Human body is built to eat animals also - explained by a Muslim

SubashRao · June 22, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters,

I found this as well on youtube and would like to hear what vaishanavas have to say.

p/s: sorry wrong link was pasted here earlier.. i've chnaged the URL!

regards,

hare krishna

Sonic Yogi · June 22, 2009

He is correct on most all the points, except that he fails to mention that there are many Hindus who DO worship ONE God.

They are called Vaishnavas and they make up a large section of the Hindus.

He is trying to present that all Hindus believe in many Gods, but that just betrays his ill-intentions because in fact many Hindus do believe in the ONE God.

So, his propaganda that all Hindus believe in many Gods is again his way to trying to prove supremacy of Islam over Hinduism.

When he was quoting Bhagavad-gita, he also forgot to mention that in the gita Lord Krishna makes the claim that in fact HE is that ONE supreme God above all the demigods.

So, he was more interested in trying to promote the superiority of Islam over Hinduism, but in order to do so he had to misrepresent Hinduism as being 100% polytheist.

bhaktajan · June 22, 2009

Hindus do not believe in many Gods --they pay homage to different Demigods --all of whom are related & descended from the same progenitor, Maha-Pita-maha Brahma.

The recognised & traditional "Gods of Hinduism" do not equate to competing polytheistic concepts--The recognised & traditional "Gods of Hinduism" are all family members [that includes the celestrial-level self-elected Demons] of the same family tree of Personalities of the Superintendents of universal afffairs.

If someone does not recognise the facts as delineated in the Vedas as True --that is their free-will to . . . follow another's proclamation(s). What else is new?

Hindus do believe in an assembly of many Gods (all related to each other as imediate and distant cousins) that exist here within this material world.

If the common Hindu do not know this fact about the orthodoxy of their own scriptures--that's too bad. What else is new?

kaisersose · June 22, 2009

Just because Christians and Muslims have been taught that polytheism and idol worship are bad, does not necessarily make them bad. Who cares for their views on other religions?

Hindus would be better of, if they gave up their eagerness to align with monotheism, just because it is the "politically right" position to take with westerners.

Cheers

theist · June 22, 2009

Yes the human body is made to eat meat also. The canine teeth point to that. Here is what Srila Prabhupada said on the matter.

Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 6: "Prescribed Duties for Mankind" : SB 6.4: The Hamsa-guhya Prayers : SB 6.4.9 : PURPORT :
By nature’s law, or the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one kind of living entity is eatable by other living entities. As mentioned herein, dvi-padāṁ ca catuṣ-padaḥ: the four-legged animals (catuṣ-padaḥ), as well as food grains, are eatables for human beings (dvi-padām). These four-legged animals are those such as deer and goats, not cows, which are meant to be protected. Generally the men of the higher classes of society—the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas—do not eat meat. Sometimes kṣatriyas go to the forest to kill animals like deer because they have to learn the art of killing, and sometimes they eat the animals also. Śūdras, too, eat animals such as goats. Cows, however, are never meant to be killed or eaten by human beings. In every śāstra, cow killing is vehemently condemned. Indeed, one who kills a cow must suffer for as many years as there are hairs on the body of a cow. Manu-saṁhitā says, pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalā: we have many tendencies in this material world, but in human life one is meant to learn how to curb those tendencies. Those who desire to eat meat may satisfy the demands of their tongues by eating lower animals, but they should never kill cows, who are actually accepted as the mothers of human society because they supply milk. The śāstra especially recommends, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya: the vaiśya section of humanity should arrange for the food of the entire society through agricultural activities and should give full protection to the cows, which are the most useful animals because they supply milk to human society. (More...)

As you no doubt know Indian society reveres the cow for all she supplies to them and therefore one should not kill them.

In the present day situation all animals are treated cruelty through the mechanism of the modern slaughterhouses which are actually imported onto earth from hell and they represent hell very well.

I for one will not only abstain from eatting meat but I refuse milk as well because of the way the cows are treated. I eat as a vegan.

But beyond the cruelty issue the Vaisnavas will not eat any food which is not first offered to God per the Bhagavad-gita. krishna will not accept a meat offering and the Vaisnava will not eat anything unless sanctified by Krishna's touch.

I am not a vaisnava and not that strict but I refuse to buy and consume many foods on the cruelty grounds. Besides I find the idea of eatting meat & eggs or drinking milk repulsive.

