Ethics of Vegetarianism

[Guest guest]

Her Majesty the Queen-Mother said: "Some of us who have

adopted vegetarian food habits are asked by friends in the

West to state the reason for such adoption. If we give the

reason as the desire to avoid causing pain to animal life, they

ask if vegetarianism does not involve inflicting pain in the

vegetable world."

 

His Holiness explained clearly the basis of

vegetarianism: "The ideal life of complete compassion and

non-violenece is possible only for a few; it would involve

subsistence on fruits and leaves that fall from trees and

plants. In the case of others there can only be a gradual

approach towards that ideal. The rule is: if it is possible to live

by causing less injury to other lives, it is wrong to inflict more

violence. It is on this principle that a vegetarian diet is greatly

to be preferred to meat-eating. In the first, place when

vegetables are plucked, the plants are not destroyed,

whereas meat cannot be had without killing the animal to

which it belongs. Secondly, animals are more sensitive than

plants; they have a greater number of, and keener, sense-

faculties than the latter. In fact, there is not much difference

in this regard between animals and us, human beings. The

feeling of pain is almost the same; the suffering is of the

same degree. The plants do not suffer to the same extent.

Plucking vegetables or leaves is comparable to the clipping of

nails and the cutting of hair. Thirdly, intrinsically there is not

much to choose between cannibalism and eating of animal-

meat. The arguments against one hold equally good against

the other. If the civilized people who are meat-eaters are

against cannibalism, it is more on grounds of sentiment. It is

clear that meat-eating causes more suffering than living on

vegetables. And, every effort to reduce the quantum of

suffering is commendable.

 

[Her Majesty Queen Frederika, Queen-Mother of Greece in

conversation with His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra

Saraswati (Late Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti

Peetham), Circa 1968.]

[Guest guest]

I thought this is an academic list, are we going down the same route

as the old Indology list? Pretty soon everyone of any importance in

the field of Indology will from this list if we can't

keep trivial posts out of here.

 

 

INDOLOGY, rameshankar wrote:

> Her Majesty the Queen-Mother said: "Some of us who have

> adopted vegetarian food habits are asked by friends in the

> West to state the reason for such adoption. If we give the

> reason as the desire to avoid causing pain to animal life, they

> ask if vegetarianism does not involve inflicting pain in the

> vegetable world."

>

> His Holiness explained clearly the basis of

> vegetarianism: "The ideal life of complete compassion and

> non-violenece is possible only for a few; it would involve

> subsistence on fruits and leaves that fall from trees and

> plants. In the case of others there can only be a gradual

> approach towards that ideal. The rule is: if it is possible to live

> by causing less injury to other lives, it is wrong to inflict more

> violence. It is on this principle that a vegetarian diet is greatly

> to be preferred to meat-eating. In the first, place when

> vegetables are plucked, the plants are not destroyed,

> whereas meat cannot be had without killing the animal to

> which it belongs. Secondly, animals are more sensitive than

> plants; they have a greater number of, and keener, sense-

> faculties than the latter. In fact, there is not much difference

> in this regard between animals and us, human beings. The

> feeling of pain is almost the same; the suffering is of the

> same degree. The plants do not suffer to the same extent.

> Plucking vegetables or leaves is comparable to the clipping of

> nails and the cutting of hair. Thirdly, intrinsically there is not

> much to choose between cannibalism and eating of animal-

> meat. The arguments against one hold equally good against

> the other. If the civilized people who are meat-eaters are

> against cannibalism, it is more on grounds of sentiment. It is

> clear that meat-eating causes more suffering than living on

> vegetables. And, every effort to reduce the quantum of

> suffering is commendable.

>

> [Her Majesty Queen Frederika, Queen-Mother of Greece in

> conversation with His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra

> Saraswati (Late Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti

> Peetham), Circa 1968.]