Guest guest Posted August 31, 2005 Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 Sirs, >> So to say,ATTITUDE is more important than ATTITUDE< I meant to say So to say,ATTITUDE is more important than APTITUDE Vishwanathan Nagarajan <nvc_vishwanathan Sun, 28 Aug 2005 15:01:31 +0100 (BST) does plants have life? one of the yamas and niyamas is Ahimsa -non violence ( non-killing of anykind, direct of indirect). so what disturbs me is if plants do have life, are we not doing violence to them even being a vegetarian. The reasons and benefits of being a vegetarian is explained in several scientific ways. But spiritually it is said mainly to observe non-killing or non-violence. then how about eating vegitables , especailly teh plant varieties. if we think plants have life, it is equivalent of observing violence. Could some on please, clear me of this Dilemma ! I am a non-vegetarian turned Vegetarian and abstain myself of all animal products except milk. but my above questions puts me down all the time. i would appreciate somebody helping me out in this. Thanks in advance.. Vishwanathan Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Dear Gopi and Tatachar, Its nice to get some good responses. thanks for your clarifications. yes its true. its hard to observe complete ahimsa. i have that feeling everytime i wear my shoes and jacket. But then i just cant help it. so leave i just it. Yes its true, even Rishis used deer hides as their mats to protect them from chillness. But they were from deers that died of natural death, never been killed for hides. But in this world, things have changed. but we cant help it. So i just decided to use as minimum leather products as possible. Thats what i can do. It was interesting to know, that meat was offered in Vedic ceremonies. never heard of it. but anyway, my knowledge on our ancient religion is very limited. Yes , right as you said, its the attitude which is important. and i am now working on it. eat only to live, not live to eat. i appreciate your points. But then i have another doubt. just got this doubt as i was reading your reply. when Rama is in vanavasa, seetha gets admired by a beautiful deer and wishes to have it. So Rama goes to fetch it. but he actually ends up killing it. now the question is if you like something you dont have to kill it. so why did rama had to kill the deer. did they intend to eat it or what? otherwise they wouldnt have thought of killing it ! kindly, request you to throw some light on this. thanks... Vishwanathan tatachar wrote: Dear Sir, Ahimsa (non-violence) as per Sanathana Dharma is causing least harm kaaya-vaacha-manasaa (deeds-words-thoughts) than it is needed. This is different from no harm! Food is sanctified by first offering to Lord and take it as prasadam. Otherwise, as per Gita one eats only sin (poison)- bhunjate te tvagam paapa ye pachantyaatma kaaraNaat ! This is in short the Hindu Kosher. Not what you eat, but the attitude with which you eat. Eating a dry leaf fallen of its own accord is also poison, if it is not taken with prasada bhaavam. So to say,ATTITUDE is more important than ATTITUDE. Joseph Campbell was a Steak /potato man, whereas Hitler was a vegetarian. Meat was part of offerings in the vedic yagnas- All food taken by Vedic Reshis were remnants from Yagnas. The mere act of living causes some himsa. Even doing a regular puja causes injury to flowers, leaves, etc. Probably that is why the Lord says in the Gita that japa is the greatest form of worship(yagnaanaam japa yagnosmi). Even going to temple causes some harm/himsa to environment/beings (car or walk). So, please don't feel guilty, even if you revert to eating meat. Just make sure the attitude counts more. dAsan K.S. tAtAchAr Vishwanathan Nagarajan <nvc_vishwanathan Sun, 28 Aug 2005 15:01:31 +0100 (BST) does plants have life? ..AOLPlainTextBody { margin: 0px; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px; color: #000; background-color: #fff; }.AOLPlainTextBody pre { font-size: 9pt;}.AOLInlineAttachment { margin: 10px;}.AOLAttachmentHeader { border-bottom: 2px solid #E9EAEB; background: #F9F9F9;}.AOLAttachmentHeader .Title { font: 11px Tahoma; font-weight: bold; color: #666666; background: #E9EAEB; padding: 3px 0px 1px 10px;}.AOLAttachmentHeader .FieldLabel { font: 11px Tahoma; font-weight: bold; color: #666666; padding: 1px 10px 1px 9px;}.AOLAttachmentHeader ..FieldValue { font: 11px Tahoma; color: #333333;} one of the yamas and niyamas is Ahimsa -non violence ( non-killing of anykind, direct of indirect). so what disturbs me is if plants do have life, are we not doing violence to them even being a vegetarian. The reasons and benefits of being a vegetarian is explained in several scientific ways. But spiritually it is said mainly to observe non-killing or non-violence. then how about eating vegitables , especailly teh plant varieties. if we think plants have life, it is equivalent of observing violence. Could some on please, clear me of this Dilemma ! I am a non-vegetarian turned Vegetarian and abstain myself of all animal products except milk. but my above questions puts me down all the time. i would appreciate somebody helping me out in this. Thanks