Does God Want Man to Eat Meat?

[vrajavasi]

Radhe Krishna,

 

Friends, Radhe Krishna,

 

I am not a gaudiya, But I respect them.

 

In shrimad Bhagawatham, it has been explained how one has to face this type of situation.

 

"Gruheshu Athithi iva vasan"

 

Meaning live like a guest in your house. that is in your mind. not on external impressions.

 

For an unknown person entering the house, a guest looks like a member of the house where he is in. He takes part in their joys with other house members and he also takes part in their sorrow but exteranally. He will not be internally as happy as the member of the house or he will not be as sorrow as any member of the house. But externally he looks so.

 

What I mean is externally you should appear you are with them. Being your blood relatives, even as per philosophy you may not agree with them, never forget, lt is because of them, you even got an opportunity to be in this world, and blessed to know about krishna. Internally, nurture your feelings for krishna. with his blessings and with your sincerety, one day your folks may also turn to krishna. be affectionatel and kind to all and still be yourself.

 

Radhe krishna

[shambu]

 

I believe the meat eating you are referring to in Ramayan and Mahabharat is a mistranslation. It may actually refer to sweet-meat (ladoos, etc...). If you disagree, then quote the actual verse where meat eating is directly stated in these epics so I can research it.

 

Also, Adolf Hitler did not have tendencies toward vegetarianism! This is a complete myth propagated by his scoundrels to give him a good image. There info about this myth on the Internet.

 

The word mentioned in these epics is maamsa, which I think cannot refer to sweet-meats etc. In the Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 84, of the great epic Ramayana by Valmiki, it says:

 

 

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="68%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

iti uktvaa upaayanam gR^ihya matsya maamsa madhuuni ca |

abhicakraama bharatam niSaada adhipatir guhaH || 2-84-10

10. iti= thus; uktvaa= spoken; guhaH= Guha; niSaadaadhipatiH= the Lord of Nishadas; gR^ihya= took; matsya maamsa madhuuni= fish meat and honey; upaayanam= as an offering; abhichakraama= and approached; bharatam= Bharata.

After uttering thus, Guha the king of Nishadas took fish, meat and honey as an offering and approached Bharata.

asti muulam phalam caiva niSaadaiH samupaahR^itam |

aardram ca maamsam shuSkam ca vanyam ca ucca avacam mahat || 2-84-17

17. asti= here are; muulam= the root; phalam chaiva= fruit; samudaahR^itam= gathered; niSaadaiH= by my tribe; maamsamcha= and the meat; mahat= of great quality; ucchaavacham= and of various kinds; aardram= fresh; shuSkamcha= and dried; vanyam= and all a produce of the forest.

“Here are the roots and fruits gathered by my tribe as well as fresh and dried meat of great quality and of various kinds, and all a produce of the forest.”

aashamse svaashitaa senaa vatsyati imaam vibhaavariim |

arcitaH vividhaiH kaamaiH shvaH sasainyo gamiSyasi || 2-84-18

18. aasham se= I hope; senaa= the army; svaashitaa= after eating well; vatsyat= can halt; imam= in this night; architaH= offered reverently; vividhaiH= various kinds; kaamaiH= of all that you could desire; gamiSyasi= you can go; shvaH= tomorrow; sasainyaH= along with your army.

“I hope the army, after eating well, can halt for the night here. Furnished with all you could desire, you can continue your journey tomorrow along with your troops.”

 

I don't know if this Nishada King is considered an outcast (who are not obliged to follow strict Vedic rules) but I do know that he was very favourable towards Sri Rama and His company. It also doesn't say here if the food he offered was actually accepted by Bharata and his associates, but sure is that meat-eating was never an issue for Ksatriyas, neither was the killing of animals. Sri Rama Himself didn't hesitate to go out to hunt the golden deer on the instigation of Seeta.

In the forest Sri Rama, Seeta and Lakshmana followed a strict vegetarian diet, btw, as is shown from the following example from the same epic [Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 54], where Sri Rama is speaking to the sage Bharadwaja upon entering his hermitage:

pitraa niyuktaa bhagavan praveSyaamaH tapo vanam |

dharmam eva aacariSyaamaH tatra muula phala ashanaaH || 2-54-16

16. bhagavan= "Oh, venerable sage! niyuktaaH= commanded; pitraa= by our father; pravekshhyaamaH= we shall enter; tapovanam= a forest suitable for austerities; tatra= there; charishhyaamaH= we shall practise; dharmameva= asceticism alone; muulaphalaashanaa= living on roots and fruits."

