Community: Forum: Wisdom & Spirituality
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Share your wisdom related to veg*n spirituality, yoga, meditation, life, etc... or ask a deep question you seek answers to.
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| Topic | Post Date | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus was a vegetarian Jesus is a vegetarian! Post Date: 06/01/16, Replies: 39 | ||
| Does Going Veg Make You Feel Better? Hello Everyone. Please feel free to respond to this question: Does going vegetarian (or vegan) make you feel better as a person, spritually-speaking?? Post Date: 05/07/12, Replies: 33 | ||
| "Belief" vs. Free Thinking "Belief" and "faith" in supernatural beings is not very compatible with free thinking. Religion teaches us not to think but to just have "faith". Just like politicians and hustlers. Religion makes us obedient puppets to those in power (corporations or churches). I'm anti-war, anti-racism, anti-sexism, and anti-speciesism. All this without a "god"! Donny Lutz Author Post Date: 02/11/17, Replies: 25 | ||
| ...the religion of Jesus has been lost.. I was researching original Christianity & "veganism in Wales" today for a website that I am working on - here are a couple of quotes which I had forgotten about for too long - I hope that some of you enjoy them. "Paul the apostate" really messed up seriously! If anyone has Wales related quotes / snippets please share them with me. Thank you. J. http://www.compassionatespirit.com/was_jesus_a_vegetarian.htm Jesus believed in simple living and nonviolence, and felt that this was part of the law of God. Jesus was undoubtedly vegetarian, since this was the original teaching of Jewish Christianity. Jesus did not bring a new theology, but rather a radical understanding of the law. For Jesus, the law commands nonviolence; we are not to shed blood, whether the blood of humans in warfare or the blood of animals in meat consumption or animal sacrifice. Jesus risked and gave his life to disrupt the wicked and bloody animal sacrifices in the temple. But the religion of Jesus has been lost from modern Christianity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David St. David - a 5th / 6th C Welsh vegan The Monastic Rule of David prescribed that monks had to pull the plough themselves without draught animals; to drink only water; to eat only bread with salt and herbs; and to spend the evenings in prayer, reading and writing. No personal possessions were allowed: to say "my book" was an offence. He lived a simple life and practiced asceticism, teaching his followers to refrain from eating meat or drinking beer. His symbol, also the symbol of Wales, is the leek. Post Date: 02/19/09, Replies: 24 | ||
| Jesus's dietary status I just heard a proclomation that "Christ was vegan" on the Go Vegan Radio show. I had heard from other sources in the past that the government covered up Jesus's vegetarianism. Have others heard of this? It makes sense that he would have been avegetarian condering "Thou shat not kill" is a commandment. It also is conceivable that the governmetn and meat/fish industry would want to have a fact such as this omitted. Post Date: 04/07/14, Replies: 21 | ||
| Yoga Anyone? Hello, Am curious to know if any HappyCow site visitor practices yoga. If you do, what has your experience been like? What insights have you gained if any? Any tips for aspiring yogis? Post Date: 05/05/11, Replies: 18 | ||
| Buddhist Scriptures On Vegetarianism The Pali Canon is permeated with Suttas (Sutras) that espouse the virtues of not killing or causing to kill. “Monks, one possessed of three qualities is put into Purgatory according to his actions. What three? One is himself a taker of life, encourages another to do the same and approves thereof. Monks, one possessed of three qualities is put into heaven according to his actions. What three? He himself abstains from taking life, encourages another to so abstain, and approves of such abstention.” Anguttara Nikaya, 3.16 “All beings tremble before danger, all fear death. When a man considers this, he does not kill or cause to kill. All beings fear before danger, life is dear to all. When a man considers this, he does not kill or cause to kill.” Dhammapada, 129-130 “Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, remain addicted to the enjoyment of stored-up goods such as food, drink, clothing, carriages, beds, perfumes and meat, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such enjoyment.” Brahmajala Sutra, Digha Nikaya In the following verse, the Buddha describes the only thing that should be killed: “What is the one thing, O Gotama, whose killing you approve? Having slain anger, one sleeps soundly; having slain anger, one does not sorrow; the killing of anger, with its poisoned root and honeyed tip: This is the killing the nobles ones praise, for having slain that, one does not sorrow.” Samyutta Nikaya, chapter 2 In the following verses, we find more direct causal connections to refrain from meat eating in the Theravada Pali Canon: ". . . he abstains from killing living beings, exhorts others to abstain from killing living beings, and speaks in praise of the abstention from killing living beings." Samyutta Nikaya 55.7 "He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world.” Dhammika Sutta, Sutta Nipata, Khuddaka Nikaya "Monks, possessing forty qualities one is cast into purgatory . . . he takes life himself, encourages another to do so, approves of taking life, and speaks in praise of thereof . . ." Anguttara Nikaya 10. 