Krishna, or Allah if you wish, has provided ample foods that can be acquired without causing so much suffering.

mydearindian · June 22, 2009

Zakir Nair is doing a big mistake on the name of ISLAM. We need not to concentrate any of his sayings.

He is like this:

He says his Mother is the only right and perfect Mother and all other Mothers in this world have got many errors. Hence they are not real Mothers. He is demanding all to follow only His mother like Islam.

I hope you all can understand wht i mean. I mean religion is like our mother. We have to follow our religion. A Christian has to follow his religion , a Hindu must follow a Hindu religion, A Muslim must follow Islam that's it. He does not have any rights to find faults in other religions.

And in India we all live like friends. Here there is a unity in diversity. This guy is destroying this unity.

In India a Muslim can be given a president post. And we already gave to Abdul Kalam.

Can any indian Hindu be a president In Pakistan... NO , NO , NO.

Zakir should know that Indians are the perfect people on earth. We salute every religion, we treat everyone as same.

Allah will punish Zakir,,,Dear Zakir be carefull. Shut your mouth and recite Pavitra Khuran again and aagin...Death can come any time..make sure when you die your mind should be chanting only Allah..but not finding faults and errors in other religions. Use your time for God but not like this. DON'T THIS YOU ARE DOING A REAL ZIHAD LIKE THIS.

Thanks,

Kishore

chandu_69 · June 22, 2009

Allah will punish Zakir,,,Dear Zakir be carefull. Shut your mouth and recite Pavitra Khuran again and aagin...

Thanks,

Kishore

He knows his pavitra quran well.It is gullible people like you who needs to know.As per 'pavitra' quran you are an idolater and hence unclean.

quran 9:28 ye who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship..

And being an idolater you are a companion of hell fire

as per quran

9:113 :It is not for the Prophet, and those who believe, to pray for the forgiveness of idolaters even though they may be near of kin (to them) after it hath become clear that they are people of hell-fire.

and

21:98:Lo! ye (idolaters) and that which ye worship beside Allah are fuel of hell. Thereunto ye will come.

thehat · June 22, 2009

I came across this Zakir Nair person a year or two ago. The person giving the lecture in the video...

A lot of the information he gives in his talks are groslly inaccurate and in many cases flat out lies. This man is known for giving the poorest expose on the Bhagavad-Gita.

Sonic Yogi is very right when he is advocating this mans attempt to spread propaganda which highlights a superiority of islam over Hinduism. In paritcular he says hindus are pantheists and they think everything is god. And then he says "us muslims believe everything belongs to god". So he makes these subtle false claims without explaining. And then of course all the muslims believe what he is saying is true and see islam as superior.

I had seen one or two vidoes were this man was challenged by hindus in the audience. They would call Zaik out on his nonsencial talk but the microphones would be quickly taken away from the hindu members of the audience and the topic would be changed.

Also it's amazing how he quotes so nicely from so many numerous texts. Many verses he quote don't exist and also his talks are preplanned - so he knows what he will quote. It's not that he can think of the right quote at any given time. His show is certainly a well orchestrated one. By wooing the audience with his clear ability to talk and by showcasing his brilliant mind he aims to convert those to islam. He is certainly a very intelligent muslim propagandist. It is just a shame he lies in order to push his movement.

There are plenty of websites out there that discuss his lying and propaganda tactics. Just search if you're interested.

Also let it be known, I do think his general talks of God are very nice too. Its just when he starts discussing other religions then he cheats.

thehat · June 22, 2009

He knows his pavitra quran well.It is gullible people like you who needs to know.As per 'pavitra' quran you are an idolater and hence unclean.

quran 9:28 ye who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship..

And being an idolater you are a companion of hell fire

as per quran

9:113 :It is not for the Prophet, and those who believe, to pray for the forgiveness of idolaters even though they may be near of kin (to them) after it hath become clear that they are people of hell-fire.

and

21:98:Lo! ye (idolaters) and that which ye worship beside Allah are fuel of hell. Thereunto ye will come.

LOLOLoll!

Sonic Yogi · June 22, 2009

Actually, a Hindu pantheist worshiping his demigod for whatever benediction is a much better person than some fanatic Muslim monotheist that wants to kill everyone that won't bow down before his ONE God.

These Muslim invaded India, destroyed the deities and temples and plundered everyone for themselves while claiming it was for Allah.

Some of the worst people in the world are religious people.