in advance.. VishwanathanSend instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]------------------------ Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <FONT Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Hare Krishna Prabhus, Srimad-Bhagavatam has a wonderful statement on the subject of ³ahimsa². Nishevitenaanimittena swadharmena mahiyasaa Kriyaayogena shastena naatihimsrena nityashah SB 3.29.15 One has to execute his prescribed duties, which are glorious, without material profit. Without excessive violence, one should regularly perform one¹s devotional activities. The important phrase used here is ³naatihimsrena² means with minimum violence or sacrifice of life. Every one in the material body has to commit violence, but it should not be done beyond what is necessary. Even eating vegetables is also violence. Thus vegetarians are also committing violence against the other living entities because vegetables also have life. It is the law of nature that every living entity has to live by killing another entity. ³Jeevo jeevasya jeevanam: one living entity is the life for another living entity². But for a human being the violence should be committed only as much necessary. A human being is not to eat any thing that is not offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ³Yajna-shistaashinah santah: one becomes freed from the sinful reactions by eating foodstuffs that are offered to Yajna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead². A devotee therefore eats only prasadam or foodstuffs offered to the Supreme Lord. Sri Krishna says, ³Patram pushpam falam toyam: when a devotee offers him foodstuffs from the vegetable kingdom with devotion, he eats that². Thus we have to commit violence; that is a natural law. But we should not commit violence extravagantly, but only as much as necessary and as ordered by the Lord, that is called Naatihimsaa. On 8/31/05 3:44 PM, "tatachar" <tatachar wrote: > Sirs, > >>> So to say,ATTITUDE is more important than ATTITUDE< > > I meant to say > > So to say,ATTITUDE is more important than APTITUDE > > > Vishwanathan Nagarajan <nvc_vishwanathan > > Sun, 28 Aug 2005 15:01:31 +0100 (BST) > does plants have life? > > > one of the yamas and niyamas is Ahimsa -non violence ( non-killing of anykind, > direct of indirect). > > so what disturbs me is if plants do have life, are we not doing violence to > them > even being a vegetarian. The reasons and benefits of being a vegetarian is > explained in several scientific ways. But spiritually it is said mainly to > observe non-killing or non-violence. then how about eating vegitables , > especailly teh plant varieties. if we think plants have life, it is equivalent > of observing violence. > > Could some on please, clear me of this Dilemma ! > > I am a non-vegetarian turned Vegetarian and abstain myself of all animal > products except milk. but my above questions puts me down all the time. i > would > appreciate somebody helping me out in this. > > Thanks in advance.. > > Vishwanathan > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger. -- Vipin Kumar Chaturvedi, M.S., Ph.D. Professor Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies 3550 General Atomics Court San Diego, CA 92121 858-455-3870 (voice) 858-455-3804 (Fax) vkumar (email) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 6, 2005 Report Share Posted September 6, 2005 Jai Sriman Narayana! Yes, plants have life. Plants do not have a developed nervous system and may not be feeling pain. By eating plants, we minimize the pain and suffereing. Ultimately, all enrgy to the planet is derived from the Sun's races. Plants capture the solar energy and store it. There is certain efficiency in converting solar energy (say 70%). Animals eat plants and they have even lower efficiency (say 40%). If one were to eat anilmals, the overall effiency is very low (0.7 multiplied by 0.4 = 28%). By eating plants, we are converting the solar enrgy by a lot higher efficiency when compared to eating animal food. By eating animal products, one is wasting a significant percentage of the energy. Moreover, animals have a significantly developed nervous system and they do feel pain and suffering and loss of comapnionship, loss of children etc. Therefore, the suffering is a thousand (or even million) fold when compared to the suffering caused to plants. We eat plants because Lord Sri Krishna said that He will accept only patram, pushpam , palam and thoyam. We do not eat anything which is not offered to Him. All sAthvik purAnAs with unified voice, proclaim that one should abstain from eating meat. With regard to ahimsa done to the plants, one should minimze the destruction of plants (environment). For brahma charyas and grihasthas, eating plants is allowed. However, for VAnaprasthas, there are several restrictions imposed even for eating plants. The first stage of Vanaprasthas eat plucking only the riped fruit. We are not allowed to pluck the unriped fruits from the plants. The advanced stage of Vanaprasthas eat only the fallen fruits. They are not allowed to even pluck the fruit from the plants. All this is well explained in Srimath Bhagavatham. With all glories