213 Four ways one can break the precept of killing living beings: 1. One kills living beings by one's own hand 2. One asks another to do it 3. One grants permission to another to do it or allows it or approves of it 4. One speaks in praise of killing (Note that receiving alms food according to the 3 fold rule appears to allow for meat for those who are in the monastic Orders, but not for lay people who must make a request or order at the grocer, butcher, or restaurant.) (from Majjhima Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, book of tens V.305) The above quotes show that is not just okay to not do the killing yourself, it is also unacceptable to encourage another, approve of another's killing, or speak in praise of it, such as defending the eating of meat. In numerous places in the Pali Canon, the Buddha or one of his chief disciples reports about seeing ghostly type beings who are suffering as a “skeleton” or a “piece of flesh” or another woeful existence and being tormented by crows and other animals. The Buddha reports that these beings are suffering in these states because of a past life as a butcher of cattle or pigs or sheep (Samyutta Nikaya 19.1, Vinaya, Suttavibhanga 3.105). Although they were doing the actual killing, who would do the killing if everyone were Buddhist? Since there can be no slaughterhouses if everyone were Buddhist, at the very least, vegetarianism can be seen as an ideal to strive for. In one (Pali Canon) discourse (Majjhima Nikaya 22, snake similie sutta), the Buddha gives 10 analogies to describe how bad attachment to sense desires can be. He compares attachment to sense desires with ten really bad things. This includes things such as a skeleton, a burning torch that is about to burn our hands, and a poisonous snake. The final analogy the Buddha makes to describe something very bad, is that of a slaughterhouse. He used the description of a slaughterhouse as one of the analogies to describe something bad (Majjhima Nikaya 22). The first precept in both the Mahayana and the Theravada is not to kill or cause to kill any living being. The above quote from the Sutta Nipata clearly states not causing the killing of any being, nor inciting another to do so.. Post Date: 08/19/14, Replies: 18 | ||
| Can You Be A Vegan And Kill Animals? Thinking about what exact is veganism. Can you be a vegan and yet kill an animal on purpose, as opposed to accidentally? Post Date: 01/10/16, Replies: 18 | ||
| The total concept of God God comes down to the world of human beings by entering a human body Krishna gave two statements in the Gita. The first statement is that He is unimaginable because nobody can know Him (Maam tu veda na kashchana …). The second statement is that He entered a human body (manushim tanumaashritam …). These statements together give the total concept of God. God is beyond spatial dimensions and hence, He is beyond imagination. In order to preach the spiritual knowledge, to give the correct direction to the humanity, He comes down to the world of human beings by entering a human body (a particular deserving devotee existing at that point of time, also called as ‘Son of God’). The human body means a human being. The inert material body associated with inert energy consisting of awareness with different feelings (jeeva) is the human body. Human body does not mean mere inert body containing inert matter and inert energy only. Such a body cannot be even a living body due to absence of life. If you say living body, it may mean the body of a bird or an animal also. Such living body cannot deliver the knowledge to the human beings. www.universal-spirituality.org Universal Spirituality for World Peace Post Date: 03/17/16, Replies: 16 | ||