I am a theist, but this Islam religion really turns me off to religion.

The Christians are the other side of the Abrahamic coin of religious fanatics who want to impose their religion on the whole world.

A Hindu a pantheist is a much more congenial person that these Abrahamic religious fanatics who think they are the chosen people.

thehat · June 22, 2009

Actually, a Hindu pantheist worshiping his demigod for whatever benediction is a much better person than some fanatic Muslim monotheist that wants to kill everyone that won't bow down before his ONE God.

These Muslim invaded India, destroyed the deities and temples and plundered everyone for themselves while claiming it was for Allah.

Some of the worst people in the world are religious people.

I am a theist, but this Islam religion really turns me off to religion.

The Christians are the other side of the Abrahamic coin of religious fanatics who want to impose their religion on the whole world.

A Hindu a pantheist is a much more congenial person that these Abrahamic religious fanatics who think they are the chosen people.

I can honestly say I share your view/sentiment. And I think many other people do too. But out of politeness this sort of thing isn't expressed openly, at least in public. I know well the history, it is indeed a sad one. India which was once the land of the free thinking had been attacked so violently and turned into a prison. I feel much sadness when I think about what has happened. And it is very sad when I see on the TV how India is becoming more and more Islamized. It sucks..

mydearindian · June 23, 2009

FYI: As a Hindu i read khuran which is written in my native language. I also read other sacred books. If Hindus really aim to find mistakes then we can find many mistakes in all other sacred books. But our nature is not that. We are from India. We are in India. our Bharata Mata taught us to respect every religion. There can be some cooked up stories in Hindu sacred books/as well as in Khuran/Bible, but i say we should not bother about those false stories.

One should learn an ability to grasp Good things along with faults. Dr. JakiR Naik almost concentrates only on errors/faults of other religions. When he tells errors he must tell many true things of other religions too.Ultimatley he says the Allah is the only God. If he is not doing that then that means he is wasting his valuable time in just finding errors in others. For this how Allah can forgive him?. I am sure a day will come for Jakir. On that day he will realize that God is one.

Smiley · June 23, 2009

Jealousy is an invariable attribute of the character of Jehovah and Allah as revealed in the Bible and Koran respectively. Both books have this as a consistent theme throughout. Trying to dismiss these as "faults" in "cooked up stories" is completely intellectually dishonest to say the least. Have your favorite text and live in peace but please stop trying to lump all religious texts together. The angry and jealous God who wants every one to come to the one 'truth' is not a Hindu idea.

FYI: As a Hindu i read khuran which is written in my native language. I also read other sacred books. If Hindus really aim to find mistakes then we can find many mistakes in all other sacred books. But our nature is not that. We are from India. We are in India. our Bharata Mata taught us to respect every religion. There can be some cooked up stories in Hindu sacred books/as well as in Khuran/Bible, but i say we should not bother about those false stories.

One should learn an ability to grasp Good things along with faults. Dr. JakiR Naik almost concentrates only on errors/faults of other religions. When he tells errors he must tell many true things of other religions too.Ultimatley he says the Allah is the only God. If he is not doing that then that means he is wasting his valuable time in just finding errors in others. For this how Allah can forgive him?. I am sure a day will come for Jakir. On that day he will realize that God is one.

Sephiroth · June 23, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters,

I found this as well on youtube and would like to hear what vaishanavas have to say.

p/s: sorry wrong link was pasted here earlier.. i've chnaged the URL!

regards,

hare krishna

Human Body was built to eat animals? No one can be MORE WRONG in this statement. It shows that Muslims (nor Islam) knows anything about how Humanity have developed and become Civilised.

Human race for over 200,000 years have been living as Hunter-Gatherers. Which means that they have hunted wild animals and gathered food. While they were like today's humans (in appearances), they were nothing like us. They were more like the Varnaras in Ramayana.

Human Civilisation began about 10,000 B.C. When humanity started to become into farming communities along the major rivers around the World - like the Nile, Ganges, Yellow River - China and such.

ONLY after humanity have started to become farmers, did small communities banded together to become states and nations. Only after this changes, did humans started to created Art, Writing, Music and so much more. Yes, we did have herd animals for meat, but those were only a small handful. In India, cows are herded as labor force rather than for meat.

Humanity may have started as Hunters (meat-eaters), but we have changed and become better by becoming Farmers.

