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
is there a scope for transcendental souls like you to question ?
Hare Krsna
I am a fallen conditioned soul. Even if I am purified of all my conditionings, I would never question, actions of Narada muni, or Pandavas or other great devotees of Sri Krsna
Hare Krsna
age of Kali the propensity for mercy is almost nil,
That's right...
But how different were they in dwapara or kritha ?
Did they ban slaughterhouses ? Did the kings chastise butchers and ,eateaters ?
Was love and compassion flowing from their hearts ?
Did they feel like all creatures are their own children ?
What exactly was the mindset of yudhistira when he was hunting ? what was mindset of Krishna, Rama when they were hunting ?
Can any one hunt and eat the meat of his own child ? ( A mahathma thinks all creatures are his child ...)
For krshnal all creatures are his children..If so why is he hunting ?
Whenever someone says He is compassionate, immediately the visions of Lord Rama, Krishna hunting harmless deer haunts me..
How can I believe some one who is hunting to have compassion ?
Hare Krsna
A person is free to believe or imagine or meditate or be haunted by whatever they want.
Hare Krsna
Hare Krsna
We reap what we sow. If today you are killing some animal and eating his flesh. Where does the atma of the killed animal go?
We are not Lord Ram or Lord Krsna that we can provide shelter for the soul although we can surely digest the flesh. Then what is going to be the consequence?
In the physical world every action has equal and opposite reaction..
Its like that only.
Hari Bol
Hare Krsna ,
Thank you sharing your thoughts..
If you think I am fond of meat eating, you are mistaken.. I am one of those persons who strongly condemn meat eating..
I am also feeling very sorry for the poor animals which are slain by cruel wretches...
If you read Bhagavatham, Ramayana , mahabharatha you will find many verses where Rama, Krishna, Pandavas and other vedic kings hunting animals..
( I have seen many people who deny that Lord Rama or Krishna ate meat. Even when there are verses in Bhagavatham, Ramayana , mahabharatha , garuda purana etc., clearly stating, they do not accept.. Lets say, these verses are mistranslations or interpolations.. They must present slokas with correct translations.. But they are not doing it.)
We all know, dasaratha mistook a man to be a deer and hit an arrow..We all know how king pandu hunted deer and was cursed. Prabhupada mentioned Krishna hunted animals (ŚB 10.69.35) .. Likewise Valmiki mentioned that Lord Rama hunted animals.. When the truth is open and everyone knows it, why are they still denying it ?
Bhishma also accepted "royal sages betake themselves to the practice of hunting. By such conduct they do not become stained with sin. Indeed, the practice is not regarded as sinful."
All the authorities like Valmiki, Vyasa, bhishma , Prabhupada are saying it openly that Kings used to hunt animals and eat meat..The
So one has to think that they were meateaters.. All these personalities are mahathmas according to Iskcon..
So, obviously one question that arise here is that your idols were hunters and meateaters..
But you are preaching nonviolence and refraining from eating meat..
In mahabharatha, there is a quite interesting discussion between yudhishthira and bhishma regarding meat eating..
Both of them severely condemned meat eating..
ref : https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-mahabharata-mohan/d/doc...
Yudhishthira said, 'Alas, those cruel men, who, discarding diverse kinds of food, covet only flesh, are really like great Rakshasas! Alas, they do not relish diverse kinds of cakes and diverse sorts of potherbs and various species of Khanda with juicy flavour so much as they do flesh! My understanding, for this reason, becomes stupefied in this matter "The audition is heard that animals were created for sacrifice. They who eat flesh in any other way are said to follow the Rakshasa practice.