"Oh, Venerable sage! Commanded by our father, we are entering a lonely forest to practise asceticism, living on roots and fruits."

There are surely many more examples I could give on meat eating being a normal phenomenon in Vedic literatures, at least for certain classes of people (esp. Ksatriyas, Shudras) but You just search that out for yourself.

How can you be so sure that Adolf Hitler didn't have an inclination towards vegetarianism? Did you study this subject in any way? I heard from several sources that this is a fact, and that he spoke about the benefits of vegetarianism to his beloved Eva Braun for instance, who thought he was mad at this point.

That this fact would be used by certain scoundrels just to give him a good image seems very unlikely, especially since in the West vegetarianism is not looked upon as something favourable by most people.

[Yegan]

 

Sri Rama Himself didn't hesitate to go out to hunt the golden deer on the instigation of Seeta.

 

 

I have been pondering unto this since I watched the tv serial"Ramayan".

[Guest guest]

 

The word mentioned in these epics is maamsa, which I think cannot refer to sweet-meats etc. In the Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 84, of the great epic Ramayana by Valmiki, it says:

 

 

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="68%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

iti uktvaa upaayanam gR^ihya matsya maamsa madhuuni ca |

abhicakraama bharatam niSaada adhipatir guhaH || 2-84-10

10. iti= thus; uktvaa= spoken; guhaH= Guha; niSaadaadhipatiH= the Lord of Nishadas; gR^ihya= took; matsya maamsa madhuuni= fish meat and honey; upaayanam= as an offering; abhichakraama= and approached; bharatam= Bharata.

After uttering thus, Guha the king of Nishadas took fish, meat and honey as an offering and approached Bharata.

asti muulam phalam caiva niSaadaiH samupaahR^itam |

aardram ca maamsam shuSkam ca vanyam ca ucca avacam mahat || 2-84-17

17. asti= here are; muulam= the root; phalam chaiva= fruit; samudaahR^itam= gathered; niSaadaiH= by my tribe; maamsamcha= and the meat; mahat= of great quality; ucchaavacham= and of various kinds; aardram= fresh; shuSkamcha= and dried; vanyam= and all a produce of the forest.

“Here are the roots and fruits gathered by my tribe as well as fresh and dried meat of great quality and of various kinds, and all a produce of the forest.”

aashamse svaashitaa senaa vatsyati imaam vibhaavariim |

arcitaH vividhaiH kaamaiH shvaH sasainyo gamiSyasi || 2-84-18

18. aasham se= I hope; senaa= the army; svaashitaa= after eating well; vatsyat= can halt; imam= in this night; architaH= offered reverently; vividhaiH= various kinds; kaamaiH= of all that you could desire; gamiSyasi= you can go; shvaH= tomorrow; sasainyaH= along with your army.

“I hope the army, after eating well, can halt for the night here. Furnished with all you could desire, you can continue your journey tomorrow along with your troops.”

 

I don't know if this Nishada King is considered an outcast (who are not obliged to follow strict Vedic rules) but I do know that he was very favourable towards Sri Rama and His company. It also doesn't say here if the food he offered was actually accepted by Bharata and his associates, but sure is that meat-eating was never an issue for Ksatriyas, neither was the killing of animals. Sri Rama Himself didn't hesitate to go out to hunt the golden deer on the instigation of Seeta.

In the forest Sri Rama, Seeta and Lakshmana followed a strict vegetarian diet, btw, as is shown from the following example from the same epic [Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 54], where Sri Rama is speaking to the sage Bharadwaja upon entering his hermitage:

pitraa niyuktaa bhagavan praveSyaamaH tapo vanam |

dharmam eva aacariSyaamaH tatra muula phala ashanaaH || 2-54-16

16. bhagavan= "Oh, venerable sage! niyuktaaH= commanded; pitraa= by our father; pravekshhyaamaH= we shall enter; tapovanam= a forest suitable for austerities; tatra= there; charishhyaamaH= we shall practise; dharmameva= asceticism alone; muulaphalaashanaa= living on roots and fruits."

"Oh, Venerable sage! Commanded by our father, we are entering a lonely forest to practise asceticism, living on roots and fruits."

There are surely many more examples I could give on meat eating being a normal phenomenon in Vedic literatures, at least for certain classes of people (esp. Ksatriyas, Shudras) but You just search that out for yourself.

How can you be so sure that Adolf Hitler didn't have an inclination towards vegetarianism? Did you study this subject in any way? I heard from several sources that this is a fact, and that he spoke about the benefits of vegetarianism to his beloved Eva Braun for instance, who thought he was mad at this point.

