Animal sacrafice in Hinduism

[Metempsychosis]

I do make a point of not eating cows, though.

Actually,cows are not anything more divine then goat or hen.Reverence of cows has become a tradition actually.Surprising hen is not revered for it "eggs".

There is no difference between vegetarians and non-veggies.

"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater "

 

[Madhuri]

There is no difference between vegetarians and non-veggies.

"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater "

The cow is also revered because of her nature. She represents the mode of goodness. But otherwise, her suffering is as potentially great as any other animal.

That quote you have provided refers to the soul. When it comes down to it, we are all equal as we are all souls, all part and parcel of the Divine. But our activities are not the same. Acting in such ways that cause suffering is less virtuous than activities that alleviate suffering and while our actions may not dictate how good or bad a person we are, it certainly attract appropriate repercussions (karma). So a vegetarian may not be different in essence to a meat-eater but his/her activities (in my opinion) are more virtuous.

 

[Metempsychosis]

The cow is also revered because of her nature. She represents the mode of goodness. But otherwise, her suffering is as potentially great as any other animal.

Cow is good.But hen isn't bad.

That quote you have provided refers to the soul. When it comes down to it, we are all equal as we are all souls, all part and parcel of the Divine. But our activities are not the same. Acting in such ways that cause suffering is less virtuous than activities that alleviate suffering and while our actions may not dictate how good or bad a person we are, it certainly attract appropriate repercussions (karma). So a vegetarian may not be different in essence to a meat-eater but his/her activities (in my opinion) are more virtuous.

Yes,non-veg bluntly put is not sattvic.:help:

 

[Andal]

The hen is not different from the cow in their spiritual essence however the cow gives us many, many things and doesn't ask for anything in return. Sure the hen has eggs but eggs are not on a large portion of Hindus' diets. I eat them but on a large scale most vegetarian Hindus don't because they are not sattvic.

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Satsangi]

Actually,cows are not anything more divine then goat or hen.Reverence of cows has become a tradition actually.Surprising hen is not revered for it "eggs".

There is no difference between vegetarians and non-veggies.

"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater "

Cows are reverred in Hinduism, that is a fact. It is also in the Shashtras and I trust the Rishis who made the Shashtras. There are many things I do not understand; I accept I am only a novice in spirituality and the path of the great sages.

The Sage does not see a difference between a brahamana and a dog eater, but that is from a Sage's view. It does not mean the same when looked from a dog eater's side- he may not have the same fate as the Sage.

The whole purpose of Vegeterianism (I consider eggs too as non veg or not sattvic) and the Yam, Niyam, Asana, Pranayam, Pratiahar, Dhyan, Dharna (7 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga) is to prepare this body and soul for the last stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi in God and it makes the body and soul fit to receive His Grace whenever he wishes to give His Grace.

Regards

 

[Andal]

Cows are reverred in Hinduism, that is a fact. It is also in the Shashtras and I trust the Rishis who made the Shashtras. There are many things I do not understand; I accept I am only a novice in spirituality and the path of the great sages.

The Sage does not see a difference between a brahamana and a dog eater, but that is from a Sage's view. It does not mean the same when looked from a dog eater's side- he may not have the same fate as the Sage.

The whole purpose of Vegeterianism (I consider eggs too as non veg or not sattvic) and the Yam, Niyam, Asana, Pranayam, Pratiahar, Dhyan, Dharna (7 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga) is to prepare this body and soul for the last stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi in God and it makes the body and soul fit to receive His Grace whenever he wishes to give His Grace.

Regards

I'm curious, why do you consider eggs non veg.? Eggs that are eaten are not fertilized, it's a hen byproduct. I agree that they aren't sattvic but I don't agree that their non veg.

This isn't a debate or anything. I'm just interested as to what your reason is. I'm not a hardliner on this and have thought about cutting them out so I'm not baiting you or anything.

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Satsangi]

Friend Krishnakanta,
Egg is an Ovum; ovum are animal cells whether fertilized or not although they contain only half the chromosomes. Just as muscle fibres of meat are in essence cells and they are not fertilized too.

