Eating Non vegetarian food

[Milly]

 

Milk should not be treated as meat. However there should be a public movement that milk should be obtained only from Spiritual Cow Asramas where cow is treated with reverence and protected.

 

That could act as a motivation for cow protection.

 

K.Ravindran

I agree totally

[kimfelix]

I have read that cows producing milk products designated 'organic' usually live in better conditions. It is not a solution but it is maybe some improvement.

[bhaktajan]

There should be actuarial charts [as used by insurance companies] and,

there should be computer data bases and,

there should be an immediate personal background check of:

 

Horrific occurances of Mass & Singular 'Bad Karma'.

 

Do anyone know what I mean?

 

For example:

The Stock market/lending policies of these failed financial institutions have gone bankrupt--and coincidently, the majority of their investments where essential subsidiaries of __________ , ergo, What would you expect?

 

For example:

A bus full of pensioners crashed on the way to a gambling casino--only the Nun survived.

 

For example:

An airplane transporting deadly criminals could not find passengers for the extra available seats even though they were available for almosno cost to the general public.

 

IMO, when a group of strangers gather together --their culminative karma creates an oppurtunity for nature to do a quick clean-up job efficiently all with one stone's throw.

[Milly]

Are you allowed to eat root vegetables..?. I know about onions being not allowed but what about patatoes, carrots and other stuff....?

 

And has anyone seen this site : http://www.vegetariansareevil.com/

[kimfelix]

Jains do not eat root vegetables. I think it is either because they are concerned about killing worms and other small creatures when one digs the earth or perhaps because they are opposed to using iron implements to cut into the body of the earth. Very few Hindus share that view and I think a lot of Jains also eat root vegetables, it is only those who are very strict who don't.

[Milly]

 

Jains do not eat root vegetables. I think it is either because they are concerned about killing worms and other small creatures when one digs the earth or perhaps because they are opposed to using iron implements to cut into the body of the earth. Very few Hindus share that view and I think a lot of Jains also eat root vegetables, it is only those who are very strict who don't.

 

I eat root vegetables also but I have relatives who look funny at me when I do so I was just wondering why.

[RadhaMukunda]

It's delusional to think that the whole world will ever live as vegetarians or vegans, or that the entire human population could even survive as vegetarians. Vegetarianism is form of tapasya. In India the elite classes have always been vegetarian. But you would never see a brahmana protest against other classes eating fish or meat.

 

In the western world though, vegetarianism has turned into a social movement where people are trying to convert others into vegetarianism. This is silly. Time is better spend serving the vegetarian community with restaurants and bringing vegetarian food on the market.

[AncientMariner]

 

It's delusional to think that the whole world will ever live as vegetarians or vegans, or that the entire human population could even survive as vegetarians. Vegetarianism is form of tapasya. In India the elite classes have always been vegetarian. But you would never see a brahmana protest against other classes eating fish or meat.

 

In the western world though, vegetarianism has turned into a social movement where people are trying to convert others into vegetarianism. This is silly. Time is better spend serving the vegetarian community with restaurants and bringing vegetarian food on the market.

 

 

I agree with this. I personally would love to have more options than I do as basically everything where I live is tied into the corporate military industrial complex method of food preparation and commerce.

[Ravindran Kesavan]

 

It's delusional to think that the whole world will ever live as vegetarians or vegans, or that the entire human population could even survive as vegetarians. Vegetarianism is form of tapasya. In India the elite classes have always been vegetarian. But you would never see a brahmana protest against other classes eating fish or meat.

 

In the western world though, vegetarianism has turned into a social movement where people are trying to convert others into vegetarianism. This is silly. Time is better spend serving the vegetarian community with restaurants and bringing vegetarian food on the market.

 

Vegitarianism is a fine spiritual value. Non harming and hurting another conscious being is the essence of it. Every one should strive for it and achieve it, rather than rejecting it as an immposible ideal. In a completely spiritual world no one will hurt any other creature. It is an advance understanding of spiritual life. I dont see anything imposible about the whole world achieving it . We have progressed in many ways. Human race was cannibolistic once . We have given up that. Slavery was ones practiced, we gave up that. Why should we think that a fine princviple like vegitarianism is not possible universally? We all should strive towerds it, and accomplish it.

 

Nothing much is achieved if it remains the practice of an elitest few. The suffering of the creatures will not vanish that way.

 

K.Ravindran

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

 

Time is better spend serving the vegetarian community with restaurants and bringing vegetarian food on the market.

Who is in need, a vegetarian who wants a new restaurant to try new tastes, or the millions of animals being mercilessly killed every day for food? What is time well spent? Is another restaurant really the need of the world?

