Right to the Right Education ?

Introduction

Recently our parliament has passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 which seeks to provide education to children aged between 6 to 14 years. The Bill also earmarks 25 per cent seats to weaker sections in private schools. Our HRD minister commented that the bill is a “historic opportunity” for providing better future to children of the country as there was never such a landmark legislation in the last 62 years since independence. “We as a nation cannot afford our children not going to schools,” he asserted, noting that the measure details the obligations of the Centre and the states for providing free and compulsory education to children. But the more important question here is What sort of education are we going to impart to them when they once come to the school ??

What’s wrong with the modern educational system

The western world has already undergone all these educational, industrial and civil reforms long back. What kind of educated class are they producing today? A class totally confused about goal of life, a society full of divorces, dissatisfaction, depression and people with destructive mentality. Therefore the question begs itself: where has modern society gone wrong? Despite extensive attempts at mass education, why has the advancement of knowledge not made people peaceful? Illiteracy can no longer be considered a reason since the best schools in the world have witnessed the worst violence in the last decade. The foundation of American society has been rocked by the repeated massacres by school children of their own peers and teachers for no good reason whatsoever. In many schools, metal detectors now screen every child before he enters the modern temple of learning.

The Vedic texts, a vast body of profound knowledge coming down from ancient India, provide thought-provoking insights into this sorry state of affairs. The Vedic texts exalt knowledge for its transformational power. “What you know” is not considered as important as ‘”What is the effect on you of what you know”. In marked contrast, modern education swamps students with information, but the educational products are sadly lacking in character; many of the students are often victims of self-destructive habits like smoking, alcoholism and substance abuse; and even the best of them cherish no values higher than personal economic aggrandizement. Information, information, information, but no transformation is the plight of the modern educational system.

Of course many curricula worldwide do have some sort of value education, but they mostly serve a cosmetic purpose; they are ineffectual in actually building the character of the students. The Vedic texts assert unequivocally that morality has to be founded on spirituality; otherwise it soon becomes a mere lip-service. Unless one has an understanding of God as the Supreme Controller, the call to ethics has no weight. After all, what is there in an atheist’s world view to impel him to stick to morality in his pursuit of pleasure? If a person does not understand his identity as an eternal soul, if he thinks that he can get away with whatever he does, provided he just does it cleverly enough, why will he not try to maximize the pleasure that this life can offer him? “Beg, borrow, steal, kill, but enjoy” becomes the motto of such a spiritually illiterate person.

The effects

Modern scientific education has been largely responsible for this spiritual and social decay. Honest scientists readily admit that spiritual subjects such as the existence of the soul and God are simply beyond their scope. But unfortunately practically all the science textbooks worldwide portray dubious theories such as the big bang theory and evolution theory as proven facts, thus forcing the naive and innocent students to embrace atheism as the only “scientific” way of looking at the world. Many eminent scientists have openly rejected these theories as unscientific, while others continue to debate about them. But they are certainly not verified truths and putting them in the school textbooks is a travesty of justice. If we let our children be taught that they have come from monkeys, how can we expect them to not behave like monkeys? The notion that life is a result of chemical combination breeds a murderous mentality: “If life is just a product of chemicals, then why can I not cut a bag of chemicals and eat it, if it tastes good? Or worse still: “If there is nothing more to life than chemical activity, then why can I not destroy the lump of chemicals if it obstructs my path to success?” When entire generations grow up with such perverted conceptions, is it strange that peace eludes humanity?

The Remedy

If we want our children to inherit a peaceful world, we have to teach them the spiritual truths that will engender that peace - within and without. To this end, the following non-sectarian universal divine principles must be incorporated into the syllabus worldwide:
1. God is the Supreme Father of all living beings and He is the Supreme Owner and Controller of everything, as confirmed in one of the foremost Upanishads, the Ishopanishad (ishavasyam idam sarvam)
2. We are accountable for all our actions to God (As you sow so shall you reap)
3. We are spirit souls, eternal children of God and our real happiness is not in material acquisition, but in spiritual realization, in lovingly harmonizing ourselves with nature and God.

These spiritual precepts do not contradict the principle of secularism because secularism should not be misunderstood or misinterpreted as atheism. Secularism basically implies impartiality towards different religions and the above precepts are the common underlying teachings of all the major religions of the world. It will be most unfortunate if, in the name of secularism, we let people stay in spiritual ignorance and thus court global disaster. We can cite here the historical transformation of Hippies in late sixties in America by embracing the genuine spirituality. Empowered by this divine knowledge, thousands of youths were able to break free of the shackles of all self-destructive habits and become selfless spiritual activists, dedicated to the holistic service of God and all living beings. Even today it is a globally repeated phenomenon that adoption of genuine spirituality by an individual concomitantly leads to character and compassion, the pre-requisites for sustained world peace.

Conclusion

Following slogan succinctly summarizes the need of the hour, “Without the awakening of divine consciousness within the individual, there is no use of crying for world peace.”. No other kind of education is going to help much in changing the world.

Compiled by Rahul Mishra

Share

Save

How it Interacts With but is Separate from the Body

Introduction

Very often scientists have a desire to do something that determines or proves the philosophy they use. Rather than simply basing their philosophy on the facts alone, they may tend to base their viewpoints or interpret their experiments on what they desire. In this way, they may use the idea that life comes from chemicals because if it is true, there are then so many things science can do. With science we could build a better human machine, a better brain, or create immortality. But if it is not true, then science cannot recreate life, or build machines as good as humans, or overcome death. Therefore, science does not want to face that. Instead they may choose to take an idea and follow it as far as it will go by using many taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars to investigate many useless and unnecessary things.

One very famous physicist stated that if there is such a thing as the conscious self, a nonmaterial particle that possesses consciousness which does not come about from chemicals, then scientists might as well retire and become truck drivers. This is an example of the bias in science and the motivation behind rejecting any nonmechanistic idea, and in clinging stubbornly to mechanistic and physical explanations of life. Only in this way can they become like God, with their hopes of creating life and doing so many wonderful things, and denying any need to recognize a Supreme Being.

Today, scientists hardly talk about the mind. They just talk about the brain. There are over a billion neurons in the brain and each of these little brain cells discharge electrical impulses which send out particular kinds of signals. So the scientists are conceiving of mapping which parts of the brain control cognitive functions, like thinking, memory, motor responses, sensory impressions, etc. Then they hope to stimulate artificially the activity of specific neuron cells with chemicals or electrical shock to negate those neurons that affect one’s feelings of anxiety or depression, or similar unwanted feelings. In this way, one could simply take a chemical in order to feel a particular feeling. This is based on the Western concept that the mind is the self and is not separate from the brain, but is a part of it.