| Pleasing Vegans Vs Confrontational Vegans I remember when i was a vegetarian and did go drink coffee with a few vegan AR friends. I was the only one who used coffee milk, and they made remarks about that. I did feel that was pretty annoying to ruin the nice conservation we had with such a confrontational attack. LOL. It only took a short time for me to realize they were right and it really helped me to become vegan more fast. So in short, I am grateful to them for being confrontational. outspoken, and about vegan things to my vegetarian me at the time. Had they be vegans and not confronted me, i might have been a milk addict much longer. I hear often other vegans how they deal with non veggies, how they try to fit in with funny remarks about their vegan self, or simply try not to say anything at all. Some vegans even label outspoken vegans as or in a way to silence them and themselves. I feel that not only denigrates ones self but also non veg people not only despise you because you are vegan, but also despise you because you seem so weak and insincere about yourself. At highest non veg people praise you for non preaching just like they praise a dog for being a good doggy. I myself simply speak up when i feel i need to speak up. I don't get personal but i simply talk about about animal cruelty. I don't let society silence me or worse, silence myself with excuses. That would be the same as when any other topic about violence or cruelty would come up and not voice your opposition against it. Imagine, a conversation about rape (eg ) or a racist conversation ? Would you stay out of the conversation (you don't want to go against the grain) or speak out and say how wrong it is? Pleasing vegans or confrontational vegans ? What are your experiences yourself ? Post Date: 01/30/16, Replies: 13 | ||
| Bhagavad Gita Is someone interested in Bhagavad Gita? Post Date: 07/26/14, Replies: 12 | ||
| Why do people attack my sensitivity? I have always felt compassion for animals and people, but when I talk about how sad I felt when a deer was killed or what good veggie dishes there are to eat, many times people will either tease me, mock me or brag about how much meat they like. Why? This even happens with family, really 'nice' people as well as others. I do not tell anyone they need to do as I do; I hope they will, but I never lecture. Post Date: 01/19/14, Replies: 12 | ||
| How do you cope with meat eating society? I've been a vegetarian for over 4 years now and I can't look at people that eat meat the same way as before I turned into a vegetarian. My closest friends, my parents and all my relatives are meat eaters and I started despizing them for their ignorance and cruelty towards animals. I tried to talk some sense into them but it was a waste of my nerves. Many hide behind their bible (apparently a book that has all the answers). I know I was like them for most of my life but nobody had to convince me to become a vegetarian. If you care to listen, if you open your mind, you can't ignore all the cruelty around you and you'll remember that you still have a heart. How can you look at these people without being desgusted? Can you still show them respect and be friends with? I dont think so! The only solution would be to make new friends. Find people who share the same values and ignore the rest? But what if you live in a small town, where everybody is a meat eating freak and you can't get out of it because of your financial situation? I'd like to know how you guys are dealing with such issues. Post Date: 01/16/14, Replies: 11 | ||
| Reincarnation I really dig Eastern religion and have learned a lot about reincarnation. Some Hindus are vegetarian because they believe that the soul of a deceased family member or friend could be reincarnated into the body of an animal. Also an animal could have the capability to kill you in your next life if you eat meat now. Post Date: 01/10/16, Replies: 11 | ||
| Atheism's Failure Atheism is the rejection of ‘Theo’s, or God. The title of ‘Atheist’ implies that one who subscribes to this philosophy is living in constant response, a negative reaction, to Theism. This is not to originate a viewpoint, rather it is to denigrate another viewpoint, rejecting rather than creating. Atheism does not stop with the rejection of God or Goddess for that matter, but religion, ceremony and their resulting cultures of music and art as well. This rejection and intolerance of Atheists usually stems from their inability to feel complex emotions such as faith and their inability to appreciate the depth of others feelings. To reject Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Last Super,’ Shubert’s ‘Ave Maria,’ Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,’ Tibetan temple, Thangka and wall paintings, The Taj Mahal, ancient Jewish embroidered tapestries, the kirtans of Annamacharya, the literary works of authors ranging from Aquinas to Trungpa Rinpoche, ancient Greek statues and mosaics, ancient Roman statues etc. all because one finds religion irrelevant, thus exposes a lack of intelligence, sophistication, imagination, and depth. I have heard that an Atheist Chinese Communist delegate went to Russia and was offered a free guided tour of St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum and declined because they said they have already seen a museum. Atheism reduces one to the role of worker and