Posted by Dr. Gopal Unnikrishna Kurup
Yes, The Cow is Holy. Protecting the Cow.
Beef eating is not anyone's birth right, nor is it enshrined in the constitution of India as a fundamental right. So it cannot be anyone's case that there is a human rights violation in the recent ban of cow slaughter in Maharashtra State. It is rather a foot-in-mouth argument to say that one should be allowed to feed on whatever one has a fancy for, because there are are so many kinds of food restrictions on various grounds prevalent in the world including India. Due to cultural and or religious taboos a sort of built-in aversion or disinclination to include an animal's flesh in one's diet is practiced by many broad groups of people . The taboos extend to health grounds and to plants and beverages too. Many food taboos forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Some taboos are specific to a particular part or excretion of an animal, while other taboos forgo the consumption of plants, fungi, or insects and some are merely seasonal.
The cow, by Hindus, and the pig, by the Muslims are forbidden to be slaughtered and their meat consumed by respective followers. Hindus are not alone in abstaining from eating beef or bovine meat. Many Zoroastrians do not eat beef, because of the cow that saved Zoroaster's life from murderers when Zoroaster was a baby. Actual Pahlavi texts state that Zoroastrians should be fully vegetarian.
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Judaism prescribes a strict set of rules, called Kashrut, regarding what may and may not be eaten. Jains follow religious directives to observe vegetarianism. Some ethnic Chinese may also refrain from eating cow meat, because many of them feel that it is wrong to eat an animal that was so useful in agriculture. Some Chinese Buddhists discourage the consumption of beef, although it is not considered taboo. A similar taboo can be seen among Sinhalese Buddhists, who consider it to be ungrateful to kill the animal whose milk and labor provides livelihoods to many Sinhalese people.
Consumption of beef is taboo for Hindus out of respect for the cow. Those Hindus who do eat meat abstain from the consumption of beef, as the cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism. Dairy products such as milk, yogurt and particularly ghee are highly revered and used in holy ceremonies. Cow milk was the nearest substitute of mother's milk for orphaned new-born babies before the advent of modern medicine when young mothers died during or just after delivery.. Cattle, cows and bulls, were the mainstay of our ancient ancestors for their livelihood both before and after agriculture was developed. Cow particularly was next only to the mother in providing sustenance which was regarded therefore as 'gomatha", the mother cow, the alter mother. Slaughter of cows is therefor an extremely provocative issue for many Hindus
Some professed right activists and pseudo-progressives even question the very basis of the Hindu belief that beef is proscribed for them by faith, by pointing out that there are here-and-there references to beef eating in the Vedas and Puranas, and to liking of it even by some seers. Undoubtedly there are,(seer Yajnavalkya is well known for his expressed liking for "tender cow's meat".), but what these half-knowledgeable naivete should learn is that there is express injunction or command against cow slaughter in Vedas and explicit recommendation of vegetarianism, and those few references to beef- eating are in the nature of concessions under certain circumstances. Every rule has exceptions.
Rig Veda (10.87.16):
"One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head."
Similar injunctions against meat eating as well as recommendations for vegetarianism are found strewn through out the other Vedas, Sutras, Smritis,and Puranas,- especially in Manusmriti. As per concessions, cows (and other specified animals) could be slaughtered for yajnas or ritual sacrifices as offerings and small portions of their meat to be consumed as prasaad or partaking of the blessings. (Incidentally, it was a deadly sin not to partake of these offering)
One may argue that these taboos are self imposed and not enforced by the government. But when the taboo is held or practiced by the majority, the difference becomes insignificant. Not only that in India the ban on cow slaughter is already in force which is not widely realized. The fact that by Indian law, the slaughter of female cattle (i.e. cows) is banned in almost all Indian states except Kerala, West Bengal and the seven north eastern states is not widely known . A person involved in either cow slaughter or its illegal transportation could be jailed in many states. Now with the ban on cow slaughter to be strictly implemented in Maharashtra, it will not be long before the restriction covers all India.
Yes, The Cow is Holy. Protecting the Cow.
The cow, by Hindus, and the pig, by the Muslims are forbidden to be slaughtered and their meat consumed by respective followers. Hindus are not alone in abstaining from eating beef or bovine meat. Many Zoroastrians do not eat beef, because of the cow that saved Zoroaster's life from murderers when Zoroaster was a baby. Actual Pahlavi texts state that Zoroastrians should be fully vegetarian.
.
Judaism prescribes a strict set of rules, called Kashrut, regarding what may and may not be eaten. Jains follow religious directives to observe vegetarianism. Some ethnic Chinese may also refrain from eating cow meat, because many of them feel that it is wrong to eat an animal that was so useful in agriculture. Some Chinese Buddhists discourage the consumption of beef, although it is not considered taboo. A similar taboo can be seen among Sinhalese Buddhists, who consider it to be ungrateful to kill the animal whose milk and labor provides livelihoods to many Sinhalese people.
Consumption of beef is taboo for Hindus out of respect for the cow. Those Hindus who do eat meat abstain from the consumption of beef, as the cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism. Dairy products such as milk, yogurt and particularly ghee are highly revered and used in holy ceremonies. Cow milk was the nearest substitute of mother's milk for orphaned new-born babies before the advent of modern medicine when young mothers died during or just after delivery.. Cattle, cows and bulls, were the mainstay of our ancient ancestors for their livelihood both before and after agriculture was developed. Cow particularly was next only to the mother in providing sustenance which was regarded therefore as 'gomatha", the mother cow, the alter mother. Slaughter of cows is therefor an extremely provocative issue for many Hindus
Some professed right activists and pseudo-progressives even question the very basis of the Hindu belief that beef is proscribed for them by faith, by pointing out that there are here-and-there references to beef eating in the Vedas and Puranas, and to liking of it even by some seers. Undoubtedly there are,(seer Yajnavalkya is well known for his expressed liking for "tender cow's meat".), but what these half-knowledgeable naivete should learn is that there is express injunction or command against cow slaughter in Vedas and explicit recommendation of vegetarianism, and those few references to beef- eating are in the nature of concessions under certain circumstances. Every rule has exceptions.
Rig Veda (10.87.16):
"One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head."
Similar injunctions against meat eating as well as recommendations for vegetarianism are found strewn through out the other Vedas, Sutras, Smritis,and Puranas,- especially in Manusmriti. As per concessions, cows (and other specified animals) could be slaughtered for yajnas or ritual sacrifices as offerings and small portions of their meat to be consumed as prasaad or partaking of the blessings. (Incidentally, it was a deadly sin not to partake of these offering)
One may argue that these taboos are self imposed and not enforced by the government. But when the taboo is held or practiced by the majority, the difference becomes insignificant. Not only that in India the ban on cow slaughter is already in force which is not widely realized. The fact that by Indian law, the slaughter of female cattle (i.e. cows) is banned in almost all Indian states except Kerala, West Bengal and the seven north eastern states is not widely known . A person involved in either cow slaughter or its illegal transportation could be jailed in many states. Now with the ban on cow slaughter to be strictly implemented in Maharashtra, it will not be long before the restriction covers all India.
