does sastra prescribes animal sacrifices for the sake of religion

7/23/2019 Does Sastra Prescribes Animal Sacrifices for the Sake of Religion

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There are many systems of religion in which animalsacrices are recommended. Such animal sacrices areinauspicious both for the performer and for the animal.

Although one is sometimes permitted to sacrice ananimal before the goddess Kali and eat it instead ofpurchasing meat from a slaughterhouse, permission to eatmeat after a sacrice in the presence of the goddess Kaliis not the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Itis simply a concession for the miserable person who willnot gie up eating meat. It is meant to restrict his desirefor unrestricted meat!eating. Such a religious system is

condemned



"ne may argue that the sacrice of animals isrecommended in the #edas. This recommendation,howeer, is a restriction. $ithout #edic restrictions on thepurchase of meat, people will purchase meat from the

mar%et, which will be oer&ooded with meat shops, andslaughterhouses will increase. To restrict this, sometimesthe #edas say that one may eat meat after sacricing aninsignicant animal li%e a goat before the goddess Kali. Inany case, a system of religion in which animal sacricesare recommended is inauspicious for those who performthe sacrices and for the animals.

There are always animal!%illers and animal!eaters inhuman society because less ciili'ed people are alwaysaccustomed to eat meat. In the #edic ciili'ation, meat!eaters are adised to %ill an animal for the goddess Kali or

a similar dei!deata. This is in order not to gie theanimal unnecessary pain, as slaughterhouses do. In thebali!dana sacrice to a demigod, it is recommended to cutthe throat of an animal with one slice. This should be doneon a dar%!moon night, and the painful noises e(pressed bythe animal at the time of being slaughtered are not to beheard by anyone. There are also many other restrictions.Slaughter is allowed only once a month, and the %iller of

the animal has to su)er similar pains in his ne(t life. Atthe present moment, so!called ciili'ed men do notsacrice animals to a deity in a religious or ritualistic way.They openly %ill animals daily by the thousands for nopurpose other than the satisfaction of the tongue.*ecause of this the entire world is su)ering in so many



ways. Politicians are unnecessarily declaring war, andaccording to the stringent laws of material nature,massacres are ta%ing place between nations.

+o one should thin% that he has the freedom to %illanimals and not to su)er the conseuences. -eryactionsbears reactions ."ne cannot be safe by doing this. +rada/uni says that animal!%illing is o)ensie, especially whenanimals are gien unnecessary pain. /eat!eaters andanimal!%illers are adised not to purchase meat from theslaughterhouse. They can worship Kali once a month, %illsome unimportant animal and eat it. -en by followingthis method, one is still an o)ender.

0ou cannot open slaughterhouse, giing reference to the

#edas or any sacrice, either in the Islam, 1ews andeeryone. They also ma%e sacrice. "ne day in the yearthey sacrice. It is not that they recommend openslaughterhouse. This is all nonsense, ra%2asa. Thissacrice is also recommended in this sense, that youcannot stop animal %illing3 there will always be a class ofmen who4ll eat meat. To gie them some concession, thisis recommended, 5All right, if you want to eat meat, you

sacrice.5 Amongst the 6indus, 7ust li%e Ka%i!pu7a, 8urga!pu7a, the animal!eaters, they are gien this concession,that 5If you want to eat meat, you 7ust worship GoddessKali,5 and this Goddess Kali worshiping is recommendedon the amaasya, on the dar% moon night, one day in amonth, and the dead of night. So if one goes on eating



meat in this way, one day in a month and dead of night,then he automatically will gie it up. 5So muchbotheration. *etter gie it up.5 Actually denies. 50es, youcan eat once in a month and at the dead of night, when

eeryone will sleep, nobody can hear the screaming of theanimal.5 These are the recommendations. That isindirectly denying. If one is intelligent, he4ll accept it that5$hy so much botheration for eating meat9 *etter to gieit up.5

