Hare Krishna,
ŚB 6.4.9
अहस्ता हस्तयुक्तानां द्विपदां च चतुष्पद: ॥ ९ ॥
hy apadaḥ pāda-cāriṇām
ahastā hasta-yuktānāṁ
dvi-padāṁ ca catuṣ-padaḥ
By nature’s arrangement, fruits and flowers are considered the food of insects and birds; grass and other legless living entities are meant to be the food of four-legged animals like cows and buffalo; animals that cannot use their front legs as hands are meant to be the food of animals like tigers, which have claws; and four-legged animals like deer and goats, as well as food grains, are meant to be the food of human beings.
Then why it is a sin to eat meat ?
In God's design, one living being is the food of other living beings. Then how can we say He is compassionate ?
Lord Krishna never spoke on the topic of animal killing and meat eating. Nor did Lord Rama.
Moreover they hunted animals in the forest. ( May be Kshatriya Dharma ).
Lord Krishna silently watched, when arjuna hunted down many birds trying to escape during Khandava dahana.
Only devotees like Prabhupada , bhishma and narada showed compassion to animals.
It seems that devotees are more compassionate than Him.
I am wondering, when God himself is indifferent and silent, why meat eating should be a serious topic among devotees ?
Replies
If a person kills you and eats you, should he be punished or rewarded for killing ?
I ask you same question, You answer first..
Did I tell my opinion ?..I clearly quoted from sastra..i.e Bhagavatha revered by vaishnava devotees
wherein it is clearly stated "four-legged animals like deer and goats, as well as food grains, are meant to be the food of human beings. "
Referring to sastra, I asked when sastra allowed it, why is it sinful ?
Instead of trying to discuss the sastra you ask me
" Would you agree to become meat ? "
I ask you the same . Since you think you are a great devotee, you may answer, Oh I am a great devotee of Krishna,
I don't care if I become meat and eaten. I dont care if a person kills me and eats me "
But I am not such a great devotee like you. No one wants to get killed. I think even you, who is a great person.
You question the animals killed by Lord Rama, pandavas the great devotees and Lord krishna..
"Kings pursuing games of hunting in great forests, oh, Lakshmana, will be felling deer either for the sake of flesh, or just for the purpose of sporting archery. [3-43-31] "
"This comely Vaidehi will be sitting on that invaluable golden skin of that gem of a deer along with me. [3-43-35] "
"I think the skin of Kadali deer, or of Priyaki deer, or of Praveni deer, or as a matter of fact the skins of best breed of deer or sheep will not be match to the deerskin of this deer, insofar as the soft-touch is concerned. [3-43-36]"
Is there any purana in which there is no deer hunt ? both the Ramayana and mahabharatha begin with the deer hunt. Even the story of Shakuntala’s romance begins with King Dushyanta going on a deer hunt.
Pandu replied, 'O deer, kings behave in the matter of slaying animals of thy species exactly as they do in the matter of slaying foes. It behoveth thee not, therefore, to reprove me thus from ignorance. Animals of thy species are slain by open or covert means. This, indeed, is the practice of kings. Then why dost thou reprove me? Formerly, the Rishi Agastya, while engaged in the performance of a grand sacrifice, chased the deer, and devoted every deer in the forest unto the gods in general. Thou hast been slain, pursuant to the usage sanctioned by such precedent. Wherefore reprovest us then? For his especial sacrifices Agastya performed the homa with fat of the deer.'
Now will you dare Rishi Agastya to ask this question ?
Vaisampayana said, "These great warriors of the race of Bharata sojourned like immortals in the great forest of Kamyaka, employed in hunting.
the evil-minded Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, Sauvira and other countries, said, 'I must see Draupadi.' And with six other men he entered that solitary hermitage, like a wolf entering the den of a lion. And he said unto Krishna, 'Hail to thee, excellent lady! Are thy husbands well and those, besides, whose prosperity thou always wishest.' Draupadi replied, 'Kunti's son king Yudhishthira of the race of Kuru, his brothers, myself, and all those of whom thou hast enquired of, are well. Do thou, O prince, accept this water for washing thy feet. Do thou also take this seat. I offer thee fifty animals for thy train's breakfast. Besides these, Yudhishthira himself, the son of Kunti, will give thee porcine deer and Nanku deer, and does, and antelopes, and Sarabhas, and rabbits, and Ruru deer, and bears, and Samvara deer and gayals and many other animals, besides wild boars and buffaloes and other animals of the quadruped tribe.
