"गीता में श्री कृष्ण जी ने सभी प्रधान चीज़ों को स्वयं का प्रतिरूप बताया है. पेड़ों में ख़ुद को पीपल बताया है. जब पशु-पक्षियों की बात आई तो उन्होंने स्वयं को सिंह, मगरमच्छ और गरूड़ बताया है। ये सभी मांसाहारी हैं। श्री कृष्ण जी ने स्वयं को व्यक्त करने के लिए श्रेष्ठ पशु-पक्षियों के नाम पर मांसाहारी जीवों को ही क्यों चुना.. ??"
बहुत सादा पर एक गूढ़ सवाल. मैं समझता हूँ उसमे माँसाहारी या शाकाहारी मुद्दा नहीं है. मुद्दा है कुल मिलाकर
सर्वश्रेष्ठ उदाहरण का. भूमि पर विचरण करने वाले पशु-पक्षियों में शेर को सर्वश्रेष्ठ माना जाता है... मांसाहार उसकी भगवान की दी हुई प्रकृति है.... अपनी प्रकृति को निभा कर वो अपने धर्म का पालन कर रहा है.. अगर वो मांस नहीं खाएगा तो मर जाएगा. उसी प्रकार मगरमच्छ और गरुड़ कि तुलना की गयी है जल व नभ के अन्य जीवों से. इनमे से कोई भी प्रवृत्ति के तौर पर कत्ले-आम नहीं करता. मांस खाना इनका धर्म है और अपने धर्म का पालन करने वाला हर प्राणी श्रेष्ठ है.... ये तीनों अन्य गुणों को लेकर तुलना के लिए श्रेष्ठतर माने गए हैं... अपने धर्म के पालन के लिए तो कृष्ण ने अर्जुन को मानव-वध के लिए तैयार कर दिया फिर शेर तो बेचारा पेट भरने के लिए हिरन का शिकार करता है....
18 July 2011
I fully agree with contention that in early days even Hindus were non-veg. My understanding is that Hindu society had been very liberal in the past and eating meat was no taboo. Veg or non-veg food had nothing to do with one’s religion. It only defined one’s degree of spiritualism. For kshatriyas it was ‘the’ lifestyle untill an individual shunned meat due to his personal prefences or spiritual advancement.
But here I want to highlight a few things about Ram-Sita-Mrig episode. As per Maharishi Valmiki’s version, and that is the original one, Sita spots this Golden Deer first and then calls the brothers. On seeing the deer Lakshman warns them that it doesn’t look like a natural creature and that he suspects it to be ‘Maarichi’. But getting attracted, Sita asks Shri Ram to ‘capture’ the dear and bring it to their cottage as a ‘plaything’. She says they have many dears and bucks but none like this one. Sita further tells them that when they return to their kingdom after vanwas, this deer will be a masterpiece in palace chambers. So far she is just requesting Shri Ram to capture the Mrig alive. Not to hunt it and kill it for its meat, she is asking him to capture the deer so that she can keep it and play with it.
Later on, probably on suspecting it to be ‘Maarichi’ as warned by Lakshman, she says that if for any reason this deer is not captured and gets killed, then she would like to use its skin for her aasan.
Thus I feel though it is very likely that Hindus did eat meat during Ramayan and Mahabharat’s time yet it is slightly out of context to quote Ram-Sita-Maarichi episode as a point in support of eating meat during that period.
20 July 2011
It is right that Sitaji the epitome of womenhood in India fell to the lure of beautiful body of deer. And this dichotomy is very beautifully highlighted by Maharshi Valmiki himself and that too through Sitaji’s
own words. Verse 21 of Aranya Kand reads:
कामवृत्तम् इदम् रौद्रम् स्त्रीणाम् असदृशम् मतम् |
वपुषा तु अस्य सत्त्वस्य विस्मयो जनितो मम || ३-४३-२१
Translation of this Verse goes like:
"Tradition says that this sort of unruly self-seeking is unbefitting of women, yet that deer's beautiful body is inducing curiosity in me." Sita said so to Rama and remained waiting for his reply.
Call them God or superhumans yet there are a number of episodes in the beautiful poetic work ‘Ramayan’ which shows Ram, Sita and Lakshman were as human as others. They had all the feelings of love, passion, anger and grief etc... Only their response to those feelings was different. And you will agree that response to a feeling, to a particular situation is what separates Gods from Human beings.
In light of above, with due respect, I feel you are being a little too harsh in selection of your words for Sitaji in your last comment.
21 July 2011
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