In the #edic literature there are numerous prescription ofsacrice. And in some of the sacrices animal sacrice isalso recommended. animal sacrice does not mean to %illthe animal. Animal sacrice means to proe the strengthof #edic hymns so that one old animal is put into the reand he4s gien again a new life, renewed life, 7ust to show

the potency of the hymns, #edic hymns. *ut in this age ofKali!yuga, those sacrices are forbidden by sastras. So:ord *uddha, when he saw that people are sacricinganimals in the name of religious rituals without any pityfor them, at that time :ord *uddha appeared. Therefore itis stated, sadaya!h;daya!dar<ita!pa<u!ghtam= 5/y dear:ord, 0ou hae appeared as :ord *uddha, 7ust beingcompassionate to the poor animals.5 :ord *uddha

preached ahi>sa paramo dharma?= 5The best religiousprinciple is to become noniolent.5 6e preached thisphilosophy, that 5If somebody hurts you, you feel pain,then why should you %ill other animal and put it intopainful condition9 So don4t do these sinful actiities.5 Thatwas his main principle of philosophy that he preached.



Therefore according to #edic system, the meat!eater isgien chance by sacricing an animal before some dei!deata. +ot free slaughterhouse. +o. That you cannot do.@ndergoing that process, someday he will come to hissenses that 5/eat!eating and %illing of animal is notgood.5 *ecause there are so many mantras. If you

understand mantras, the mantra, when a goat is sacricedbefore Goddess Kali, before the goat being cut by histhroat, the priest says that 5*ecause you are sacricingyour life before Goddess Kali, ne(t life you are going tohae human form of body for your, this sacrice.5"therwise you hae to undergo the process. That isgradual eolutionary process. *ut because you are forcedsomehow or other in the presence of mother material

energy, she will gie you the facility to promoteimmediately to the human form of life. And as humanbeing, you will hae eery right to %ill this man who is%illing you now. That is meaning of mantra mamsa whichis recited during the sacricial ceremony. /m means me,sa means he. 56e will also eat me.5 So I will hae to ta%ethe form of a goat in my ne(t life. And he will ta%e theform of a human being and he will get the chance of %illing

me. 6e can e(cuse, but he will get the chance. This is thebandhana. Karma!bandhana.

So after hearing all these mantras, if one still ta%es theris% of eating meat, let him do that. *ut who is that saneman who will ta%e this ris%9 This is the meaning ofsacrice. +ot that it is a slaughterhouse substitute. +o.



They will understand that what %ind of ris% they are goingto ta%e by %illing the animal under the name of sacrice.Another thing is that to sacrice the goat before thegoddess Kali means it is restricted. *ecause the

prescription is that one can sacrice a goat beforeGoddess Kl only on the dar% moon night, amaasya.That is once in a month. So een the sastra gies one thefacility, but the facility is restricted not forencouragement ,but it is li%e a concession for some people,who are too much addicted to it. As much as marriage.$hat is the di)erence between married se( and withoutwife9 Bestricted. 0ou restrict to one woman. 0ou don4t

spoil many women and get syphilis disease. 0ou see9 Thisis restricted. Bestricted to one man, restricted to onewoman, restricted once in a month.

So actually wheneer there is sanction in the sastra, thatis not encouraging. That is restriction. So one cannot giethis eidence, 5"h, your #edas say this is sanctioned.5 *utthat sanction is restriction. :o%e yaymi2a!madya!senity hi 7antor na hi tatra codan. The sastra is not

encouraging. *ecause there is no need of encouraging. Itis already %nown to him. $hy the sastra encourage9 Thisis not encouragement. This is restriction. The samee(ample can be gien. 1ust li%e when goernment opensliuor shop it is not encouragement. It is restriction. 0oucannot hae liuor manufactured by yourself anywhere,eerywhere3 otherwise it will increase more and more. Soyou hae to pay heay ta( and purchase. And there are so

many other rules and regulations. So this is restriction.$hen there is liuor shop licensed by the goernment, itdoes not mean it is encouragement. At least that is thephilosophy. It is restriction. So all these facilities giensometimes in the sastras or by the goernment for



drin%ing or for into(ication or for se( or for gambling, thatis restricted.