Bhishma said, Listen to me as I tell you what the ordinance is that has been laid down for the Kshatriyas. They do not incur any fault by eating flesh that has been acquired by expenditure of prowess. All deer of the wilderness were dedicated to the deities and the Pitris in days of old, O king, by Agastya. Hence, the hunting of deer is not censured. There can be no hunting without risk of one’s own life. There is equality of risk between the slayer and the slain. Either the animal is killed or it kills the hunter. Hence, O Bharata, even royal sages betake themselves to the practice of hunting. By such conduct they do not become stained with sin. Indeed, the practice is not regarded as sinful. There is nothing, O delighter of the Kurus, that is equal in point of merit, either here or hereafter, to the practice of compassion to all living creatures. The man of compassion has no fear. Those harmless men that are endued with compassion have both this world and the next. Persons conversant with duty say that that Religion is worthy of being called Religion which has abstention from cruelty for its indication. The man of cleansed soul should do only such acts as have compassion for their soul. That flesh which is dedicated in sacrifices performed in honour of the deities and the Pitris is called Havi (and, as such, is worthy of being eaten). That man who is devoted to compassion and who behaves with compassion towards others, has no fear to entertain from any creature "
But, while condemning meateating, Bhishma says khatriyas can hunt animals and there is no sin..
While preaching compassion, he says you are allowed to hunt animals.. You are allowed to kill animals in sacrifices..
yudhishthira also hunted animals during vanavasa.. He also fed meat to people at rajasuya and aswamedha sacrifices..
On onehand they are preaching compassion and on the otherhand killing animals...
This is what creates great confusion
How can person with compassion kill, even if sastras allowed it ?
So After going through various sastras like Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Bhagavatham, manusmrti etc., I came to one conclusion..
viz. " Eating meat cooked at sacrifice adoring dieties while reciting vedic mantras is not a sin . Great sin otherwise or elsewhere " ( accepted in almost all the sastras )
So, can we conclude that it is not about compassion ?( Bcoz those vedic kings clearly hunted animals )
( Bcoz it is impossible for a compassionate person to kill sentient creatures even if sastras say there is no sin...)
It is all about following sastras...
Ok..sastra says it is forbidden to eat meat... I will not eat ?
Ok, sastra says, since I am Kshatriya, I must hunt... So, I will kill animals..
Ok, sastra says, since I am Kshatriya, I must do yagna... So, I will kill animals..
Do you agree with this conclusion ?
Hare Krsna
So you are saying sastras say Ram or Krsna ate meat, so there facts should be shared openly. I don't agree with you. In my view the situation of organized mechanized slaughter is far too extreme and the idea of hunting animals to overcome fear of blood for administering justice is completely missing. There slaughterhouses are all about efficiency and the rate of killing. How many animals or birds can be slaughtered in a minute. It could be thousands. This is not sanctioned anywhere in any sastra. Secondly, there isn't a single ksatriya in the world as far as our knowledge is concerned. There maybe many who join the army , but the principle is missing. Ksat means hurt and one who saved one from being hurt is ksatriya. This principle is not taught in the army, so you can forget about the relevance of your conclusion. People are such rascals, that they will be further encouraged to eat meat. O such great personalities are meat, so it's okay if we eat meat. These rascals in my opinion should be given the opportunity, here is a goat, kill it and eat it. 99 percent population will be horrified and will abstain from eating meat. Nowadays, we have KFC, Mc Donalds, Burger King etc. You think those are hunted animals? They are grown and bred in the farmhouses and slaughtered in a chilling, cold blooded manner. What does your research of the sastra say about that? Bhismadeva admits that it is virtuous for a ksatriya to give up meat eating. But, firstly there is no ksatriya, all less than sudras. Secondly, they are not hunting in the forests for higher purpose of administring justice. So what you are doing here, is also rascaldom. I do not support your truth.
Hari Bol
I do not support your truth.
Yes surely you do not support my truth..
What is the necessity to support the truth ? Truth is realized.. Not supported...
You are not accepting when prabhupada says that Krishna ate meat.,ŚB 10.69.35
Why will you see the truth if Valmiki says that Lord Rama ate meat ?
ISKCON is good.. But the problem with you is you are simply prejudiced..
Oh., only Prabhupada is an authorised person., All other authors are fools...
Only ISKCON books are authorised.. Others are not.
See howmuch arrogance..If some one tries to ask something, oh he is a rascal.,
I am a great devotee...And the only book you read is KRSHNA by prabhupada..
No humbleness, no openness, only rambling, talking in air, not reading extensively, prejudice etc.,
I know, you will talk like this
Hare Krsna
I'm sorry if I offended you. I want to thank you for making me revise my sastric references. I have posted some of them also here.
Hari Bol
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