Sunday, December 24, 2006

Vegetarianism

kanpurghost
Vegetarianism
That is the beauty of the thought of the true Sanatani. Live & let live, take only that much from nature as is essential.Maarne wale se bachane wala hamesha bada hota hai (One who preserves is always greater than one who destroys).When a great Sikh Guru along with his followers was under siege in a fortress with all supplies cut off all vegetarian food consumed & only the livestock left & his followers started dying from hunger they approached him to get permission to eat meat. It is said that he reluctantly agreed saying that the Khalsa may to survive & to fight for the greater cause do so but take care to see that the animal suffered the least. That then was sheer necessity but later on people are taking great joy in meat eating & are actually enjoying it. thousands of years Before all this, when there was the time of plenty & the wise men were asked as to why they should not eat meat as everything had life including plants & even stone(even matter itself has a lifespan), therefore what should they eat? In reply it was said that it is true that all matter has life & to survive one has to eat something therefore since plant life does not leave its place (does not leave its roots) therefore it was decided that it should be the most acceptable food. Therefore I believe this is how it (Vegetarianism) started . Brave was the first farmer who toiled in the Sun for months to sow, weed, water, & grow grain & reap it against all odds & fury of nature by this deed he earned his bread and even the millions of Birds ate it freely maybe by this sparing the lives of billions of worms. After all what is the bravery in keeping a flock of say a few thousand Sheep & every day dragging away & slaughtering one to eat & dance around the camp fire & what is the bravery involved in seeding a Lake with Fish seed & then casting a net & catching a few & eating them.
You can compare this deed with the deed of the farmer & judge for yourself as to which is the noble one. However read the Old testament & you will find how meat eating was propagated & it was shown as a means to please God who would be pleased when such & such animal from the flock or in its absence a fowl was to be slaughtered in such a manner so that the soul was not spilled, this was to be done,to settle disputes between the followers or in thanksgiving & what portion was to be reserved for the Priests & how blood was to be sprinkled on the Alter so that God may be pleased by the smell of it. The Old testament is full of such exhortations similarly in other Arabic religions also Slaughter & eating of meat is a ritual & even part of the religion & thought. You may theorize a situation where all men turn to vegetarianism say in Arab then there are thousands of wars in which the defenders used to burn forests & farmland for hundreds of kilometers, to deny fuel & food to the invading armies & the invading armies also doing the same to deny the same to the defenders. With large scale destruction of nature & plant life it would be only natural for the same wise men who propagated vegetarianism in the time of plenty to ask people to partake of meat & a populace brought up on vegetarianism for ages would only abhor the thought & then stories would be told as to how it is a deed very dear to God i.e. meat eating would have to be given the clothing of a Ritual so that it would be acceptable to the populace. Great is the Man who given a choice chooses Vegetarianism over meat. You may read my article "Hindu(Sanatan) Dharma, Science & preservation of Nature" on the Writers Block or on my blog sharmarobby.wordpress.com.
Robby Sharma
sharmarobby@hotmail.com

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