That this fact would be used by certain scoundrels just to give him a good image seems very unlikely, especially since in the West vegetarianism is not looked upon as something favourable by most people.

 

"That this fact would be used by certain scoundrels just to give him a good image seems very unlikely, especially since in the West vegetarianism is not looked upon as something favourable by most people."

 

Nah, vegetarianism is still seen as being nicer in the West though even though it is not looked at as being favourable in the West.

 

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Can someone who knows Sanskrit translate those verses & interpret them? Also, what are the chances it might be an interpolation?

 

"It also doesn't say here if the food he offered was actually accepted by Bharata and his associates, but sure is that meat-eating was never an issue for Ksatriyas, neither was the killing of animals. Sri Rama Himself didn't hesitate to go out to hunt the golden deer on the instigation of Seeta."

 

I disagree.

Hunting golden deers does not imply one is a meat-eater or advocates meat-eating. It could be done for the sake of lila. And in Mahabharata where Arjuna hunts animals; this might be done to limit the animal population where it has grown out of control for the benefit of the environment. Again that does not imply advocation for meat-eating.

[Guest guest]

I heard an ISKCON Swami say it is ok to eat a cow if it has died a natural death? Is this true? I have a dvd where he states this.

[Guest guest]

 

As long as you kill it yourself while whispering into its ear that you vow to Lord Visnu that you will come back as a cow and she as a human and will allow the same to be done to you.

 

At least that was the old vedic injunction for those whose passion was not controlled enough to avoid such tragic outbursts of violence to satisfy their appetites.

 

This is not what he was speaking about. Although he mentions this on the dvd as well. But in other statement, the Swami said, if you have a cow and it dies a natural death, then it is ok to eat and get leather products from it. Since you did not kill it.

[Nrsinghadev]

 

This is not what he was speaking about. Although he mentions this on the dvd as well. But in other statement, the Swami said, if you have a cow and it dies a natural death, then it is ok to eat and get leather products from it. Since you did not kill it.

 

It wouldn't be okay to eat it, because it is still unofferable to Lord Krishna and therefore always a sinful foodstuff, plus meat is always tamasic in nature, whether it is acquired by force or not, so therefore it is not eligible for consumption by devotees. Leather products would be okay though.

 

Haribol!

[Guest guest]

 

It wouldn't be okay to eat it, because it is still unofferable to Lord Krishna and therefore always a sinful foodstuff, plus meat is always tamasic in nature, whether it is acquired by force or not, so therefore it is not eligible for consumption by devotees. Leather products would be okay though.

 

Haribol!

 

Well, this was a Hare Krishna Swami speaking in Fiji. I have the dvd where he said it. I was not sure if all Gaudiyas believed like this. Thanks for clarifying.

[Yegan]

 

I heard an ISKCON Swami say it is ok to eat a cow if it has died a natural death? Is this true? I have a dvd where he states this.

 

The cow is considered as our mother.

Would anyone eat the flesh of their natural mother after she died and make leather products out of her skin?

Thats utter disrespect and cannibalistic behaviour (at least to me)

The same thing applies to cow who is considered as your mother.

[gartxot]

Foolish.

 

First, do not compare a developed country to an undeveloped one. Studies have to be made over people grown under similar conditions.

 

Second, man has a vegetarian digestive system. Teeth to cut weeds, molars to chew grains, ten times less stomach acidity than carnivorous animals unable to digest meat properly and thus toxin producing, a bowel long enough for meat to rot before getting out...

 

And finally, why shouldn't religion and logic converge? Howmany religions have you studied?

[gHari]

Meat-eating animals have short intestines - to flush the poisonous carcasses quickly. Man has a long intestinal track. The human body isn't designed to process such intake.

[shambu]

 

Meat-eating animals have short intestines - to flush the poisonous carcasses quickly. Man has a long intestinal track. The human body isn't designed to process such intake.

 

If this is true, it is an utterly strange "anomaly" that more than 90% of all humans consume meat, fish and eggs on a daily basis. Maybe some faulty design by Brahmaji???

[gHari]

Yes. It is the Age of Anomalies; perhaps why man's life is so short in Kali-Yuga.

[shambu]

Then how do you explain the existence of peoples like the Inuit, who traditionally subsisted practically solely on meat and fish? I think from your point of view this must be "inexplicable"... (this discussion is getting boring, by the way, I admit....)

