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Spiritual Reasons To Be A Vegetarian ***Govinda's
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Site to Close on January 1, 2006 Appeal for Help ***Food Alert Newletter*** lists common products containing meat that you may be eating everyday. "What is Kosher Gelatin" :What is Wrong with Red Food Dye" "What Are Natural Flavorings and why they are often Meat" and much more. To recieve regular Food Alert Newsletters Please Enter Your Email Address Krishna Wants Vegetarian Food Offered to Him Isn't Eating Vegetables Also Violence Eating Vegetables Is Also Violent Should Not Eat Meat to Satisfy the Tongue Humans Should Discriminate What They Should Eat Slaughtering Animals, Especially Cows is Bad Karma Cows Never Meant to Be Eaten by Human Being Krishna Stresses Cow Protection Animal Killers Debt to the Animals that They Kill and Eat The Vaishnava philosophy teaches that we should not even kill plants unnecessarily. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.26) Krishna (God) says: "If someone offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or a little water, I will accept it." We offer Krishna only the kind of food He demands, and then we eat the remnants. If offering vegetarian food to Krishna were sinful, then it would be Krishna's sin, not ours. But God is apapa-viddha-sinful reactions are not applicable to Him. Eating food first offered to the Lord is also something like a soldier's killing during wartime. In a war, when the commander orders a soldier to attack, the obedient soldier who kills the enemy will get a medal. But if the same soldier kills someone on his own, he will be punished. Similarly, when we eat only prasadam (the remnants of food offered to Krishna or God), we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (3.13). "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food that is first offered for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." The civilized human being, the religious human being, is not meant to kill and eat animals. Eating vegetables is violence, and vegetarians are also committing
violence against other living entities because vegetables also have
life. Nondevotees are killing cows, goats, and so many other animals
for eating purposes, and one who is vegetarian is also killing. That
is the law of nature. Jiva jivasya jivanam: one living entity
is the life for another living entity. But for a human being that violence
should be committed only as much as necessary. If one kills many thousands of animals in a professional way so that
other people can purchase the meat to eat, one must be ready to be killed
in a similar way in his next life and in life after life. There are
many rascals who violate their own religious principles. According to
Judeo-Christian scriptures, it is clearly said, "Thou shalt not
kill." Nonetheless, giving all kinds of excuses, even the heads
of religions indulge in killing animals while trying to pass as saintly
persons. This mockery and hypocrisy in human society brings about unlimited
calamities: therefore occasionally there are great wars. Masses of such
people go out onto battlefields and kill themselves. Presently they
have discovered the atomic bomb, which is simply awaiting wholesale
destruction. Some people say, "We believe that animals have no soul."
That is not correct. They believe animals have no soul because they
want to eat the animals, but actually animals do have a soul. Here is the scientific proof; the animal is eating, you are eating:
the animal is sleeping, you are sleeping; the animal is defending, you
are defending; the animal is having sex, you are having sex; the animals
have children, you have children; they have a living place, you have
a living place. If the animal's body is cut, there is blood; if your
body is cut, there is blood. So, all these similarities and not the
presence of the soul? That is not logical. In logic there is something
called analogy. Analogy means drawing a conclusion by finding many points
of similarity. If there are so many points of similarity between human
beings and animals, why deny one similarity? That is not logic. That
is not science. Some rascals put forward the theory that an animal has no soul or is
something like dead stone. In this way they rationalize that there is
no sin in animal-killing. Actually animals are not dead stone, but the
killers of animals are stone-hearted. Consequently no reason or philosophy
appeals to them. They continue keeping slaughterhouses and killing animals
in the forest. By killing animals, not only will we be bereft of the human form but
we will have to take an animal form and somehow or other be killed by
the same type of animal we have killed. This is the law of nature. The
Sanskrit word mamsa means "meat." It is said: mam sah khadanti
mamsah. That is, "I am now eating the flesh of an animal who
will some day in the future be eating my flesh." The purpose of food is to increase the duration of life, purify the
mind, and aid bodily strength. This is its only purpose. In the past,
great authorities selected those foods that best aid health and increase
life's duration, such as milk products, sugar, rice, wheat, fruits and
vegetable. Animal fat is available in the form of milk, which is the most wonderful
of all foods. Milk, butter, cheese, and similar products give animal
fat in a form which rules out any need for the killing of innocent creatures.
