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RE: Digest Number 230

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Parthasarathy.Sudarsan • January 11, 2001 


Sri Raamajayam
SrimathE GopAla DEsika MahA DEsikAya Namaha

Dear Sri.Raghu,
               Relating to your question on Vegetarianism, AdiyEn remember
a TeleUpanyaasam of HH Sri Rangapriya Swami, where Swami mentioned two lines from the Vedas(Sri.Mani can recollect quite easily), the jist is,
1.The first line says "A living thing causes damage to other living things to survive"  This means for us to survive, we have to kill plants if not animals, thereby causing harm.  So a so-called rationalist can argue saying we consume anyway lot of living things unknowingly in the water/air/food we intake, why not do it in a restraunt rather than being choosy about 'Vegetarische Essen'. This reasoning would have been correct, but Vedas added an additional message.
2.The second line says "Do it with minimal damage".   So consume what you need(Dhaarakam, POshakam) causing minimum damage to other living things.  So the Vedas gives us the freedom to judge by our conscience what is appropriate.  So people with the right conscience would do a careful analysis.

We in the Vedic System believe food influences our nature/thought and vice versa, and even Vegetarian items are classified as to develop SAtvika, RajO & ThamO qualities or GunAs.  So exercising self control and trying to be a Satvik, we consume the food that is fit for a Sri Vaishnava.  Not to go in further detail, AdiyEn would stop short with this answer and for more details refer you to our Great Acharya Swamy Desikan's Ahaara Niyamanam.  Other Bhagavathaas have meanwhile extracted well from Sri Bhagavad Geetha already.

AdiyEn Sri Raamanuja Daasan,


Sudarsana Dasosmi

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