You are here: SriPedia - SriRangaSri - Archives - Aug 2003

SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00000 Aug 2003

 
Aug 2003 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


I see in my mail box that this message was undeleivarable. So I am posting 
again. I agree with sriman Anbil swamy on 'Ahimsa paramo dharmaha' & my write 
up below - in line with sri sampradayam says clearly that it is 'bhagavannama 
sankeerthanam' thats important. Greatest yagnyam is bhaagavatha kainkaryam - 
pashumedhams dont match it. Serving own parents gives all that one can achieve 
through yagnyas.


Dear Swamy,

I agree with your vivid explanation about our scriptures. There had been 
somayagis even in the kaliyuga till very recently too. I heard about the yagnya 
performed by navalpakkam swamy and he performed shraddha to the sacrificial 
goat till his end. Please also add to your text that now is not the yuga for 
indulging in sacrifices like that which need hard niyamas & are difficult to 
follow. 

Vedic sampradayam is actually an evolution or more precisely a process of 
discovery by many sages. They first discovered that yagnyas give what they 
wanted (ishtakaamyam). Later they realised 'yagnya phalam' is not the ultimate 
goal ....& so on.


In the verse "Yah poorvyaya vedhase naviyase ..... garbhagum havishaa 
piparthana, aasya janantho namachidvivakthana" it is equivalent to performing 
yagnya by simply doing namasankeerthana of lord. In aswamedham also it is 
clearly said many times "ya uchainam evam veda" means one who knows this & 
recites also get the phalam. In fact doing "Brahmayagnyam" daily yields similar 
benefits. So no need to perform any sacrifice having to take the life of any 
animal. It amounts to 'jeeva himsa' if some 'lopa' occurs in doing any yagya. 
Swamy Deshikan clearly says in Dayashathakam that committing sins (yagnya with 
lopa inclusive) and doing prayaschittam for all ('anubhavithum 
aghogham...prashamayithum ashesham nishkriyabhihi na shakyam....') is 
impossible as in the prayaschittam process new sins could be committed. 

So although eminent swamies performed yagya in days of yore, such need not be 
practised now. Lets live with 'Kalau keshava keerthanath' in a committed way.

Sajjana Pada padma paramanuhu
Lakshmi Narasimhan dasan

Ram Anbil <Ramanbil@xxxx> wrote:AHIMSA PARAMO DHARMAH
Excerpts from Chapter 13 of "HInduism Rediscovered"

Non Violence Is the Supreme Virtue' Says Hinduism.
Seeing God in every living being, Hinduism inculcates a veneration for every 
thing - Cows, ants etc. Even rivers are considered to be living beings, 
hence venerated as also trees as vouched in the Sastras and expounded 
scientifically by the great Indian Scientist J.C.BOSE. This reverence is 
expressed in forms of 'Ahimsa' or nonviolence to animals as well as humans 
and as a result most pious Hindus are vegetarian. The word 'Ahimsa' is 
derived from the root "Han" to kill. or 'To damage'. By adding the negative 
prefix it means not to kill.
There are 4 aspects of this negative connotation.
1. Vegetarianism
2. Harmlessnes
3. Pacifism and
4. Passive resistance
On the positive aspect it means compassion (i.e) Actual assistance to all 
living creatures who are in need. Karuna (Intelligent charity) Maitri 
(Active good deed) and Daya (Tender sympathy) are its other positive 
manifestations.

A doubt can arise whether the principle of 'Ahimsa' so loudly proclaimed is 
not inconsistent with the sacrifiice of goats, horses etc referred to in the 
Vedas. No doubt, the Vedas did prescribe some animal sacrifices; it even 
spoke of 'Purushamedha' a human sacrifice. But, the concept should be viewed 
in the context in which they were so prescribed.

The Upanishads which came subsequently to analyze and explain the Vedic 
texts lost no time in clarifying that these sacrifices were more symbolic 
and allegorical than referring to the actual sacrifice of the animals or 
human and that the effects of these sacrifices could be secured by 
substitute materials like Gritha (Ghee), Masha (Black gram) and certain 
other leafy vegetables.

Even today, it may be observed that in the shradda ceremonies, Ghee, Rice, 
Black gram and Thila (sesame seeds) are used, may be as substitutes for the 
sacrifice of living beings. This view has been upheld in subsequent 
recensions and sacrifice of living beings is prohibited by Dharma as also by 
law.

A further question can be asked whether vegetariniasm is not also "himsa" in 
the sense that it has been proved that plants have life? It has further been 
proved that in the case of plants, lifeline runs in the trunks in some 
cases, roots in others and seeds in others and that is why Sastras have 
prohibited cutting the plants at their respective lifelines - and this has 
been confirmed by modern science. Modern Science concurs with Sastras in the 
view that those parts where the lifelines do not run, no harm is caused when 
those parts are cut. These parts correspond to say hairs on our head or the 
nails on our fingers or toes which when cut or clipped do not entail any 
pain.
The cow is an expression of brotherhood between man and beast, of man's 
'identity with all that lives'.

The cow is referred to as "Gomatha" and is treated with the same respect as 
one would treat one's own mother. Modern scholars are convinced that "Milk 
and dung from cows contribute far more to Indian society than what 
butchering the scrawny beasts would accomplish"6

Mahaabhaarata states clearly that killing of a cow was the worst of all 
crimes. "All that kill, eat and permit the killing of cows rot in hell for 
as many years as there are hairs on the body of the cow so slain" 7

The 'Panchagavya' or the five products from the cow Viz., milk, curd, ghee, 
dung and urine are deemed the most sacred amalgm that can purify any 
defilement.

In fact, 'Ahimsa' is called the first of flowers:'Ahimsa Prathamam Pushpam' 
- Hinduism holds everything is but a spark of the same divinity and 
therefore no harm should be done to anything that is living.

Lord Krishna declares
"The wise see alike in regard to one well endowed with learning and 
humility, a Brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog - eater (because 
they know that though different outwardly in form, they have similar souls" 
8

Like Truth, 'Ahimsa' cannot be an 'absolute' one. Supposing somebody tries 
to rape a woman. Hinduism does not say that she should not offer any 
resistance. Even Mahatma Gandhi; the greatest protagonist of Nonviolence 
advised the woman to use all in her power and command not only to resist but 
go to the extent of killing the criminal, if she finds it necessary and goes 
on to say that such an act on her part will not constitute violence, since 
it is done in pure self defence of her honor.
=============================================================

_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online 
http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963



Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Srirangasri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. 




---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list