Protein is amply available through split peas, dal, whole wheat, etc. The best food is the remnant of what is offered to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord says that He accepts
preparations of vegetables, flour and milk when offered with devotion.
Of course, devotion and love are the chief things which the Supreme
Personality of Godhead accepts. Therefore to make food antiseptic, eatable, and palatable for all persons,
one should offer food to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna
Wants Vegetarian Food Offered to Him Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human beings and are prescribed by Lord Krishna Himself. Whatever else we eat cannot be offered to Him, since He will not accept it. Thus we cannot be acting on the level of loving devotion if we offer such foods. In the Third Chapter, verse thirteen, Sri Krishna explains that only the remains of sacrifice are purified and fit for consumption by those who are seeking advancement in life and release from the clutches of the material entanglement. Those who do not make an offering of their food, He says in the same verse, are eating only sin. In other words, their every mouthful is simply deepening their involvement in the complexities of material nature. But preparing nice, simple vegetable dishes, offering them before the picture or Deity of Lord Krishna and bowing down and praying for Him to accept such a humble offering enables one to advance steadily in life, to purify the body, and to create fine brain tissues which will lead to clear thinking. Above all, the offering should be made with an attitude of love. Krishna has no need of food, since He already possesses everything that be, yet He will accept the offering of one who desires to please Him in that way. The important element, in preparation, in serving and in offering, is to act with love for Krishna. Isn't Eating Vegetables
Also Violence Firstly, however, taking some leaves, twigs or fruit from a tree or plant does not kill the plant. Since every living entity has to pass through a particular type of body according to his past karma, although every living entity is eternal, he should not be disturbed in his gradual evolution. A devotee has to execute the principles of devotional service exactly as they are, and he must know that however insignificant a living entity may be, the Lord is present within him. A devotee must realize this universal presence of the Lord. So, and even if we do not kill animals, simply by eating vegetables, they are also life. It does not mean that vegetarians are not killing. They are also killing. The law is that a living entity lives by killing other living entities. That is the law. Those who have got hands, they are killing those who have got legs. Just like man is killing animal. The animal is eating the grass, those who have no legs. So this is the law. But our thing is that we have to offer yajna. Killing of animal does not mean that if a man kills a cow or goat for eating, he is killing, and those who are vegetarian, they are not killing. They are also killing. A vegetable has also got life. So it is not the question of killing. It is the question of offering yajna. It is the question of offering yajna. The answer is that eating vegetables is violence, and vegetarians are also committing violence against other living entities because vegetables also have life. Nondevotees are killing cows, goats and so many other animals for eating purposes, and a devotee, who is vegetarian, is also killing. But here, significantly, it is stated that every living entity has to live by killing another entity; that is the law of nature. Jivo jivasya jivanam: one living entity is the life for another living entity. But for a human being, that violence should be committed only as much as necessary. A human being is not to eat anything which is not offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One becomes freed from all sinful reactions by eating foodstuffs which are offered to Yajna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A devotee therefore eats only prasada, or foodstuffs offered to the Supreme Lord, and Krishna says that when a devotee offers Him foodstuffs from the vegetable kingdom, with devotion, He eats that. A devotee is to offer to Krishna foodstuffs prepared from vegetables. If the Supreme Lord wanted foodstuffs prepared from animal food, the devotee could offer this, but He does not order to do that. We have to commit violence; that is a natural law. We should not, however, commit violence extravagantly, but only as much as ordered by the Lord. Arjuna engaged in the art of killing, and although killing is, of course, violence, he killed the enemy simply on Krishna order. In the same way, if we commit violence as it is necessary, by the order of the Lord. We cannot avoid violence, for we are put into a conditional life in which we have to commit violence, but we should not commit more violence than necessary or than ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thou Shall Not Kill "Discrimination is the best part of valor." So far we are concerned, we are eating certainly vegetable, but not directly. We eat Krishna-prasadam. Krishna says, patram punpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati: "Anyone who offers Me with love and affection vegetables, grains, milk, I eat." So if there is any sin for eating vegetables, that is Krishna sin, not our sin. We take the prasadam. We are teaching people to eat Krishna-prasadam. We are not teaching people to become vegetarian or non-vegetarian. That is not our business. After all, we have to eat, so if we eat Krishna-prasadam. "If you accept prasadam which is offered to God, then you are free from all sinful resultant action." Bhagavad-gita 4.10 Eating Vegetables Is Also
Violent Of course, in the human form of life, in Africa, they are cannibals.