. If I say directly, 58on4t eat meat,5 he4ll protest, 5$hyshall I not9 It is our food. I must eat.5 Therefore, instead of directly prohibiting, the sastra says, 50es, yes, you can

eat. *ut by sacricing it before Goddess Kali.5 That meanscondition, restriction.

Similarly, marriage. /arriageCwhat is the meaning ofmarriage9 -eryone can hae se( without marriage. Sowhat it means, marriage9 /arriage means restriction.That4s all. That you hae se(, but a particular selectedwoman, man. That4s... +o more. That4s all. That ismarriage. So all the #edic rules are there... Dstra says=

lo%e yaymi2a!madya!se nity hi 7antor na hi tatracodan. $hy this demigod worship, marriage, these areprescribed9 They are prescribed to stop it, not toencourage it. *ut the foolish persons, they say, 5$ell, it isin the <stra. $hy shall I not do95 Therefore :ord *uddha,when he appeared, he wanted to stop this animal %illing,but because these rascals will show the eidence that56ere is sanctioned by the #edas to %ill an animal before

Goddess Kl. $hy you stop95 Therefore he said, 5I don4tcare for your #edas.5 *ecause his only idea was to stopthis animal %illing. Ahi>s.

So we should %now, wheneer there is sanction in the<stra for meat!eating, for se( intercourse, or for



drin%ing, it is not for encouraging3 it is for prohibiting,restricting

Animals li%e hogs and cows were o)ered in sacrice totest the proper e(ecution of the sacrice. "therwise,there was no purpose in %illing the animal. Actually the

animal was o)ered in the sacricial re to get are7uenated life. Generally an old animal was sacriced inthe re. and it would come out again in a youthful body.Some of the rituals howeer, did not reuire animalsacrice.Such sacrices are impossible in this age due tothe scarcity of e(pert brahmaEas who are able to ta%e theresponsibility. In the present age of %ali yuga, animalsacrices are strictly forbidden. As stated by Sri Faitanya/ahaprabhu=

a<amedha> galambha>

sannysa> pala!pait;%am

deareEa sutotpatti>

%alau paca iar7ayet

5In this age of Kali, e acts are forbidden= the o)ering of

a horse in sacrice, the o)ering of a cow in sacrice, theacceptance of the order of sannysa, the o)ering ofoblations of &esh to the forefathers, and a man4sbegetting children in his brother4s wife.5



It is eident that %2atriyas %illed animals in the forestbecause the &esh of the animals was suitable to beo)ered at a particular type of ya7na. ")ering oblations tothe forefathers in the ceremony %nown as sraddha is alsoa %ind of ya7a. In this ya7a, &esh obtained from theforest by hunting could be o)ered. 6oweer, in the

present age, Kali!yuga, this %ind of o)ering is strictlyforbidden.

In this age, Kali!yuga, eeryone is e(pert in huntinganimals, but most of the people are sudras, not %2atriyas.According to #edic in7unctions, howeer, only %2atriyas areallowed to hunt, whereas sudras are allowed to eat &eshafter o)ering goats or other insignicant animals beforethe deity of goddess Kali or similar deatas.

Animal sacrice is there 7ust to ma%e e(periment of the#edic mantra. An animal is sacriced in the altar, and he isgien again life, re7uenated life. An old cow sacriced,and he gets a youth, young Hbody. If the animal comesout alie, then it is to be considered that the #edic



mantras are being recited correctly. +ot to %ill and eat, no,no, that is not the purpose. 1ust li%e in laboratories, theyma%e some e(periment on the animal, similarly this is li%ethat. The animal is sacriced, and he is re7uenated in

young life. "ld life is sacriced, and he gets a new body.Then it is to be understood that in this ritualisticceremony the mantras are chanted correctly. That is theirpower. *ut because in this age such learned brahmaEasare not aailable, therefore it is stopped

