighteen months, signalling a new set of beliefs – if a less-than-ideal mindset for a racing driver. Born exactly at a full Moon, he has also felt Pluto on his Sun-Moon axis since early 2016, showing enhanced willpower and a certain purging. His new meat-free regime may surprise those who imagine all Formula One drivers eat raw steak for breakfast, but veganism also counts boxers, weightlifters and American footballers among its growing number, and none show any loss of competitive edge. Hamiliton said: ‘Every person I have met who has gone vegan says it is the best decision they have ever made”.
Perhaps. But while Vedic culture is all for the ethical treatment of animals, its reverence for cows comes from appreciation of milk. Ayurveda, the world’s oldest system of natural health, specifically states that dairy in diet is good for humans both physically and emotionally, and that milk contains unique nutrition that cannot be derived from any other food. Milk, preferably organic or even better raw, boiled and drunk warm, is one of the most important foods to promote ojas, the refined substance that sits at the top of the hierarchy of digestion. Cheers!
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