The basis of this kind of modern research of the mind was set by the British biologist T. H. Huxley more than a century ago. He said that all states of consciousness are caused by molecular changes of the brain. In other words, this is all that causes our changes of mood or the way we feel when experiencing good or bad events in our life. On the basis of this theory, the mind is merely a by-product of a properly functioning brain, and the mind can be controlled simply by adjusting the brain in various ways.

There are, however, a few who do not agree with this. The Australian neurophysiologist and Nobel laureate, Sir John Eccles, thinks that mind or consciousness is separate from the brain. While performing experiments on the cerebral cortex, which controls movements in our bodies by sending appropriate signals to various muscles, he has noted that before any voluntary act is performed, the 50 million or so neurons of the supplementary motor area (SMA) within the cortex begin to act. Thus, the SMA acts before the cerebral cortex sends the necessary signals to the muscles needed to perform the desired activity. Eccles concludes that conscious will, separate from the brain, must first be there before the chain of neurological events begin. Therefore, the mind controls matter rather than matter (the brain) controlling the mind. In this way, we can begin to understand that, as Sir Karl Popper, a philosopher of science, describes, the mind and brain exist in two separate realities. The brain is a functioning material organ of the body, and the mind or consciousness is the immaterial symptom of the living entity or soul which motivates the body. Thus, as explained in the Vedic literature, the two work together like a driver seated in a car.

Problems with Scientific theory of Consciousness

The current idea that the mind is part of the brain is held not only by many biologists, neurologists, etc., but by others in all branches of science, including physical sciences, computer science, and psychology. We might, however, point out a number of problems with this current thinking. Let us suggest that it is just as reasonable to consider an alternative view, and that the Vedic concept is actually more consistent and does not have as many problems as their concept has.

For example, does a person have the same experience in seeing a sunset as a machine programed to say “I see a red light,” when it registers a sunset taking place? In other words, is merely recognizing light waves all there is to consciousness? If the mind works simply in a mechanistic way, as science tends to propound, then simply registering that we see a sunset would be all there is to consciousness. It would be exactly like a mechanical reflex to a particular stimuli. The point is that we could say a tape recorder hears music, but does it actually hear or enjoy it? Does it get goose bumps or inspiration from listening to it?

The experiences of enjoying something cannot be measured or broken down into a simple mathematical equation. Therefore, in an eliminative or reductionary philosophy, which science uses, it is believed that if something cannot be broken down into a measurable and simple equation, then it is not real and leaves no room for discussion. With this viewpoint, reductionary scientists can begin throwing out a word like “consciousness” because it does not have any meaning or reality. It does not fit into an equation. You can break the movement of brain cells down to a mathematical formula, but not consciousness. And since the word “mind” also does not fit into an equation, we can throw that out as well. And, of course, the concept of a soul has been given up long ago. After all, everything is seen as an extension of the mechanical workings of the brain. So the idea is that we should only use vocabulary which is related to physical, identifiable, and quantifiable formulas.

By understanding these examples of a machine responding to a red sunset, or a tape recorder hearing music, we can know that there is something in consciousness far beyond the ability of any machine giving simple reactions to external stimuli. Machine reactions are similar to our senses sending electrical messages to the brain. But, obviously, we experience more than a simple sensual or physical stimulus. A machine cannot describe the experience of hearing a Beethoven symphony and cannot recognize one piece of music from another. A machine has no emotions, so how can it describe the experience? Therefore, scientists who just try to show that our own responses are a mechanical reaction to sensory stimuli are simply trying to negate the idea of consciousness or the existence of the soul. But, if there is a conscious particle, then they cannot make something else conscious, or create life, or be a Dr. Frankenstein without first creating that conscious particle or soul, which they cannot do.

From the Vedic literature, we learn that there is a conscious self that is separate from the machine or body. Obviously, we are conscious of every single impulse that the senses of our body/machine deals with. There is perfect interaction. So science will question how the self can interact so well with the machine if it is not part of the machine. And why is consciousness affected when changes are made to the brain? If the self is separate, then consciousness should not be affected. These are the arguments of science, and the Vedic literature offers some very interesting answers. If these arguments are answered, then why not consider an alternative viewpoint, as described in the Vedic literature?

The idea that consciousness is changed by changes of the body or machine can be understood more clearly if we use the example of a person driving a car. Obviously, the driver is separate from the car, but if the driver gets in his car and is hit by another car, he will immediately say, “You hit me.” It is not that the driver was hit, it was the car that was hit, but the driver identifies with the car as if he were a part of it. So the driver is affected by changes in the machine. Similarly, when the self depends on the body and strongly identifies with it, he will think he is the body and will be disturbed if there is some problem with it, although he is actually separate from it.

Another example is that there have been carefully controlled and documented experiments done with epileptic patients. In these experiments, the patients have been treated with electric shock to certain parts of the brain in order to respond in a particular way. The findings of these experiments have shown, however, that in almost every case the patient would respond to a certain stimuli stating that he was not doing it, but that the doctor, by controlling the electrical impulses, was making the patient’s body respond in a certain way. Thus, the mind’s inclination was different or separate from the response of the body. So simply by applying electric shock to parts of the brain for certain responses does not give any adequate explanations of what is the mind.

In considering the mind, we also have to consider the will. If all that the patients did was respond to stimuli, then, according to the mechanistic theory, that is all that would be expected of being conscious. But the patients were protesting that it was not they who were voluntarily reacting. It was against their will. So if there was no such thing as a separate self with an individual will, there would have been no protest, like a robot programmed to act in a certain way. So these experiments that showed that the mind had an identity and will separate from the brain were startling in neurological circles. The reason was because it brought up the old argument that there is something separate between the mind and the brain–it is not all one.

Another example of this is in the field of near-death experience. There have been top scientists at such places as the University of Virginia using the strictest standards for documenting and researching particular phenomena. They have been able to demonstrate conclusive findings in over hundreds of test cases with patients who were, according to all known laws of physics, technically in a state of unconsciousness, or in a coma due to a heart attack or accident. The patients, after being brought back to consciousness, explained in detail what procedures had been performed to revive them. They described themselves as floating out of their body, up into the room, looking down and watching the medical procedures the doctors were performing on them. There was no possibility that they could have dreamed this as subsequent tests have shown. This shows that there is a difference between the brain and the mind, and that the mind or consciousness can continue working even though the brain is impaired and hardly functioning at all, as in a comatose state.

