[Sri Ramakrishna] Digest Number 1056

[Guest guest]

Dear List,

 

I recall Swamiji’s utterances on Food at Various instances to add to

the discussion on

vegetarianism. Please note that these are His words - I am just the

instrument to bring it

to this forum !

 

***********

We have to take care what sort of food we eat at the beginning and when

we have got

enough strength, when our practice is well advanced, we need not be so

careful in this

respect

**********************

Are we to pass our lives discussing all the time about the purity and

impurity of food

only or are we to practise the restraining of our senses? Surely

restraining of the senses

is the main object; and the discrimination of food only helps one to a

certain extent

*****************************

You speak of the meat –eating Kshatriya; meat or no meat, it is they

who are the fathers

of all that is noble and beautiful in Hinduism. Who wrote the

Upanishads? Who was

Rama? Who was Krishna? Who was Buddha? --- Is God a nervous fool like

you that

the flow of His river of mercy would be damned up by a piece of meat?

If such be

HE,His value is not a pie!

**************************

The taking of live is undoubtedly sinful. But so long as vegetable food

is not made

suitable to the human system, through progress in chemistry, there is

no alternative but

meat eating. So long as man shall have to live a Rajasika (active) life

under

circumstances like the present, there is no other way except through

meat eating. Taking

the life of a few goats against the inability to protect the honor of

one’s wife and

daughter and to save the morsels for ones children from robbing hands –

which of these

is more sinful?

******************

The forcing of vegtarianism upon those who have to earn their bread by

laboring day

and night is one of the causes for the loss of our national freedom

*************

What we want now is an immense awakening of rajasika energy for the

whole country

is wrapped under tamas. The people of this land must be fed and

clothed – must be

awakened – must be made more fully active. Otherwise they will become

inert -as inert

as stones and trees. So I say eat large quantities of fish and ,meat my

boy!

***************

To eat meat is surely barbarous and vegetable food is certainly purer –

Who can deny

that? For him surely is a strict vegetarian diet whose end is to lead

solely a spiritual life.

But he who has to steer the boat of his life with strenuous labor and

through the constant

life and death struggles and the competition of this world, must of

necessity take meat.

So long as there will be in human society such a thing as the triumph

of the strong over

the weak, animal food is required or some other suitable substitute for

it has to be

discovered; otherwise the weak will naturally be crushed under the feet

of the strong. It

will not do to quote solitary instances of the good effect of vegetable

food on some

particular person or persons. Compare one nation with another and then

draw

conclusions.

*****************************

 

With love,

Sreedhar

 

 

 

 

 

Ramakrishna wrote:

 

Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah

Vivekananda Centre London

http://www.vivekananda.co.uk

----

--

 

 

Message: 12

Mon, 18 Feb 2002 20:20:14 +0000

" Rahul Ganjiwale " <rahulganjiwale

Re: Sentient beings : practicalities of Advaita Vedanta

 

Dear Friends,

Well, Here I would differ from what Anup or for that matter any

honored list

member, who advocates non-vegetarianism in the sense that’s -- it

really not

much important what you eat as far as your heart is not cruel.

Just because, most of the great men of the past were non-vegetarian,

it

doesn’t give any body an authority to advocate tamsic food. These

Sorts of

examples are no explanation. Here I throw a challenge to all of you,

who

advocates it in absolute sense, how much of you can then cut a living

animal, scratch its outer skin out (say a cow or a dog or a bird) in

front

of your eyes and eat it up. If you can’t, I suggest you to ask

yourself why

you can’t?

“The lioness that kills the Gazelle to feed its cubs and her family

or the

man who kills it for a trophy? “

The man who kills it for a trophy certainly seems to be more

ignorant, but

this doesn’t justify your TRUTH.

The Lioness kills and eats gazelles in order to survive. To make it

clearer,

I suggest you to look at your “teethes” and the “teethes” of Lion.

Now ask a

question to yourself that -- are you really designed to be a flesh

eater?

Then how can you compare.....?

Even our closest living ancestors (Chimps and Gorillas) don’t eat

flesh

(very rarely to get some necessary proteins and for that matter they

do have

few canine teeth’s). And we being intelligent and thoughtful beings

can very

easily find Protein substitutes in the vegetarian food too (if we

have that

urging). So I personally feel there’s no reason for eating meat for

those at

least who truly inspires to be on the path of Advaita Vedanta

(absolute

truth). I in person have thought a lot and lot about flesh eating, as

I

myself cherished the flesh eating one point of time. The conclusion I

came

over again and again was that we don’t seem or are not willing to

realize

the atrocities that these animals go through, just for the sake of

our sense

(taste) gratification.

I agree with you over the issue that Hitler in spite of vegetarian

was not a

noble man and the world greats like Budha, Ramakrishna, Christ..…

Were among

the noblest men mother Earth has ever produced. but then the

statement...

“if you are focused on God it does not matter what you eat, because

its the

Same manifesting in meat or vegetable” - I do not agree in totality.

You

might find my remarks discouraging or merely out of emotion, but let

me

assure you they are not, they are just out of concern. The above

statement

if really a “Truth of Higher Order” should give me authority to eat

anything

say: What about (killing first)eating each other or our loved ones or

our

pets - rationally speaking, with the same focus on God? (As some one

has to

be HURT, why not first our loved ones in this material world?) Christ

ones

said, “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Now are not the birds,

animals,

(Plants too but without feelings of pain and happiness as far as my

GK goes)

etc our neighbor? Is not your “Truth” contradicting with “Truth of

Christ”?

Vivekananda only said something like that “if your “Truth”

contradicts with

any of other “Truth, which is of higher, order” reject your truth at

ones.

This is how we are going to progress from Lower to Higher truth.”

Swami Ashokananda said, " every person has the capability to rise

towards

higher truthes " . Why not we live by it?

In Past, it was different the “Greats”, might not be sure that one

can get

necessary proteins in the vegetarian food which are very essential

for a

person mental or physical growth, and more importantly they were

brought up

in such an environment that it was pretty normal for them to think

otherwise

as they were already conditioned. For this sake I always felt that one

should be stubborn when it comes to choose between Principle and

Personality, as Personality is likely to be conditioned by the

surroundings

and period. And there’s no harm in doing so, it only foster your

reverence

for the Great Personalities a thousand fold.

Now we know or if one doesn’t, please read some good articles on

vegetarian

food, “One can get all the proteins in vegetarian food that one gets

in the

flesh”. The bottom line is one should avoid meat eating (off course

if body

can support, Lion's body doesn’t support plant eating) as this surely

HURTS

the animal I am not sure that this happens with plants too………………………

Pardon me if any one feel that what I expressed was out of ignorance

or any

biases………… As far as I know I have only spoken from the heart.

With Love and Regards………….

Rahul

 

>Ramakrishna

>Ramakrishna

>Ramakrishna

>[sri Ramakrishna] Digest Number 1055

>18 Feb 2002 08:26:44 -0000

>

>Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah

>Vivekananda Centre London

>http://www.vivekananda.co.uk

>---

---

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

This is something worth reading :

Mother Teresa's Prayer

 

 

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;

....Forgive them anyway.

 

 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

....Be kind anyway.

 

 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

....Succeed anyway.

 

 

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

....Be honest and frank anyway.

 

 

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

....Build anyway.

 

 

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

....Be happy anyway.

 

 

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

....Do good anyway.

 

 

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

....Give the world the best you've got anyway.

 

 

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

 

 

Aditi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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