eating meat

[Guest guest]

is eating actually eating meat or the thought of eating meat worse?

[Guest guest]

Power of thought is a serious and powerful thing. I personally don't think it is worse but i do see the point made by some that having an internal desire for it (and sex, etc.) is a type of hypocrisy.

 

However, i'm also told that we are forgiven for wandering minds in the Kaliyuga?

[Guest guest]

Ask the animals whether or not they care about you *thinking* about eating them! Someone who desires to do so but resists is to be respected for that.

[Sunanda]

yes that's a good answer !

[Guest guest]

A person may want to kill someone too, but untill they do they will stay out of jail.

Take a tour of an abattoir it will soon cure your desire for eating meat- seriously. I can assure you.

[Guest guest]

thought itself has a consequence - also deep internal desire.

 

Take, for example, the mother of King Bali. When she saw Vaamana approaching she thought "What an adorable child. I would like to mother him (breast feed him)". Then, when Vaamana grew to a gingantic size and eventually crushed Bali into the Netherworlds she thought bad thoughts and desired to kill him. Consequently she became the Putna witch, who tried to breast-feed Krishna and kill him.

 

So yes, thoughts have a consequence. I myself find it very difficult to be vege, esp. when i'm travelling in Europe. I find my mind wandering and desiring to eat meat. Once i even ate it by accident - maybe that was a consequence of those thoughts.

[Guest guest]

whilst you're on the subject, thought you might find the following interesting - its an abstract from a scientific paper released only today:

 

 

Nature Clinical Practice Oncology (2005) 2, 121-122

doi: 10.1038/ncponc0121

 

Colorectal cancer and long-term meat consumption

This article has no abstract so we have provided the first paragraph of the full text.

 

Red meat is thought to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, but questions remain regarding the magnitude of the association independent of other risk factors, and whether consumption of red or processed meat increases the risk of rectal cancer. In a recent paper published in JAMA, Chao et al. describe their investigation into effects of meat consumption on the risk of colon or rectal cancer in a large, population-based cohort in the US.

 

 

[theist]

 

Ask the animals whether or not they care about you *thinking* about eating them! Someone who desires to do so but resists is to be respected for that.

 

 

Yeah. I believe this is the proper emphasis. On the animals that we cause so much suffering to. Eating or not eating strikes me as a secondary consideration. I don't care if it is religiously sanctioned or not to slaughter animals. I find it cruel. The flesh may be proven to contain the elixer of immortality in perfect health for the body. I will prefer death by disease.

 

The point is there is another jiva there suffering.

 

[Guest guest]

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so merciful that even if one simply thinks of doing good, He gives that person the benefit obtained by performing that deed, even if it wasn't actually performed.

 

However, if one thinks bad, he does not get the negative effects of that deed unless it is actually performed. So ... no, the thought of eating meat isn't worse than actually eating meat. No harm is done to an animal merely by thinking of eating it's meat, unless you're a great mystic whose thoughts automatically manifest as action!

 

 

is eating actually eating meat or the thought of eating meat worse?

[renuka]

Actually in Kali yuga you get the result of the completed activities only. But invariably a thought passes through the processes of thinking, feeling and willing. After willing it is obviously action.

 

So though you do not get sins for thinking but eventually you will end up doing it and you will suffer its result.