meat-eating | The Hare Krishna Movement

Protectors of the Cow

02 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Buddha, Cow Protection, Jahnava Nitai das, Vegetarianism Tags: buddha, Buddhism, cow is revered, cow protection, Jahnava Nitai das, Japan, meat-eating, protectors of the cow, samurai, vegetarian, vegetarianism

The following article I found very interesting. It was circulating on Face book before I saw it on the Sampradaya Sun this morning. It is very informative, and is worth reprinting here.

The Samurai: Protectors of the Cow
by Jahnava Nitai das
Mar 01, 2015 — ORISSA (SUN)

If I were to tell you, that once, no other country, save India, revered the cow as much as Japan, I could understand your disbelief. Today, we think of Japan as a meat-eating culture. However, this image is a product of the last 150 years of American influence. The traditional Japanese culture held the cow as the most sacred animal. What follows next is the true story of among the greatest protectors of the cow – the Samurai.

Krishna Prasadam

15 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Krishna Consciousness, Letters by Srila Prabhupada, Prasadam, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarianism Tags: cow protection, devotee offerings, Krsna's kitchen, meat-eating, offering of food, Prasadam, vegetarian cooking, vegetarianism

On our previous post I was searching the “Letters Books”, and just got caught up in reading…I began reading letters about offering prasadam, cooking for the Lord, and why we do not eat meat, etc. which spurred this collection of quotes on Krishna Prasadam.

Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of May 31, 1968, which is duly in hand. I had not heard anything from you in long time, so I was very glad to hear that you are doing well. I am pleased to hear that you have so nicely installed the Jagannatha Deities at your home, and that you are worshiping Them regularly with nice offerings of prasadam, incense and flowers, and also saying prayers before Them. That is very good. Please continue chanting and reading Srimad-Bhagavatam before the Deity, and you will progress nicely. (Letter to: Krsna Devi, 13 June, 1968)

Milk; the Miracle Food

28 Mar 2013 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Cow Protection, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Vegetarianism Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhagavad-gita, cow protection, cow slaughter, cows milk, Kali-yuga, Krishna, meat-eating, miracle food milk, namo brahmanya-devaya, vegetarianism

click on image to enlarge

We compiled a few select quotes from Srila Prabhupada stressing the importance of the miracle food milk, and cow protection which is real advancement of civilization, and will help save humanity from the greatest danger.

…cow protection is essential. There is a miracle in milk, for it contains all the necessary vitamins to sustain human physiological conditions for higher achievements. (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.16.4 Purport)

…The cow is the most important animal for developing the human body to perfection. The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff, but cow’s milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. A civilized man is expected to live on foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows. (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.5.7 Purport)

…Milk is compared to nectar, which one can drink to become immortal. Of course, simply drinking milk will not make one immortal, but it can increase the duration of one’s life. In modern civilization, men do not think milk to be important, and therefore they do not live very long. Although in this age men can live up to one hundred years, their duration of life is reduced because they do not drink large quantities of milk. This is a sign of Kali-yuga. In Kali-yuga, instead of drinking milk, people prefer to slaughter an animal and eat its flesh. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His instructions of Bhagavad-gītā, advises go-rakṣya, which means cow protection. The cow should be protected, milk should be drawn from the cows, and this milk should be prepared in various ways. One should take ample milk, and thus one can prolong one’s life, develop his brain, execute devotional service, and ultimately attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Srimad Bhagavatam 8.6.12 Purport)

The Case Against Animal Slaughter

19 May 2012 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Cow Protection, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarianism Tags: animal slaughter, Care For Cows, cow protection, Kurma Rupa dasa, meat-eating, vegetarian, vegetarian cooking, vegetarianism, world food crisis

The Case Against Animal Slaughter
Back to Godhead Magazine 1976, Vol 11, No. 1

From the standpoints of health, economics and ethics, animal slaughter and meat-eating are detrimental to human society.

Health

Although meat is certainly a source of concentrated protein it is a very poor source of other food elements like minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates. In addition, eating flesh from the cow or any other animal is detrimental to the health of human beings for many reasons. For example, if a human, who has a much longer colon than the carnivorous animals, eats flesh, the following problems will ensue:

1. Intestinal bacteria in the long bowel will change from fermentative to putrefactive, thus causing poisons to be absorbed into the bloodstream. These poisons need to be eliminated, so energy is diverted from other essential bodily functions, including thinking.

2. The natural synthesis of vitamin B12 will be inhibited, possibly leading to anemia.

3. Animal toxins will tend to disrupt the proper metabolism of carbohydrates. This can cause diabetes.

4. Nonnutritive substances resulting from the digestion of animal flesh tend to be carcinogenic (cancer-inducing) irritants.

The minimum daily requirement of protein, which nutritional experts calculate to be between seventy and ninety grams, is easily achieved with dairy products and foods from the vegetable kingdom. Protein, is found in ample quantity in milk, cheese, yogurt, whole wheat, corn, many varieties of nuts and beans, and some vegetables. Thus vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products provide a perfectly balanced diet. Consuming animal flesh, on the other hand, results in excess protein, which produces liver ailments, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries.