Wishing you and your dear ones a safe and healthy life ahead
AHIMSA
One of
the main pillars of Hindu Dharma is Ahimsa. Ahimsa of thought, words and
action. Thus any one practicing Hindu Dharma is supposed to abstain from any violent thoughts in mind, avoid speaking harsh words to others avoid eating the flesh of dead animals and creatures as it entails Himsa (Violence)
One can
never obtain meat without causing injury to living beings; Reflecting on how
meat is obtained and on how embodied creatures are tied up and killed; s/he
should quit eating any kind of meat. The person who authorizes, the person who
butchers, the person who slaughters, the person who buys or sells, the person
who cooks, the person who serves, and the person who eats – all these persons are
said to be involved in doing Himsa. There is no greater sinner than a person
who wants to make his own flesh thrive at the expense of someone else's. So even to authorise, buy, sell, cook, serve
and eat meat entails Himsa (Violence). In this way using any animal products which is produced after causing harm to the animal itself need to be avoided. For example in olden days ( I am talking about 30-50 years ago) the cows and buffaloes were treated well, taken care and with utmost care the milk was extracted ( though it is a known fact that the cows and buffaloes give milk to their respective calves and not for human consumption) and such milk was consumed in various forms. Nowadays in most of the dairy farms the treatment is different and the milk is extracted by machines causing harm and pain to these innocent animals. So we may have to even reconsider our practice of drinking milk.....
Religion and Spirituality is a "Farce" without Ahimsa of
thought, deed and action (this includes Ahimsa to all living beings). The best and the highest dharma (religion) consist
in complete harmlessness.
The very first duty in Yama (the first principle of Yoga) itself
being Ahimsa, the assumption of the title Yogi and Rishi by flesh-eaters who
are virtually semi-cannibals is silly and useless. The first duty ordained can
therefore by no means be permitted to be thrown out of account from the sacred
Hinduism.
Ø Why is our Vedic religion known as Hinduism at all?
We have had enough of ignorant, prejudiced and mischievous
interpretations offered gratis by Western Christian savants. The clear
definition furnished within our religious literature will baffle every alien
unwelcome attempt to ridicule the Hindu by such means. Let me reproduce the
sloka from Gayatri-Tantram.
ih<saya< dUyte ySmatœ ihNduirTyi-xIyte.
(Himsayaam Dhooyathe Yasmaath Hindu-rithya-abhidhee-yathe).
This means; He who feels aggrieved at
the very thought of Himsa is a Hindu. There is no doubt that the practice of
Hinduism begins with Ahimsa and could not therefore proceed without it.
Ø Why bring in the name of river Indus and the unhistorical invasions
of beef-eating races in this connection?
No Hindu in India stands in need of such voluntary and abusive
explanations. The barbarous butchering of innocent animals for food is strictly
prohibited in Hinduism as the name itself signifies. Even some of the non-vegetarian Hindus accept
this principle and avoid fleshy food on religious occasions. The false plea
that animal food is necessary for human existence has long been blown up as a
wicked one both in the East and the West. Butchering of living creatures whether
human beings or animals is certainly a sinful crime and any talk of religion
associated with it is but a camouflage.
ih<saya> siht< kmR ýxm¡ c ivdubRuxa>.
“Every performance in the name of religion accompanied by Himsa is
declared Adharma.”
Several anti-Hindus for a long time questioned this fundamental
principle of Hinduism by various mean methods. The performance of Yegna with
animal sacrifice by a few illiterate miscreants has been gloriously pointed out
as a proof for the non-existence of Ahimsa in Hinduism. Such criticisms could
be easily retorted if only one is similarly inclined without a sense of self-respect.
That the religious Yegnas refer only to the sacrifice of human
passions and evil desires is proclaimed in every nook and corner of our sacred
literature. Such malicious criticisms therefore could never affect any sensible
and religious Hindu. It is now too late to practise deception by such
despicable means. The anti-Hindu carrion-eater who is smarting under his moral
turpitude only makes his position worse by his attempt to advocate cruelty and
immorality.
Ø What do we find in the alien creeds on this point?
The Bible no doubt says. ‘Do not kill’. But what does this mean? The
number of dumb animals sacrificed daily to the highest religious authorities
alone is so huge that it could not be easily depicted in arithmetical figures.
‘Do not kill’, probably means ‘Do not kill human beings’. If this is true, then, the Bible is
only a criminal law book. The Quran is more honest and explicit in this matter.
It does not ordain non-killing at all. (Surah 2-173) This fact has all along been practically
proved ever since the origin of Islam. It does not prohibit even killing of
human beings for the purpose of proselytizing Islam.
Ø What Islam actually means in the context of killing?
With regard to food, prohibit the use of flesh of the dead animals
and of the animals sacrificed to idols. That animals must be killed and eaten
is therefore one of the important ordinances of Islam. But, some of the Sufi
mystics of Islam say, Jihad/Qurbani (Killing/Sacrifice) is the same as our Yegnas
where only the beastly passion need to be sacrificed nor killed and not beasts. But we don’t how
many of them actually follow these.
It is however an undeniable fact that without Satwic food, any pious
practice of religion (read as Dharma) is both physically and mentally impossible.
Until the barbarous, cruel and filthy habit of eating the dead
bodies of dumb animals by human beings is completely stopped, no nation however
advanced in material sciences can even have the privilege of being called a
"civilized one". This applies
to all whether a person from India from the Hindu world to the outside world.
Ø Doesn’t Gita advocate Violence (Killing of the enemies)?
Yes, Gita does advocate killing; killing of our ‘Kuru’s (lower
and material desires) and not any other human
being. These enemies can be killed only by Arjuna (Satvik
mind) and Bhima (breathing
out an exhaling out) under the guidance of Krishna,
the Supreme Being within us who drives our Buddhi (Intelligence)
HariOM
Adapted from the book:
INSIDE-OUT- a philosophical enquiry of Hindu Dharma by K V Vishwanathan
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