to Lord Sri Venkateswara, I remain, Sincerely Narender Reddy Vishwanathan Nagarajan <nvc_vishwanathan wrote: one of the yamas and niyamas is Ahimsa -non violence ( non-killing of anykind, direct of indirect). so what disturbs me is if plants do have life, are we not doing violence to them even being a vegetarian. The reasons and benefits of being a vegetarian is explained in several scientific ways. But spiritually it is said mainly to observe non-killing or non-violence. then how about eating vegitables , especailly teh plant varieties. if we think plants have life, it is equivalent of observing violence. Could some on please, clear me of this Dilemma ! I am a non-vegetarian turned Vegetarian and abstain myself of all animal products except milk. but my above questions puts me down all the time. i would appreciate somebody helping me out in this. Thanks in advance.. Vishwanathan Send instant messages to your online friends http://in.messenger. Religious education Beyond belief Different religions beliefs Jehovah witness beliefs Visit your group "" on the web. Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Namakaram to everyone. I recently joined the group. When i read the mail that says that plants have life and that grahastas and bramacharyas can eat plants, We call ourselves vegetarian but we consume cow's milk and milk products. Is this justified ? Can anyone enlighten me on this? ~ kidambi Narayanan Ahobila mutt Shishyan RM 822,Crystal Village V8, 2-13-11 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 165-0026,Japan --- Narender Reddy <reddynp wrote: > Jai Sriman Narayana! > > Yes, plants have life. Plants do not have a > developed nervous system and may not be feeling > pain. By eating plants, we minimize the pain and > suffereing. Ultimately, all enrgy to the planet is > derived from the Sun's races. Plants capture the > solar energy and store it. There is certain > efficiency in converting solar energy (say 70%). > Animals eat plants and they have even lower > efficiency (say 40%). If one were to eat anilmals, > the overall effiency is very low (0.7 multiplied by > 0.4 = 28%). By eating plants, we are converting the > solar enrgy by a lot higher efficiency when compared > to eating animal food. By eating animal products, > one is wasting a significant percentage of the > energy. Moreover, animals have a significantly > developed nervous system and they do feel pain and > suffering and loss of comapnionship, loss of > children etc. Therefore, the suffering is a > thousand (or even million) fold when compared to the > suffering caused to plants. > > We eat plants because Lord Sri Krishna said that He > will accept only patram, pushpam , palam and thoyam. > We do not eat anything which is not offered to Him. > All sAthvik purAnAs with unified voice, proclaim > that one should abstain from eating meat. > > With regard to ahimsa done to the plants, one should > minimze the destruction of plants (environment). > For brahma charyas and grihasthas, eating plants is > allowed. However, for VAnaprasthas, there are > several restrictions imposed even for eating plants. > The first stage of Vanaprasthas eat plucking only > the riped fruit. We are not allowed to pluck the > unriped fruits from the plants. The advanced stage > of Vanaprasthas eat only the fallen fruits. They are > not allowed to even pluck the fruit from the plants. > All this is well explained in Srimath Bhagavatham. > > With all glories to Lord Sri Venkateswara, I remain, > > Sincerely > Narender Reddy > > > Vishwanathan Nagarajan <nvc_vishwanathan > wrote: > one of the yamas and niyamas is Ahimsa -non violence > ( non-killing of anykind, direct of indirect). > > so what disturbs me is if plants do have life, are > we not doing violence to them even being a > vegetarian. The reasons and benefits of being a > vegetarian is explained in several scientific ways. > But spiritually it is said mainly to observe > non-killing or non-violence. then how about eating > vegitables , especailly teh plant varieties. if we > think plants have life, it is equivalent of > observing violence. > > Could some on please, clear me of this Dilemma ! > > I am a non-vegetarian turned Vegetarian and abstain > myself of all animal products except milk. but my > above questions puts me down all the time. i would > appreciate somebody helping me out in this. > > Thanks in advance.. > > Vishwanathan > > Send instant messages to your online friends > http://in.messenger. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > > > Religious education Beyond belief Different > religions beliefs Jehovah witness beliefs > > > > > > Visit your group "" on the web. > > To from this group, send an email > to: > > > Your use of is subject to the > > > > > > > > > > Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina > relief effort. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > Warm Regards, Kidambi Narayanan #822,CRYSTAL village V8, 2-13-11 Arai,Nakano-ku, Tokyo - 165 0026 Res: +81-03-3228-7196 Mob: +81-90-7258-8492 Homepage: http://kidambi.bappy.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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