 

The saint Vallalar felt the pains of dried wheat in an arid field and cried to God to help them.

[bhaktajan]

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The pressing Issue of Humanity's Manifest Destiny:

Only when "Cow-Protection" is legistated via a 'change-in-heart' --then love, peace, and mutual respect for our fellow man on this planet will accrue.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[RadhaMukunda]

Many people would be vegetarians if it wasn't that inconvenient for them. There is a reason people massively buy crappy food from McDonald's and Burger King, instead of going to a better store to get something healthy.

 

To ask the question, are vegetarians in the need of feeding or are the animals in need of protection? This is actually not an either this or that situation. Human beings need feeding, this is something that can't be neglected. Many vegetarians have become unhealthy, because of their carelessness on their diets. Not because being vegetarian is unhealthy.

 

Could we stop the entire human population from eating meat? I don't think that will ever happen. Trying to accomplish that is a mere waste of energy. Energy vegetarians could have spend taking care of their own health. The general opinion is that vegetarianism is unhealthy. But if we made it more convenient to be a healthy vegetarian, by building restaurants and bringing healthy and tasty vegetarian food on the market, I am sure more people would become vegetarian or eat less meat.

[theist]

 

Many people would be vegetarians if it wasn't that inconvenient for them. There is a reason people massively buy crappy food from McDonald's and Burger King, instead of going to a better store to get something healthy.

Not exactly. Those same meat burgers could be made of soy or other beans. How about fast food falafels or bharatas. It's not the convience factor really in as much as it is the result of century upon century of gross ignorance in which animals are seen as creations without souls.

 

 

To ask the question, are vegetarians in the need of feeding or are the animals in need of protection? This is actually not an either this or that situation. Human beings need feeding, this is something that can't be neglected. Many vegetarians have become unhealthy, because of their carelessness on their diets. Not because being vegetarian is unhealthy.

Meat eaters are also unhealthy and careless in their diets. Vegetarians in general have a much smaller disease profile then flesh eaters.

 

 

Could we stop the entire human population from eating meat?

I don't think that will ever happen.

Whole human race? How about just helping one soul see that participating in animal slaughter is not only bad for the animal but also for that person's future karma when he must suffer in proportion to the suffering he has caused.

 

This is where speaking on vegetarianism is dovetailed with spiritual teaching. There cannot be a valid spiritual life practice that does not incorporate compassion for other living beings as a major tenent in the belief structure.

 

 

Trying to accomplish that is a mere waste of energy. Energy vegetarians could have spend taking care of their own health.

 

The idea that one can't spend time taking care of one's health and at the same time propagate a compassionate lifestyle is nonsensical.

 

 

The general opinion is that vegetarianism is unhealthy.

 

No it isn't. Even the most established of institutions like the American Heart Association, the AMA, organizations who fight the spread of diabetes etc. etc. will admit a plant based diet is superior to an animal based one.

 

 

But if we made it more convenient to be a healthy vegetarian, by building restaurants and bringing healthy and tasty vegetarian food on the market, I am sure more people would become vegetarian or eat less meat.

 

Sure that is needed but consider that supply follows demand. When I became a vegetarian there was no tofu or soymilk in the markets. None. As vegetarianism became more popular that has changed.

 

Demand follows education. Which brings us back to the need to find interested people and educate them on the benefits of compassionate living.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

 

The general opinion is that vegetarianism is unhealthy.

 

It's actually exactly the opposite. The entire western world more or less sees vegetarianism as a healthier lifestyle. Only in India do people hold on to uneducated beliefs that we need to eat meat to be healthy. And these are the same people who still use DDT in their kitchens to kill insects, something the rest of the world banned decades ago.

 

In fact most of the people who take to vegetarianism in the west do it BECAUSE it is healthier than eating meat.

[bija]

 

And these are the same people who still use DDT in their kitchens to kill insects, something the rest of the world banned decades ago.

I remember onetime maybe 14 years ago, I was in Asia and had not mosquito net. I used this spray, and did not read the instructions. It made me so sick with vomiting for days. That stuff could kill more than insects.

[vivek.gms]

Hinduism: Time for reforms and expansion

The more I read about Hinduism, the more I love it. I can’t differentiate growth of Hinduism and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>. One nurtured other and we enjoyed great civilization for thousands of years and will enjoy it for unlimited years ahead. But, the time has come to go beyond <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> once again.

Hinduism evolved over thousands of years. Our great ancestors did research and found many ways to reach God. They said the universal reality is the same (God); different people call it by different names. Through those great efforts we produced concepts like,

 

• Vasudaika Kutumbam –one universal family.
  
