Le Cow Quote Du Jour # 118

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TRANSLATION

I have lost my three legs and am now standing on one only. Are you lamenting

for my state of existence? Or are you in great anxiety because henceforward

the unlawful meat-eaters will exploit you? Or are you in a sorry plight

because the demigods are now bereft of their share of sacrificial offerings

because no sacrifices are being performed at present? Or are you grieving

for living beings because of their sufferings due to famine and drought?

 

PURPORT

With the progress of the age of Kali, four things particularly, namely the

duration of life, mercy, the power of recollection, and moral or religious

principles will gradually diminish. Since Dharma, or the principles of

religion, would be lost in the proportion of three out of four, the symbolic

bull was standing on one leg only. When three fourths of the population of

the whole world become irreligious, the situation is converted into hell for

the animals. In the age of Kali, godless civilizations will create so many

so-called religious societies in which the Personality of Godhead will be

directly or indirectly defied. And thus faithless societies of men will make

the world uninhabitable for the saner section of people. There are

gradations of human beings in terms of proportionate faith in the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. The first-class faithful men are the Vaisnavas and

the brahmanas, then the ksatriyas, then the vaisyas, then the sudras, then

the mlecchas, the yavanas and at last the candalas. The degradation of the

human instinct begins from the mlecchas, and the candala state of life is

the last word in human degradation. All the above terms mentioned in the

Vedic literatures are never meant for any particular community or birth.

They are different qualifications of human beings in general. There is no

question of birthright or community. One can acquire the respective

qualifications by one's own efforts, and thus the son of a Vaisnava can

become a mleccha, or the son of a candala can become more than a brahmana,

all in terms of their association and intimate relation with the Supreme

Lord.

 

The meat-eaters are generally called mlecchas. But all meat-eaters are not

mlecchas. Those who accept meat in terms of scriptural injunctions are not

mlecchas, but those who accept meat without restriction are called mlecchas.

Beef is forbidden in the scriptures, and the bulls and cows are offered

special protection by followers of the Vedas. But in this age of Kali,

people will exploit the body of the bull and the cow as they like, and thus

they will invite sufferings of various types.

 

The people of this age will not perform any sacrifice. The mleccha

population will care very little for performances of sacrifices, although

performance of sacrifice is essential for persons who are materially engaged

in sense enjoyment. In the Bhagavad-gita performance of sacrifices is

strongly recommended (Bg. 3.14-16).

 

The living beings are created by the creator Brahma, and just to maintain

the created living being progressively towards the path back to Godhead, the

system of performing sacrifice is also created by him. The system is that

living beings live on the produce of grains and vegetables, and by eating

such foodstuff they get vital power of the body in the shape of blood and

semen, and from blood and semen one living being is able to create other

living beings. But the production of grains, grass, etc. becomes possible by

rain, and this rain is made to shower properly by performance of recommended

sacrifices. Such sacrifices are directed by the rites of the Vedas, namely

Sama, Yajur, Rg and Atharva. In the Manu-smrti it is recommended that by

offerings of sacrifice on the altar of the fire, the sun-god is pleased.

When the sun-god is pleased, he properly collects water from the sea, and

thus sufficient clouds collect on the horizon and rains fall. After

sufficient rains fall, there is sufficient production of grains for men and

all animals, and thus there is energy in the living being for progressive

activity. The mlecchas, however, make plans to install slaughterhouses for

killing bulls and cows along with other animals, thinking that they will

prosper by increasing the number of factories and live on animal food

without caring for performance of sacrifices and production of grains. But

they must know that even for the animals they must produce grass and

vegetables, otherwise the animals cannot live. And to produce grass for the

animals, they require sufficient rains. Therefore they have to depend

ultimately on the mercy of the demigods like the sun-god, Indra and Candra,

and such demigods must be satisfied by performances of sacrifice.

 

This material world is a sort of prison house, as we have several times

mentioned. The demigods are the servants of the Lord who see to the proper

upkeep of the prison house. These demigods want to see that the rebel living

beings, who want to survive faithlessly, are gradually turned towards the

supreme power of the Lord. Therefore, the system of offering sacrifice is

recommended in the scriptures.

 

The materialistic men want to work hard and enjoy fruitive results for sense

enjoyment. Thus they are committing many types of sins at every step of

life. Those, however, who are consciously engaged in the devotional service

of the Lord are transcendental to all varieties of sin and virtue. Their

activities are free from the contamination of the three modes of material

nature. For the devotees there is no need for performance of prescribed

sacrifices because the very life of the devotee is a symbol of sacrifice.

But persons who are engaged in fruitive activities for sense enjoyment must

perform the prescribed sacrifices because that is the only means to get free

from the reaction of all sins committed by fruitive workers. Sacrifice is

the means for counteracting such accumulated sins. The demigods are pleased

when such sacrifices are performed, just as prison officers are satisfied

when the prisoners are turned into obedient subjects. Lord Caitanya,

however, has recommended only one yajna, or sacrifice, called the

sankirtana-yajna, the chanting of Hare Krsna, in which everyone can take

part. Thus both devotees and fruitive workers can derive equal benefit from

the performances of sankirtana-yajna.

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.16.20