[mahak]

<CENTER>The Vegetarian Ethic

 

 

compiled and shared by Jahnava dasi</CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER>

"Vegetarian food leaves a deep impression on our nature. If the whole world adopts vegetarianism, it can change the destiny of humankind." -- Albert Einstein

 

"There is just no reason why animals should be slaughtered to serve as human diet when there are so many substitutes. Man can live without meat." -- The Dalai Lama

 

"If man wants freedom why keep birds and animals in cages? Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live by the death of others. We are burial places! I have since an early age abjured the use of meat." -- Leonardo-da-Vinci

 

"I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants." -- Gandhi

 

"Flesh eating is unprovoked murder."-- Benjamin Franklin

 

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat butter and honey, so that he may know the evil from the good." -- Isaiah 7:14-15

 

"...Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat..." -- Genesis 1:29

 

"Thou shalt not kill." -- Exodus 20:13

 

"One should treat animals such as deer, camels, asses, monkeys, mice, snakes, birds and flies exactly like one's own son. How little difference there actually is between children and these innocent animals." -- Srimad Bhagavatam 7.14.9

 

"To avoid causing terror to living beings, let the disciple refrain from eating meat...the food of the wise is that which is consumed by the sadhus (holy men), it does not consist of meat... There may be some foolish people in the future who will say I permitted meat-eating and that I partook of meat myself, but meat-eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit meat-eating in any form in future, in any manner and in any place. It is unconditionally prohibited for all." -- Lord Buddha

 

"We pray on Sundays that we may have light/To guide our footsteps on the path we tread;/We are sick of war, we don't want to fight,/And yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead." -- George Bernard Shaw

 

"Every act of irreverence for life, every act which neglects life, which is indifferent to and wastes life, is a step towards the love of death. This choice man must make at every minute. Never were the consequences of the wrong choice as total and as irreversible as they are today. Never was the warning of the Bible so urgent: "I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your children may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19) --Erich Fromm

 

"Cruelty to animals is as if man did not love God." -- Cardinal John H. Newman

 

"Plant life instead of animal food is the keystone of regeneration. Jesus used bread instead of flesh and wine in place of blood at the Lord's Supper." -- German Composer Richard Wagner (1813)

 

"Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. To harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator." -- Red Indian Chief (1854)

 

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." -- St. Francis of Assisi

 

"Killing is a denial of love. To kill or to eat what another has killed is to rejoice in cruelty. And cruelty hardens our hearts and blinds our vision, and we are unable to see that they whom we kill are our fellow brothers and sisters in the One Family of Creation."-- G.L. Rudd, author of "Why Kill For Food?"

 

"Vegetarianism is a way of life that we should all move toward for economic survival, physical well-being and spiritual integrity." -- Father Thomas Berry, Fordham University, New York

 

"To be non-violent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of poor animals is Satan's philosophy. In this age there is always enmity against animals, and therefore the poor creatures are always anxious. The reaction of the poor animals is being forced on human society, and therefore there is always the strain of cold or hot war between men, individually, collectively or nationally...

 

"The earth affords a lavish supply of riches, of innocent foods, and offers you banquets that involve no bloodshed or slaughter; only beasts satisfy their hunger with flesh, and not even all of those, because horses, cattle, and sheep live on grass. As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." -- Pythagoras

 

"For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in what state of mind the first man touched his mouth to gore and brought his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, set forth tables of dead, stale bodies, and ventured to call food and nourishment the parts that had a little before bellowed and cried, moved and lived. How could his eyes endure the slaughter when throats were slit and hides flayed and limbs torn from limb? How could his nose endure the stench? How was it that the pollution did not turn away his taste, which made contact with sores of others and sucked juices and serums from mortal wounds? It is certainly not lions or wolves that we eat out of self-defense; on the contrary, we ignore these and slaughter harmless, tame creatures without stings or teeth to harm us. For the sake of a little flesh we deprive them of sun, of light, of the duration of life to which they are entitled by birth and being." -- Plutarch in his essay "On Eating Flesh"

 

"If you declare that you are naturally designed for such a diet, then first kill for yourself what you want to eat. Do it, however, only through your own resources, unaided by cleaver or cudgel or any kind of ax." -- Plutarch

"The steam of meat darkens the light of the spirit...One hardly can have virtue when one enjoys meat meals and feasts..." -- St. Basil (AD 320 - 79)

 

"...Ethics has not only to do with mankind but with the animal creation as well. This is witnessed in the purpose of St. Francis of Assisi. Thus we shall arrive that ethics is reverence for all life. This is the ethic of love widened universally. It is the ethic of Jesus now recognized as a necessity of thought...Only a universal ethic which embraces every living creature can put us in touch with the universe and the will which is there manifest..." -- Albert Schweitzer

 

