June 3rd 1965
Let the Master himself, let the words He spoke, answer your query, and put your minds at rest. "It is not that which goeth into the mouth of a man which defiles, but that which cometh forth from his heart and mind".
Children, we can never advocate torture, pain, and misery, suffering, bloodshed. Not any of these things. But neither can we advocate mass starvation, hungry children, half-starving men and women, who must, because of the conditions, work for their daily bread. And so, wherever you find yourself, and in whatever conditions, you must obey, if you would be comfortable, the customs and the habits of that place where you find yourself.
There are they in your midst, and they are indeed very few, who can, because of their past reincarnations, because of the parents they have chosen for themselves, because of hereditary traits, and because they have progressed in many, many, ways, these few are able to live on an entirely different diet from others. But there must always be a beginning, and when one starts to think concerning these things, then God Himself is stirring within that one.
But we who love you, we who have to guard and protect you, because you have drawn us of your own free will by your way of thinking into your aura, we must try to protect you from all things that endanger your physical, etheric, mental or spiritual body. Albeit, the things of the mind, the things of the spirit, are greater by far than anything human or physical.
But you have, not very long ago, a few minutes perhaps, thanked your Father for the humble gift, and yet the very important gift, of common sense. Now think as to this, as you already realise, your body is made up of habits, and textures, instincts and a thousand other things belonging, as it were, to those that have gone before. And the soul cannot be at peace in a broken or a hungry body.
Therefore, the body must be taken care of and its needs must be met. The animals, the humbler creation of the Father, are well loved by us all. But, they are not as important as the creature man who can rise above all things, and who has the consciousness and the knowledge of God within himself. This one must live this way, and that one another. But to the man or woman who abides in faith, and who does, as it were, their duty to all those with whom they come into contact day after day. This one makes the sacrifice. Surely there is enough day by day to give to others with your thoughts and your prayers, there are so many things that one has to do which one does not exactly like. This is all sacrifice. Giving up. Overcoming. Accepting. And in some distant age, as you have already guessed, there will not be the need to eat the humbler creation of the Father, but as things are now, in this state of evolution, only the few are ready and have that make up, which entails that they can live without the flesh of the animal.
When one becomes more and more spiritual, more and more sensitive, and when the daily work is not so difficult, there in not so much to do, then we help that one to curb his or her appetite.
And when we can see that the body does not need so much of this or that, then in very truth, we do help them and encourage them, and inspire them not to partake of these things which we can see they are able to do without,
But there are so many things to consider, and there are so many varying sets of circumstances to be taken into account.....
We are responsible for what we say, think and do.
The Master's own words — "It is not that which goeth into the mouth of a man which defiles, but that which cometh forth from his heart and mind" — makes this very clear.
The transcript specifically mentions diet. Only a few, through past lives and inherited readiness, can live on a different diet without harm to the body; for everyone else, the body's real needs must still be met, since a hungry or broken body cannot hold a peaceful soul. Common sense, not asceticism, is named as the gift to be thankful for. The sacrifice that matters most, the transcript insists, is not found in what is or isn't eaten, but in the daily, unglamorous acceptance of duty — the small things done for others that one doesn't always want to do.
This is close to Paul's counsel in Romans 14 — that some eat only vegetables while others eat everything, and neither should judge the other, since each stands or falls before God according to their own conscience and readiness, not a rule applied to all alike.