Book Review "Holy Cow"

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Book Review "Holy Cow"

 

BY VASU MURTI

 

USA, Aug 26 — Book Review by Vasu Murti

 

"Holy Cow: The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism & Animal

Rights" by Steven J. Rosen, Lantern Books: New York, NY 2004

 

In his book, "Holy Cow," author Steven Rosen (Satyaraja dasa) does

an expert job of explaining the philosophy and history of the

sankirtana movement to nondevotees. He begins by quoting Srila

Prabhupada as saying, "Real philosophy is nothing more than

this: 'friendliness to all living entities.'" Rosen explains that

devotees do not artificially renounce the material world, but rather

engage it in Lord Krishna's service. Offering one's food to Krishna

is a standard Vaishnava practice, which Rosen compares to the

Eucharist in Christianity-sacramental food.

 

This is an appropriate analogy. Madhavendra Puri dasa (Steve

Bernath) of the Bhaktivedanta Institute reports that in 1986, when

devotees in San Diego, CA held a Jewish-Vaishnava interfaith

conference, none of the rabbis present would take prasadam-because

it was food offered to idols. On the other hand, Catholic clergy

have defended devotees against charges of idolatry from Christian

fundamentalists, and some of them have even compared prasadam

favorably to the Eucharist.

 

"If people are to be educated in the path back to Godhead," writes

Srila Prabhupada, "they must be taught first and foremost to stop

the process of animal-killing." Rosen does a good job of

demonstrating (through quotes from the Vedic scriptures) that the

ancient Vedic religion espoused vegetarianism and nonviolence. Rosen

refutes Professor D.N. Jha, author of "The Myth of the Holy Cow," a

book which claims the ancient Vedic religion supported flesh-eating

and animal sacrifice. Rosen shows that the sacrifices were meant to

elevate people in the lower modes of nature, and that they were

permitted only in previous yugas; thus, the Vedas uphold

vegetarianism and nonviolence as a moral ideal..

 

On the issue of cow protection, Rosen quotes Gandhi and the Rig

Veda, and describes Krishna's pastimes as a cowherd boy and a butter

thief in Vrindavan. He quotes Srila Prabhupada as saying that

abortion, like war, is the karmic reaction for killing animals-

especially cows. Srila Prabhupada said, "If you kill the cow, who is

your mother, then in some future lifetime your mother will kill

you." Devotees have always scoffed at people who protest war, march

for peace, protest nuclear weapons, etc.

 

while eating meat, but Srila Prabhupada said the same thing about

abortion! Rosen cites James Lovelock's "Gaia Principle," and

describes a Vedic "ecotheology" to demonstrate the importance of

protecting cows. He shows how modern science confirms that cow

products-milk, ghee, dung, urine, etc.-are beneficial to human

society.

 

Rosen explains how foods fall into different modes of nature,

according to Bhagavad-gita, and explains Ayurveda to a Western

audience. He quotes distinguished historian Will Durant, in "Our

Oriental Heritage," as having said of Ayurveda, "Many of its

diagnoses and cures are still used in India, with a success that is

sometimes the envy of Western physicians."

 

It is in Chapter 4, entitled, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," that Rosen's

scholarship really begins to shine. This chapter contains numerous

quotes from Srila Prabhupada about the immorality of killing animals

for food, and the hypocrisy of the Christian religious leaders in

sanctioning this practice. Rosen should have quoted a purport from

the First Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, where Srila Prabhupada

says, "It is nonsensical to say that the killing of animals has

nothing to do with spiritual realization." Similarly, in his purport

to the Srimad Bhagavatam 6.10.9, Srila Prabhupada writes: "One

cannot continue killing animals and at the same time be a religious

man. That is the greatest hypocrisy. Jesus Christ said, 'Do not

kill,' but hypocrites nevertheless maintain thousands of

slaughterhouses while posing as Christians. Such hypocrisy is

condemned..."

 

Srila Prabhupada even candidly told a Catholic priest in London in

1973, that, "Animal-killers cannot understand God. I have seen this.

It is a fact." Rosen quotes Srila Prabhupada as saying, "...as far

as meat-eating is concerned, every cow will die-so you just wait

awhile, and there will be so many dead cows. Then you can take all

the dead cows and eat...Don't kill. When the cow is dead, you can

eat it." One of the first things I learned from devotees was that

Srila Prabhupada said this about meat in general: if you want to eat

meat, wait until the animal dies of natural causes. This indicates

that Srila Prabhupada was not thinking in terms of "dietary laws,"

or food in the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance, but rather

in terms of the rights of the animals.

 

The Srimad Bhagavatam quotes Maharaja Pariksit as having said, "only

the animal-killer cannot relish the message of the Absolute Truth."

And Srila Prabhupada is quoted on page 81 of "Holy Cow" as

saying, "if the Christians want to love God, they must stop killing

animals." Srila Prabhupada not only opposed killing animals for

food, he also opposed killing animals for sport and animal

experimentation. These facts should have been mentioned in "Holy

Cow." These facts indicate that devotees of Krishna are vegetarian

out of compassion for animals, and not just because meat, fish and

eggs are unofferable to Krishna. It is a significant fact that Srila

Prabhupada did not reject any of his fallen disciples, as long as

they did not return to meat-eating.

 

In describing Food For Life, Rosen quotes Srila Prabhupada as having

said, "To distribute prasadam to millions of hungry people hankering

for spiritual emancipation. This is the mission of the Krishna

consciousness movement." (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.9 purport) A

Nigerian radio station compared Food For Life with "the second

coming of Jesus, because just as he fed the masses, so the Hare

Krishnas were feeding thousands of people."

 

Steven J. Rosen's "Holy Cow," would be an excellent book to give to

congregational members, friends, relatives and well-wishers of

devotees, college students, academicians, and anyone else interested

in the relationship between theology and compassionate living.

 

As an ISKCON Life Member, author of "They Shall Not Hurt or

Destroy," and an animal rights activist, I am pleased to endorse

this book.

 

Holy Cow! The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism and Animal

Rights, $17, 1-59056-066-3 (New York: Lantern Books, 2004). 240

pages with pictures and index. By Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa)

 

Preface by Chrissie Hynde

Foreword by Mukunda Goswami

 

ORDERING INFORMATION:

 

This book may be ordered online at www.lanternbooks.com or at

www.amazon.com or by calling customer service in the USA at 1 (800)

856-8664. It may also be special ordered at any bookstore. For bulk

and wholesale orders please call customer service or send an email

message to anthroposophicmail