Was Rumi Vegan?

 

"I have existence and I value it so much.
So have all the beings on earth and they too, try to preserve it.
Then, how can I kill even the tiniest creature
Just to satiate my palate?"

"To me, even milk is forbidden."

"Look at all animals as you look at humans."

"If we consume an animal, its blood and gore will make us act like a slaughterer."

 

If we are to trust these translations of the great Sufi Poet Mystic, Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, the first of the above verses appears clearly to denote that he was vegetarian.

With the next quote, Rumi explains that neither does he consume milk, which we can take to include any dairy products, leaving us to conclude that - at least at the time he wrote this - he was vegan.

While there are differences among animals and humans, with his third quote, we can take his meaning that we must have respect for, and avoid harming, animals, just as we would our fellow humans.

With the final quote, we are reminded of many who have explained that wars and other violence will persist so long as humans allow, within their moral and ethical views, some kind of right to kill others; if we do not find killing animals unethical, then why humans? Each requires total disregard of the others' sovereign right to live out their own full lives, as all beings strive to do.

Google offers some helpful answers where we inquire about Sufism and Vegetarianism and Veganism:

"Sufism has a deep-rooted belief that vegetarianism is an essential step towards spiritual growth. Sufi saints like Rahim Bawa Mohiyuddin and Hazrat Rabia Basri showed love and compassion to animals and taught that mercy towards them is essential to Islamic mysticism."

This short article includes the Rabia Basri story:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/sufism-and-vegetarianism/story-FijFyaklsHbUijGEWXcx9J.html

And this one http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_vegetarianism.html begins:

"Although the majority of Muslims are meat eaters, there is also widespread remembrance of Muhammad's warning, 'Do not allow your stomachs to become graveyards!' For this reason, meat is used in moderation in many traditional recipes. Many Sufi tariqats prohibit meat-eating during retreats. The Qadiri shaikh Abdul Karim Jili, commenting on Ibn Arabi's advice to avoid animal fat during retreats, stated that 'animal fat strengthens animality, and its principles will dominate the spiritual principles.'"

 

 

Then, there was Sant Kabir.

The above article continues:

"The 15th Century poet Kabir, whose Sufism represented a fusion of principles from both the Islamic and Hindu traditions, unequivocally condemned meat eating, characterizing it as the ultimate failure of compassion...he stated that even the companionship of meat-eaters was harmful to the soul."

 

Here's a nice video podcast:

Meet a Vegan Rumi, the Sufi Poet Mystic -- Today on Spiritual Awakening Radio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwVYO2i2czQ
 

The details under this video say, in part:

When I saw these veg verses of Rumi I thought, at last! this is going to make for a great new podcast! It's awesome being able to claim Rumi, the King of the Sufi poets, for the vegan cause! (Rumi: "To me, even milk is forbidden.") I also reflect a little about the vegetarianism of early Christianity, and about how a religious or spiritual movement like the disciples of Rumi in Sufism, Jesus, Guru Nanak, Buddha, etc... can start out following a vegan or veg diet and yet a few generations later knowledge of that gets lost and the religious sects operating in their names might be adhering to a completely different diet.

Master Kirpal Singh speaking about Rumi and the other most advanced Murshids (spiritual masters) of Sufi mysticism once said: “Those who take up the practices concerning the lower centers in the body, do take meat — the Mohammedans and people of other religions also. But those who are anxious to rise above body-consciousness and go into the Beyond have of necessity to eschew all that. This is the Path I have put before you. Liberation or salvation is something which starts only when you rise above body-consciousness. For that reason, vegetarianism is the first essential.” (The Night is a Jungle, published by Ruhani Satsang)

 

In conclusion:

I think that - because we know that Jains, Buddhists, Hindus, Sufis and Sikhs all shared dialogues throughout the centuries - surely ideas about vegetarianism would have been important topics of discourse. I think there is little question that these groups influenced each other and resulted in many adherents of each of these faiths agreeing about the importance of not eating animals.

 

May all beings be well and happy.