Regards,

 

[Andal]

Friend Krishnakanta,
Egg is an Ovum; ovum are animal cells whether fertilized or not although they contain only half the chromosomes. Just as muscle fibres of meat are in essence cells and they are not fertilized too.

Regards,

Namaskar,

Thanks for the explanation. I am curious then, do you use dairy products? They contain animal cells as well.

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Satsangi]

Namaskar,

Thanks for the explanation. I am curious then, do you use dairy products? They contain animal cells as well.

Aum Hari Aum!

Namaskar Krishnakanta,
I antipicpated that question; the milk is secretion of the mammary glands of the cows/buffalo and is not the cell itself. Yes it may contain the shedded cells from the glands, but even vegetables contain some shedded cells and bacterias.

My point is, tat from a spiritual view point, I can quote Shri Krishna in Bhagvad Geeta who says to eat Sattvic food (for all Indriyas, not only mouth). Milk is Sattvic, eggs ot meat are not. There is no way one can avoid Ahimsa to everything, that is the reason we pray before eating and making food and also take it as a prasad. If you see people who are elderly in India, they do an elaborate ritual before eating, the purpose for it is to atone you of the sins involved in preparing food and eating.

It is better to approach this issue from a view point of whether the food is Sattvic or not instead of Vegeterian v/s non vegeterian; although Sattvic food eliminates all non veg stuff and also eliminates certain vegetables.

Regards,

 

[Andal]

Namaskar Krishnakanta,
I antipicpated that question; the milk is secretion of the mammary glands of the cows/buffalo and is not the cell itself. Yes it may contain the shedded cells from the glands, but even vegetables contain some shedded cells and bacterias.

My point is, tat from a spiritual view point, I can quote Shri Krishna in Bhagvad Geeta who says to eat Sattvic food (for all Indriyas, not only mouth). Milk is Sattvic, eggs ot meat are not. There is no way one can avoid Ahimsa to everything, that is the reason we pray before eating and making food and also take it as a prasad. If you see people who are elderly in India, they do an elaborate ritual before eating, the purpose for it is to atone you of the sins involved in preparing food and eating.

It is better to approach this issue from a view point of whether the food is Sattvic or not instead of Vegeterian v/s non vegeterian; although Sattvic food eliminates all non veg stuff and also eliminates certain vegetables.

Regards,

Namaskar,

I agree they are most definitely not sattvic but neither are onions, garlic, or mushrooms for that matter. A sattvic diet is best for spiritual development no doubt and non sattvic foods should not be offered to Sri Vishnu.

You won't get too much disagreement from me

Aum Hari Aum!

 

[Satsangi]

Namaskar Krishnakanta,

Forgot to answer a part of ur question; yes I consume milk and dairy products. I do not eat onion or garlic. I did not know about mushrooms, but now I know thanks to you (not that I ate them frequently anyway). The Sattvic food should be for all Indriyas, e.g for eyes- darshan of God, for ears - listening to bhajans or katha of scriptures, for tongue/phonation- eating sattvic food/prasad and singing glory of God/bhajans or katha, for skin- touching saint's feet or God's feet, for nose- smelling the flowers put on God.

Once all the Indriyas consume sattvic food, the Anthakarana stops getting the inflow of unsattvic material through the Indriyas. The pool of unsattvic material in the Anthakarana that has accumulated in the past can be taken care of by immersing the Anthakarana in God's glory and by meditating that one is Atma and not the body/anthakarana/thoughts.

Once the Indriyas and anthakarana are purified, that sets the background for rapid spiritual progress. In the end, Atma darshan or Parmatma darshan, both are only dependent on His Grace only. None of the efforts mentioned above guareentees Atma or Parmatma darshan, it can only prepare the body and soul to receive that Grace/blessings; when that Grace occures is dependent only on His wish. That is my humble understanding.