consumer only. Atheist communism refers to the human population as ‘proletariat,’ showing that there is no larger scope for the human spirit in the confines of Atheism. Gone are complex emotions like faith, belief, hope, grace, and transcendence. What these edifying depth experiences are replaced with in Atheist culture is work, consumerism, ethnicity, technology, and nationalism. What is missing is feeling, depth, insight, passion, and wisdom. In the vegan community, I have found many Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, followers of Confucianism, Christians, Jews, Taoists, and other coreligionists but also there are a fair number of Vegan Atheists. The Atheists are the most intolerant group I encounter, readily stomping on other people’s beliefs, ridiculing other people’s cultures, and behaving like intellectual SS Storm Troopers who annihilate anything they do not understand. Unfortunately, this is taught in our universities and colleges as the only rational method of thinking; an intolerant and irrational viewpoint. As a vegan, Jain, Hindu Buddhist, I view Atheism as but one more school of thought that can lead one to full and complete God realization. Some people need an empty cup before they can fill it. What I do not tolerate is the desecrating behavior of Atheists as they limit the scope of discourse to fit into their limited range of intellectual myopia. The worst are the Vegan Atheist Feminists who want the entire world handed over to them because they have agreed to this as a perfect model of power sharing. Anyone who becomes vegan eventually connects with compassion towards animals and the environment which vegan lifestyles support. To make this compassion connection is to see beyond one’s self and find concern about the world beyond one’s ego. Atheism counters such compassion unless it is understood as a psychological, biological function that is vestige and must be minimized for national, scientific, or economic benefit. Atheists, in general, do not feel the suffering of others, do not find spiritual solace and do not express compassion. Instead, they are a cog in the state machinery seeking economic advantage. This means that Atheists are the first to undermine their own vegan purity by choosing economic pathways that reveal their lack of connectivity and feeling. These are the Atheist vegans who sell leather or animal products because they only are vegan for dietary reasons. A vegan Atheist lifestyle that rejects its own historic religious roots can easily abandon vegan social, cultural, and ecological values as well. The reason for this abandonment of values is that Atheism offers no method for improving one’s consciousness other than psychology or psychiatry. Religion teaches morality, integrity, truth, love, and compassion. Atheists in general are swimming in a selfish soup of anger, greed, and ignorance with no way out, no life preserver, no ladder, no method of taming their own unleashed desires and no method of disciplining their actions. This is why under Atheism, purges and genocide increased such as with Stalin and Mao. As vegans, we need to not only convey a correct diet, but a correct way of thinking and being. We cannot convey this without practicing what diverse religions teach to find our goodness, our faith, our beliefs, and true love. Post Date: 02/13/17, Replies: 11 | ||
| To Preach Or Not To Preach, That Is The Q i am always amazed when vegan people desperately want to be with non veg people. I don't mean that you have to have a bad attitude towards non vegans, after all we, at least myself, was a regular non vegan meat eater also. But when i remind my meat eating days, i am always most grateful to other vegans who didn't it when i ate non vegan, at least they always made a sligght remark that eventually woke me up. Ask yourself, all the great people who changed the ethical course of history, were PREACHERS, people who were so morally outraged that they did rub it into ANYONES face, no fear of being called . Martin Luther King! Post Date: 01/13/16, Replies: 10 | ||
| Help! Boyfriend's family won't drop it Ok, some background: Was vegan for 2 years, met my guy 8 months ago and went vegetarian (reasoning: 50% financial, 50% because vegan freaked him out). So his family is hard core Italian, really fun and sweet and I love being around them except... dinner time is hell for me. I've had probably near 50 meals with his family and the veg thing is brought up every freakin' time. At first it was concern that I was or wasn't satisfied with the food, lighthearted joking, valid questions and minimal discussion. My usual response being to answer questions simply and sit quietly as they continued their discussion. Even though it wasn't intended negatively, after awhile I was getting frustrated and began to avoid eating with them. Until last night. My guy was already "annoyed" with me