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Re: use of silk etc.,

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Chandrasekaran • July 27, 1998 


 Dear Mr.Narayanan,
    Namaskarams. Yes, adiyEn is aware that our gunas depend
 majorly on the food we consume. Vegetables like onion, garlic,
 raddish are supposed to instill wrong desires in our hearts.
 Similarly consuming higher living creatures will create aggressive
 tendencies.
    But at the same time our sanatana darma stresses heavily on
 ahimsa as do buddhism and jainism. It is one of the prerequisites
 for a sadhaka to reach the state of self-realisation and hence
 bliss. I think this is mentioned in bhagavatham also. So urging
 vegetarianism for spiritual welfare has both the above as strong
 reasons, I feel. 
    Otherwise i.e, if only guna is the reason for this, then it would 
 mean that it would be ok to take an animal's flesh which can
 induce sattvic guna in our hearts which is hypothetical ofcourse.
 This is ofcourse defeating the very essence of sattvic guna. A
 sattva will not harm any creature for his welfare.
 
    adiyEn,
    chandrasekaran.