Vedic Information about Soul

In the near-death experience we have the description of what happened to the individuals when they were revived, but what if they had not re-entered their body? What if the patients could not be revived? If they had died, where would they have gone? Or is death simply the end of everything? When someone dies, the relatives may cry and exclaim, “Oh, he is gone, he has left us.” But what is gone? He is lying there, or at least the body is. So if he is gone, then it is that part you have not seen that is gone. So what is it?

As we have shown in the last several pages, philosophers and scientists have all questioned this and have arrived at no final conclusion. But the Vedic literature gives detailed descriptions of the self. The Chandogya Upanishad (6.10.3) begins explaining that the subtle essence in all that exists is the self. It is the true and thou art it.

In the Twelfth and Thirteenth Khandas of the Chandogya Upanishad, it gives further examples in which it states that a tall tree has its essence, the self, originally in the small seed from which it grew. Yet to break a seed open will reveal no such potency for it to grow into such a huge plant. But the power is there. Likewise, to take salt and mix it with water renders the salt invisible; yet, by tasting the water, we can know the salt is there. Similarly, in the material body, the self exists, though we do not directly perceive it. However, Bhagavad-gita (13.34) explains: “O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” Therefore, just as we cannot perceive the salt mixed in the water except by taste, we also cannot see the soul in the body except by recognizing the symptom, which is consciousness.

Consciousness can be recognized easily by performing a small experiment. Pinch part of your body and you will feel pain. This is a sign of consciousness, not only in humans but also in cats, dogs, or other animals. In any type of species of life, there are two types of bodies; the body which is alive, and the body which is dead and deteriorating. The live body is pervaded and illuminated by the consciousness of the self. The Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.9) says: “The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prana, apana, vyana, samana, and udana), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited.”

Thus, the self is the motivating factor within the body, and when it leaves, the body breaks down and slowly disintegrates. Therefore, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2.4.3-5) points out that whomever is dear to us, whether it be our wives, husbands, sons, daughters, teachers, guardians, etc., they are dear to us only due to the presence of the self within the body, who in reality is what is dear to us. Once the self leaves the body, the body becomes unattractive to us because it rapidly gets cold, stiff, and begins to decompose. Therefore, the body is not our real identity, but we are the self within.

Conclusion

The “soul” is defined as a non-material, eternal spiritual entity present within any living being. The symptom of the presence of the soul within a body is consciousness. The soul continues to exist after the destruction of the body and it existed prior to the creation of the body. The material body develops, changes and produces by-products [offspring] because of the presence of the soul within. The material body deteriorates in due cause of time and when it is no longer a suitable residence for the soul it is forced to leave the body. This we call death.

An excerpt from The Secret Teachings of the Vedas By Stephen Knapp

Share

Save

Rediscovery of Dwaraka

Introduction

During the Mahabharata times (5000 years ago, or 3000 BC), Bharat-varsa (India) boasted of several splendid cities and kingdoms. One such important city is Dwaraka - the residence of Lord Krishna. While many other kingdoms described in the epic Mahabharata and related scriptures have been identified and traced, Dwaraka seemed to remain elusive, at least in the archaeological sense. Scholars thus would not accept the glorious heritage of Vedic India, and clung on to dubious theories as the Aryan invasion of India and continued to classify the Vedic literature as mythology. A knife can take life as well as give life. Scientific theories rendering the Vedic civilization, culture and books as myths are now being discovered as engineered frauds. The Aryan invasion tale was specifically engineered to dislodge a generation from naturally accepting a culture and teachings that had continued for millenniums.

In this article, we collect some recent findings from underwater archaeological research initiatives around the coast of present-day Dwaraka.

Puranas - The Historical Record

The ancient city of Dwaraka, situated on the extreme West Coast of Indian territory, occupies an important place in the cultural and religious history of India. The fabulous architectural planning of the Dwaraka temple has attracted tourists from all over the world. The town has association with Lord Krishna, who founded this town by reclaiming 12 yojanas (1 yojana = approx 8 miles) of land from the sea. During its glorious past, Dwaraka was a city of beautiful gardens, deep moats, and several ponds and palaces (Vishnu Purana), but it is believed to have submerged just after the disappearance of Lord Krishna. Dwaraka continues to attract archeologists, historians and scientists besides the devotees of Lord Krishna.
Sri Krishna killed the demon Kamsa (his maternal uncle) and made Ugrasena (His maternal grandfather) the king of Mathura. Enraged, Kamsa’s father-in law, Jarasandha (king of Magadh) together with his friend Kalayavana attacked Mathura 17 times. For the safety of the people, Krishna and the Yadavas decided to move the capital from Mathura to Dwaraka.
Sri Krishna and the Yadavas left Mathura and arrived at the coast of Saurashtra. They decided to build their capital in the coastal region and invoked Visvakarma, the deity of construction. However, Visvakarma said that the task could be completed only if Samudradeva, the lord of the sea, provided some land. Sri Krishna worshipped Samudradeva, who was pleased and gave them land measuring 12 yojanas and henceforth, Visvakarma built Dwaraka, a city in gold.

Submergence of Dwaraka

After Sri Krishna left for His eternal abode and the major Yadava heads were killed in fights amongst themselves, Dwaraka became submerged in the sea. This is the account given by Arjuna in the Mahabharata: The sea, which has been beating against the shores, suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature. It rushed into the city, coursing through the beautiful city streets, and covered up everything in the city. I saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. In a matter of a few moments, it was all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake. There was no trace of the city. Dwaraka was just a name; just a memory.

The Historical Dwaraka

The city of Dwaraka has been under investigation by historians since the beginning of the 20th century. The exact location of this port city has been under debate for a long time. Several literary references, especially from the Mahabharata, have been used to suggest its exact location.
Dwaraka is mentioned in the Mahabharata (Mausala Parva) and an appendix to the epic, Harivamsa, refers to the submergence of Dwaraka by the sea. Dwaraka was a city state extending up to Bet Dwaraka (Sankhoddhara) in the north and Okhamadhi in the south. In the east, it extended up to Pindata. The 30 to 40 meter-high hill on the eastern flank of Sankhoddhara may be the Raivataka referred to in the Mahabharata.