They eat their grandfather as a feast. They make a feast. And, you will
be not surprised, they like to eat white man. Yes. In some parts of
the Africa, they, whenever they get opportunity to kidnap a white man,
they like to eat very much. One living entity is the food for another living entity. That is lower
grade life. In the higher grade life, no, they cannot kill anyone for
eating purposes. Therefore in the Bible the First Commandment is "Thou
shalt not kill." But all these Christians, they are violating the
First Commandment. That is their business. Simply engaged in killing,
big, big slaughterhouse. And they give the example that "Others are eating vegetable, that
is also killing." Yes, that is also killing. But that I have already
explained, that because one living entity is foodstuff for another living
entity, that does not mean you shall eat your family members or any
human being. No, there must be discrimination. But so far we are concerned,
we are not killing anybody for eating purposes. We are eating Krishna
-prasada, foodstuff which is offered to Krishna and then we eat. The
remnants of foodstuff we eat. And Krishna says, patram punpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati. "A leaf, a flower, fruit and liquid, milk or water, all these things, within these categories, whatever a devotee offers Me in love and devotion, I eat." Should Not Eat Meat to
Satisfy Tongue Some of them are eating voraciously, no, but generally I see if they
give up that little one piece of meat, say, one ounce or two ounce,
immediately we can save ourself from so much sinful activities, so many
slaughterhouses running on all over the world. If we simply control
the tongue, what is that? You are eating a piece of meat. But they cannot.
They cannot. The tongue is dictating, "No, meat is very nice. Take
it." A little. It is not much. He's not living on meat. There are
loafs, there are vegetables. Actually he's living on that. Nobody takes
two or three loaf, of the same weight meat. Meat, little quantity. But
they take loaf, butter, rice, other things. Without vegetables, without
food grains, you cannot live. It is simply for the tongue. Simply for this tongue, little only. He
cannot live simply on meat unless he's an animal exactly. He has to
take vegetable, food grains, butter. These are milk products. Otherwise
he has no chance to live. But for the tongue's sake he's taking little
piece of meat, and for that reason, we have to maintain thousands and
thousands of slaughterhouse. Simply for the tongue we are committing so much sinful activities and becoming implicated because implication means there is no God consciousness, no Krishna consciousness. Humans
Should Discriminate What They Should Eat The milk is also produced out of the blood. So it is intelligence. You are drinking the blood in a different way, produced by nature with more vitamin values and more taste and more gentlemen. Why should you kill one cow and try to drink the blood? The blood is there already, but in a different form, without any violence. And we have seen it. It is practical experience that if the cows are assured they would not be killed, they will give you double milk. Man Should Discrinate So the vegetarian also eating another living entity. And the meat-eater,
they're also eating another. But there is discretion. Discretion means
that these things are made for human being. Just like fruits, flowers,
vegetables, rice, grains, milk-the animals do not come to claim that
"I shall eat this." No. It is meant for man. Just like milk.
Milk is an animal product. It is the blood of the cow changed only. But the milk is not drunk by the cow. She is delivering the milk, but she's not taking, because it is not allotted for it. By nature's way. So you have to take. Milk is made for man, so you take the milk. Let her live and supply you milk continually. Why should you kill? Follow nature's law. Then you'll be happy. Whatever is allotted to you, take. You live comfortably. Slaughtering
Animals, Especailly Cows is Bad Karma Every living creature is a son of the Supreme Lord, and He does not
tolerate even an ant's being killed. One has to pay for it. So indulgence
in animal killing for the taste of the tongue is the grossest kind of
ignorance. A human being has no need to kill animals, because God has
supplied so many nice things. If one indulges in meat-eating anyway,
it is to be understood that he is acting in ignorance and is making
his future very dark. Of all kinds of animal killing, the killing of
cows is most vicious because the cow gives us all kinds of pleasure
by supplying milk. Cow slaughter is an act of the grossest type of ignorance.
