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RC NY 1976-07-11 Animal Killers Will Never Understand God
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ANNOUNCER: Next
is a conversation,
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with His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
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recorded on July 11th,
1976, in New York.
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PRABHUPĀDA: What
is that question?
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Just try to understand.
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DEVOTEE: Why is meat-eating sin?
HARI−ŚAURI: [Indistinct]
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He can understand meat-
eating is sin, but well…
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When we are doing our ordinary
work and normal functions,
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aren’t we killing so many other
things, so is that sin or not?
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Yes.
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That is also sin.
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That is stated in the Bhagavad-
gītā, that whatever you eat:
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bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
[Bg. 3.13]
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Anyone is cooking something,
meat or vegetables,
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for his own eating,
he is eating only sin.
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It is not that the vegetarians are not
sinful and the meat-eaters are sinful.
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Everyone is sinful if it is
not cooked for Kṛṣṇa.
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It is not that we are propagating
that you become vegetarian.
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We are propagating that you
become Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
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That is our propaganda.
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But because we are trying
to become Kṛṣṇa conscious,
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we offer something to Kṛṣṇa.
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patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
[Bg. 9.26]
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So not patraṁ puṣpam,
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whatever within this group [is]
available: fruits, flowers, grains, milk.
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So we offer to Kṛṣṇa.
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Yajña.
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yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra
loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
[Bg. 3.9]
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If you do not perform yajña, then you
will be bound up by the resultant action.
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So this is yajña, to offer to Kṛṣṇa.
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Yajña means to satisfy Viṣṇu.
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Viṣṇu-ārādhyate.
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Yajña means satisfy Kṛṣṇa.
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But if you don’t [take] Kṛṣṇa’s
prasādam, then you are sinful.
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Not that if you become
vegetarian, then you are not sinful.
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Not that.
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Because you have
to eat something.
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jīvo jīvasya jīvanam
[SB 1.13.47]
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Either you eat vegetable or meat,
you have to eat something.
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So somebody prefers eating animals,
and somebody prefers eating vegetables,
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but all of them have got life.
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Therefore, you cannot kill any life.
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So if you eat for yourself, then
you are simply eating sin.
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bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
[Bg. 3.13]
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But if you take Kṛṣṇa prasādam, then
if there is any sin, it goes to Kṛṣṇa.
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You take pure prasādam.
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And Kṛṣṇa is apāpa-vidham.
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So our duty is to worship Kṛṣṇa
and offer Him so many nice things:
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fruits, flowers, grains,
milk, milk preparation.
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We are doing that.
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You are taking prasādam.
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So that is our business.
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- Is it clear; your answer?
INDIAN MAN (1): Yes.
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We are interested in
eating Kṛṣṇa prasādam.
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If Kṛṣṇa says “Give Me
meat,” we shall give Him.
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But He does not say.
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He says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ
toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati.
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Meat-eating is sinful; that’s
a fact, amedha, tāmasika,
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but if you remain in the
darkness of ignorance,
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you cannot improve
your spiritual life.
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Tāmasika.
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It is described in the Bhagavad-
gītā, rājasika, tāmasika, sāttvika.
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Therefore, we should eat sāttvika, and
that is also after offering to Kṛṣṇa.
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Then we are free from
all sinful reactions.
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And if you want to implicate
yourself in sinful activities,
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then you can eat
whatever you like.
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But either you eat meat or vegetables, if it
is eaten for my satisfaction of the tongue,
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you become implicated in sinful activities,
and you have to suffer the reaction.
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The animal you are killing,
he’ll kill also you next life.
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Then you become
bind up… bound up.
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INDIAN MAN (2): I
have one question.
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Though there is mention, in earlier times,
we see also [they] used to eat meat.
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When?
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- Aśvamedha-yajña, all these things, and before that…
- That is now prohibited.
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Aśvamedhaṁ gavālambhaṁ
sannyāsaṁ pala-paitṛkam
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devareṇa sutotpattiṁ kalau
pañca vivarjayet [Cc. Ādi 17.164].
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If you refer to śāstra, the śāstra says
in Kali-yuga these should be avoided.
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- Srila Prabhupada, I believe that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme…
- At that time,
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when there was aśvamedha-yajña,
gomedha-yajña, that was not for eating.
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That was to prove the
strength of Vedic mantra,
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how the animal was put in the fire
and again gave him a new life.
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So where is that Vedic chanter,
Vedic brāhmaṇa, yajñika brāhmaṇa?
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There is no such things,
powerful brāhmaṇa.
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Therefore it is to be avoided.
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And that was not
for eating purpose.
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To put one old animal in the fire and
again he comes back with new life.
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That was the purpose.
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This question was raised by Chand
Kazi to Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
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Caitanya Mahāprabhu
challenged him that,
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“What is this your religion, you are
killing your father and mother?”
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So, he referred to this, that in:
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“Formerly they were sacrificing
cows in Your śāstra.”
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Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained that
sacrifice was not meant for eating.
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That was meant for renovating
new life; that is not for eating.
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Subtitles by Pratyatoṣa Dāsa, Causelessmercy.com