So, Islam is WRONG if state that human body was created for eating meat. IF Islam was religion of God, it should know how the Human race have changed for the past few thousand years and how they become civilised.

chandu_69 · June 23, 2009

FYI: As a Hindu i read khuran which is written in my native language..... There can be some cooked up stories in Hindu sacred books/as well as in Khuran/Bible, but i say we should not bother about those false stories.
.

The verses i quoted are not considered cooked up by any muslims.They are deemed words of god.No muslim will ever accept that any word of quran is cooked up.

It is not finding faults.They reflect the ideas of zakir naik.

Here are the references from authentic translation from Arabic scholars

http://www.ummah.net/what-is-islam/quran/noble/nobe009.htm

http://www.ummah.net/what-is-islam/quran/noble/nobe021.htm

Here is the link for tafsir(quranic exegesis) by eminent tafsir writer Ibn kathir

http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3138&Itemid=738

Check for the explanation of the verses.

More translations here

http://www.islamawakened.com/Quran/9/113/default.htm

June 23, 2009

The verses i quoted are not considered cooked up by any muslims.They are deemed words of god.No muslim will ever accept that any word of quran is cooked up.
It is not finding faults.They reflect the ideas of zakir naik.

Why is it Hindus have so much hatred for other religions? Why this bigotry?

June 23, 2009

Human Body was built to eat animals? No one can be MORE WRONG in this statement. It shows that Muslims (nor Islam) knows anything about how Humanity have developed and become Civilised.

Humans evolved from animals, so it's possible that humans are 'built' to eat animal flesh.

chandu_69 · June 23, 2009

Why is it Hindus have so much hatred for other religions? Why this bigotry?

Where is the hatred?.

Hinduism doesn't say adherents of other religions go to hell.

Neither i said that.Point out hatred in my posts.

Sephiroth · June 23, 2009

Humans evolved from animals, so it's possible that humans are 'built' to eat animal flesh.

You do know that there are two types of animals in the World, don't you?

There are Herbivores (plant eaters) and Carnivores (meat eaters). Humans evolved in the same family members as the Chimps and Great Apes (which human link separated from them about over 5 million years ago). This family are Omnivores - eating both meat and plants. However, most Great Apes, Chimps and humans are plant eaters - eat meat ONLY WHEN FOOD WAS SCARCE.

In today's technology and Science, it is possible for humans to abandon completely the meat-eating traditions and take solely vegetarian food. And it is good for the body and mind too.

princeofpeace · June 23, 2009

EATING NON-VEGETARIAN FOOD

Question:

Killing an animal is a ruthless act. Why then do Muslims consume non-vegetarian food?

Answer:

'Vegetarianism' is now a movement theworld over. Many even associate it with animal rights. Indeed, a large number of people consider the consumption of meat and other non-vegetarian products to be a violation of animal rights.

Islam enjoins mercy and compassion for all living creatures. At the same time Islam maintains that Allah has created the earth and its wondrous flora and fauna for the benefit of mankind. It is upto mankind to use every resource in this world judiciously, as a niyamat (Divine blessing) and amanat (trust) from Allah.

Let us look at various other aspects of this argument.

1. A Muslim can be a pure vegetarian

A Muslim can be a very good Muslim despite being a pure vegetarian. It is not compulsory for a Muslim to have non-vegetarian food.

2. Qur'an permits Muslims to have non-vegetarian food

The Qur'an, however permits a Muslim to have non-vegetarian food. The following Qur'anic verses are proof of this fact:

"O ye who believe! Fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful unto you (for food) are all four-footed animals with the exceptions named."

[Al-Qur'an 5:1]

"And cattle Hehas created for you (men): from them Ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, And of their (meat) ye eat."

[Al-Qur'an 16:5]

"And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: From within their bodies We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat."

[Al-Qur'an 23:21]

3. Meat is nutritious and rich in complete protein

Non-vegetarian food is a good source of excellent protein. It contains biologically complete protein i.e. all the 8 essential amino acid that are not synthesized by the body and should be supplied in the diet. Meat also contains iron, vitamin B1 and niacin.

4. Humans have Omnivorous set of teeth

If you observe the teeth of herbivorous animals like the cow, goat and sheep, you will find something strikingly similar in all of them. All these animals have a set of flat teeth i.e. suited for herbivorous diet. If you observe the set of teeth of the carnivorous animals like the lion, tiger, or leopard, they all have a set of pointed teeth i.e. suited for a carnivorous diet. If you analyze the set of teeth of humans, you find that they have flat teeth as well as pointed teeth. Thus they have teeth suited for both herbivorous as well as carnivorous food i.e. they are omnivorous. One may ask, if Almighty God wanted humans to have only vegetables, why did He provide us also with pointed teeth? It is logical that He expected us to need and to have both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian food.