Recent Discoveries

Excavations at Dwaraka helped add credence to the legend of Krishna and the Mahabharata war, as well as provide ample evidence of the advanced societies that lived in these areas such as the Harappan settlements.
The Dwarakadhisa Temple prompted the setting up of a Marine Archaeology Unit (MAU) jointly by the National Institute of Oceanography and the Archaeological Survey of India. Under the guidance of Dr. Rao, a great marine archaeologist, a team consisting of expert underwater explorers, trained diver-photographers and archaeologists was formed. The technique of geophysical survey was combined with the use of echo-sounders, mud-penetrators, sub-bottom profilers and underwater metal detectors. This team carried out 12 marine archaeological expeditions between 1983 to 1992 and articles and antiquities recovered were sent to Physical Research Laboratory for dating. By using thermo-luminescence, carbon dating and other modern scientific techniques, the artifacts were found to belong to the period between 15th and 18th BCE. In his great work, The Lost City of Dwaraka, Dr. Rao has given scientific details of these discoveries and artifacts.
Between 1983 to 1990, the well-fortified township of Dwaraka was discovered, extending more than half mile from the shore. The township was built in six sectors along the banks of a river. The foundation of boulders on which the city’s walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea. The general layout of the city of Dwaraka described in ancient texts agrees with that of the submerged city discovered by the MAU.

Artefacts

Among the objects unearthed that proved Dwaraka’s connection with the Mahabharata epic was a seal engraved with the image of a three headed animal. The epic mentions such a seal given to the citizens of Dwaraka as a proof of identity when the city was threatened by King Jarasandha of the powerful Magadh kingdom (now Bihar). The foundation of boulders on which the city’s walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea about 3,600 years ago. The epic has references to such reclamation activity at Dwaraka. Seven islands mentioned in it were also discovered submerged in the Arabian Sea.
Pottery, which has been established by thermo-luminescence tests to be 3,528 years old and carrying inscriptions in late Indus Valley civilization script, iron stakes and triangular three-holed anchors discovered here find mention in the Mahabharata.

ASI’s view

According to the discoveries, Dwaraka was a prosperous city in ancient times, which was destroyed and reconstructed several times. The work of great excavators like Z.D. Ansari and M.S. Mate allowed chance discovery of temples of the 9th century A.D. and 1st century A.D. buried near the present Dwaraka.
Conclusions arrived at after carrying out these underwater archaeological explorations support and validate the dates arrived at through astronomical calculations. They also prove that the reconstructed city was a prosperous port town, and that it was in existence for about 60-70 years in the 15th century B.C. before being submerged under the sea in the year 1443 B.C.
Read the entire report.

The Pioneer

The discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka which is said to have been founded by Sri Krishna, is an important landmark in the history of India. It has set at rest the doubts expressed by historians about the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dwaraka city. It has greatly narrowed the gap of Indian history by establishing the continuity of Indian civilization from the Vedic age to the present day. - S.R. Rao, former adviser to the NIO who is still actively involved in the excavations.
Rao said that if a fraction of the funds spent on land archaeology were made available for underwater archaeology, more light could be shed on Dwaraka, which had much archaeological significance because it was built during the second urbanization that occured in India after the Indus Valley civilization in northwestern India. Dwaraka’s existence disproves the belief held by Western archaeologists that there was no urbanization in the indian subcontinent from the period between 1700 B.C. (Indus Valley) and 550 B.C. (advent of Buddhism). As no information was available about that period, they had labelled it the Dark Period.
The findings in Dwaraka and archeological evidence found compatible with the Mahabharata tradition remove the lingering doubt about the historicity of the Mahabharata. We would say that Krishna definitely existed. - S.R. Rao.

The Vedic Observer

Although the adherents of western, empirical science date Dwaraka to 1443 B.C. or roughly 3,400 years ago, ancient Vedic astronomical texts and present-day practitioners of the Vedic tradition assert that the current epoch of Kali-yuga began in 3102 B.C. Lord Krishna’s disappearance and the subsequent submergence of Dwaraka occured shortly before this date. Therefore, Dwaraka can be no less than 5,000 years old. The current findings are only the tip of the iceberg, and with detailed under-water investigations, we are sure many more artifacts can be found. In fact, as per Dr Rao, “if a fraction of funding that goes for land archaeology can be reserved for under-water exploration especially around Bet Dwaraka, countless invaluable findings await us.”

We hope that the Government that controls ASI and NIO does due diligence in letting the citizens and the world know what treasures existed during Vedic India. The knowledge that India once possessed - architecture, astronomy, ship-building, medicine, mathematics, etc and above all - spiritual wisdom, let it be re-searched through all means and benefit all.

There are numerous evidences of vedic civilization not just in India but all over the World. This concurs with the vedic idea of Universality of Sanatana Dharma or Universal Religion. Watch out for more articles.

Compiled by Anand Yeolekar and LNDAS

Share

Save

Bhagavad Gita and Warmongering

Introduction

The timeless transcendental knowledge of Bhagavad-Gita has been the beacon light for humanity for ages. The most successful human civilizations lived by the principles of Bhagavad-Gita and other Vedic scriptures as taught by the qualified learned sages. As things degrade with the passage of time, so has the understanding of the divine message of Bhagavad-Gita. Of late, it has become fashionable to impose one’s own prejudices on Bhagavad-Gita. Mundane scholars and academicians both from India and the west have projected a wrong picture of Bhagavad-Gita through their misinterpreted commentaries, writings, public speeches etc.

Misconceptions about Bhagavad-Gita

The general pattern mundane scholars and academicians have followed in understanding the Bhagavad-gita has been to brush aside the person Krishna to make room for their own concepts and philosophies. The history of the Mahabharata is taken as quaint mythology, and Krishna becomes a poetic device for presenting the ideas of some anonymous genius, or at best He becomes a minor historical personage. But the person Krishna is both the goal and the substance of Bhagavad-gita, so far as the Gita speaks of itself.

The Bhagavad-gita should be seen from the pespective of the speaker, Lord Krishna, not one’s prejudices just as the theme of a book is heard from the author. The Bhagavad-gita then becomes wholly consistent and comprehensible.

War Mongering

Ironically, we also hear from the west a diametrically opposite criticism voiced at the Gita: no longer of passivity or apathy, but of warmongering! Much to our shock and anguish, Wendy Doniger, Indologist and professor of History of religion at the University of Chicago recently said The Bhagavad-Gita is not as nice a book as some Americans think. Throughout the Mahabharata Krishna goads human beings into all sorts of murderous and self-destructive behaviors such as war. I am a pacifist (someone who believes that violence is wrong and refuses to fight in wars). I don’t believe in good wars [1].

The above statement by the Indologist and professor of Religious studies only exhibits the ignorance of the professor regarding the confidential message of Bhagavad-Gita. This is just one instance. There are many, including some so-called scholars who have misunderstood the Bhagavad-Gita to varying degrees and are promoting their misconceptions to the innocent public. Of course, many western thinkers, from Emerson to Aldous Huxley have shown a better understanding of the Lord’s song. But let us face the professor’s statement and examine its validity. Apart from its despairing tone all too common with the western indologists accustomed to judging Indian civilization according to their own standards, it does not raise a valid problem. And indeed certain Jain scriptures, for instance, have criticized Sri Krishna on much the same ground. Not too far are some Indian counterparts trained in western education.