since I didn't want to eat lunch with him, his mom even jokingly threatened to hold me down and shove food in my mouth and I got angry and nearly grabbed my things and left. Wish I had. Dinner took a turn when I was jokingly offered the bar-b-que'd chicken and I politely refused as I always do. "Vegetarians want to save all the animals but they are eating all their food," "I'd rather see chickens in battery cages than pay $5 for a carton of eggs" and on and on it went. His mom even threw in a story about a fur coat she owns and how her minks grew up fat and happy on a farm. All this went on for a good 30 minutes while I kept my mouth shut, eating my potatoes and brussels sprouts, thinking how incredibly rude they were all being and how offended and hurt I was. I refrained from saying a word because when I get angry I get really mean. I'm lost, I don't know what to do other than refuse to eat with them ever again lol. I could talk to my boyfriend and/or his family but I don't think that it's my place to teach respect to people 2-3 times my age. In addition, I don't want to screw up this relationship just because my feelings are hurt, I also don't want to be the stereotypical veg and respond to them the way they are expecting me to. (Sorry this post was so long, but yeah... so upset) So now that I've painted the picture, what would you do? What would you definitely not do? Thanks guys Post Date: 01/15/16, Replies: 10 | ||
| Emergency On Planet Earth!!!!!! (Re the rape of Mother Earth) "How could I look my grandchildren in the eye and say I knew about this and did nothing?" - Sir David Attenborough "Earth provides enough for every man's need, but not every man's greed" - Mahatma Gandhi 'We do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children' - Native American proverb "Our house is on fire and we are blind to it. Nature mutilated and overexploited can no longer regenerate and we refuse to admit it. The earth and humankind are in danger and we are all responsible. It is time to open our eyes. Alarms are sounding across all the continents." - Jacques Chirac "Babylon is burning. Can you not see the black smoke billowing?" - H. Lancre Post Date: 04/21/11, Replies: 9 | ||
| Why you are vegetarian or vegan? What kind of experience did you have when you decided to be a vegetarian or vegan? And why you are vegetarian or vegan? Post Date: 04/29/16, Replies: 9 | ||
| A life well lived... All this talk of religion, but it's how you live your life that is the all-important thing. If you set out each day to do all the goodness and kindness that you can, and to do no harm to man or beast, then you are walking the highest path. And when your time is up, if you can leave the earth a better place than you found it, then yours will have been a life well lived. Post Date: 04/01/09, Replies: 8 | ||
| Why people are so uncivilized! Firstly, please excuse me for my English because English is my second language. Ok, I visit gardenweb forum very often and I wanted to stop people from using barbaric glue traps and many other cruel ways to kill small animals when these animals enter their homes and gardens. I posted links to show many humane way of solving problem with creatures but I end up getting hateful messages because they much rather to use torture traps and poison to kill creatures. How can we make these primitive uncivilized people to get civilized like true human? They call mice, rats, and many other creatures pest but they are precious gift from God who deserve freedom,happiness,and our protection. How many of you agree with me? How can we change people who have no love and respect for God's little creatures? They said we must kill creatures as quickly as possible to protect us from getting diseases and destroying our houses and gardens. I don't have patient with barbarians. Post Date: 03/30/13, Replies: 8 | ||
| Vegetarian friendly churches Where are the vegetarian pastors and are there any church besides 7th Day adventists that preach killing of animals is wrong. Post Date: 06/01/15, Replies: 8 | ||
| Who is The Real Maitreya? Is it you or me? The problem is solved for me, this is my conclusion: therealmaitreya.wordpress.com/about/ ...but what do you all feel here at the Happy Cow forum? Post Date: 01/10/16, Replies: 8 | ||
| women and religion Currently reading "Women Without Superstition: "No Gods, No Masters", a collection of writings by women authors in the 19th and 20th centuries. Among them are Susan B. Anthony, Mary Wollstonecraft, Frances Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Annie Besant, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger, and scores of other highly respected writer/activists. They tended to support the environment, human rights, animal rights, etc. One thing they shared in common was not basing their values on the words of any god or gods... Post Date: 01/04/17, Replies: 8 | ||