5. Human beings can digest both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food

The digestive system of herbivorous animals can digest only vegetables. The digestive system of carnivorous animals can digest only meat. But the digestive system of humans can digest both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. If Almighty God wanted us to have only vegetables then why did He give us a digestive system that can digest both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian food?

6. Hindu scriptures give permission to have non-vegetarian food

There are many Hindus who are strictly vegetarian. They think it is against their religion to consume non-vegetarian food. But the true fact is that the Hindu scriptures permit a person to have meat. The scriptures mention Hindu sages and saints consuming non-vegetarian food.
It is mentioned in Manu Smruti, the law book of Hindus, in chapter 5 verse 30

"The eater who eats the flesh of those to be eaten does nothing bad, even if he does it day after day, for God himself created some to be eaten and some to be eater."
Again next verse of Manu Smruti, that is, chapter 5 verse 31 says

"Eating meat is right for the sacrifice, this is traditionally known as a rule of the gods."
Further in Manu Smruti chapter 5 verse 39 and 40 says

"God himself created sacrificial animals for sacrifice, ...., therefore killing in a sacrifice is not killing."
Mahabharata Anushashan Parva chapter 88 narrates the discussion between Dharmaraj Yudhishthira and Pitamah Bhishma about what food one should offer to Pitris (ancestors) during the Shraddha (ceremony of dead) to keep them satisfied. Paragraph reads as follows:
"Yudhishthira said, "O thou of great puissance, tell me what that object is which, if dedicated to the Pitiris (dead ancestors), become inexhaustible! WhatHavi, again, (if offered) lasts for all time? What, indeed, is that which (if presented) becomes eternal?"
"Bhishma said, "Listen to me, O Yudhishthira, what those Havis are which persons conversant with the rituals of the Shraddha (the ceremony of dead) regard as suitable in view of Shraddha and what the fruits are that attach to each. With sesame seeds and rice and barely and Masha and water and roots and fruits, if given at Shraddhas, the pitris, O king, remain gratifiedfor the period of a month. With fishes offered at Shraddhas, the pitris remain gratified for a period of two months. With the mutton they remain gratified for three months and with the hare for four months, with the flesh of the goat for five months, with the bacon (meat of pig) for six months, and with the flesh of birds for seven. With venison obtained from those deer thatare called Prishata, they remaingratified for eight months, and with that obtained from the Ruru for nine months, and with the meat of Gavaya for ten months, With the meat of the bufffalo their gratification lasts for eleven months. With beef presented at the Shraddha, their gratification, it is said , lasts for a full year. Payasa mixed with ghee is as much acceptable to the pitris as beef. With the meat of Vadhrinasa (a large bull) the gratification of pitris lasts for twelve years. The flesh of rhinoceros, offered to the pitris on anniversaries of the lunar days on which they died, becomes inexhaustible. The potherb called Kalaska, the petals of kanchana flower, and meat of (red) goat also, thus offered, prove inexhaustible.
So but natural if you want to keep your ancestors satisfied forever, you should serve them the meat of red goat.

7. Hinduism was influenced by other religions

Though Hindu Scriptures permit its followers to have non-vegetarian food, many Hindus adopted the vegetarian system because they were influenced by other religions like Jainism.

8. Even plants have life

Certain religions have adopted pure vegetarianism as a dietary law because they are totally against the killing of living creatures. If a person can survive without killing any living creature, I would be the first person to adopt such a way of life. In the past people thought plants were lifeless. Today it is a universal fact that even plants have life. Thus their logic of not killing living creatures is not fulfilled even by being a pure vegetarian.

9. Even plants can feel pain

They further argue that plants cannot feel pain, therefore killing a plant is a lesser crime as compared to killing an animal. Today science tells us that even plants can feel pain. But the cry of the plant cannot be heard by the human being. This is due to the inability of the human ear to hear sounds that are not in the audible range i.e. 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz. Anything below and above this range cannot be heard by a human being. A dog can hear up to 40,000 Hertz. Thus there are silent dog whistles that have a frequency of more than 20,000 Hertz and less than 40,000 Hertz. These whistles are only heard by dogs and not by human beings. The dog recognizes the masters whistle and comes to the master. There was research done by a farmer in U.S.A. who invented an instrument which converted the cry of the plant so that it could be heard by human beings. He was able to realize immediately when the plant itself cried for water. Latest researches show that the plants can even feel happy and sad. It can also cry.

