[Advaita-l] Vegetarianism

[Rajaram Venkataramani]

On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, Vidyasankar Sundaresan wrote:

>
>
> Rajaram, if you are satisfied that a Puja was done before growing the rice
> and vegetables that you buy in your local grocery store in the UK, great.
> If
> you think that this somehow grants you superior credentials to talk about
> dharma, as compared to countless generations of Bengali Brahmanas who
> may have eaten fish on a regular basis, or others who may have eaten
> meat, you are welcome to your opinions. Just don't expect that all others
> have to agree.

By merely travelling to the US or UK, I might have violated apasthamba.
 The fact that I am not an ideal vaidhika does not make fish eating bengali
brahmanas ideal. I recognise that puja is not done in UK and Burma Devi is
exploited. Silence about that would be wrong but that is not the case.
Please visit http://www.thelotustrust.org/index.php. We will change the UK
for good - have no doubts.

The British uprooted my ancestors. When they tried to take away the lands
that the kings had given my forefathers, my great great grand father
divided the land and gave it to individuals. But the next generation did
not protect vaidhika dharma and forced my grand father went to work as a
teacher wearing shikha, dhoti and no shirt. Or else how can he feed 12
children? My father could not agford 25 paise for train and ran approx. 10
km for edication. The other jatis in the vilage did not think that it is in
their interest also to protect vaidhika dharma. My grandfather chanted
Kanagadharastavm 1 lakh times and none in his lineage now know poverty by
Ishwara's grace. We recently visited the village and the fight for land
further divided the other jatis. Having been cheated by the greedy caste
politicians, they are looking for brahminical guidance again to get culture
and peace again. Give that we will but from a position of strength through
well run institutions that protect vaidhika dharma. Personally my sama Veda
teacher told me that I can master it in three years giving the example of
one in Mylapore who did it 40. Of course, my daughter thinks I have
irreparable apaswaram :)

 After all, you are the one who does not need SAstra to tell
> you what is right and wrong; it is all very clear to you! Others want one
> or
> more reference points in history and tradition.


I very much respect tradition and custom but  in addition to mere custom,
we need to look for scriptural evidence. There is none to support mass
slaughter of fishes etc. Kanchi Mahaperiyava says that Brahmins only ate
prescribed quantity of meat even in soma yajnas.

I never said that we do not need sastras to know what is right from wrong.
I only said that we all know what is himsa through pratyaksha and anumana.
However, we need sastras to be convinced that a righteous war or a Vedic
yajna, though it involves himsa, is required. And there is inevitable himsa
in life, which is removed through partaking remnants of yajna (prasadam).

>
> That said, I give up. This is officially the last time I respond to
> anything you
> have to say. If ever I respond to something you post in future, please feel
> free to point to this email and tell me to go away.


You are my friend and teacher. Even if you said something incorrect that
teaches me how even great scholars and deep thinkers can make mistakes. It
puts me on guard. If you think it is pointless  to talk to me on this
topic, don't. If you think it is pointless to talk to me on any topic,
don't. But if you did talk to me, I will appreciate your kindness and
humility - no question of asking you or any one to go away.

>
> Thanks too for the quite unnecessary reminder about attachment to the list.
> Yes, as a moderator, I have a duty to keep discussion threads on track, but
> rest assured, I am under no illusions that this is "my" list.


I agree. You are running this knowledgeable and open forum. The high level
of openness shows detachment. The only point I make is you should not
moderate a thread that you contribute to as a member.

I am also under no illusion that it is my list. I suggest that you discuss
amongst the moderators and other core members. And let me know if I should
continue to post my questions and views. Until then I will desist from
posting.

>
> Best wishes for your pursuits,

Thanks and namaskarams.

> Vidyasankar
>
>
> > To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org <javascript:;>
> > From: rajaramvenk at gmail.com <javascript:;>
> > Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:45:53 +0000
> > Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Vegetarianism
> >
> > If I say that raso vai sah is the mantra to chant when you eat rasam :),
> you can argue that I am making flippant remarks. I am asking you to protect
> dharma whose purpose is to nurture not destroy lives indiscriminately for
> selfish gains in the name of custom and without sastric basis. If you don't
> understand the dharma point being made by me, you should spare the list of
> your posts giving up any sense of attachment that this is my list and I am
> the moderator.
> >
> > To your point, there are pujas done even today when you plant
> vegetables, harvest etc. So, we don't need to chant specific mantras for
> eating vegetables etc. For animal sacrifices, as you must know, there are
> specific rules on what mantras to chant when you kill, who should eat what
> part etc. So, it is fair to ask you to tell me the yajna to kill fish.
> Kanchi Mahaperiyava specifically says that brahmins did not eat meat but
> only pea nut size from yajnas.
>
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