Regards,

 

[Andal]

Namaskar Satsangi,

You may want to check on the mushrooms but I'm pretty sure they aren't sattvic because it has something to do with their growing conditions.... although it may just be my anti-mushroom bias

Aum Hari Aum!!!

 

[.lava]

is this the same thing again? vegetarians giving reaction? what's wrong if people want to sacrifice animals and eat their meat? millions of people eat meat and if it's named "sacrifice" then it is a problem? that is just weird. when you sacrifice at least you pray and feel thankful for the animal who give its life so people can feed.







.

 

[Riverwolf]

The cow is also revered because of her nature. She represents the mode of goodness. But otherwise, her suffering is as potentially great as any other animal.

That quote you have provided refers to the soul. When it comes down to it, we are all equal as we are all souls, all part and parcel of the Divine. But our activities are not the same. Acting in such ways that cause suffering is less virtuous than activities that alleviate suffering and while our actions may not dictate how good or bad a person we are, it certainly attract appropriate repercussions (karma). So a vegetarian may not be different in essence to a meat-eater but his/her activities (in my opinion) are more virtuous.

I do agree. The problem is that I'm very underweight, and have been eating meat for a long time. I can't stop cold-shoulder just yet, but I've been trying to work on developing some sort of taste for veggies for when I do go completely vegetarian. ^_^

 

[Riverwolf]

is this the same thing again? vegetarians giving reaction? what's wrong if people want to sacrifice animals and eat their meat? millions of people eat meat and if it's named "sacrifice" then it is a problem? that is just weird. when you sacrifice at least you pray and feel thankful for the animal who give its life so people can feed.
.

A little explanation: meat is not sattvic; i.e., it's not good. (Sattva is the mode of nature, or guna, that's an embodiment of goodness. Vishnu is the embodiment of Sattva.) It is believed that when you eat meat, you absorb the animals dying emotions: fear, anger, etc, and you feel them yourself. These emotions are detrimental to spiritual growth. I think meat is believed to be rajastic, which is the guna of passion and energy, embodied by Brahma. (The third guna, tamas, is ignorance and inertia, embodied by Shiva. I'm not sure what foods fall under this category.)

A possible scientific explanation for this is that when meat is consumed, our predatorial instincts are awakened, which cause us to act rashly and with anger.

 

[Metempsychosis]

AThe third guna, tamas, is ignorance and inertia, embodied by Shiva. I'm not sure what foods fall under this category.)

Shiva for ignorance.Pls somebody confirm this .I think it is wrong.i feel Brahma for rajas is also doubtful.Anyway,the aim is to transcend gunas(qualities).

what's wrong if people want to sacrifice animals and eat their meat? millions of people eat meat and if it's named "sacrifice" then it is a problem? that is just weird. when you sacrifice at least you pray and feel thankful for the animal who give its life so people can feed. [/FONT]

Non-killing and vegetarianism are virtues which are recommended.People can do away with non-veg food actually.They are not forced.

 

[GURSIKH]

sacrifice

 

[Madhuri]

I do agree. The problem is that I'm very underweight, and have been eating meat for a long time. I can't stop cold-shoulder just yet, but I've been trying to work on developing some sort of taste for veggies for when I do go completely vegetarian. ^_^

I know, Im certainly not judging you. Neither do I think that meat eaters are bad people, as some fanatics assume. I love your explanation above, in response to .lava. Very well said.

 

[Andal]

sacrifice

lol that may be the scariest most unnerving smiley I have ever seen! lol

 

[Riverwolf]

Shiva for ignorance.Pls somebody confirm this .I think it is wrong.i feel Brahma for rajas is also doubtful.Anyway,the aim is to transcend gunas(qualities).

Well, I think the idea of attributing the Great Gods to the gunas came from Vaishnavites. Personally, I don't subscribe to the notion that Shiva and Brahma embody Tamas and Ragas respectively. I think all three of them embody Sattva in their own ways, where rajas is more embodied by lesser gods and demi-gods such as Indra, and Tamas by asuras.

I was just pointing out the traditional viewpoint as I'd read it in certain literature.