Is war and killing always bad? Then well, if it is, it is not India that ought to be condemned but the west with its blood-stained record of Crusades and genocides of countless Pagan people, its endless history of wars and conquests, its two world wars and recent bombing campaigns. Indeed where has pacifism been practiced in the post Christian west? By contrast, we have no record of any military conquest by India of other civilizations, no Indian genocides of other people to impose a religion or a political domination. So why lay this unjust blame on the innocent rather than on the guilty?

Need for the War

Dhritirastra and Pandu were brothers born in the Kuru dynasty, descending from King Bharata, a former ruler of the earth, from whom the name Mahabharata derives. Because Dhritirastra , the elder brother, was born blind, the throne that otherwise would have been his was passed down to the younger brother, Pandu.
When Pandu died at an early age, his five children came under the care of Dhritirastra, who in effect became, for the time being, the king. Thus the sons of Dhritirastra and those of Pandu grew up in the same royal household. Both were trained in the military arts by the expert Drona and counseled by the revered “grandfather” of the clan, Bhishma. Yet the sons of Dhritirastra , especially the eldest, Duryodhana, hated and envied the Pandavas. And the blind and weak-minded Dhritirastra wanted his own sons, not those of Pandu, to inherit the kingdom.
Thus Duryodhana, with Dhritirastra ’s consent, plotted to kill the young sons of Pandu, and it was only by the careful protection of their uncle Vidura and their cousin Lord Krishna that the Pandavas escaped the many attempts against their lives.
Now, Lord Krishna was not an ordinary man but the Supreme Godhead Himself, who had descended to earth and was playing the role of a prince in a contemporary dynasty. So both as a relative and as the eternal upholder of religion, Krishna favored the righteous sons of Pandu and protected them.
Ultimately, however, the clever Duryodhana challenged the Pandavas to a gambling match. In the course of that fateful tournament, Duryodhana and his brothers took possession of Draupadi, the chaste and devoted wife of the Pandavas, and insultingly tried to strip her naked before the entire assembly of princes and kings. Krishna’s divine intervention saved her, but the gambling, which was rigged, cheated the Pandavas of their kingdom and forced them into thirteen years of exile.
Upon returning from exile, the Pandavas rightfully requested their kingdom from Duryodhana, who bluntly refused to yield it. Duty bound as princes to serve in public administration, the five Pandavas reduced their request to a mere five villages. But Duryodhana arrogantly replied that he wouldn’t spare them enough land into which to drive a pin. Throughout all this, the Pandavas had been consistently tolerant and forbearing. But now war seemed inevitable.
Nonetheless, as the princes of the world divided, some siding with the sons of Dhritirastra, others with the Pandavas , Krishna Himself took the role of messenger for the sons of Pandu and went to the court of Pandavas to plead for peace. When His pleas were refused, war was now certain.

Therefore, Bhagavad-Gita is not a book of political diplomacy encouraging warmongering. When the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna about 5000 years ago, battle was accidentally a context in which this knowledge had to be given. In fact, if we study the Bhagavad-Gita thoroughly, we will not find any war strategy. If professor Doniger is accusing Bhagavad-Gita of warmongering, it is obvious that the professor has not gone through the contents of the Gita thoroughly.

The proper way to approach Bhagavad-Gita

As any subject matter has a way to approach it, so has the Bhagavad-Gita. One can never understand the mystery of Bhagavad-Gita by a mere academic and challenging approach. The right way to approach Bhagavad-Gita is mentioned by Lord Krishna, the speaker thus
tad viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya
upadekshyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darshinah
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” Bhagavad-gita 4.34

So, to understand Bhagavad-Gita as it is, we must approach a bonafide spiritual master coming in disciplic succession, serve him and inquire from him. Those who try to study the Gita on their own without surrendering to a qualified preceptor will never be able to enter into the mystery of Bhagavad-Gita even by studying it for centuries.

Because the modern day scholars and academicians try to understand the Gita on their own without approaching a spiritual master, they see the Bhagavad-Gita from their own perspectives and prejudices and spread the same concocted misunderstanding around. Therefore, those who want to understand Bhagavad-Gita should approach a bonafide spiritual master and study it under his guidance.

The teachings of Bhagavad-Gita

The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Sri Krishna to Arjuna in response to Arjuna’s request to Lord Krishna to enlighten him about his dharma (religious principles and duty) when he was in a state of confusion whether to fight his cousins on the battlefield of Kurukshetra BG-2.7. Arjuna argued that it is irreligious and unnecessary violence against innocent warriors to engage in the scheduled ghastly war. But the speaker of Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna simply dismisses all the apparently religious and genuine arguments of Arjuna as mere weakness of heart and nothing to do with real dharma.

Vedic Observer

In conclusion, we invite the misguided professors to give up their academic approach to Bhagavad-Gita and learn the transcendental knowledge of Bhagavad-Gita from the devotees of Lord Krishna.

References

1. Philadelphia Inquirer

Compiled by Madhur Gauranga Das

Share

Save

Did man go to the moon?

Introduction

As students, we have grown up falling in love with science as an excellent means to understand the world around us. Specially we, Indians, feel so fascinated when modern science presents evidence and reasoning establishing the existence of the soul For example[1] . We feel so proud of our heritage. But when we come to know that, according to the Vedic scriptures, man could not have gone to the moon, we become immensely disturbed. Landing on the moon is globally considered the crowning jewel of all the accomplishments of modern science. To have that conquest declared as a fake is not easy to take. We hate the unpleasant choice that confronts us: choose either science or scripture. “Can’t there be a reconciliation of both?” we wonder. Perhaps only when our most cherished assumptions are challenged do we strive for a higher understanding.

Different scales of observation

According to Vedas, we could not have gone to the moon because it is a higher planet. Without doing good karma, one cannot go there, just as without proper immigration clearance, one cannot go to America. This logic itself reveals a fundamental difference in the Vedic and modern world views and that difference holds the key to a reconciliation of the two.

Modern science sees the moon as a lifeless satellite, whereas Vedic science sees it as Chandraloka, a higher-dimensional planet inhabited by higher beings. Imagine two transparent glass beakers, one containing white chalk powder and the other, black charcoal powder. If we mix the two powders, we will get a grey mixture. But if we see the same mixture under a microscope, the grey particles will disappear; we will see only white and black particles. Which is the reality? Not sure ?  May be both !!!  

