Who is a Vegan? Lacto vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid animal flesh and eggs, but do consume dairy products. Ovo vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid all animal products except eggs. Vegans: Vegetarians who avoid all animal and animal-derived products.
A very dear friend of mine announced today on her Facebook page that she was “going vegan” for both health as well as for reasons of compassionate ethics. This is what she wrote : (Quote):
I was moved and disturbed by seeing the videos of cow slaughter(many times in the past) and was wondering if I can turn vegan..
I used to be so conditioned previously that when someone spoke about being vegan, I felt that is – being extreme..
I can’t take that risk- because u know, I sing, I work.. etc etc.. I am ambitious…
I don’t want to change
How will the world change because of me
How better you can be just by being vegan and so on.
But recently started realising that, to be vegan one needs a great heart to feel compassion to animals, and be ready to even compromise our most fav drinks, coffee or tea, for which we wake up every morning.
I used to be very kind, friendly to people and the moment they spoke abt veganism, I kept them away because I cudnt sacrifice my tea or cudnt answer my family why there is no curd for meal.
First step I took was to stop taking panneer and cheese, next was butter milk ghee..
Milk became the hardest thing for me.
Today I am seing substitutes for milk, to make tea and I am feeling as if a big burden has left me..
Even though we argue abt how we need ghee or we take only desi ghee and desi milk, our subconscious knows the truth.
In olden days milk was equal to amritam, but not anymore.
ANY KIND of harm to that animal for milking is a sin.
We take away their babies from them and if it’s a male cow, then it has no shelter and goes to the butcher shop later..
We can see roaming male cows in and around mada veedhi, they r all abandoned just because they r useless to humans.
I have seen very close relatives of me and neighbours of me, selling their cows to butcher shop(thru a broker-who directly doesn’t reveal where the cow goes)inspite of we telling them that we can pay for tempo, and u can leaveit in Go ashrama.
Definitely we r all bound to face the karma for this work, directly or indirectly..
When we change bit by bit, we are changing the whole consciousness..
This Guru poornima day I am sure Guru is showing me the right path to follow..
Live and let live 🙏 (UNQUOTE)
The above words surely revealed the genuinely tender compassion my friend had in her heart for cows. And I lauded her for it. However, I cautioned her against over sentimentalising the issue and advised her to temper her Compassion with a bit of Wisdom derived from our own ancient Vedic cultural roots.
Here below is what I wrote to her: (QUOTE)
Milking cows by itself is not cruelty.
But industrial-scale milking for commercial purposes does entail element of abuse of various sorts … artificial insemination, synthetic feeds, use of steroids, so-called “value-added dairy products” (cheese with calf-rennet etc.), unauthorised, black-market abattoirs and abandonment of sterile or overaged cows.. etc.etc.
Our Vedic culture is very kind towards cows which are called “go-maathaa”. We see cows as mothers since they give us sustenance in life long after we as infants have been weaned away from mother’s milk. So, we are instructed by our “saastra” to treat cows like our mother … and give her the respect and care in return for the rich nourishment she generously provides us. “Go-hathya” (cow-slaughter”) in our culture is regarded as terrible “paapam” for which there is no “”praayaschittham” or atonement.
So, while there is no cruelty in we depending on cows for our nourishment, at the same time, subjecting cattle to industrial-scale abuses and commercially-motivated exploitation is certainly sinful.
As ordinary individuals I know we are caught in a “dharma sankatam… moral dilemma.
Our first dharma is “svayam-paripaalanam”…. we must first take good care of what God has given us as gifts: our body and mind and their health. In our daily diet we must include all sources of nourishment needed by body and mind… and in typical Brahmin diet , milk products are very common … milk, curd, butter, ghee (which is also used for religious purpose).
But we also have the other “dharma” to abide by … it is “go-samrakshanam” … protection of cows and providing proper care for them.
As per “saastra” , we humans must perform both “dharma” … We cannot give up one for another. We must ensure both “svayam paripaalanam” and “go-samrakshanam” at the same time.
If we all turn vegans , then cows may be treated even worse than they are today. If dairy products are to be banned for human consumption, then Cows will no more be seen as a source of nutrition. They will then be seen as mere beasts of burden … and will therefore be exploited for that very same purpose .. as mere modes of transportation, tools of farming and finally as sources of meat.
Our compassion for cows must be wise not blind or over-emotional.
We must be true to both dharma-s, towards ourselves as well as towards cows. The cow our dear mother … she is indeed so ready and willing to give us copious milk for our own good and well-being … We must gratefully accept her gift of natural love and kindness … her “vaatsalya” towards us is no less than what she shows her own calf.
But in return we must all abide by the dharma of “go-Samrakshanam” … Wherever we see the sad plight of cows, or they being treated badly, we must all come forward as individuals to do the best we can possibly do to alleviate the cow’s condition and to contribute our own little bit to see that due care is provided for her. How we do it and in what ways we contribute to that effort is each individual’s choice.
“Go-rakshana” and “manushya svayam-rakshanam” go hand in hand in this world. (UNQUOTE)
Sudarshan Madabushi