Ep 1: Ahimsa (Vegetarianism: The Story So Far) by The Vegan Option published on 2016-01-18T18:42:22Z In India in the middle of the first millennium BCE, the idea of "ahimsa" - non violence - emerges, with the vegetarian order of Jain monks and nuns as its torchbearers. Where did it come from? Ian goes to the intellectual hub of iron age India, the Kingdom of Maghada, to find out. Pic is public domain painting of Mahavira, Rajasthan, circa 1900. Music by Robb Masters (@idiotech); with actors Chetan Pathak, Selva Rasalingam, and Sandeep Garcha. Genre Religion & Spirituality Comment by Marvin Double The ethics of being vegan generally take a back seat to such scientific debates. Obviously in the ancient world the concept, which we now call being vegan, was in fact secondary to the larger concepts of non-violence embodied in the principle of Ahimsa. Here then is an example of the spiritual motivations driving dietary practices rather than some science based rationalization. So it is now that ethical vegans may well take heart that their motivations are in fact in line with ancient traditions. 2017-10-13T22:48:46Z