Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Dear Tony: I am copying this to HS, but am not a member at Nisargadatta, to which I note you also copied your posts on this subject. As you know, I am vegetarian and have been for three years now. Before that I ate meat for most of my life. Within the past year, I have been slowly altering my diet to exclude all animal products, in particular, dairy. So I am not writing this to you as one who defends a meat eater, nor would I attempt to justify what I did before. As an observer, I have to say that the manner in which you declare these truths to be self evident seems quite judgmental, and hardly calculated to win over your opponents in the debate which you have declared. Secondly, I feel you have a good dose of your own cognitive dissonance. A vegan would view some of what you wrote a few months ago as exactly that. To the best of my recollection, you do include dairy in your diet and eggs too. I think your justification to me at the time was that so many prepackaged foods contained these ingredients that you could not control them in your diet. Hogwash, I say to you!!! I check each and every item I buy in the supermarket for the ingredients, and do without those that violate my convictions. You could do the same if you chose to. Yet, you do not...do you not think that you are doing exactly what you accuse your target audience of doing? You can say that you buy your eggs and dairy from companies that maintain free range farms, yet the animals and chickens are still confined for the purpose of production and God only knows what goes on there. To think that they are treated like pets and have a happy existence is nothing short of self delusion. How do you distinguish yourself from the meat eaters? It is all relative, some would say...what do you say? Love, Joyce PS... AHIMSA IS NOT CAUSING pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one's mind, speech or body. Sandilya UpanishadWhen mindstuff is firmly based in waves of ahimsa, all living beings cease their enmity in the presence of such a person. Yoga Sutras 2.35. YP, pg. 205 ---- Original Message ----- "Tony OClery" <aoclery <millionpaths>; <nisargadatta> Tuesday, November 29, 2005 3:48 PM [MillionPaths] Re: Fwd: Re: Cognitive ...Adding Sruthis. > > Further, the "Mahabharata" (18.113.8) says: "One should never do > that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self. > This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Yielding to desire and acting > differently, one becomes guilty of adharma." > > Atharva Veda Samhita 6.120.1. VE, 636 > You must not use your God-given body for killing God's creatures, > whether they are human, animal or whatever. > Yajur Veda Samhita 12.32. FS, 90 > > May all beings look at me with a friendly eye. May I do likewise, > and may we all look on each other with the eyes of a friend. > Yajur Veda 36.18. > No pain should be caused to any created being or thing. > Devikalottara agama, JAV 69-79. RM, 116 > > The Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, Epic History > The very name of the cows is aghnya, indicating that they should > never be slaughtered. Who, then could slay them? Surely, one who > kills a cow or a bull commits the most heinous crime. > Mahabharata, Shantiparva 262.47. FS,pg. 94 > > The purchaser of flesh performs himsa (violence) by his wealth; he > who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does himsa > by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are three > forms of killing: he who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts > off the limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells or cooks > flesh and eats it -all of these are to be considered meat-eaters. > Mahabharata, Anu. 115.40. FS, pg 90 > > He who desires to augment his own flesh by eating the flesh of other > creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may take his birth. > Mahabharata, Anu. 115.47. FS, pg. 90 > > One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious > to one's own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Yielding > to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma. > Mahabharata 18.113.8. > Ahimsa is the highest dharma. Ahimsa is the best tapas. Ahimsa is > the greatest gift. Ahimsa is the highest self-control. Ahimsa is the > highest sacrifice. Ahimsa is the highest power. Ahimsa is the > highest friend. Ahimsa is the highest truth. Ahimsa is the highest > teaching. > Mahabharata 18.116.37-41. > > He who sees that the Lord of all is ever the same in all that is- > immortal in the field of mortality-he sees the truth. And when a man > sees that the God in himself is the same God in all that is, he > hurts not himself by hurting others. Then he goes, indeed, to the > highest path. > Bhagavad Gita 13. 