"I am full of the burnt offering of rams and the fat of fed beasts. I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of goats...Bring no more vain offerings... When you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes though you make many prayers, and I will not hear you. For your hands are full of blood..." -- Isaiah 1:11-15

 

"I will have mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings..." -- Hosea 6:6

 

"...Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. You shall not eat one day or two days, or ten days or twenty days, but till it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord..." -- Numbers 11:18-20

 

"...He who gives permission, he who kills the animal, he who sells the slaughtered animal, he who cooks the animal, he who administers the distribution of the flesh, and at last he who eats the flesh are all murderers and all of them are punishable under the law of karma."-- The Laws of Manu (5:55)

 

"Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to the attainment of heavenly bliss; let him therefore shun the use of meat."-- Manu

 

"Having well considered the disgusting origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh."-- Manu

 

"Those who never harm others by (physical deeds), by thought and speech, in whatever condition they may be, do not go to Yama's abode. Men who harm other creatures do not go to heaven, in spite of their reciting Vedas, giving gifts, practicing austerities or performing sacrifices. Harmlessness is a great form of piety. Harmlessness alone is a great penance. Harmlessness is a great gift. This what the sages say." -- Padma Purana III 31-25-28

 

"Whoever eats raw or cooked flesh, and whoever destroys a fetus shall be destroyed by us from here." -- Atharva Veda 8.6.23

 

"A cruel and wretched person who maintains his existence at the cost of others' lives deserves to be killed for his own eternal well being, otherwise he will go down by his own actions." -- Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.37

 

"The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." -- Bhagavad Gita 3:13

 

"One who loves Krishna will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids offering anything which is undesirable or unasked for. Thus, meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Krishna...Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human beings and are prescribed by Lord Krishna Himself. Whatever else you eat, can not be offered to Him, since He will not accept it." -- His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

"It is the order of the True Lord to the entire body of the Khalsa...that they shall abstain from bhang, tobacco, opium, alcohol and desist from eating meat, fish, onions, nor indulge in theft and lust..." -- Hukum-nama

 

"All tremble at Violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill or cause another to kill." -- Dhammapada 130

 

"He who has renounced all Violence towards all living beings, weak or strong, who neither kills nor causes other to kill - him do I call a holy man"-- Dhammapada 405

 

"It is said about Lord Buddha sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam. He saw the whole human race going to hell by this animal killing. So he appeared to teach ahimsa, nonviolence, being compassionate on the animals and human beings. In the Christian religion also, it is clearly stated, 'Thou shall not kill'. So everywhere animal killing is restricted. In no religion the unnecessary killing of animals is allowed. But nobody is caring. The killing process is increasing, and so are the reactions. Every ten years you will find a war. These are the reactions." -- His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

"We cannot separate ourselves from those whom we call the 'lower' animals. They are lower in the scale of evolution, but they, like us, are members of the One Family. We must not take away the life of any creature. Indeed, we must never take away that which we cannot give. And as we cannot restore a dead creature to life, we have no right to take away its' life."-- J.P. Vaswani, "Why Kill For Food?"

 

"There is not an animal on the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you." -- Koran, surah 6 verse 38

 

"Therewith He causes crops to grow for you, and the olive and the date-palm and grapes and all kinds of fruit. Lo! Herein is indeed a portent for people who reflect."-- Koran, surah 16, verse 11

 

"A token unto them is the dead earth. We revive it, and we bring forth from it grain so that they will eat thereof. And we have placed therein gardens of the date-palm and grapes, and We have placed therein. That they may eat of the fruit thereof, and their hands created it not. Will they not, then, give thanks?" -- Koran, surah 36, verses 33-35

"Maim not the brute beasts...Whoever is kind to the lesser creatures is kind to himself...He who takes pity (even) on a sparrow and spares its life. Allah will be merciful on him on the day of judgement." -- Prophet Mohammed

 

Once someone asked George Bernard Shaw how it was that he looked so youthful. "I don't," Shaw retorted. "I look my age. It is the other people who look older than they are. What can you expect from people who eat corpses?A diet consisting of any staple grain with milk, milk products and green leafy vegetables contains not only the right kind and amount of protein but everything else the body needs for health, strength and well-being." -- Sir Robert McCarrison

"Flesh eating is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to moral feeling: killing. By killing, man suppresses in himself, unnecessarily, the highest spiritual capacity, that of sympathy and pity towards living creatures like himself, and by violating his own feelings becomes cruel." -- Leo Tolstoy

 

from http://www.geocities.com/mahaksadasa

[Guest guest]

 

The word mentioned in these epics is maamsa, which I think cannot refer to sweet-meats etc. In the Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 84, of the great epic Ramayana by Valmiki, it says:

 

 

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="68%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

iti uktvaa upaayanam gR^ihya matsya maamsa madhuuni ca |

abhicakraama bharatam niSaada adhipatir guhaH || 2-84-10

10. iti= thus; uktvaa= spoken; guhaH= Guha; niSaadaadhipatiH= the Lord of Nishadas; gR^ihya= took; matsya maamsa madhuuni= fish meat and honey; upaayanam= as an offering; abhichakraama= and approached; bharatam= Bharata.