What we see varies with our scale of observation. What is a grey powder to the naked eye is a mixture of black and white particles to the microscopic eye. Similarly, what is a lifeless planet at the human scale of observation is a higher-dimensional planet filled with higher beings at a divine scale of observation. Hence the seeming contradiction.

The Vedic texts themselves contain descriptions of cosmology based on both scales of observation. There are two main sources of cosmological information in the Vedic literatures – the Puranas and the Jyotisha-shastras. The Puranas describe cosmology from a divine perspective and they mention many features of the cosmos that are inaccessible to human observation. On the other hand, the Jyotisha-shastras describe cosmology largely from a human perspective. Among the Jyotisha-shastras are works on mathematical astronomy known as astronomical siddhantas. The siddhantic cosmology contains information similar to the information obtained from modern cosmology. For example, the Surya Siddhanta, one of the most important siddhanta-shastras, states:

1. The distance between the earth and the moon as 253,000 miles, compared to modern measurements of 252,710 miles.
2. The Earth’s diameter is 7,840 miles, compared to the modern measurements of 7,926.7 miles.

The very fact that cosmic distances were measured with such precision in Vedic culture long before the dawn of modern cosmology is itself remarkable. It suggests that Vedic cosmology deserves to be studied with due respect, not dismissed summarily as unscientific due to some of its features being currently incomprehensible to us.

Three possibilities

We can’t say for sure what actually happened with the moon flights. Authoritative mathematics textbooks state that three plus three is six. If somebody says, according to his calculations, it’s not six, we know for sure he’s wrong. But we can’t know for sure what answer he got. Similarly, the Vedic scriptures authoritatively state that Chandraloka is a higher-dimensional planet with higher living beings. So if astronauts claiming to have gone there did not encounter any life there, we can know for sure that they have not accessed Chandraloka. But we can’t know for sure where they went.

Still, based on Srila Prabhupada’s[2] statements, we can envision at least three possibilities,” Firstly, let’s understand the concept of a higher dimensional object being projected to a lower dimension. A three-dimensional office address in Mumbai (given by avenue, street and floor) can have a two-dimensional projection (given by avenue and street). Similarly, the higher-dimensional Chandraloka can have a three-dimensional projection, the moon visible to us with the naked eye. No matter how hi-tech our spacecrafts, they cannot take us beyond the three-dimensional reality that our sensory apparatus limits us to. On a map of India, which is a two-dimensional projection of the multi-dimensional reality, India, if I move my finger from Pune to Mumbai, I cannot experience Mumbai – its people, its skyscrapers. Similarly, the astronauts may travel in three-dimensional space to the three-dimensional projection of Chandraloka, but not experience its higher-dimensional reality – Somadeva and the other residents, the heavenly opulences.

Srila Prabhupada said that the astronauts may have been subjected to a hi-tech diversion by the demigods. Consequently, they imagined they had landed on the moon, but had been grounded on some other relatively (relative to Chandraloka) lower planet like Rahu, which is ordinarily invisible to us due to its existing in a dimension higher than ours.

Or the third possibility is that the moon flights may have been hoaxed; the astronauts may never have gone out of the atmosphere of the earth. For example, regarding the first American Apollo flights, there are dozens of books and scores of websites devoted to the moon conspiracy theory with its proponents and opponents both vigorously presenting arguments and counter-arguments. Given the money, prestige, security and technology involved, ascertaining the truth in such projects will be difficult and possibly dangerous.

Where modern cosmology falls short

But if everything depends on the scale of observation, then doesn’t that make everything relative and subjective? Isn’t there a reality? Aren’t scientific theories real? After all, scientific technology works – If we look at the cellphones, the internet, the airplanes. Yes, That’s true. But, doesn’t spiritual technology also work? There are so many researches establishing Mantra meditation helps one to control anger, decrease stress level; spiritually fulfilled people live longer and less prone to diseases and so  many similar facts. So, if what works is the standard to decide what’s real, then even spiritual principles should be considered real.

Different things work at different levels. If our goal is to improve our external comforts and control, to increase our ability to manipulate the world around us, scientific technology works. If our goal is to improve our internal life, to increase our self-mastery, spiritual technology works. Modern science is fabulously successful in controlling a tiny slice of reality, but does it give a satisfactory explanation of the totality of reality?

A quote from Noble Laureate physicist Erwin Schrodinger unequivocally admits the incompleteness of the scientific worldview: ‘I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is very deficient. It gives a lot of factual information, puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity. Science sometimes pretends to answer questions in these domains, but the answers are very often so silly that we are not inclined to take them seriously.’

What to speak of explaining the existence of life on other planets, modern science cannot explain the existence of life on our own planet. We obviously know that life exists here because we exist here. But modern, reductionist science claims that life is a result of chemical combination, but it cannot demonstrate or explain how life arises from chemicals.

Not only can reductionistic science not explain how life arises, it also cannot explain why life arises. It offers no explanation about what the purpose of our existence is or what the values guiding our existence should be. That’s why eminent Indian scientist Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in his book Ignited Minds, quotes Albert Einstein recalling Werner Heisenberg’s words to him: ‘You know in the West we have built a large, beautiful ship. It has all the comforts in it, but one thing is missing: it has no compass and does not know where to go.’

Toward a more complete cosmology

To gain a more holistic understanding of the cosmos, we have to free ourselves from the rigid constructs of Euclidean and Cartesian three-dimensional geometry, which forms the basis of the modern scientific worldview. An important quote in this regard from a remarkable book Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy by the late Dr Richard L Thompson who pioneered the postulation of a new cosmology that integrated scientific and Vedic insights: ‘Radical extensions of our theoretical perspective have taken place repeatedly in the history of science. A striking example of this is provided by the revolution in the science of physics that occurred in the twenties and thirties of this century. At the end of the nineteenth century, physicists were almost universally convinced that classical physics provided a final and complete theory of nature. However, a few years later, classical physics was replaced by a new theory, called quantum mechanics, which is based on fundamentally different principles. The most interesting feature of this development is that classical physics turns out to be compatible with quantum mechanics in the domain of observation in which it was originally applied. The differences between the two theories become significant only in the new atomic domain opened up by the quantum theory. Likewise, our proposed new cosmology would agree with existing theories in its predictions of gross sensory observations, but it would open an entirely new world of higher-dimensional travel.

Higher Dimensional cosmology

At one level, Vedic cosmology is compatible with modern cosmology, as seen from the above agreement in astronomical measurements. At another level, Vedic cosmology is more complete than modern cosmology, because of its ability to account for higher-dimensional cosmic realms, higher living beings and ultimately the higher purpose of life.