There is also a prayer in the Vedic literature that states: namo brahmanya-devaya "My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brähmaëas,
and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world."
(Visnu Purana 1.19.65) The purport is that special mention is
given in that prayer for the protection of the cows and the brahmanas.
Brähmaëas are the symbol of spiritual education, and cows
are the symbol of the most valuable food; these two living creatures,
the brahmanas and the cows, must be given all protection-that
is real advancement of civilization. In modern human society, spiritual knowledge is neglected, and cow
killing is encouraged. It is to be understood, then, that human society
is advancing in the wrong direction and is clearing the path to its
own condemnation. A civilization which guides the citizens to become
animals in their next lives is certainly not a human civilization. The
present human civilization is, of course, grossly misled by the modes
of passion and ignorance. It is a very dangerous age, and all nations
should take care to provide the easiest process, Krishna consciousness,
to save humanity from the greatest danger. According to Smiti regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one's mother, human society takes cow's milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains. Human society will kill its spirit of life by killing the father and the mother. Cows
Never Meant to Be Eaten by Human Being Krishna Stresses Cow Protection Animal
Killers Debt to the Animals that They Kill and Eat "That creature whose flesh I am eating here and now will consume
me in the next life.' Thus meat is called mäàsa, as described
by learned authorities." In the Vedic scriptures there are concessions for meat-eaters. It is said that if one wants to eat meat, he should kill a goat before the goddess Kali and then eat its meat. Meat-eaters are not allowed to purchase meat or flesh from a market or slaughterhouse. There are no sanctions for maintaining regular slaughterhouses to satisfy the tongues of meat-eaters. Why Cows Are Protected Everyone can understand that we drink the milk of cows and take the
help of bulls in producing agricultural products. Therefore, since our
real father gives us food grains and our mother gives us milk with which
to live, the cow and bull are considered our father and mother. According
to Vedic civilization, there are seven mothers, of which the cow is
one. In any civilized human society, no one would dare kill his father
and mother for the purpose of eating them. Why is cow protection so much advocated? Because the cow is the most
important animal. There is no injunction that one should not eat the
flesh of tigers or other such animals. In the Vedic culture those who
are meat-eaters are recommended to eat the flesh of goats, dogs, hogs,
or other lower animals, but never the flesh of cows, the most important
animals. While living, the cows give important service by giving milk,
and even after death they give service by making available their skin,
hooves, and horns, which may be used in many ways. Nonetheless, the
present human society is so ungrateful that they needlessly kill these
innocent cows. Therefore Krishna comes to punish them. "My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world." For perfect human society there must be protection of go-dvija-the cows and the brahmanas. The word dvija refers to the brahmana, or one who knows Brahman (God). When the demoniac give too much trouble to the brahmanas and the cows, Krishna descends to reestablish religious principles. Cows Are Your Mother But if, under certain circumstances, others are obliged to eat meat, then they should eat the flesh of some lower animal. Don't kill cows. It is the greatest sin. And as long as a man is sinful, he cannot understand God. The human being's main business is to understand God and to love Him. But if you remain sinful, you will never be able to understand God-what to speak of loving Him. Animals Have a Soul That is foolishness. First of all, we have to understand the evidence
of the soul's presence within the body. Then we can see whether the
human being has a soul and the cow does not. What are the different
characteristics of the cow and the man? If we find a difference in characteristics,
then we can say that in the animal there is no soul. But if we see that
the animal and the human being have the same characteristics, then how
can you say that the animal has no soul? The general symptoms are that
the animal eats, you eat; the animal sleeps, you sleep; the animal mates,
you mate; the animal defends, and you defend. Where is the difference? Our Bhagavad-gita says sarva-yoninu, "In all species of
life the soul exists." The body is like a suit of clothes. You
have black clothes; I am dressed in saffron clothes. But within the
dress you are a human being, and I am also a human being. Similarly,
the bodies of the different species are just like different types of
dress. There are soul, a part and parcel of God. Suppose a man has two
sons, not equally meritorious. One may be a Supreme Court judge and
the other may be a common laborer, but the father claims both as his
sons. He does not make the distinction that the son who is a judge is
very important and the worker-son is not important. And if the judge-son
says, "My dear father, your other son is useless; let me cut him
up and eat him," will the father allow this? That difference between human life and animal life is due to the development
of consciousness. In the human body there is developed consciousness.