After uttering thus, Guha the king of Nishadas took fish, meat and honey as an offering and approached Bharata.

asti muulam phalam caiva niSaadaiH samupaahR^itam |

aardram ca maamsam shuSkam ca vanyam ca ucca avacam mahat || 2-84-17

17. asti= here are; muulam= the root; phalam chaiva= fruit; samudaahR^itam= gathered; niSaadaiH= by my tribe; maamsamcha= and the meat; mahat= of great quality; ucchaavacham= and of various kinds; aardram= fresh; shuSkamcha= and dried; vanyam= and all a produce of the forest.

“Here are the roots and fruits gathered by my tribe as well as fresh and dried meat of great quality and of various kinds, and all a produce of the forest.”

aashamse svaashitaa senaa vatsyati imaam vibhaavariim |

arcitaH vividhaiH kaamaiH shvaH sasainyo gamiSyasi || 2-84-18

18. aasham se= I hope; senaa= the army; svaashitaa= after eating well; vatsyat= can halt; imam= in this night; architaH= offered reverently; vividhaiH= various kinds; kaamaiH= of all that you could desire; gamiSyasi= you can go; shvaH= tomorrow; sasainyaH= along with your army.

“I hope the army, after eating well, can halt for the night here. Furnished with all you could desire, you can continue your journey tomorrow along with your troops.”

 

I don't know if this Nishada King is considered an outcast (who are not obliged to follow strict Vedic rules) but I do know that he was very favourable towards Sri Rama and His company. It also doesn't say here if the food he offered was actually accepted by Bharata and his associates, but sure is that meat-eating was never an issue for Ksatriyas, neither was the killing of animals. Sri Rama Himself didn't hesitate to go out to hunt the golden deer on the instigation of Seeta.

In the forest Sri Rama, Seeta and Lakshmana followed a strict vegetarian diet, btw, as is shown from the following example from the same epic [Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 54], where Sri Rama is speaking to the sage Bharadwaja upon entering his hermitage:

pitraa niyuktaa bhagavan praveSyaamaH tapo vanam |

dharmam eva aacariSyaamaH tatra muula phala ashanaaH || 2-54-16

16. bhagavan= "Oh, venerable sage! niyuktaaH= commanded; pitraa= by our father; pravekshhyaamaH= we shall enter; tapovanam= a forest suitable for austerities; tatra= there; charishhyaamaH= we shall practise; dharmameva= asceticism alone; muulaphalaashanaa= living on roots and fruits."

"Oh, Venerable sage! Commanded by our father, we are entering a lonely forest to practise asceticism, living on roots and fruits."

There are surely many more examples I could give on meat eating being a normal phenomenon in Vedic literatures, at least for certain classes of people (esp. Ksatriyas, Shudras) but You just search that out for yourself.

How can you be so sure that Adolf Hitler didn't have an inclination towards vegetarianism? Did you study this subject in any way? I heard from several sources that this is a fact, and that he spoke about the benefits of vegetarianism to his beloved Eva Braun for instance, who thought he was mad at this point.

That this fact would be used by certain scoundrels just to give him a good image seems very unlikely, especially since in the West vegetarianism is not looked upon as something favourable by most people.

 

Please post the webpage where you acquired these quotes.

[shambu]

 

Please post the webpage where you acquired these quotes.

It is here:

 

http://www.valmikiramayan.net/

[url="http://www.valmikiramayan.neb/"]

[Guest guest]

 

The word mentioned in these epics is maamsa, which I think cannot refer to sweet-meats etc. In the Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 84, of the great epic Ramayana by Valmiki, it says:

 

 

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iti uktvaa upaayanam gR^ihya matsya maamsa madhuuni ca |

abhicakraama bharatam niSaada adhipatir guhaH || 2-84-10

10. iti= thus; uktvaa= spoken; guhaH= Guha; niSaadaadhipatiH= the Lord of Nishadas; gR^ihya= took; matsya maamsa madhuuni= fish meat and honey; upaayanam= as an offering; abhichakraama= and approached; bharatam= Bharata.

