please differentiate

[Guest guest]

> Re: R: <ayurveda> please differentiate

>

> Posted by: "Yashendra Prasad" yashendra2 yashendra2

>

> Tue Jul 4, 2006 10:26 pm (PST)

>

> Dear Dr. Bhate,

>

> I beg to differ with u on the following note u have made: "Hindus

> did not always believe in the merits of vegetarianism. During the

> early Vedic period meat was often consumed after animal sacrifice

> to the Gods. In time, Animal sacrifices became less popular, and

> although people didn't give up eating meat entirely,

> they ate much less of it. Gradually, a lot of people became

> vegetarians. "

>

> This is completely untrue. Anybody who understands the basics of

> the Vedic concept of life & growth and

> the dynamics of life also understands that meat etc had & have no

> place with anything Vedic. Either some scholars have misinterpreted

> words (literally) or got influenced by certain works of pre-Buddha

> (or later)period when fallen communities had started misusing the

> Vedic karmkanda. Ahinsa etc. are all Vedic concepts and Buddha re-

> asserted it. He corrected the erring Brahmins and told them them

> "earlier this ( use of flesh in rituals)was never the practice."

> Dr. Radhakrishnan has written a good book on this.

 

my dear Yashendra

 

just saying something is untrue doesn't make it such

this is why science has evolved, to examine these truths and assess

them as best we can

i admit, its not always the best way to go about things, but perhaps

if you have an open mind you might see the merits as well

having an open mind allows us to challenge previously held beliefs

that may have limited us

 

perhaps you can see that many unskillful ideas and philosophies have

developed in India over the millennia

for e.g., some sects of "Hinduism" say that women can't attain

moksha, and other writings could be considered actively misogynist

for what its worth, the impact of such beliefs have contributed to

making women a second class citizen in India, on a much greater scale

then also what exists in the West (yes, we should all admit the

inherent goodness of women!)

 

Yashendra my feeling is that you will paint yourself into an

intellectual corner by insisting that Indian culture was always

vegetarian or for that matter has always been any one thing - the

evidence simply doesn't bear this out

 

here I guess we can agree to disagree - i won't disrespect you for it

and indeed i will call you brother because I know that the same God

energy flows through our body

 

but for the sake of discussion, if we confine ourselves to Ayurveda,

you cannot argue that the Ayurvedic texts make it clear that the use

of animal products is a valid therapeutic tool and dietary

ingredient, and have taken great care to describe them

 

the only reason this discussion persists is because some folks

apparently believe that this information isn't meant to be utilized,

and should be regarded as a kind of historical artifact, when I feel

that the incorporation of this knowledge simply expands and broadens

the practical utility of Ayurveda

 

anyway, i would like to thank my dear vegetarian colleagues for their

restraint in this discussion, to avoid making any of it personal

please know that i honor, love and respect you all

 

best wishes... todd

Caldecott

todd (AT) toddcaldecott (DOT) com

www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

In my early training i was taught that at certain stages of development mankind ate carnivorously and at other times he did not, which was to do with the development of mankind as a species or the use of appropriate incarnating tools required for mankind as a spiritual being. Along the way we learned that to increase aggression in soldiers they were fed meat. Since we mostly all agree that there are two basic emotions, love and fear and from these two come all emotions known to man, i assumed that today, man eats meat to increase all the physical aspects of his nature and the lower emotions, fear, anger, etc and would choose not to eat meat in order to elevate his consciousness, turning to vegetables, fruits etc instead. It is a very complex matter but not one that i connect with religion, since I don't consider religion and spirituality to necessarily be synonymous.

 

Either way it is a purely personal matter and no one else's business but one's own.

 

My comment that "to elevate man's consciousness beyond fear is helped by eliminating meat from the diet" still stands even in crowded places.

 

Best,

 

Jane