Dharma, Compassion and the Cows

[Guest guest]

answer because the cows are still sent to the Slaughter Houses. Little do we all

realize that all the cups of coffee, tea, all the plates of Pongal, kesari,

dhadhiyodhanam, etc involve animal cruelty atleast indirectly, mainly thanks to

the state of the dairy industry in the US. ISKCON-run gOshAlAs are safe havens

for the cows, but they are not prevalent. As

compassionate SrivaishnavAs, what should we do? Is veganism (totally avoiding

any food/clothing item involving animals even indirectly) the best answer? This

means sacrificing all the above mentioned food varieties.

Also, another point that has always been bothering me for a long time is the

fact that even

Orthodox Srivaishnava brahmins use leather chappals from BATA during Kasi

Yathirai, or the leather shoes for reception, even if all the ceremonies are

being held under the auspices of the Lordships and the Srivaishnavas. adiyEn,

Kidambi Soundararajan.

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[Guest guest]

bags, back packs, duffle bags, laptop cases, boots, coats, sofa sets, and car

interiors constructed entirely from leather. In this day it is somewhat a sign

of prestige to have leather items. I have always tried to make an effort to

stay away from all of these items, however in the world today it is very

difficult to distinguish the tainted from the untainted, especially when

dealing with manufactured products like medicines, food products, handbags and

shoes (sometimes they are labeled man made or leather, but not always). We

all should be more careful of what goes on and into our lives. Try to learn as

much as you can about products and read labels more carefully. Jai Sriman

Narayana! Manasavimalkumar ranganathan <panardasan > wrote:

#1010ff 2px solid"> SrI: SrimatE rAmAnujaya nama: SrimatE varavara munyE nama:

Dear Vaishnavas, I beg all your pardon revisiting this.

As we are all talking about Vegetarianism, Karma, etc... where does drinking

milk/dairy products fit into the scheme of things? If one considers Krishna as

"veNNai uNda vAyan", it is because cows were treated well in those times, as a

matter of fact, even till recent times in the Indian agrarian societies. Now,

we all know the effects of Slaughter Houses and how most of the dairy farms

treat cows (hormone injections, the whole "veal" industry, etc) in the US.

Organic

milk may not be an answer because the cows are still sent to the Slaughter

Houses. Little do we all realize that all the cups of coffee, tea, all the

plates of Pongal, kesari, dhadhiyodhanam, etc involve animal cruelty atleast

indirectly, mainly thanks to the state of the dairy industry in the US.

ISKCON-run gOshAlAs are safe havens for the cows, but they are not prevalent.

As compassionate SrivaishnavAs, what should we do? Is

veganism (totally avoiding any food/clothing item involving animals even

indirectly) the best answer? This means sacrificing all the above mentioned

food varieties. Also, another point that has always

been bothering me for a long time is

the fact that even Orthodox Srivaishnava brahmins use leather chappals from BATA

during Kasi Yathirai, or the leather shoes for reception, even if all the

ceremonies are being held under the auspices of the Lordships and the

Srivaishnavas. adiyEn, Kidambi Soundararajan. Relax. Mail virus

scanning helps detect nasty viruses!

Mail Use Photomail to share photos without annoying attachments.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sriman Sounderrajan,

All the vegetables, rice, wheat, fruits nay all the vegetables are now grown

under intense high yield mode of cultivation where often wide spread

indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides are in vogue. Should we

start rejecting use of all of these? There is also a practical and important

medical reason to stop using such stuff and try to live on naturally

produced foodstuff. This will definitely become more prevalent once the

dangers of consuming such food become common knowledge.

Till then we are prisoners of the existing situation, where feeding the

multitude in countries such as India and China is the number one priority of

the nation. We will by and by see better sense prevailing and migrate

towards living in tune with nature.

I suppose it will be very difficult to get out of this situation, unless we

are prepared to alter our lives totally. In the present society where we are

constrained to work hard for earning our livelihood and educate our children

etc, it is difficult to avoid the use of all such things alien to our

spiritual calling. But we should try and overcome some of the obstacles by

and by while clinging to the Lotus Feet of the Lord and chanting His Holy

Names incessantly.

Jai Sriman Narayana

Regards,

Ramanujam.