Vedic cosmology is innately theistic and spiritual. It is based on the understanding that that we are souls, spiritual beings, temporarily residing in our material bodies. We are all astronauts on a long multi-life cosmic journey through many, many bodies in many different parts of the cosmos. We are the beloved children of the Supreme Being, originally residing in loving harmony with Him in His abode. When we desired to enjoy separate from Him, we were sent to this material cosmos for experimentation and rectification.

The cosmos, the Vedas explain, is created and controlled by God, with the help of numerous assistants called demigods. The demigods are beings much more powerful than us, who reside in the higher regions of the cosmos. Soma, the presiding deity of the moon, is one of the demigods.

The principle of humility is vital in approaching the magnificent works of God like the cosmos. We cannot expect to conquer the cosmos with our intellect and dominate it for our ends. Such an attitude implies that we are trying to become all-knowing and usurp God. This vain attitude will lead only to bafflement, as has happened to many scholars who had a non-devotional approach in their study of Vedic cosmology. A good example of a devotional attitude to cosmic research is the following quote of Johannes Kepler: I have endeavored to gain for human reason, aided by geometrical calculation, an insight into His way of creation; may the Creator of the heavens themselves, the father of all reason, to whom our mortal senses owe their existence, may He who is Himself immortal… keep me in His grace and guard me from reporting anything about His work which cannot be justified before His magnificence or which may misguide our powers of reason, and may He cause us to aspire to the perfection of His works of creation by the dedication of our lives.

The Ultimate cosmic flight

Vedic culture is not against cosmic travel, in fact, the perfection of life, according to the Vedic scriptures, is the ultimate cosmic flight; Vedic culture trains us to become transcendental cosmonauts and fly beyond the moon, beyond the sun, beyond the entire material universe, to the spiritual world, which is our eternal home.

References

1. Near Death Experience, Out of Body Experience, Reincarnation etc
2. A noted vedic scholar and authority in 20th century.

Compiled by Rahul Mishra from the original article by Chaitanya Charan Das.

Share

Save

Islam and Vegetarianism

Introduction

Those familiar with Islam may balk at the thought of an animal-friendly or vegetarian Islam. After all, of the three monotheistic religions, Islam is the only one that still calls for animal sacrifice. The Quran is also as explicit, if not more so, as the Torah or the New Testament with regard to using animals for human purposes. While these observations are true. A deeper look at the tradition will reveal teachings of kindness and concern for animals, teachings that may indicate Muslims need to take another look at the animals they eat nowadays.

Not too long ago, We had the privilege of talking to an eminent Islamic scholar, who wishes to remain unnamed. Our conversation covered a wide range of topics. The one closest to his heart, however, was the treatment of animal kind according to the tenets of Islam.

Islam and Animal Welfare

“Islam was one of the earliest faiths to care about the rights of animals,” he waxed eloquent. ‘In general, kindness to animals has been promised by reward in the life hereafter’. We find this sentiment in line 178 of verse 8, Chapter 7, Book 6 of the Mishkat-al-Masabih. This is the groundwork: it tells us what our attitude should be in general towards animalkind. Then we have more specific references. Consider this line from Abu Umama, Al Tabarani: ‘He who takes pity even on a sparrow and spares its life, Allah will be merciful to him on the Day of Judgement.’

“Yes, but Islam allows the killing of animals for food and for religious sacrifice,” I interposed. “If Islam cares so much about animal welfare, why does it allow meat-eating and slaughter?”

“A good point,” the scholar conceded good-humouredly instead of taking umbrage. “We have to remember that several customs and conventions prevalent in Arab lands may be pre-Islamic and thus without specific Islamic sanction. Furthermore, nearly 1500 years ago, what was Arabia? Mostly desert land, and war-torn at that. There were few peaceful and settled agricultural communities as we had in India, for instance. The nomadic tribes found food when they could - by hunting animals and eating them. That is no longer true, and Arab countries today are very modern in many ways. They have plenty of vegetarian food available, as with India. So there is absolutely no compulsion as such to eat meat. I can only hope that individual Muslims will voluntarily give up meat-eating because nowhere is it said that meat-eating is compulsory….”

“And what about cruel sports such as cock fights? In some neighboring countries, the utterly barbarous practice of bear-baiting continues still!”

“Ah, but our Holy Prophet forbade the setting up of animals to fight each other! We can find this in Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi. It is my understanding that the government of this neighbouring country has forbidden bear-baiting as un-Islamic, but the practice continues because of the greed and cruelty of men. And in Muslim, we are told that the Holy Prophet forbade the beating or branding of animals. Once he came upon a donkey which had been branded on its face. He is reported to have exclaimed: ‘May Allah condemn the one who branded it.’ He also disapproved of the cutting of a horse’s tail, for example, as unnatural and interfering with the natural beauty of the horse. He was clearly opposed to mutilation and vivisection of any animal, according to Ahmad and other authorities. As you may know, our noble religion of peace and harmony emphasises intention. Therefore, the Holy Prophet’s intention was clearly to instruct us, his followers, to be kind to animals and not to diminish their health and dignity in any form. I would say that this was quite advanced for the times.”

“Oh, absolutely,” I concurred heartily. “Many people do not know these things. Please tell me some more about the Holy Prophet’s sayings regarding treatment of animals.”

“Well, there is plenty of material, although - as far as I know - those who preach in the mosques never seem to highlight these important teachings. For instance, there is the story of the Prophet hearing the call to prayer one day. He wanted to take along his prayer mat, but one of his cats was curled up on the carpet, comfortably asleep. Not wanting to disturb the cat, and yet being required to take his mat along, the Prophet solved the problem by carefully cutting off a portion of the carpet and taking it with him. Then there is the story he told his followers about a prostitute, according to Muslim. On a hot day, a poor dog lay panting from thirst near a well. When this woman came along, she took pity on the poor creature. She lowered her socks into the well, drew water in them and squeezed it into the dog’s mouth. Our Prophet said that, because of this one act of kindness, all her sins would be forgiven her. In the same source, we learn that he had a vision about a different kind of woman. Although not a sex worker, she was chastised after death because, on earth, she had tied up her cat continually and neglected to feed it or water it - so that it was not free even to fend for itself! In all of these narratives, the intention is crystal clear: Whatever our position in society, we must be kind to animals and must not neglect them or hurt them wantonly.”

“But meat-eating….”

“True. Perhaps the unsettled conditions of the time and the aridity of the land did not allow of vegetarianism. Yet, as I said, many more of us should be voluntary vegetarians for our own good.”

“And animal sacrifice?”

