Renunciation? No, I'll take Substitution, please.

Renunciation? No, I'll take Substitution, please.

There is something odd about taking a stand against something by openly renouncing or boycotting said item, then searching for a substitute. I'm not standing in judgement - I'm observing my own behaviour. When I decided I needed to be dairy free (because of intolerances) I kept looking for a suitable cheese substitute. In trying out various cheese substitutes, not only was I terribly disappointed each time, but I was probably adding a lot of unnecessary chemicals to the body - trying to fix one problem only to introduce another.

Another example I witness often is those who become vegetarian only to eat meat substitutes. One has to ask, isn't the point of being vegetarian to embrace the consumption of vegetables? I know that if I had stayed on the meat substitution track, I would have missed out on a lot of delicious vegetarian dishes - ones that don't need to pretend to be meat.

Other examples include those wearing guilt-free faux leather, animal prints, faux fur. This ultimately says, "I'm willing to give up guilt for animal rights, but not fashion."

Even more subtly, what about smokers who give up smoking only to chew gum, dieters who eat sugar free candy, alcoholics who drink alcohol-free wine, etc, etc. Yes, it's better to substitute than to not do anything at all, but aren't they just perpetuating the myth that they are missing out on something - like the real thing?

We are a people who want to take credit for giving up something without actually giving up anything. And in doing so, we miss out on the true spirit of renunciation and the rewards that come with it. And you can chew on that for a bit - it's meat-free, dairy-free, and doesn't contain nicotine.

Thank you for reading. For more information on Raja Yoga philosophy see www.bkwsu.org.