What if doctor recommends Non veg foods for Children for health?
A devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“HARE Krishna Prabhu! Please advise me on this. My baby was born preterm with low birthweight. She is 9 mo now. Doctor had advised us to give her chicken soup and egg. He hasn’t mandated it. He says just our family eats nv, baby can be made to introduce and is a choice.
Earlier husband and I had an argument about feeding baby nonveg. I realised he is so obsessed and made a mental note to just give egg so that he will understand and not force me to feed baby with chicken.
Ever since doctor had given a go ahead, he is so insistent so much so that it lead to an argument with me and him. I myself dont eat nv. I just gave up after knowing Krsna. Though I am not a pure devotee, I stopped eating nv. I dont want to introduce non veg to baby.
We had a huge meltdown that he started to abuse me for doing so. Please suggest me if I am behaving way too much on this aspect.”
REPLY:
You are right in refusing non veg foods for newborn baby. This is applicable for all others too.
See, vegetarian foods are no way inferior to non veg foods in giving strength. In fact, Vegetarian foods are better than non vegetarian foods.
Are all the vegetarians weak in this world?
Not at all.
(Is using medicines that contain alcohol and non veg ingredients sinful? READ HERE!)
Non vegetarian foods (as said by that doctor, Chicken and egg) have more ingredients that cause aggressiveness.
Even cow’s milk is said to be meant for the calfs only. However, since it has more acceptability to our body and more satvic qualities, and since cow gives more milk than the requirement for the calfs, the scriptures recommend cow’s milk.
But, meat means, we eat the flesh of animals or birds.
Meat has thamo and rajo guna ingredients. If you give chicken or egg to your child, that child may develop the domination of rajo and thamo gunas.
That child may not have sufficient satvic qualities.
(Risks of a devotee marrying Non-devotees, Meat eater, Drinker, etc! READ HERE!)
I was the last child for my parents. When I was born, mother had no milk secretion. I grew even without a single ounce of breast milk. Instead, I was offered cow’s milk only right from the day one. I am a vegetarian also. Now, I have crossed fifties. I am actively working more than 15 hrs a day.
So, you need not feed the child with chicken and egg to make it healthy. Give mother’s milk as much as possible if available. Additionally, give cow’s milk.
When the child reaches six months, add vegetarian solid malt foods available in the market.
Consult the same doctor to suggest equivalent vegetarian foods. All the doctors may have both vegetarian and non vegetarian patients and customers. So, they may have the experience of suggesting suitable vegetarian foods for the new born children. Then feed your baby with vegetarian foods as suggested by the doctor.
One thing is clear. It is a myth that only non vegetarian foods give strength. Those foods may give some additional physical strength, but at the cost of the nature (Guna) of the eaters.
(If I stop meat eating, will my past sins of eating meat be forgiven? READ HERE!)
Satva Guna is more important than aggressiveness. If you wish your child to become a devotee, develop him/her as vegetarian and also prasadarian right from the childhood.
Be firm in your stand and meet the doctor with husband again and get the prescription of vegetarian foods.
Remember, Krishna did not take meat when He descended on earth. Is Krishna weak? If the non vegetarian foods are good for us, Krishna would have recommended it in Bhagavad Gita. But, Krishna did not recommend so.
Any habit that is taught in the childhood is followed by the child throughout his/ her life.
How can a person who eats the flesh of an animal after killing it while helplessly crying can be a merciful child?
Food is the source for the domination of the gunas. If the foods and association are with satvik materials and persons, the children too will have the domination of satvik guna.
So, be firm in not introducing non veg / meat / egg to your children.
If a doctor recommends Non veg foods for Children for health, ask him for vegetarian recommendations. If he refuses, change the doctor. But, don’t touch non veg / meat / egg for WHATEVER reason!
(Is eating meat rarely in compelling situations also offensive? READ HERE!)