After uttering thus, Guha the king of Nishadas took fish, meat and honey as an offering and approached Bharata.

asti muulam phalam caiva niSaadaiH samupaahR^itam |

aardram ca maamsam shuSkam ca vanyam ca ucca avacam mahat || 2-84-17

17. asti= here are; muulam= the root; phalam chaiva= fruit; samudaahR^itam= gathered; niSaadaiH= by my tribe; maamsamcha= and the meat; mahat= of great quality; ucchaavacham= and of various kinds; aardram= fresh; shuSkamcha= and dried; vanyam= and all a produce of the forest.

“Here are the roots and fruits gathered by my tribe as well as fresh and dried meat of great quality and of various kinds, and all a produce of the forest.”

aashamse svaashitaa senaa vatsyati imaam vibhaavariim |

arcitaH vividhaiH kaamaiH shvaH sasainyo gamiSyasi || 2-84-18

18. aasham se= I hope; senaa= the army; svaashitaa= after eating well; vatsyat= can halt; imam= in this night; architaH= offered reverently; vividhaiH= various kinds; kaamaiH= of all that you could desire; gamiSyasi= you can go; shvaH= tomorrow; sasainyaH= along with your army.

“I hope the army, after eating well, can halt for the night here. Furnished with all you could desire, you can continue your journey tomorrow along with your troops.”

 

I don't know if this Nishada King is considered an outcast (who are not obliged to follow strict Vedic rules) but I do know that he was very favourable towards Sri Rama and His company. It also doesn't say here if the food he offered was actually accepted by Bharata and his associates, but sure is that meat-eating was never an issue for Ksatriyas, neither was the killing of animals. Sri Rama Himself didn't hesitate to go out to hunt the golden deer on the instigation of Seeta.

In the forest Sri Rama, Seeta and Lakshmana followed a strict vegetarian diet, btw, as is shown from the following example from the same epic [Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 54], where Sri Rama is speaking to the sage Bharadwaja upon entering his hermitage:

pitraa niyuktaa bhagavan praveSyaamaH tapo vanam |

dharmam eva aacariSyaamaH tatra muula phala ashanaaH || 2-54-16

16. bhagavan= "Oh, venerable sage! niyuktaaH= commanded; pitraa= by our father; pravekshhyaamaH= we shall enter; tapovanam= a forest suitable for austerities; tatra= there; charishhyaamaH= we shall practise; dharmameva= asceticism alone; muulaphalaashanaa= living on roots and fruits."

"Oh, Venerable sage! Commanded by our father, we are entering a lonely forest to practise asceticism, living on roots and fruits."

There are surely many more examples I could give on meat eating being a normal phenomenon in Vedic literatures, at least for certain classes of people (esp. Ksatriyas, Shudras) but You just search that out for yourself.

How can you be so sure that Adolf Hitler didn't have an inclination towards vegetarianism? Did you study this subject in any way? I heard from several sources that this is a fact, and that he spoke about the benefits of vegetarianism to his beloved Eva Braun for instance, who thought he was mad at this point.

That this fact would be used by certain scoundrels just to give him a good image seems very unlikely, especially since in the West vegetarianism is not looked upon as something favourable by most people.

 

[ mâmsá ] n. sg. & pl. flesh, meat (also of fish, crabs, and fruit);

 

{dsal}.{uchicago}.{edu}/cgi-bin/romadict.pl?query=meat&display=simple&table=macdonell

[Guest guest]

You need to read the Vasudev mahatmyam of why meat eating is prohibited. It is not allowed by man. One desirous of salvation can never get it by eating meat! Ahimsa is the highest dharm of the sanatan dharm!!!

 

in the matsya puran:

 

ahanta chanumanta cha vishasta kravayakrayi,

sanskarta chopbhokta cha khadakaha sarva eva hi.

 

the 7 people who associate with meat are maha sinners!!these are :

 

the person to takes the animal to be slauhgtered

the person who tells, teaches , wants the animal to be killed

the murderer of the animal

the seller

the buyer

teh one who cooks it

the one who eats it

 

these in teh vedas get the same amount of sin!!!

 

also the vasudev mahatmyam in skand puran:

 

read adhyay 6!!!

 

the story of how the devas fell from swarg because of sacrificing meat in the swayambhu manvantar! They lost everything. Even though Maharishi Vashistha and other great sages told them not to do such tamsic sacrifices nor eat meat!!!

 

 

The story of weather meat should or should not be consumed by humans is clearly stated in thsi puran very strongly!!! It teachesnone should eat meat!