| Ignorance's failure Note: Before I start saying what I'm going to say I'm going to clear up a few things first so there are no more misunderstandings. I chose the username hellhound because I'm big into computer gaming and I used to play a computer game that had hellhounds in it, I thought it sounded like a cool username so that's where the name comes from. My username has nothing to do with my spirituality as a pagan. Pagans do not worship Satan or believe in him, although a lot of people who do not know much about paganism wrongly assume that. Paganism is a word used to descibe ancient Celtic and shamanistic religions, most pagans practice the honoring of the earth. We are not Satan worshippers. Ok now that we have covered that I will say what I feel I need to say here. Ignorance means a lack of knowledge and it can also be used to descibe people who refuse knowledge. A lack of knowledge and a lack of seeing other peoples views breeds prejudice. I have noticed a lot of arguing about religion and atheism. Religion is obviously important and is vital to teach morality, wisdom and spiritual awareness however if you don't want to practice a religion that is your discission and you should be respected for your discission. To judge people for their religion, ethnicities or sexual orientation is prejudice and ignorant. Ignorance is the reason why people eat animals, because they do not have enough knowledge to understand what they are doing is wrong or that they can do things differently. The happycow website is to offer vegetarians and vegans the opportunity to discuss all things vegan and vegetarian and to review restaurants, hopefully non-vegetarians will find this site and be educated on vegetarianism so they can adopt a more compassionate lifestyle. Ignorance is the biggest problem in the world and we can only defeat it by educating each other, learning from each other, respecting each others opinions and putting aside differences to work together to achieve the steps towards a more compassionate and peaceful world. Post Date: 02/21/17, Replies: 8 | ||
| Vegetarianism according to Bhagavad Gita Bg 9.26 patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ Word for word: patram — a leaf; puṣpam — a flower; phalam — a fruit; toyam — water; yaḥ — whoever; me — unto Me; bhaktyā — with devotion; prayacchati — offers; tat — that; aham — I; bhakti-upahṛtam — offered in devotion; aśnāmi — accept; prayata-ātmanaḥ — from one in pure consciousness. Translation: If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it. Purport: For the intelligent person, it is essential to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, in order to achieve a permanent, blissful abode for eternal happiness. The process of achieving such a marvelous result is very easy and can be attempted even by the poorest of the poor, without any kind of qualification. The only qualification required in this connection is to be a pure devotee of the Lord. It does not matter what one is or where one is situated. The process is so easy that even a leaf or a little water or fruit can be offered to the Supreme Lord in genuine love and the Lord will be pleased to accept it. No one, therefore, can be barred from Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because it is so easy and universal. Who is such a fool that he does not want to be Kṛṣṇa conscious by this simple method and thus attain the highest perfectional life of eternity, bliss and knowledge? Kṛṣṇa wants only loving service and nothing more. Kṛṣṇa accepts even a little flower from His pure devotee. He does not want any kind of offering from a nondevotee. He is not in need of anything from anyone, because He is self-sufficient, and yet He accepts the offering of His devotee in an exchange of love and affection. To develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfection of life. Bhakti is mentioned twice in this verse in order to declare more emphatically that bhakti, or devotional service, is the only means to approach Kṛṣṇa. No other condition, such as becoming a brāhmaṇa, a learned scholar, a very rich man or a great philosopher, can induce Kṛṣṇa to accept some offering. Without the basic principle of bhakti, nothing can induce the Lord to agree to accept anything from anyone. Bhakti is never causal. The process is eternal. It is direct action in service to the absolute whole. Here Lord Kṛṣṇa, having established that He is the only enjoyer, the primeval Lord and the real object of all sacrificial offerings, reveals what types of sacrifices He desires to be offered. If one wishes to engage in devotional service to the Supreme in order to be purified and to reach the goal of life – the transcendental loving service of God – then one should find out what the Lord desires of him. One who loves Kṛṣṇa will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids offering anything which is undesirable or unasked. Thus meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Kṛṣṇa. If He desired such things as offerings, He would have said so. Instead He clearly requests that a leaf, fruit, flowers and water be given to Him, and He says of this offering, “I will accept it.” Therefore, we should understand that He will not accept meat, fish and eggs. Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human beings and are prescribed by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Whatever else we eat cannot be offered to Him, since He will not accept it. Thus we cannot be acting on the level of loving devotion if we offer such foods. In the Third Chapter, verse 13, Śrī Kṛṣṇa explains that only the remains of sacrifice are purified and fit for consumption by those who are seeking advancement in life and release from the clutches of the material entanglement. Those who do not make an offering of their food, He says in the same verse, are eating only sin. In other words, their every mouthful is simply deepening their involvement in the complexities of material nature. But preparing nice, simple vegetable dishes, offering them before the picture or Deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa and bowing down and praying for Him to accept such a humble offering enable one to advance steadily in life, to purify the body, and to create fine brain tissues which will lead to clear thinking. Above all, the offering should be made with an attitude of love. Kṛṣṇa has no need of food, since He already possesses everything that be, yet He will accept the offering of one who desires to please Him in that way. The important element, in preparation, in serving and in offering, is to act with love for Kṛṣṇa. The impersonalist philosophers, who wish to maintain that the Absolute Truth is without senses, cannot comprehend this verse of Bhagavad-gītā. To them, it is either a metaphor or proof of the mundane character of Kṛṣṇa, the speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā. But, in actuality, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Godhead, has senses, and it is stated that His senses are interchangeable; in other words, one sense can perform the function of any other. This is what it means to say that Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Lacking senses, He could hardly be considered full in all opulences. In the Seventh Chapter, Kṛṣṇa has explained that He impregnates the living entities into material nature. This is done by His looking upon material nature. And so in this instance, Kṛṣṇa’s hearing the devotee’s words of love in offering foodstuffs is wholly identical with His eating and actually tasting. This point should be emphasized: because of His absolute position, His hearing is wholly identical with His eating and tasting. Only the devotee, who accepts Kṛṣṇa as He describes Himself, without interpretation, can understand that the Supreme Absolute Truth can eat food and enjoy it. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama/ Rama Rama Hare Hare Chant and be happy Post Date: 01/09/16, Replies: 7 | ||
| Veganism and Botox? In my opinion are just two words that don't go well together! I'm a very spiritual gal, i'm into Thorwald Dethlefsen and Rüdiger Dahlke teachings about illness/health (understanding illness before it can be cured), phases of life (as in different time for different things, a time to be 'young' a time to be 'old'). On my spiritual journey I also encountered the teaching of Doreen Virtue. Her works revolve around the angels. She is also vegan since 1996. In recent months she has been talking a lot more about issues such as the integrity, environment, saving animals, signing petition, importance to go and vote, yes to 37, etc. all thing that I completely agree with. On the other hand, I can't help but notice that she is doing somethings against what is preaching, one of them being her need to use plastic surgery and Botox on herself. I really don't understand how can someone be preaching veganism and then go and use Botox who is tested on animals! It really does not make sense. I know that in the US surgery and Botox are such a big thing, especially for celebrities, but I also feel that if you are preaching integrity you should be integral and walk your talk. One main reason being that you are setting the example. Another that if you a spiritual teacher you should learn to love yourself as you are, without the need to change one thing. The other thing is that the use of plastic surgery and Botox in which i do not believe in, is making me question other areas of her life in which she might not be integral and true. I'm not attempting to judge her, (I deeply love and respect her work from my heart) but I'm merely trying to understand it. What do you think? Post Date: 01/22/17, Replies: 6 |
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