The animal %illing is there in the #edas, but what thepurpose9 That is to test the #edic mantra. An animal willbe put into the re, and by #edic mantra he4ll bere7uenated. That is sacrice, animal sacrice. +ot that foreating purpose. Therefore in this age of Kali, Faitanya/ahprabhu has forbidden any %ind of ya7na because

there is no, I mean to say, e(pert brahmaEa who can chantthe mantras and ma%e e(periment of the #edic mantrasthat 56ere is coming out.5 That is... *efore performingya7a, how the mantra is potent, that was tested bysacricing animal and again giing new life. Then it is tobe understood that the priests who were chanting thatmantra, that is right. That was a test. +ot for ma%ing ourstomach graeyard of meat .



There are two ways of animal!%illing. "ne way is in thename of religious sacrices. All the religions of the worldCe(cept the *uddhistsChae a program for %illing animalsin places of worship. According to #edic ciili'ation, the

animal!eaters are recommended to sacrice a goat in thetemple of Kl under certain restrictie rules andregulations and eat the &esh. Similarly, they arerecommended to drin% wine by worshiping the goddessFaEJi%. The purpose is restriction. People hae gien upall this restriction. +ow they are regularly opening winedistilleries and slaughterhouses and indulging in drin%ingalcohol and eating &esh. A #ai2Eaa acarya li%e +arada

/uni %nows ery well that persons engaged in suchanimal!%illing in the name of religion are certainlybecoming inoled in the cycle of birth and death,forgetting the real aim of life= to go home, bac% toGodhead.

Thus the great sage +rada, while instructing Srimad!*hagaatam to #yasa /uni, condemned the %arma!%aEJaHfruitie actiities mentioned in the #edas. +arada told

#yasa=

7ugupsita> dharma!%;te 4nu<sata?

sabha!ra%tasya mahn yati%rama?

yad %yato dharma ittara? sthito

na manyate tasya niraEa> 7ana?

5The people in general are naturally inclined to en7oy, andyou hae encouraged them in that way in the name ofreligion. This is erily condemned and is uiteunreasonable. *ecause they are guided under yourinstructions, they will accept such actiities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions.5 HS* .L.L



1ust li%e a person is attached to eat meat. +ow if all of asudden if he is instructed that meat eating is not good. "ra person is attached to drin% liuor. If he at once said thatliuor is not good, he cannot accept. Therefore in thePuraEas we4ll nd, 5All right, if you want to eat meat, you

7ust worship goddess Kali and sacrice a goat before the

goddess. And you can eat meat. 0ou cannot eat meat or&esh by purchasing from the slaughterhouse or butchershop. 0ou hae to eat in this way.5 That means restriction.*ecause if you want to perform the sacrice before thegoddess Kali, there is a certain date, there is a certainparaphernalia, you hae to arrange for that. And thatpu7a, that worship is allowed on the dar% moon light. Sodar% moon night means once in a month. And the mantras

are chanted in this way3 the goat is adised that 50ou aresacricing your life before the goddess Kali. So you getimmediately promotion to hae a human form of life.5Actually it happens. *ecause to come to the standard ofhuman form of life one liing entity has to pass through somany eolutionary process. *ut the goat who agrees orwho is by force sacriced before the goddess Kali he getsimmediate promotion to the human form of life. And the

mantra says, that 50ou hae got the right to %ill this manwho is sacricing.5 /amsa. /a>sa means that you willalso eat his &esh, ne(t birth. 5$hy eat this &esh9 Then I4llhae to repay with my &esh. $hy shall I do this 7ob95 0ousee. The whole idea is to restrain him.



/amsa means m> sa %hadati. $hen I eat meat, m>sa,

it means, 5This animal also will eat me again.5

This is the meaning of mamsa. 0ou cannot escape this.5:ife for life.5 That is the law eerywhere. If you hae

murdered somebody, you must be %illed also. So you canescape the so!called state laws, but you cannot escape thelaws of the material nature.

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does sastra prescribes animal sacrifices for the sake of religion

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