Even a tree has a soul, but a tree's consciousness is not very developed.
If you cut a tree it does not resist. Actually, it does resist, but
only to a very small degree. There is a scientist named Jagadish Chandra
Bose who has made a machine which shows that trees and plants are able
to feel pain when they are cut. And we can see directly that when someone
comes to kill an animal, it resists, it cries, it makes a horrible sound.
So it is a matter of the development of consciousness. But the soul
is there within all living beings. The animal eats to maintain his body, and you also eat in order to maintain your body. The cow eats grass in the field, and the human being eats meat from a huge slaughterhouse full of modern machines. But just because you have big machines and a ghastly scene, while the animal simply eats grass, this does not mean that you are so advanced that only within your body is there a soul and that there is not a soul within the body of the animal. That is illogical. We can see that the basic characteristics are the same in the animal and the human being. In every living being there is a spirit soul. Animals Are Our Brothers One may kill an animal to enjoy eating it, but he will be bound by such an action. Thus in one's next life he will become a cow or a goat, and the cow or goat will become a man and eat him. This is the Vedic statement, and as with all Vedic statements, one may believe it or not. Unfortunately, at present people are educated in such a way that they do not believe in the next life. Indeed, it seems that the more "educated" one becomes, the less he believes in God, in God's law, in the next life and in sinful and pious activities. Thus modern education is simply preparing men to become animals. If there is no education to teach a human being what he is and whether or not he is this body, he remains no better than an ass. An ass also thinks, "I am this body," as do other animals. Thus if a man thinks in the same way, how is he different from any other animal? Extremely Bad Karma to
Kill Animals You are killing innocent cows and other animals-nature will take revenge.
Just wait. As soon as the time is right, nature will gather all these
rascals and slaughter them. Finished. They'll fight amongst themselves-Protestants
and Catholics, Russia and America, this one and that one. It is going
on. Why? That is nature's law. Tit for tat. "You have killed. Now
you kill yourselves." They are sending animals to the slaughterhouse, and now they'll create
their own slaughterhouse. This is nature's law. It's not necessary that
you be sent to the ordinary slaughterhouse. You'll make a slaughterhouse
at home. You'll kill your own child-abortion. This is nature's law.
Who are these children being killed? They are these meat-eaters. They
enjoyed themselves when so many animals were killed, and now they're
being killed by their mothers. People do not know how nature is working.
If you kill, you must be killed. If you kill the cow, who is your mother,
then in some future lifetime your mother will kill you. Yes. The mother
becomes the child, and the child becomes the mother. I am killing this animal; I am eating him. And in my next lifetime
he'll kill me and eat me. When the animal is sacrificed, this mantra
is recited into the ear of the animal-"You are giving your life,
so in your next life you will get the opportunity of becoming a human
being. And I who am now killing you will become an animal, and you will
kill me." So after understanding this mantra, who will be
ready to kill an animal? If you eat meat, that means you become implicated in sinful activities. You have to be killed by your enemy, and he will eat you, or you become a goat or a hog or a cow, and your other person will kill you. Just like nowadays this contraceptive, abortion, killing the child is going on, so the same man, again he is killed by the so-called father and mother. It will act. This is nature's law. You cannot escape. If you have killed an animal, then you must be killed by that animal. When I eat meat, this animal also will eat me again." This You cannot escape this. "Life for life." That is the law everywhere. If you have murdered somebody, you must be killed also. So you can escape the so-called state laws, but you cannot escape the laws of the material nature. If you know of information that is not listed here, or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:
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