 

Meat consuming is not even allowed for the danavs!!! But out of their will they do such!! When brahma created thsi universe he creted and told all :

 

To follow dharm ,this is stated in the bhagwat..

dharmachatushpanma nujankrute samanuvartate!

 

When he created the vedas he stated clearly :

 

ahisaiv paro dharmstatra vedesti kirtitaha

sakshaat pashu vadho yagne nahi vedasya sampatta -vasudev mahatmya adhyay 6:14

 

That ahimsa (non violence) is the first and foremost of all dharmas!

 

Pratyaksh Pashu malabhya Yagnashcha charanam tu yat

dharmaha sa viprito vei yushmakam sursataha

 

Adhyay 6:20

 

This means Whoever harms a living being even for a yagna its against anyones dharm!!

 

Theres many more shlokas. None else matters!!

 

For anyone wanting to eat meat and try to justify their reasons by turning the pages of VedAs is a mere sinner and the doors of hell have always remained open for such people!!!

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sanatan Dharma teaches Ahimsa. We should put our beliefs in practice, both in how we treat those in the animal kingdom, and also how we treat our fellow man. Do not think you are practicing Ahimsa while you walk past the Mcdonalds, but still shoot arrows in your heart at your fellow man, because of his caste or whatever. Ahimsa must include the destruction of both meat-eating and bigotry/pride.

[radharani#473]

I was an (egg-eating) vegetarian for about 10 yrs, with a couple of times eating meat, once when on paxil for depression. When I quit eating eggs, I developed malnourishment and malabsorbtion problems. I almost died from working too hard as a housekeeper and not having time to eat. God said, 'Eat Meat', in that moment when I couldnt breathe. I have had recently a vegetarian boyfriend, (~two years ago) and he didnt eat meat, but it did feel like he was 'feeding' off of me-I'm not food. I have felt this 'cannabilistic' tendency when around other vegetarians also. I would like to be vegetarian, I think most thinking and compassionate people would like to be, but if animals are people who have reincarnated as animals, and exist in a hellish state due to past actions, is it better to cannibalize the 'best' energy-isnt this selfish and noncompassionate? I hate eating meat, I dont know why those people who died werent taught better while they were alive, I torture myself with this question constantly.

[radharani#473]

also, I used to live in a retirement community and the bodies of the people who died would sit and rot for days, and that rot got into my food. Now I live near a funeral home and (that type of rot) has gotten into my food once or twice so far-why bury when you can cremate? Eating meat helps to block up my nadis so the rot doesnt come into my awareness-I dont know that there's anything I can do about it once a person has died and begun rotting. I'd rather eat the animal the person has already reincarnated as than the rot from their human corpse, the food becomes inedible and I'm already on food stamps so I cant waste food

[Guest guest]

I dont think anyone can become malnourished by eating meat. thats just mere daftness. as Mung beans contain more than double the protein of egg. Now if someone was to say that they became malnourished as they ate no egg then thats plain stupidness. As protein is dominant within egg or meat, so why not live off milk or other dairy products? Its all nothing but svaad!!! (taste). Its nothing else. Its all for the enjoyment of the tongue, not because one will die from malnutriion.Rest are just excuses.

ITS RASASVAAD!

Vedas declare clearly that none should eat meat.As do most of the purans.

[Guest guest]

 

I dont think anyone can become malnourished by eating meat. thats just mere daftness. as Mung beans contain more than double the protein of egg. Now if someone was to say that they became malnourished as they ate no egg then thats plain stupidness. As protein is dominant within egg or meat, so why not live off milk or other dairy products? Its all nothing but svaad!!! (taste). Its nothing else. Its all for the enjoyment of the tongue, not because one will die from malnutriion.Rest are just excuses.

ITS RASASVAAD!

Vedas declare clearly that none should eat meat.As do most of the purans.

 

It's probably healthiest when taking up a vegetarian diet to find an ayurvedic expert who can help you get knowledge on what foods and herbs you need for your health and nourishment. I am sure a veg diet could cause malnourishment problems if one was not eating properly, and just living off of salad for example. But that can be corrected by following the right foods.

[Guest guest]

 

I would like to be vegetarian, I think most thinking and compassionate people would like to be, but if animals are people who have reincarnated as animals, and exist in a hellish state due to past actions, is it better to cannibalize the 'best' energy-isnt this selfish and noncompassionate? I hate eating meat, I dont know why those people who died werent taught better while they were alive, I torture myself with this question constantly.

 

Animals do not exist in a hellish state. They exist in an ignorant state. This is an important distinction. My dog is happy, but he is not on the intelligient level of a human, and thus can't obtain moksha in this lifetime.