shelley Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Hello. I have just read an article that the ISKON should not be supporting the commercial dairy industry because after a cow has served its time as a milk producer, it is killed and its body enters the human food chain. My question then is, is it ok to buy and drink milk? Please excuse my ignorance, this is a new path for me. Blessings. Shelley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitaichandra Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Well , Bhaktivedanta Swami has said that milk is the miracle food . So , for Gaudiya Vaishnavas in general it seems to be an important aliment . The question is , how far can one go in the attempt to be a non-violent member of society ? There are people who wouldn´t wear any leather shoes . There are vegans . Moreover there exists the religion called jainism . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 I think Theist can give some good opinions on this. In fact he has written many times in these forums on the same subject, but I don't recall which threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Just as a further point, if we do take the moderate approach and choose to utilize products that cause others suffering, we should never complain why we are suffering in the world. Everything has karmic reaction. Simply because we are devotees does not make us beyond the laws of karma. If we have utilized products that caused others suffering, then we will definitely suffer. I think many devotees do not actually believe in karma in a practical sense. They accept it philosophically, but don't think it really applies to them. It's like criminals who steal because they thought they wouldn't be caught. If a criminal knew 100% he would be caught and would have to suffer in jail, he wouldn't have committed the crime. In the same way, if devotees really knew 100% that they were going to suffer for their actions and if they really believed it, they wouldn't commit those actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley Posted March 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Ahh! Thankyou, it is beginning to make sense now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Also, it should be pointed out that there are alternatives. And there are also different grades of cruelty. There are some organic farms that provide milk, that may involve in slightly less cruelty to the animal. Prabhupada was of the view that at the present time it was unavoidable, and that milk should always be offered to Krishna so that the karmic reaction would be less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
protectacow Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Prabhupada was of the view that at the present time it was unavoidable, and that milk should always be offered to Krishna so that the karmic reaction would be less. And then he rigorously advocated Protecting Cows himself, just as Krishna's example did. Prabhupada's disciples went to great lengths to provide Prabhupada with Protected Cow's Milk, we used to drive in car with our milk for 5 hours to do so. I think his idea was to have satellite temples of his farm communities, growing and milking on their own, providing the necessities to the city temple. Prabhupada Paris, August 2, 1976 : In Allahabad I was keeping cow, there was facility.......... http://protectacow.typepad.com/goshalla/2005/04/prabhupada_in_a.html#more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley Posted March 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 jndas, may I ask what it means to offer the milk to krishna, how do we go about this? Blessings, Shelley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayne Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 My question then is, is it ok to buy and drink milk? Gaura Hari Shelly It's best to be practical in Krishna Consciousness. If you are able to get organic milk, this is nice, but otherwise purchasing supermarket milk is okay. Just like if you needed cheese - sure, if you could get organic milk, you could manually make cheese, but is this really practical? no, not really. The time could have been better spent on chanting and hearing. In regards to offering, the normal offering is fine. But again, be practical. If you're at work and you want to have a glass of milk, it's more practical and sensible to just chant Srila Prabhupada's Pranati & the Hare Krishna Mantra. Or even just the mantra - time, place, and circumstance. Hope that helps, all the best in your life of Bhakti-Yoga Dwayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley Posted March 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Thankyou very much . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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