How I remained celibate for 14 Years and the Solution to a Peaceful World

I’ve given hundreds of public lectures about my humanitarian work over the years in over 60 countries. Usually, I focus on the social impact our volunteers have made, including the enormous amount of meals served by these selfless souls. The statistics never fail to impress but at the Vegfest in Brazil in 2018 I decided to focus on the why rather than the what.

I boldly broached the topic with the somewhat sensational title: A former monk shares an inside secret. Right out of the gate I talked about the fact that during the prime years of my life 19 – 33 I lived the life of a celibate monk, this includes sleeping on the floor without a pillow, taking cool showers; only eating at regulated times of the day, and of course, abstaining from sex and all the typical hedonistic things young men do. How did I succeed? The shocking answer is that I learned how to control the urges of the tongue.

My spiritual teacher often told us, “Spiritual life begins with the tongue.” I later clarified that statement by asserting that

“Evolution of consciousness begins when one masters the tongue.”

According to the yoga tradition, the tongue has two functions: tasting and vibrating, so what you speak and what you eat dramatically impacts your level of awareness.

I go into great detail in my book, FOOD YOGA to prove this point, citing scientific research as well as references from the yogic tradition and of course my personal example speaks volumes. Even if you don’t accept my references, my experience is my experience and I know for a fact that through controlling the tongue it enabled me to be successful in controlling the sex urge and living a peaceful and stress-free life.

But getting back to the why does Food for Life Global only serve plant-based meals cooked with loving intention? It is because when food is prepared with a loving consciousness it has incredible power to transform the consciousness of those that eat it. And in this way, not only is Food for Life Global feeding stomachs, it is directly impacting the mood and awareness of our recipients to bring about a more peaceful and loving world.

The bottom line is, hunger is not a result of a lack of food. Hunger is directly related to the fact that the bulk of humanity has a selfish and divisive consciousness and thus the resources of the world are not equitably shared.

That day that every living thing is honored equally as an integral participant in the play of life, wherein all things are valued for their unique contribution and viewed as essential and not disposable, then and then only can we have peace and prosperity for all and social anomalies like hunger will cease to exist.

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