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Latha wrote:
>
> Hi -
> I have a question that I hope someone will be able to answer: Does
> Hinduism state that taking another life is not correct, unless needed
> for survival? And if so, in what scriptures is this written?
Some scriptures which speak to the question include:
The Manu Dharma Shastra: "Having well considered the origin of flesh and
cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let one entirely
abstrain from eating flesh."
Tha Mahabharata: "He who desires to augment his own flesh by eating the
flesh of other creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may take
his birth.... The purchaser of flesh perfomrs violence by his wealth;
he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does
violence by actually tying and killing the animal; he who brings flesh
or sends for it, he who cuts off the limbs of animals, and he who
purchases, sells or cooks flesh and eats it--all of these are to be
considered meat eaters."
The Tirukaral: "When man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of
another creatures, he must abstain from eating it." Also: "What is the
good way? It is the path that reflects on how it may avoid killing any
creatures.... What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life,
for killing leads to every other sin."
The Rig Veda: "Protect both our species, two-legged and four-legged.
Both water and food for their needs provide. May they with us increase
in stature and strength."
The Yajur Veda: "You must not use your God-given body for killing God's
creatures, whether they are human, animal, or whatever." Also: "Do not
injure the beings living on the earth, in the air, and in the water."
Most of these quotations come from an excellent feature Hinduism Today
did on vegetarianism a few years ago. The article stated: "There
developed early in India an unparalleled concern for harmony among life
forms, and this led to a common ethos based on non-injuriousness, and a
minimal consumption of natural resources--in other words, to compassion
and simplicity."
Daly
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