Now you ask the same question " Would you agree to become meat ? " to draupadi.
Vaisampayana said, "Once on a time, as Yudhishthira lay down at night in the Dwaita woods, some deer, with accents choked in tears, presented themselves before him in his dreams. To them standing with joined hands, their bodies trembling all over that foremost of monarchs said, 'Tell me what ye wish to say. Who are ye? And what do ye desire?' Thus accosted by Kunti's son--the illustrious Pandava, those deer, the remnant of those that had been slaughtered, replied unto him, saying, 'We are, O Bharata, those deer that are still alive after them that had been slaughtered. We shall be exterminated totally. Therefore, do thou change thy residence. O mighty king, all thy brothers are heroes, conversant with weapons; they have thinned the ranks of the rangers of the forest. We few--the remnants,--O mighty-minded one, remain like seed. By thy favour, O king of kings, let us increase.' Seeing these deer, which remained like seed after the rest had been destroyed trembling and afflicted with fear, Yudhishthira the just was greatly affected with grief. And the king, intent on the welfare of all creatures, said unto them, 'So be it. I shall act as ye have said.' Awaking after such a vision, that excellent king, moved by pity towards the deer, thus spake unto his brothers assembled there, 'Those deer that are alive after them that have been slaughtered, accosted me at night, after I had awakened, saying, 'We remain like the cues of our lines. Blest be thou! Do thou have compassion on us.' And they have spoken truly.
We ought to feel pity for the dwellers of the forest. We have been feeding on them for a year together and eight months. Let us, therefore, again (repair) to the romantic Kamyakas, that best of forests abounding in wild animals, situated at the head of the desert, near lake Trinavindu. And there let us pleasantly pass the rest of our time.'
Now the great devotee yudhistira feeding on deer for 1year ( you might imagine how much meat he ate ), now felt so much compassion...Oh lets leave this kamyaka and lets go to another forest and start hunting there...what a great compassion !!
Now you ask the same question to the great devotees pandavas " Would you agree to become meat ? "
p. 508
Manu smriti in ch. 5 gives regulations for flesh eating and at the end of that passage it states:
na mAMsa bhakSaNe doSo na madye na ca maithune
pravRttir eSA bhUtAnAM nivRttis tu mahAphalA
To eat meat (mamsa), to drink alcohol (madye) and to have sex (maithune) are not sins (na doso) for created beings (bhutanam) at the level of pravrtti(-marga), but to stop these (nivrtti) brings great results (mahaphala). (Ms. 5.56)
Pravrtti-marga is a dharma-regulated activity, i.e. in sync with dharmasastras. Krisna says the same about sex in BG 7.11: dharmAviruddho bhUteSu kAmo 'smi bharatarSabha - I'm sex (kama) not in conflict with dharma (dharma aviruddha).
BG is bringing us from the level of pravrtti-marga to the level of nivrtti-marga.
Hari Hari
ys J.
Yes,
I agree sastras like manu smriti spoke about meat eating.
Bhishma gave lengthy discourse to Yudhistira about abstenstion from meat eating.
But, I never found anywhere Lord Krishna touching this topic.
Because people are always eager to hear directly from Lord on such serious topics.
"But, I never found anywhere Lord Krishna touching this topic."
BG 9.26 follows up on Ms. 5.56, mahaphala = bhakti.
Ahimsa is not absolute "nonviolence" in the Jain style. It is a minimized, sastra-regulated violence.
Hari Hari
ys J.
Not answering the question directly because somewhere you know the answer.
A different point pulled from your writing..."when God himself is indifferent and silent.."
Well he is God , isn't he?
Why Krishna does something or when he doesn't.It is never up for jurisdiction by anybody..
So the thing is we can't really draw perfect conclusions from the erratic behavior of Krishna.Of course it isn't erratic , it just seems so..
Having said the above mentioned words it is not to say that we should not draw perfect conclusions from perfect behavior of God like that of Lord Rama.
Bg. 3.21
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥ २१ ॥
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