27-28. BgM, pg. 101 > > Nonviolence, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, serenity, > aversion to fault-finding, sympathy for all beings, peace from > greedy cravings, gentleness, modesty, steadiness, energy, > forgiveness, fortitude, purity, a good will, freedom from pride- > these belong to a man who is born for heaven. > Bhagavad Gita 16.2-3. BGM, pg. 109 > > Tirumantiram and other Scriptures > Many are the lovely flowers of worship offered to the Guru, but none > lovelier than non-killing. Respect for life is the highest worship, > the bright lamp, the sweet garland and unwavering devotion. > Tirumantiram 197 > > SPIRITUAL MERIT and sin are our own making. The killer of other > lives is an outcast. Match your words with your conduct. Steal not, > kill not, indulge not in self-praise, condemn not others to their > face. > Lingayat Vachanas > > AHIMSA IS NOT CAUSING pain to any living being at any time through > the actions of one's mind, speech or body. Sandilya UpanishadWhen > mindstuff is firmly based in waves of ahimsa, all living beings > cease their enmity in the presence of such a person. > Yoga Sutras 2.35. YP, pg. 205 > > Those who are ignorant of real dharma and, though wicked and > haughty, account themselves virtuous, kill animals without any > feeling of remorse or fear of punishment. Further, in their next > lives, such sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they > have killed in this world. > Shrimad Bhagavatam 11.5.4. FS, pg, 90 > > The Tirukural, Preeminent Ethical Scripture > Perhaps nowhere is the principle of nonmeat-eating so fully and > eloquently expressed as in the Tirukural, written in the Tamil > language by a simple weaver saint in a village near Madras over > 2,000 years ago. Considered the world's greatest ethical scripture, > it is sworn on in South Indian courts of law. > > It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others, > even when they themselves have been hatefully injured. What is > virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, for killing leads to > every other sin. > 312; 321, TW > > Harming others, even enemies who harmed you unprovoked, assures > incessant sorrow. The supreme principle is this: never knowingly > harm any one at any time in any way. > 313; 317, TW > > What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on how it may > avoid killing any living creature. Refrain from taking precious life > from any living being, even to save your own life. > 324; 327, TW > > How can he practice true compassion Who eats the flesh of an animal > to fatten his own flesh? > TK 251, TW > > Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless. Nor can > compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat. > TK 252, TW > > Goodness is never one with the minds of these two: one who wields a > weapon and one who feasts on a creature's flesh. > TK 253, TW > > If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkind?" it is not killing > and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous. > TK 254, TW > > Life is perpetuated by not eating meat.The clenched jaws of hell > hold those who do. > TK 255, TW > > If the world did not purchase and consume meat, there would be none > to slaughter and offer meat for sale. > TK 256, TW > > When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another > creature, he must abstain from eating it. > TK 257, TW > > Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion will not feed on flesh > abandoned by life. > TK 258, TW > > Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires > is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature. > TK 259,TW > > All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration of > those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat. > TK 260, TW > > > TK REFERS TO THIRUKURAL AND TW REFERS TO THIRUWALLUVAR > > > > > "Even at the risk of your own self, refrain from acts that cause the > harmless, pain of their lives." ~ The Tirukkural (327) > > The mansahari, "meat-eater," is poignantly described in the > following passage from the obscure Mansahara Parihasajalpita Stotram: > > "Those who eat the flesh of other creatures are nothing less than > gristle-grinders, blood-drinkers, muscle-munchers, sinew-chewers, > carcass-crunchers, flesh-feeders-those who make their throat a > garbage pit and their stomach a graveyard-mean, angry, loathsomely > jealous, confused and beset by covetousness, who without restraint > would lie, deceive, kill or steal to solve immediate problems. They > are flesh-feeders, loathsome to the Gods, but friendly to the > asuras, who become their Gods and Goddesses, the blood-sucking > monsters who inhabit Naraka and deceptively have it decorated to > look like the pitriloka, the world of the fathers. To such beings > the deluded meat-eaters pay homage and prostrate while munching the > succulent flesh off bones." > > > > On 11/29/05, Tony OClery <aoclery> wrote: >> >> Namaste, >> >> Anybody can add Sruti?..............ONS..>> >> >> advaitajnana, "Tony OClery" <aoclery> >> wrote: >> >> advaitajnana, Samadhi Ananda > <kalkin714> >> wrote: >> > >> > Out of honest curiosity/wondering, is there any verse in sruti or >> writings by respected advaitins that says either eating meat or >> violence is wrong? I can find many that say that even killing a >> human >> >> >> >> >> Discussion of Shankara's Advaita Vedanta Philosophy of > nonseparablity of >> Atman and Brahman. >> Advaitin List Archives available at: >> > http://www.eScribe.com/culture/advaitin/<http://www.escribe.com/cultu > re/advaitin/> >> To Post a message send an email to : advaitin >> Messages Archived at: > advaitin/messages >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> >> >> - Visit your > group "advaitin<advaitin>" >> on the web. >> >> - >> advaitin<advaitin- > ?subject=Un> >> >> - Terms of >> Service <>. >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> > > > > -- > Krishna Prasad > > "Do not imagine your sincerity in work, But work Sincerely with your > imagination. > > Brahmacharya at Body level, Ahimsa at the Mental level and > Satyam at the Intellectual level should be practiced. > > The benefits of these are plenty. May it be a material career or a > spiritual > one, > these values lead man to supreme success in the chosen field. ' > > > > > --- End forwarded message --- > > --- End forwarded message --- > > Links > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.