10. Killing a living creature with two senses less is not a lesser crime

Once a vegetarian argued his case by saying that plants only have two or three senses while the animals have five senses.

Therefore killing a plant is a lesser crime than killing an animal. Suppose your brother is born deaf and dumb and has two senses less as compared to other human beings. He becomes mature and someone murders him. Would you ask the judge to give the murderer a lesser punishment because your brother has two senses less? In fact you would say that he has killed a masoom, an innocent person, and the judge should give the murderer a greater punishment.

In fact the Qur'an says:

"O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good"

[Al-Qur'an 2:168]

11. Over population of cattle

If every human being was a vegetarian, it would lead to overpopulation of cattle in the world, since their reproduction and multiplication is very swift. Allah (swt) in His Divine Wisdom knows how to maintain the balance of His creation appropriately. No wonder He has permitted us to have the meat of the cattle.

12. Cost of meat is reasonable since all aren't non-vegetarians

I do not mind if some people are pure vegetarians. However they should not condemn non-vegetarians as ruthless. In fact if all Indians become non-vegetarians then the present non-vegetarians would be losers since the prices of meat would rise.

santdasji · June 23, 2009

Q.1) Plants are also having life and killing plants is also sin. So in what sense vegetarian food is better than non-vegetarian food, in terms of killing or 'sin'?

SWAMIJI: This is a very good question. It is true that plants also have "life" and killing plants is also sin. So the best way to observe total non-violence is to follow "Shiloncha Vraththi". That is to take only those fruit fallen from the trees, plants. In this way we are doing harm to none. But everyone can not follow that. We have to take food to survive and sustain this body and it the question of survival. So we need to take that path which is less sinful and less harm to other "jivi".

Now there are two reasons to say that vegetarian food is having insignificant sin. Many of the plants like rice, wheat etc. are having life only for one crop time. Once their yield is over, they die, even if we don't cut them. So by cutting those plants we are doing we less sin or no sin at all. In many other plants, like mango, coconut etc, by plucking the fruit, we are not killing the plants and so we are doing very minimal sin or no sin at all. So vegetarian food is less sinful. More over it is inevitable for our survival, but non-vegetarian food is a luxury to us and we can afford to avoid that. It is more sinful since we are killing animals all the time.

Next we need to know why certain acts are sinful. Each and every life (plants, animals etc) has come to this world, to do "sadhana"(efforts), to get better life and finally get "moksha". Whenever such "sadhana" opportunity is cut short, it becomes sin. For plants there is no much "sadhana". They can not do any kind of physical or mental activities, in terms of "sadhana". So by cutting them, we are not doing many harms to their "sadhana" or reducing their opportunity for "sadhana". So it is not sinful. But animals can do a good amount of "sadhana" by means of physical and / or mental activities. By killing them, we are cutting short their opportunities to do "sadhana" towards moksha. So it is more sinful.

To support this aspect further, "suicide" is considered as biggest sin, even though no one else is troubled other than the self, because God has given us this wonderful body and mind to do "sadhana" towards moksha and by rejecting this offer or by cutting short this "sadhana", we are insulting God and betraying him. So it is highly sinful. There is another example in "Sasthra". Suppose there is a very very old man, incapable of doing any physical and mental activities. Then he can enter to fire to end his life. That is not sin because he can not do any more "sadhana" by himself or through others. So in general any act which is cutting short others or self "sadhana", it is considered as sin. and vegetarians are doing less sin.

Q.2) We were thinking that only human beings, having 'thinking power' can only do "sadhana" and other animals can not. Is it not true? How animals can do "sadhana"?

SWAMIJI: It is not true. All animals can also do "sadhana". Otherwise there is a fundamental problem in the system. If animals can not do "sadhana", they can not get better life, namely human life. If they can not get human life, then they can not get "moksha" at all at any time. This is not true and so it is proved that animals also do "sadhana" and get better life.

