ahimsA and vegetarianism

[Guest guest]

Dear Esteemed Bhaktas,

 

There was a question posed recently about the scriptural

authority for vegetarianism. This core principle is

derived from the Vedic injunction 'mA himsyAt sarva-bhUtAni'

-- do no harm to living creatures. This recommendation is

repeated to the disciple in some of the Upanishads. We further

see that all the great spiritual traditions of India, drawing

upon this root idea, dictate that the true spiritual aspirant

must abstain as much as possible from injury to any living

being. The followers of the Vedanta, the Buddhists, and most

notably the Jains all keep ahimsA at the forefront of their

spiritual sAdhana, and this is also reflected in many of

the dharma-SAstras, including the famed manu-smRti.

 

The ahirbudhnya-samhitA, a pAncarAtra text of paramount

authority, states that since all creatures form the body

of the Omnipresent Lord, it should be obvious (niScaya)

that all one's actions should be performed with thoughts

of all other beings' welfare.

 

It is also said in the chAndogya upanishad, "If the food is pure,

the mind becomes pure. If the mind is pure, meditation [on the paramAtman]

becomes firm. Upon the attainment of such meditation, one is

released from all knots of the heart (i.e., moksha is attained)."

[ AhAra Suddhau sattva Suddhih; sattva Suddhau dhruva smRtiH;

smRtilambhe sarvagranthInAm vipramokshaH ]

 

The statement about food being pure is interpreted in the dharma-

SAstras as meaning that not only their source, but also their

*method of procurement* must be pure. Milk is no doubt pure;

but if procured through harm to the cow, or through dishonest

means, becomes tainted. So, Sri Ramanuja writes, the first

thing to be practiced by a bhakti-yogi is 'viveka' -- being

discriminating about what one takes in, particularly food,

because it directly contributes to the purity or lack thereof

of the mind.

 

There is also the dialogue between Tuladhara and Jajali in

the Mahabharata, which, remarkably, contains the seeds of

the doctrines of all modern animal-rights movements. Please

see http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/jul98/0180.html.

 

In the texts particular to our sampradAya, our acharyas have

repeatedly focussed on ahimsA and by extension vegetarianism

as a cardinal value. Sri Vatsya Varadacharya, the parama-guru

of Sri Vedanta Desika, cites an ancient sloka which describes

ahimsA as the 'prathamam pushpam' or the first and foremost

flower that pleases Lord Vishnu. This sloka is repeated in

many of the later Ahnika texts during the archana phase of

bhagavad-ArAdhanam. Sri Varadacharya also interprets nearly

every aspect of saranagati in terms of love and compassion for

one's fellow creatures. The quote above from ahirbudhnya-samhitA

may once again be considered in this context.

 

We see then a twofold reasoning at work. There is an absolute

value of ahimsA that is at play, and in addition, this ahimsA

helps the mumukshu in his or her spiritual progress by furthering

the aspirant's sattva-guNa leading to purity of mind, further

leading to the ability to realize the paramAtman.

 

However, at the same time, it was recognized that samsAric life

inherently involved injury of some form or another. The

quote, if I am not mistaken, is 'jIvo jIvena jIvati' -- life

lives by living off of another life. Vegetarians too commit

harm, by killing plants, or using animals to plough the

fields. One may also inadvertently harm human beings in

the process of raising crops, or in the process of commerce.

 

The conclusion is that no one in reality can live a cruelty-free

existence. But we at the same time cannot abandon the core value of

ahimsA. So what we are left with is that *as much as possible*,

we must minimize the harm we cause to other creatures. Certainly,

eschewing meat is possible for nearly all of us. (Clearly, eskimos

and others who have no other means of sustenance are largely exempt

from these dictums). And, in the process of eating our vegetarian diets,

we should strive to atone for whatever himsA we cause in the process.

 

In the Vedic tradition, this atonement comes as part of the daily

performance of the panca-mahA-yajnas, the five great 'sacrifices'.

The word 'yajna' scares off many people, these are unfortunately

thought of as complex rituals. However, they are actually quite

simple in spirit, and of the five yajnas, two were specifically

designed with the idea of atoning for inevitable harm done in daily

life, and take the form of positive acts of kindness and charity to

one's fellow beings. These two are listed below, with recommendations

from Sri Rangapriya Swami on how to fulfil them:

 

(1) sacrifice to living creatures -- bhUta-yajna. Feed a fellow

creature -- a cow, a dog, or bird, out of the kindness of

your heart.

 

(2) sacrifice to one's fellow humans -- manushya-yajna.

Feed a guest or stranger to the extent possible, or

do some charitable act of kindness for someone.

 

As Sri Rangapriya Swami rhetorically asked us, "Tell me, how hard is

this to perform every day? We make everything harder than it seems.

In reality the shastras do not dictate such difficulty."

 

I hope this answers the question to some extent. Any errors

or gaps are mine and truly, anything correct can be attributed

to Sri Rangapriya Swami.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

Mani