02-14-2008, 02:30 AM
<b>Vegetarianism</b>
MaharÅi PataÅjali is the author of the treatise known as Yoga-SÅ«tra. His exposition of AÅÅ£Änga Yoga has eight limbs of Yoga, the very first one being Yama that includes ahimsÄ as its first element. He defines ahimsÄ as:
AhimsÄ-pratisÅ£hÄyÄm tatsannidhau vairatyÄgaħ Yoga [2.35]
i.e., Absence of enmity is ahimsÄ. Typically, people translate ahimsÄ as 'non-violence' which is not quite correct. If foreign forces attack us and our soldiers kill them, then are we following himsÄ or ahimsÄ? Though it appears to be a violent act, namely, killing a foreign attacker, yet it is within the purview of PataÅjali's definition of ahimsÄ if the same is done without any enmity. Our soldier kills him as his duty and without any personal enmity; He has no personal motive behind killing the foreign soldier. If I have no personal enmity towards one and all then I do not hurt anybody. If we begin to make progress in this direction then the obvious consequence would be that one cannot kill any living being for food.
Nowadays, Yoga has become popular but not in its true form. The awareness needs to be brought in that the very first limb of Yoga is 'Yama' and its very first element is AhimsÄ. PataÅjali treats Yama as 'SÄrvabhauma MahÄ-Vrata' i.e., the Universal Great Vows. He couldn't have visualized that people will take interest in Yoga without its first limb! Let us ensure that Yoga practices are total in nature, both in word and spirit. This has been the Indian tradition to love and respect every life and to take their good care. Our life style has been to live with them together as a family. Every family had its own cow and she was like a family member. It's a wonderful design of God that a cow feeds on several things that we wouldn't like to eat and gives us milk. Cow urine and dung were useful as manure and fuel. This has been a model of sustainable development where every family was self reliant. A family without a cow is unimaginable in Indian tradition. Indeed the Vedic wedding ceremony includes godÄna soon after kanyÄdÄna. The very first gift given to the new couple is a cow by the bride's father, right within the wedding ceremony.
There have been some recent attempts to malign our tradition and culture. Some people say that meat consumption was prevalent in ancient India. Some say that Vedas suggest meat consumption. These are fantastic ideas of those who have no understanding of our language and culture. For example, the word for cow in the Vedas is aghnyÄ, which means, 'one who cannot be killed'. A cow is referred to as aditi too, one who cannot be cut into pieces â is indivisible. Yajurveda (13.49) says:
Imam sÄhasram ÅatadhÄramutsam vyacyamÄnam sarirasya madhye
GhÅtam duhÄnÄmaditim janÄyÄgne mÄ himsiħ parame vyoman.
i.e., The one who protects and sustains hundreds and thousands, one who is the fountain of milk, one who supplies people with milk, one who is aditi (who ought not to be cut into pieces), do not torture such a cow.
The word for yajÅa (ritualistic acts for the benefit of the society) is adhvara and that means, 'an act void of violence'. Some people began to point out that the word for a learned person in the Vedas is goghnaħ and that means one who should be served cow's meat. Let us understand its correct meaning. This word is a compound word â go and ghnaħ. The latter word is made out of the root han that means 'to obtain' in addition 'to kill'. In their opinion, the word goghnaħ means a learned person for whom cow should be killed, i.e., who should be served cow's meat. Obviously, consistency is a very important virtue in interpreting any book. The above meaning clearly goes against the word aghnyÄ and aditi for cow, meaning one who cannot be killed and who cannot be cut into pieces. So, the other meaning of the root han should be utilized here â to obtain. Therefore, the word goghnaħ would mean a learned person who should be obtained (or, who should be served) a cow and her milk and other milk-made products. This is not the only instance of such a meaning of the root han. There is a word hastaghna for hand gloves where the compound word is made of hasta and ghna, similar to goghnaħ. Here the meaning has to be 'hand' and 'to obtain' so that hastaghna can mean hand gloves â the word ghna here means 'to obtain' and cannot mean 'to kill' here.
Vedas and the entire body of the Vedic literature is very clear on this aspect that we should not eat meat, fish and egg. The following hymn from Atharvaveda (8.6.23) implores the rulers to punish those who kill animals and eggs by even capital punishment â it's an eye for an eye, a life for a life; the life in every form is sacred:
Ya Ämam mÄnsamadanti paureÅeyam ca ye kraviħ
GarbhÄnkhadanti keÅavÄstÄnito nÄÅayÄmasi.
i.e., We ought to destroy them who eat cooked or uncooked meat as well as eggs, who have made their bodies the graveyards.
Just the way I love my life, an animal loves it, too. Just the way a human mother loves and protects her baby, a bird loves and protects its egg. We have absolutely no business to harm them in any manner. This probably is the biggest organized crime that billions of animals and birds are killed by humans every day, and it is the root cause of a number of problems we are facing. We have degraded ourselves to a very low point in the scale of human development.