They do 'sadhana' by their mental activities. We can see lot of difference in the behavior of animals. In the same category say cat, dog or cow, we can see lot of difference like some are soft, some are sensitive, some are more active etc. This is due to their mental "sadhana". Also in kids who are not having any thinking power, we are seeing lot of differences. We have seen a kid, in Bombay, around 2 years old. It loves Krishna like anything. While sleeping, it tightly hugs Krishna idol; does not drink milk without offering to Krishna; always want to listen to Krishna's story; always wants to witness Krishna Pooja. It is really surprising. It is all due to previous "samskara". Like that animals also will have previous samskara and "sadhana".

Q. 3) Is it true that in olden days, sages used to eat meat? There is an incident of 'Agasthya' eating meat in " Vathapi - Ilvala" story.

SWAMIJI: Yes, we can see some mention about such things in very old stories. We need to understand clearly why and under what circumstances they used to consume meat. Firstly they used to take meat, not as their regular food. The animal would be offered to 'yajna', the sacred fire and then the sages, having high yogic power would consume the meat as prasad of the yajna. Due to this auspicious activity, the animal would go to heaven. In the story of 'Augusthya', when he said ' Vathapi jirno bhava', he got digested immediately. Such was the power in those days.

But now meat is not approved to Brahmins. First we need to understand why we consume food. It is to have good health. Health means not only the physical health. The mental health plays a very important role. That's why in Sanskrit it is known as "swasthya" means mental peace, purity and health. Meat or non-vegetarian food improves body and but not the mind. So for those people, who need to have physical strength, like solders, meat is not prohibited. Solders need not have any thinking power. They have to fight like machines. But for Brahmins, mental power is more important. We need to have peace and purity of mind, stability and concentration of mind. So for us meat is prohibited. Since ages our ancestors were having vegetarian food and so Brahmins are generally considered as soft, kind hearted, stable and intelligent people. If we start consuming meat, slowly we will loose all these good qualities. We will not see the changes overnight. It takes time and we will see the changes in the later generations.

Q. 4) There are many noble laureates who are meat eaters. What we can say for that?

SWAMIJI: Getting a noble prize is not at all a yardstick to measure the peace and purity, stability and concentration of mind. It is known that suicide rate is high in scientists too. Actually scientists are more disturbed in their mind. Due to this, they get activated and get involved deeply in something and come out with some new things. For their success, the basic reason is not the peaceful mind, but disturbed mind. Generally Brahmins who is suppose to have the mental capacity to understand ' Brahma', need to have very good concentration power for 'japa' and 'tapa'. and they are supposed to be mentally not disturbed people. In olden days even if they consume meat, they used to keep up their mental stability and peace of mind, due to their yogic power or 'thapas'. But now in 'Kaliyuga', as such our mental powers and concentration powers are getting reduced. We are loosing our purity and peace of mind due to various reasons. As such the 'satvic' atmosphere and 'satvic' qualities are reducing because we are not doing enough 'japa', 'tapa' etc. So if we start consuming meat we will loose all our good mental qualities soon. So in 'kaliyuga', meat is strictly prohibited for Brahmins. It is also sinful as said in previous answers.

Q. 5) Is it not sin to kill silkworms for silk and deer's for 'krishnaa-jina'?

SWAMIJI : Short answer is it is sin if we do for trading purpose. For detailed answer, first we need to understand what sin is. It is not a substance associated with a particular activity. The same activity can be resulted in sin or not depending upon the purpose, intention and circumstance. For e.g. killing in general is sin, but killing a demon or man hunter is not sin. Similarly in olden days kings used to go for hunting. It was not sin because they used to kill only those wild animals, which are troublesome to the sages and the nearby villagers. Similarly if we kill animal to avoid being killed, it is not sin. As said earlier, every creature in this world is for doing "sadhana". Here the priority is for those doing greater "sadhana". To accomplish that, if others have to sacrifice their "sadhana", there is no harm in that. For e.g.: Assume that there are two students in a house, One if preparing for second grade and other one preparing for Medical exam. Though both are preparing for their exams, we consider that medical exam is more important and give preference to him. If needed, we may ask the other to sacrifice his preparation, because he doesn't lose much. Similarly in this world, "jivi" doing higher order of "sadhana", gets preference. So for the benefit of that, others with little "sadhana" may be sacrificed without any sin. So if we are preparing silk for God's pooja, then it is not sin. But if we are preparing silk for decorating ourselves, it is sin. So we need to understand what is the purpose of the act and what we are going achieve finally. http://www.salagram.net/PSM-veg.htm

santdasji · June 23, 2009