H Jay Dinshah

Life

H. Jay Dinshah was born in the Malaga section of Franklin Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States, where he lived his entire life. His father was a US citizen of Parsi ancestry who was born in India, and his mother was a US citizen of German ancestry. A lifelong vegetarian, Jay Dinshah became vegan in 1957. He (age 23) and his younger brother Noshervan (age 20) visited a Philadelphia slaughterhouse in 1957, after which he vowed to "work every day until all the slaughterhouses are closed!" He married the English-born Freya Smith in 1960. They had two children, Daniel Dinshah and author and athlete Anne Dinshah.

In 2000, Dinshah died of a heart attack at age 66, after a life of promoting veganism and the ethic of ahimsa, dynamic harmlessness. The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) memorialized Jay Dinshah in their IVU News issue of October 2000 That same year, he was posthumously awarded the prestigious (among global or international vegetarians) Mankar Memorial Award during the 2000 World Vegetarian Congress, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Vegan

Jay Dinshah founded the American Vegan Society early in 1960 and later that year (August) married the English-born Freya Smith. Freya, whose parents were active in The Vegan Society (of England), contributed to the early growth of the American Vegan Society and is president of the American Vegan Society today. The American Vegan Society is headquartered at Malaga, New Jersey, on a parcel of land which is called "SunCrest", or "the SunCrest Educreational Center." During Jay Dinshah's life, the American Vegan Society was characterized by vegan publishing and outreach, annual vegan conferences, vegan archiving, spiritual inspiration, providing people with an experience of vegan living, vegan food-preparation demonstrations, maintenance of a small veganic garden, and extensive networking. Dinshah served the American Vegan Society as its president and as editor of its publication, Ahimsa magazine (1960–2000).

Ahimsa was a quarterly publication that explored compassionate living ("Ahimsa" meaning "dynamic harmlessness") as a philosophy, practical aspects of vegan living, and personal and cultural resources for vegans. Ahimsa included vegan menus and recipes, and news about food. The American Vegan Society continues to publish a quarterly periodical, now titled American Vegan, with the motto "Ahimsa lights the way." The American Vegan Society is now led and managed by its president, Freya Dinshah, Jay Dinshah's widow, and advised by the AVS Council of Trustees, all of whom are vegans, and operated by a team of staff and volunteers.

The American Vegan Society "promotes, supports, and explores a compassionate, healthful, and sustainable lifestyle. The diet is plant-sourced, varied, and abundant. For ethical, health, environmental, and other reasons, (vegans) reject all animal products in food, clothing, and commodities, and the exploitation of animals for sport or entertainment. AVS is guided by the doctrines of Ahimsa (non-slaughter, non-violence) and Reverence for Life, and provides community and friendship to those following and learning about this way of living."

Even as a teenager, Dinshah was a popular motivational speaker, following the example of his father, who promoted vegetarianism along with color therapy. Throughout his life, Dinshah continued to lecture extensively and to organize conferences advocating "positive veganism" as "dynamic harmlessness" ("Ahimsa" is derived from a Sanskrit term "non-harming").

Dinshah's lectures, organized by American Vegan Society, included: 1961 "Coast to Coast Crusade" for Veganism across North America; 1965 "North Atlantic Lecture Tour" in Iceland, Britain, Europe; 1967-1968 "Round the World" Lecture Tour including four months of lectures in India.

Through these efforts, Dinshah lectured to general audiences in 19 different nations, on five continents, about veganism and ahimsa. Although Dinshah would lecture in English, local multilingual vegetarians interpreted his talks for each audience. Some videos of Jay's lectures from the 1980s and 1990s are archived and can be viewed on the YouTube channel Powerful Vegan Messages.

Crediting the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer Dinshah created and promoted the Pillars of Ahimsa, one for each letter of the word: A-H-I-M-S-A. Dinshah explained each in great detail in his book Out of the Jungle A-Abstinence from Animal Products; H-Harmlessness with Reverence for Life (from Schweitzer); I-Integrity of Thought, Word, and Deed; M-Mastery over Oneself (against greed, envy, and materialism; instead focus on enlightenment); S-Service to Humanity, Nature, and Creation (3 main draws to veganism: health, environment, and animals; devotion to improving the world); A-Advancement of Understanding and Truth (applying Gandhian principles of Truth)

Dinshah was co-organizer of the 23rd World Vegetarian Congress in 1975, which was held in Orono, Maine, sponsored by the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), and hosted by the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS), which continental organization he and other vegetarians founded to organize this international conference. During conference planning, the ad hoc committee decided to found the North American Vegetarian Society and asked Dinshah to serve as its first president. Thus, a movement to found and develop modern vegetarian organizations in North America was born, tapping the energies, insights, and resources of parallel movements throughout Europe and India.

Positions held

Publications