• Vedanta- Dwaita & Adwaita dharma.
  
• Concept of Atma.
  
• Bakti, Karma, Jnana and Raja yogas.

It preached equality of all human beings (Hindu or non-Hindu). Like every ancient society we had our Gods. But, at higher levels of realization all of them represented one absolute God.

Apart from concept of God, Hindus also developed defense systems, meditation, yoga, martial arts, astrology, mathematics, medicine and other arts and sciences. In the process <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> became rich, affluent and powerful. A lot of people from across the world migrated to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.

To accommodate expanding society and for convenience, various systems were developed. But, over a period of time some of these systems become out dated. They don’t change with time.

There are mainly two things we need to handle at this stage:

 

• Caste System.
  
• Rituals and number of Gods we have.

We should take steps to make all hindus are equal in society (not just in writings). We should establish systems to make every one equal. Encouraging inter-caste marriages and teaching vedic literature to every hindu are initial steps we can take to move towards our goal of social equality.

Some of our rituals really unnecessary and some of them are incorporated to give benefits to certain sections. We have a lot of Gods. Why? The answer I got after search is every sect that entered <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> bought its own Gods (All ancient societies had separate set of their own Gods). In some places in Andhra Pradesh, village Gods in adjacent villages is different. Now we need to rationalize Gods. It’s for our unity, to remove confusion, making people get red of false assumption/beliefs and for realization of God. Please remember, Hinduism teaches us that at higher levels of consciousness there is only one absolute God. All other Gods, deities, sages, gurus are showing us a way to reach God. Idol worship facilitates this process and it gives a lot of satisfaction. Idols are like keeping photographs of gods with us.

I thought about a few points to make transition or to bring much needed change or rejuvenate the great religion:

 

• Caste system reforms.
  
• Reducing no. of Gods. 10-15 is the ideal number. Every hindu prays to all or any one of these Gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Ganesh and Hanuman. One thing is clear “cow is not a God”.
  
• Martial arts schools. Power listens to power only. We need to strengthen our brothers to fight if necessary.
  
• Schools for Vedanta literature and handling rituals.
  
• Uniting Hindus all over world.
  
• Establishing centre to discuss about God and social systems.
  
• Establishing panel for rewriting some of our religious books.
  
• Expanding Hinduism all over the world. Because it’s the only answer for world peace and the way to realize God.

Please remember Sri Adi Shankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda preached change during their period, opposed some of the systems in Hinduism and united all hindus.

Thanks for reading this article. Discuss your views with me. Please exchange this article with many of your friends, family and discuss this.

[Smiley]

Bishadi: "such that some people become ill from lack of nutrients by following that paradigm (see the dali lama)"

Your statement conflicts with the scientific evidence.

I read the Dalai Lama's autobiography Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of The Dalai Lama. The Tibetans live in contradiction, holding that it is wrong for a monk to kill for food but o.k. for them to eat meat as long as another person killed and prepared it. I say this about the exiled Tibetan community in India. If a balanced vegetarian diet cannot be obtained in certain remote places of Tibet, then they should not be criticized any more than people in arctic regions.

The lack of meat has not been scientifically proven to promote disease. An unhealthy diet, rather meatless or not has been proven to promote disease. A healthy vegetarian diet has been scientifically demonstrated to promote overall health and longevity.

Bishadi: "Look up the inuit tribes of the arctic regions."

Irrelevant. No one is criticizing people whose karma forces them to eat a restricted diet.

Here is a relevant question; What kind of diet best promotes the spiritual progress for the aspirant?

I will answer that question rhetorically; How many ashrams in India serve meat to their inmates?

Here is an article prepared by the the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine;

several scientific studies are referenced in the footnotes:

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vegetarian_foods.html

I think there is an important distinction to be drawn between hunting, in which an animal lives free until the day it is killed by an animal or human predator and supporting the meat industry: www.meat.org

or the leather industry:

Given that it is not necessary for most people,

why do it?

 

www.CowsAreCool.com

 

 

 

it's a ritual belief

 

a sort of over kill of compassionate ideals.

 

such that some people become ill from lack of nutrients by following that paradigm (see the dali lama)

 

but let's go back in time.... ever notice how the eyes of the eatern folk began? The reflections from the snow and ice.

 

Look up the inuit tribes of the arctic regions. They live the 'natural' beyond what many ever could; and many never even see a leaf.

 

simply i would trust the reality of life over a ritualistic belief. Just as i would trust nature and all of God's existence over the words of beliefs.

 

Even the greatest ideas within belief structures will fall under the observance of truth.

[theist]

Expressing compassion in every aspect of our lives is a very healthy practice, both in the present life and future ones.