The new beautiful world that will emerge with Vedoday2050 (New Dawn of Vedic Teachings on or before the year 2050) would consist of a new breed of human beings who are clean from the body, mind and soul. And, most importantly, only such people can bring Vedoday. Every Indian who holds the Indian culture with a sense of reverence must do the minimum sacrifice and refrain from consumption of meat, fish and egg for a better quality of life for the self, society and nation. India and every Indian must become a shining example of ahimsÄ and that would give us strength that nobody would dare to think of himsÄ with us, and if one does, then we can give a befitting reply and crush himsÄ.
<b>The Vedas Say:</b>
YathÄ mÄnsam yathÄ surÄ yathÄkÅÄ adhidevane
YathÄ pumso vÅÅaÅyata striyÄm nihanyate manaħ
Eva te aghnye mano-adhi vatse ni hanyatam. Atharvaveda (6.70.1)
<i>Its meaning: Consumption of meat and liquor, gambling, and adultery hurt you within. One who commits such acts, verily kills himself.</i>
Purport: There are certain things in life that have vicious character. Once we enter into it, we cannot come out of it. Consumption of meat and that of liquor are addictive in nature. On the first occasion, it is repulsive and a wise person goes by that instinct. But a foolish person goes against the God given instinct and pursues them. Then they become more powerful and trap you forever. Gambling and adultery are such acts too. A real strong person is one who can win over these vicious acts. Those who fall for one of these things (meat, liquor, gambling and adultery) are indeed the weakest lot. The Sanskrit word for meat is mÄmsa. It has an interesting origin; it's made of mÄm + sa, i.e. 'to me' and 'he/she'. What it means is that today I eat an animal's meat and then there will be a time when 'he/she' will consume 'me'. This is the law of the nature; call it Law of Karma or whatever. What I do today will definitely recoil on me in the future. Today I kill an animal and eat its meat and there will be a time when I will be killed (probably, in the next life) and this animal will eat me whom I have devoured today.
Where Do We Go Wrong?: We think that our Dharma is like other religions, representing certain acts to be performed in a place of worship. The Satya SanÄtana Vedic Dharma is not such a narrow thing. It tells us how to lead the human life in a total sense. The Vedas have guidelines for every occasion of life. India's decline for the last five thousand years is primarily due to the attitude that dharma was ignored in more and more spheres of life. This is the time when meat consumption began in the country in a significant manner about three thousand years ago. Then MahÄvÄ«ra and Buddha came to remind us the true Indian tradition of ahimsÄ. Every Indian must sincerely improve his/her personality in a total sense â body, mind and soul included â good health and physique of the body, intelligent and balanced mind, and a sterling character of the soul with love and compassion towards all. We must set an example as individuals who have nothing to do with meat, liquor, gambling and adultery, as Vedas say.
- Dr Harish Chandra
MaharÅi PataÅjali is the author of the treatise known as Yoga-SÅ«tra. His exposition of AÅÅ£Änga Yoga has eight limbs of Yoga, the very first one being Yama that includes ahimsÄ as its first element. He defines ahimsÄ as:
AhimsÄ-pratisÅ£hÄyÄm tatsannidhau vairatyÄgaħ Yoga [2.35]
i.e., Absence of enmity is ahimsÄ. Typically, people translate ahimsÄ as 'non-violence' which is not quite correct. If foreign forces attack us and our soldiers kill them, then are we following himsÄ or ahimsÄ? Though it appears to be a violent act, namely, killing a foreign attacker, yet it is within the purview of PataÅjali's definition of ahimsÄ if the same is done without any enmity. Our soldier kills him as his duty and without any personal enmity; He has no personal motive behind killing the foreign soldier. If I have no personal enmity towards one and all then I do not hurt anybody. If we begin to make progress in this direction then the obvious consequence would be that one cannot kill any living being for food.
Nowadays, Yoga has become popular but not in its true form. The awareness needs to be brought in that the very first limb of Yoga is 'Yama' and its very first element is AhimsÄ. PataÅjali treats Yama as 'SÄrvabhauma MahÄ-Vrata' i.e., the Universal Great Vows. He couldn't have visualized that people will take interest in Yoga without its first limb! Let us ensure that Yoga practices are total in nature, both in word and spirit. This has been the Indian tradition to love and respect every life and to take their good care. Our life style has been to live with them together as a family. Every family had its own cow and she was like a family member. It's a wonderful design of God that a cow feeds on several things that we wouldn't like to eat and gives us milk. Cow urine and dung were useful as manure and fuel. This has been a model of sustainable development where every family was self reliant. A family without a cow is unimaginable in Indian tradition. Indeed the Vedic wedding ceremony includes godÄna soon after kanyÄdÄna. The very first gift given to the new couple is a cow by the bride's father, right within the wedding ceremony.
There have been some recent attempts to malign our tradition and culture. Some people say that meat consumption was prevalent in ancient India. Some say that Vedas suggest meat consumption. These are fantastic ideas of those who have no understanding of our language and culture. For example, the word for cow in the Vedas is aghnyÄ, which means, 'one who cannot be killed'. A cow is referred to as aditi too, one who cannot be cut into pieces â is indivisible. Yajurveda (13.49) says:
Imam sÄhasram ÅatadhÄramutsam vyacyamÄnam sarirasya madhye
GhÅtam duhÄnÄmaditim janÄyÄgne mÄ himsiħ parame vyoman.
i.e., The one who protects and sustains hundreds and thousands, one who is the fountain of milk, one who supplies people with milk, one who is aditi (who ought not to be cut into pieces), do not torture such a cow.