“That is, it is true, mentioned in our scripture. However, in our Holy Quran, we also find this extraordinary line in Chapter 22, Verse 37: ‘Their flesh will never reach Allah, nor yet their blood - but your devotion and piety will reach Him.’
“This wonderful saying lends itself to a very humane interpretation: namely, that we should concentrate on our prayers and personal devotion rather than relying blindly on animal sacrifice. Could that not also be extended to mean that animal sacrifice is not actually mandatory? Who is to say?”

“Perhaps those among you who preach and lay down the law?”

“Yes, one does wish that these eminent scholars and theologians would pronounce just such a ruling. The intention could be that we should exert ourselves in the matter of personal holiness rather than killing some poor animal.”

Sufism and Vegetarianism

Although the majority of Muslims are meat eaters, there is also widespread remembrance of Muhammad’s warning, Do not allow your stomachs to become graveyards! For this reason, meat is used in moderation in many traditional recipes. Many Sufis (esoteric Muslim practitioners) maintain that vegetarianism is in complete accord with Islamic doctrines and principles. The Sufi Qadiri Shaikh Abdul Karim Jili, commenting on Ibn Arabi’s advice to avoid animal fat during retreats, stated that “animal fat strengthens animality, and its principles will dominate the spiritual principles.”

Similarly, the Chishti Sufi Inayat Khan, who introduced Sufi principles to Europe and America in the early 1900s, observed that vegetarianism promotes compassion and harmlessness to living creatures, and that a vegetarian diet aids in the purification of the body and refinement of spiritual faculties.

Conclusion

Centuries ago, when it became necessary to feed large groups of persons in the desert, perhaps a camel was sacrificed. There is no need for it in this day and age. Let us hope that the custom would be abolished. Ending as I began, I should like to go back to another saying from the same book in the Mishkat-al-Masabih: A good deed done to a beast is as good as doing good to a human being; while an act of cruelty to a beast is as bad as an act of cruelty to human beings. In the light of such a marvellous pronouncement, it is my earnest hope that our Muslim religious authorities in India will do their utmost to prevent needless cruelties to animals.”

Vedic Observer

Islam and Christianity are not complete religions according to the Bhavisya Purana rather they are set of instructions given by prophets according to that time, place and circumstances. At one point in time Vedic culture was prevalent all over the world but as the time passed there was a a gradual degradation in values as predicted by Srimad Bhagavatam.

Hence in order to regulate the people the Lord ordained Judeo-Christian religions through some of his representatives so that people who have given up their vedic culture can at the least be humans instead of being as good as animals. So these religions evolved in western Asia. Their literature are no more than a set of rules and regulations that helps bringing some sanity and purpose in their lives. But they do not go in detail with respect to the Supreme God his qualities and the ways to approach him. That is the subject of the Vedic Scriptures. Devout and sincere followers of these religions might get an opportunity to go to heavenly realms to enjoy the results of their previous pious deeds but to relieve oneself from the cycle of birth and death one has to surrender to Lord Krishna.

References

1. Creatures_of_God.
2. Islam_and_Animals
3. Vegetarianism_in_Islam.
4. Islamic Concern: Animals in Islam
5. Islam and vegetarianism
6. Vegetarian News - Islamic Vegetarians
7. International Vegetarian Union Food of the Gods
8. vegetarian ABC — why/how
9. Muslims can’t be Vegetarian? Islam : Dietary Law
10. Feasts of the prophet: Ramadan and vegetarianism in Islam
11. vegeterian muslims

Compiled by LNDAS

Share

Save

Christianity and Vegetarianism

Introduction

Many Christians seem to turn a blind eye to the suffering of animals that is inflicted by humans. Sure, they are generally kind and caring people, who may love their dog or cat, but they do not seem to be at all concerned about the plight of the pigs, chickens, sheep and cows that they themselves eat.

It is difficult to understand why Christians, who generally consider themselves to be compassionate and caring, are not concerned about the suffering of these animals. On one hand they teach about a loving, compassionate, merciful God, but they contribute to so much unnecessary misery and suffering in their own lives. Here we try to explore the issues of Christianity and Vegetarianism on this page.

Animals have Souls?

One widespread rationalization in Christian circles, often used to justify humanity’s mistreatment of animals, is the erroneous belief that humans alone possess immortal souls, and only humans, therefore, are worthy of moral consideration. The 19th century German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, condemned such a philosophy in his On the Basis of Morality.

“Because Christian morality leaves animals out of account,” wrote Schopenhauer, “they are at once outlawed in philosophical morals; they are mere ‘things,’ mere means to any ends whatsoever. They can therefore be used for vivisection, hunting, coursing, bullfights, and horse racing, and can be whipped to death as they struggle along with heavy carts of stone. Shame on such a morality that is worthy of pariahs, and that fails to recognize the eternal essence that exists in every living thing, and shines forth with inscrutable significance from all eyes that see the sun!”

What does Bible say in this regards? Lets analyse.

St Francis and Animals

Most intriguing of all great apostles is St. Francis because many of the stories that surround the life of St. Francis deal with his love for animals. He not just saw that animals are living entities with Soul, he went a step ahead and did preach to them as well. Here are three accounts of such interaction.

Thou Shall not Kill

One of the Ten Commandments by Moses. But remains the most misunderstood one as well. For some its Thou shall not Murder. Another convenient misinterpretation by deceptive ideologues. According to Reuben Alcalay, one of the twentieth century’s great linguistic scholars and author of The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary, the commandment refers to “any kind of killing whatsoever.” The original Hebrew, he says, is Lo tirtzakh, which asks us to refrain from killing in toto. If what he says is true, we can analyze the commandment as follows: “Thou shalt not” needs no interpretation. The controversial word is “kill,” commonly defined as (1) to deprive of life; (2) to put an end to; (3) to destroy the vital or essential quality of. If anything that has life can be killed, an animal can be killed as well; according to this commandment, then, the killing of animals is forbidden. More

Scholars view

Animals are God’s creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God’s sight. … Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God’s absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering.
- Rev. Andew Linzey, Professor of Theology, Oxford University

To me, vegetarianism is fundamental to compassion, and I personally believe that a loving and compassionate God would prefer humans to be vegetarian, especially these days, and especially when it is better for our health, is less wasteful of resources, and is more sustainable for the beautiful planet that He has created.
- Rev David Ogilvie

Vedic Observer

In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
tāsāḿ brahma mahad yonir ahaḿ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father. - BG14.4

All living entities have soul and the soul transmigrates from one body to another. So no one can kill an animal and escape the sin associated with it. So to conclude Jesus Christ did practice and preach love towards all the creatures and did not advocate their large scale mechanized murder and consumption of meat.

Compiled by LNDAS

Share

Save