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Re: ARTICLE : Just say no to "Hinduism" (was Re: ARTICLE : On
M Suresh wrote:
>
> In article <ghenDx7vqv.5pM@netcom.com>,
> H. Krishna Susarla <susarla.krishna@tumora.swmed.edu> wrote:
> [...]
> >can be seen at "Hindu" temples? What about those who claim to follow the
> >Vedas, but eat meat, drink alcohol, or smoke cigarettes?
>
> I thought vegetarianism was borrowed from Buddhism & Jainism into Hindu
> religion. Do the vedas or any other scriptures explicitly prohibit
> eating meat.
Yes. For example, the Bhagavad-Giita 3.13 explicitly states that food
that is not offered in sacrifice gives the eater sin. This excludes a
lot of meat eating, because while some sacrifices do allow animal
flesh, to perform a sacrifice takes time and hence even a "Vedic"
meat-eater would be forced to minimize the habit.
Later on, in the 17th chapter I think, the different kinds of foods
are described. It is stated that foods which decrease the duration of
life, are the remnants of dead and decaying things, are in taamasic
(mode of ignorance).
There are even more explicit prohibitions in the Mahaabhaarata and the
Manu-samhita. However I do not know these off hand. Someone else might
be able to help. But there is no doubt that vegetarianism is a Vedic
concept.
-- Krishna