The word for yajÅa (ritualistic acts for the benefit of the society) is adhvara and that means, 'an act void of violence'. Some people began to point out that the word for a learned person in the Vedas is goghnaħ and that means one who should be served cow's meat. Let us understand its correct meaning. This word is a compound word â go and ghnaħ. The latter word is made out of the root han that means 'to obtain' in addition 'to kill'. In their opinion, the word goghnaħ means a learned person for whom cow should be killed, i.e., who should be served cow's meat. Obviously, consistency is a very important virtue in interpreting any book. The above meaning clearly goes against the word aghnyÄ and aditi for cow, meaning one who cannot be killed and who cannot be cut into pieces. So, the other meaning of the root han should be utilized here â to obtain. Therefore, the word goghnaħ would mean a learned person who should be obtained (or, who should be served) a cow and her milk and other milk-made products. This is not the only instance of such a meaning of the root han. There is a word hastaghna for hand gloves where the compound word is made of hasta and ghna, similar to goghnaħ. Here the meaning has to be 'hand' and 'to obtain' so that hastaghna can mean hand gloves â the word ghna here means 'to obtain' and cannot mean 'to kill' here.
Vedas and the entire body of the Vedic literature is very clear on this aspect that we should not eat meat, fish and egg. The following hymn from Atharvaveda (8.6.23) implores the rulers to punish those who kill animals and eggs by even capital punishment â it's an eye for an eye, a life for a life; the life in every form is sacred:
Ya Ämam mÄnsamadanti paureÅeyam ca ye kraviħ
GarbhÄnkhadanti keÅavÄstÄnito nÄÅayÄmasi.
i.e., We ought to destroy them who eat cooked or uncooked meat as well as eggs, who have made their bodies the graveyards.
Just the way I love my life, an animal loves it, too. Just the way a human mother loves and protects her baby, a bird loves and protects its egg. We have absolutely no business to harm them in any manner. This probably is the biggest organized crime that billions of animals and birds are killed by humans every day, and it is the root cause of a number of problems we are facing. We have degraded ourselves to a very low point in the scale of human development.
The new beautiful world that will emerge with Vedoday2050 (New Dawn of Vedic Teachings on or before the year 2050) would consist of a new breed of human beings who are clean from the body, mind and soul. And, most importantly, only such people can bring Vedoday. Every Indian who holds the Indian culture with a sense of reverence must do the minimum sacrifice and refrain from consumption of meat, fish and egg for a better quality of life for the self, society and nation. India and every Indian must become a shining example of ahimsÄ and that would give us strength that nobody would dare to think of himsÄ with us, and if one does, then we can give a befitting reply and crush himsÄ.
<b>The Vedas Say:</b>
YathÄ mÄnsam yathÄ surÄ yathÄkÅÄ adhidevane
YathÄ pumso vÅÅaÅyata striyÄm nihanyate manaħ
Eva te aghnye mano-adhi vatse ni hanyatam. Atharvaveda (6.70.1)
<i>Its meaning: Consumption of meat and liquor, gambling, and adultery hurt you within. One who commits such acts, verily kills himself.</i>
Purport: There are certain things in life that have vicious character. Once we enter into it, we cannot come out of it. Consumption of meat and that of liquor are addictive in nature. On the first occasion, it is repulsive and a wise person goes by that instinct. But a foolish person goes against the God given instinct and pursues them. Then they become more powerful and trap you forever. Gambling and adultery are such acts too. A real strong person is one who can win over these vicious acts. Those who fall for one of these things (meat, liquor, gambling and adultery) are indeed the weakest lot. The Sanskrit word for meat is mÄmsa. It has an interesting origin; it's made of mÄm + sa, i.e. 'to me' and 'he/she'. What it means is that today I eat an animal's meat and then there will be a time when 'he/she' will consume 'me'. This is the law of the nature; call it Law of Karma or whatever. What I do today will definitely recoil on me in the future. Today I kill an animal and eat its meat and there will be a time when I will be killed (probably, in the next life) and this animal will eat me whom I have devoured today.
Where Do We Go Wrong?: We think that our Dharma is like other religions, representing certain acts to be performed in a place of worship. The Satya SanÄtana Vedic Dharma is not such a narrow thing. It tells us how to lead the human life in a total sense. The Vedas have guidelines for every occasion of life. India's decline for the last five thousand years is primarily due to the attitude that dharma was ignored in more and more spheres of life. This is the time when meat consumption began in the country in a significant manner about three thousand years ago. Then MahÄvÄ«ra and Buddha came to remind us the true Indian tradition of ahimsÄ. Every Indian must sincerely improve his/her personality in a total sense â body, mind and soul included â good health and physique of the body, intelligent and balanced mind, and a sterling character of the soul with love and compassion towards all. We must set an example as individuals who have nothing to do with meat, liquor, gambling and adultery, as Vedas say.
- Dr Harish Chandra