[Advaita-l] Meat eating quotes?

[Sanju Nath]

Thank you for the replies.  Shri Jaldhar-ji's reply is point-by-point and
appreciated.

This helps me in my sadhana also, because frankly I was taken aback
initially at reading these quotes, esp. the one ascribing to RigVeda
because the Vedas are apaurusheya and cannot change with the times.

sincerely,
Sanju

On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 12:50 AM, Jaldhar H. Vyas via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> On Sat, 15 Apr 2017, Sanju Nath via Advaita-l wrote:
>
>
>> I received the following in a whatsapp group.  How do we respond other
>> than countering with quotes of sattvik veg foods? Are these quotes
>> accurate?  How can they be explained if accurate?
>>
>>
> They are somewhat accurate but wildly taken out of context.
>
>
> I believe that these protesters are ignorant of what our/their religion
>> preaches. They are simply going against their own religious scriptures.
>>
>
> Hinduism doesn't have "scriptures" We are not "people of the book."  We
> have shastra and shishtachara.  Both of which favor vegetarianism.
>
>
>> Let me quote some of the  Hindu scriptures:
>>
>> Manusmriti
>> chapter 5 verse30:
>>
>> *"It is not sinful to eat meat of eatable animals,for God has created
>> both the eaters and the eatables".*
>>
>>
> If you read the whole passage what it says is that while eating meat is
> not a sin, refraining from eating meat is a virtue.  There is no moral
> equivalency between the two.  One incurs no hypocracy by prefering and
> advocating vegetarianism over meat-eating.
>
> says, *"The cow should be slaughtered on the arrival of a guest, on the
>> occasion of 'Shraaddha of ancestors and on the occasion of a marriage".*
>>
>>
> This is irrelevant to the present day as those kinds of shraddhas only
> occured in previous yugas.  (They are kalivarjya according to dharmasindhu
> and similar commonly used dharmashastras.)
>
> Furthermore the slaughter of animals in yajnas implies nothing about
> whether or meat is to be eaten as food.
>
> Rigveda (10/85/13): declares, *"On the occasion of a girls marriage oxen
>> and cows are slaughtered".*
>>
>>
> The same criticism applies except for this mantra is not even a vidhi
> (injunction.)
>
> Rigveda (6/17/1) : states that, *"Indra used to eat the meat of cow, calf,
>> horse and buffalo".*
>>
>
> This is a terrible translation.  What it says is that Indra is a great
> warrior who captures the domestic animals (cows, calves etc.) of his
> enemies.
>
> Again mantras do not establish injunction (vidhi) or prohibition
> (nishedha.)
>
> Vashishta Dharmasutra (11/34): says, *"If a Brahmin refuses to eat the
>> meat offered to him on the occasion of ,'Shraaddha' he goes to hell".*
>>
>>
> Once again this is talking about the ritual use of meat and not every day
> culinary habits.  Yes, a purohit taking part in a shraddha  must partake of
> the offerings.  But these types of shraddha no longer occur so it is a moot
> point.
>
> Hinduisms great propagator Swami Vivekaanand said thus: *"You will be
>> surprised to know that according to ancient Hindu rite and rituals, a man
>> cannot be a good Hindu who does not eat beef ".* (The complete works of
>> Swami Vivekanand vol :3/5/36)
>>
>>
> Vivekanand was not an astika (and not even a swami.) His opinions on
> Hinduism are no more relevant to astikas as anyone else.
>
> *"The book The history and culture of the indian people"* – published by
>> Bharatiya vidya bhawan, Mumbai and edited by renowned historian R C
>> Majumdar (vol 2, page 18 says): *This is said in the mahabharata that "king
>> Ratindra used to kill 2000 other animals in addition to 2000 cows daily in
>> order to give their meat in charity".*
>>
>>
> The author began by claiming Hindus are not following their "scriptures"
> and is now quoting random history books?
>
> As to the Mahabharata.  We think of it as history.  When evaluating
> history and its relevance for today, we cannot just pick a random point and
> leave it at that.  We have to look at the whole sweep of time.
>
> If this person wishes to make the claim that a long time ago eating meat
> was considered more acceptable than it is now there would be no quarrel but
> if he is at all honest, he will admit that the trend even from early times
> has been in one direction only -- away from eating meat.
>
> *Aadi shankaraachaarya commentary on Brahadaranyako panishad 6/4/18 says:
>> 'Odaan' rice mixed with meat is called 'maansodan' on being asked whose
>> meat it should be, he answers 'Uksha' is used for an ox, which is capable
>> to produce semen...*
>>
>>
> This is once again describing a particular ritual.  Is this particular
> ritual practised today?  No it is not.
>
> Now if the author was not simply parroting things he has read elsewhere
> and actually knew what he was talking about he would have found a better
> Shankaracharya quote.  Well marginally better.  Commenting on the
> brahmasutra ashuddhamiti chet, Shankaracharya reaffirms the view of
> Bhagavan Badarayana that no sin accrues in the slaughter of an animal in a
> vedic yajna.  However he explicitly notes that this is a case of "the
> exception that proves the rule"  In other words the specific exemption for
> yajnas is noted _precisely_ because the general rule is not to kill animals.
>
>
> Now who do you want to follow?
>>
>> *Religious Books or the illiterate sanghi?
>>
>>
> Neither.  We base our conduct on our parampara and the instructions of our
> acharyas.  If some political faction should share the same views so much
> the better but whether they do or not is irrelevant.
>
> The whole line of argument is disingenous and bogus.  A person does not
> walk into McDonalds because he is trying to follow the Vedas.  Shame on the
> author for accusing others of being illiterate when he is not capable of
> rational thought himself.
>
>
> --
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
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