KARMA
The Sanskrit word karma means "action" or, in a narrower sense, any material action that entails consequences that bind a person to the material world. Although the concept of karma is usually associated with Eastern philosophy, many people in the West are beginning to understand that the law of karma is as fundamental and immutable as the law of nature or the law of gravity. Every our action entails certain consequences. According to the law of karma, if we cause pain and suffering to other living beings, then we will also suffer - this applies equally to the individual and to society as a whole. We are reaping the fruits of what we have sown, paying the price for what we have done both in this life and in the next ones, because nature has its own court. No one can bypass the law of karma except those who understand how it acts.
To understand how karma leads to wars, consider the example given in the Vedas. Sometimes in a bamboo grove as a result of friction of bamboo trunks against each other, a fire begins. However, the true cause of it is not the trees, but the wind, swinging them. Trees are only middlemen. Similarly, on the basis of the law of karma, it can be concluded that neither the United States nor the Soviet Union are the true culprits of the friction that exists between them and which can cause a fire of nuclear war. The real reason is the insensible wind of karma that has accumulated as if innocent inhabitants of the earth .
According to the law of karma, the nearest store or stall selling meat patties (which also includes a gynecological clinic where abortions are performed, but this is a separate topic) has more to do with the threat of nuclear war hanging over humanity than the White House or Kremlin. We are trembling at the thought of a possible nuclear war, but at the same time we calmly regard the fact that every day all over the world, behind the walls of automated slaughterhouses, massacres are committed, no less terrible than the destruction of peoples in the flames of nuclear war.
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A person who feeds on the flesh of animals can say that he does not kill anyone. But in fact, by buying neatly packaged meat in a store, he pays his money for someone else to commit this murder instead. As a result, both: the one who kills and the one who pays - incur the consequences of karma. What is this, if not hypocrisy - to participate in a demonstration in defense of peace, and after it to satisfy your hunger in a diner with a sandwich with sausage or to fry steak at home?
This duplicity was condemned by George Bernard Shaw: We pray to God to illuminate our path: “Give us light, O all-good Lord! The nightmare of war keeps us awake, But the teeth of ours are the animals of the dead, flesh. ” In his commentary on Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada says: “He who unnecessarily kills and tortures animals, as the butchers do, will be killed in the same way in the next lives ...” The Judeo-Christian scriptures clearly said: “Thou shalt not kill.” And yet, even religious leaders, who pretend to be saints, kill animals, inventing all sorts of excuses for this.
This deception and hypocrisy, rooted in human society, are the cause of countless disasters, such as world wars, during which entire nations exterminate each other on the battlefield. Not so long ago, scientists invented a nuclear bomb, a weapon of mass destruction, which is just waiting in the wings. ” These are the consequences of karma. Those who know how the law of karma works understand that peace cannot be achieved through demonstrations and petitions. Instead, explain to people what the consequences of killing innocent creatures (and unborn children) entail. Of course, this would help ease the burden of karma on humanity. To solve the problems existing in the world, only people with pure consciousness can understand that the true misfortune of humanity is the lack of spirituality. Sinners have always existed and will continue to exist, but in no case should they be allowed to go public.
Meat eaters often blame vegetarians for using violence to kill plants, an accusation that is one of the most common arguments against vegetarianism. In response to this, it should be noted that such vegetarian products as ripe fruits, many vegetables, nuts, grains and milk, a person receives, without committing any murder. As for those cases when we still have to take life away from plants, it is easy to understand that since plants have less developed consciousness than animals, the pain caused by them cannot be compared with the agony of animals in a slaughterhouse, not to mention about the suffering endured by animals intended for slaughter throughout their lives.
Of course, we do not deny that vegetarians have to kill plants and that this killing is also violence, but we cannot do without food at all. The Vedas say: jivo jivasya jivanam - in the struggle for existence one living being is food for another. Thus, the problem is not to completely avoid violence — this is practically impossible — but to provide yourself with the necessary food, causing minimal suffering to other living beings. One who takes the life of another living being, even if it is just a plant, certainly commits a sin, but Krishna, the supreme controller, frees us from sin by accepting what we offer to Him.
By offering cooked food to the Lord, we are freed from responsibility, like a soldier who kills people on the battlefield. In a war, a soldier who orders an attack commander and kills an enemy is awarded a medal. But, if the same soldier kills someone on a whim, he will be punished. Similarly, if we eat only prasad, we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (3.13): “The devotees of the Lord, who eat the food offered to Him, are delivered from all sins. Those who prepare food to enjoy it, feed on one sin. ” That is, in itself, vegetarianism, despite all its importance, is not an end in itself ...
dopomoga.unas.cz/Philosofy/Karma.htm
To understand how karma leads to wars, consider the example given in the Vedas. Sometimes in a bamboo grove as a result of friction of bamboo trunks against each other, a fire begins. However, the true cause of it is not the trees, but the wind, swinging them. Trees are only middlemen. Similarly, on the basis of the law of karma, it can be concluded that neither the United States nor the Soviet Union are the true culprits of the friction that exists between them and which can cause a fire of nuclear war. The real reason is the insensible wind of karma that has accumulated as if innocent inhabitants of the earth .
According to the law of karma, the nearest store or stall selling meat patties (which also includes a gynecological clinic where abortions are performed, but this is a separate topic) has more to do with the threat of nuclear war hanging over humanity than the White House or Kremlin. We are trembling at the thought of a possible nuclear war, but at the same time we calmly regard the fact that every day all over the world, behind the walls of automated slaughterhouses, massacres are committed, no less terrible than the destruction of peoples in the flames of nuclear war.
')
A person who feeds on the flesh of animals can say that he does not kill anyone. But in fact, by buying neatly packaged meat in a store, he pays his money for someone else to commit this murder instead. As a result, both: the one who kills and the one who pays - incur the consequences of karma. What is this, if not hypocrisy - to participate in a demonstration in defense of peace, and after it to satisfy your hunger in a diner with a sandwich with sausage or to fry steak at home?
This duplicity was condemned by George Bernard Shaw: We pray to God to illuminate our path: “Give us light, O all-good Lord! The nightmare of war keeps us awake, But the teeth of ours are the animals of the dead, flesh. ” In his commentary on Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada says: “He who unnecessarily kills and tortures animals, as the butchers do, will be killed in the same way in the next lives ...” The Judeo-Christian scriptures clearly said: “Thou shalt not kill.” And yet, even religious leaders, who pretend to be saints, kill animals, inventing all sorts of excuses for this.
This deception and hypocrisy, rooted in human society, are the cause of countless disasters, such as world wars, during which entire nations exterminate each other on the battlefield. Not so long ago, scientists invented a nuclear bomb, a weapon of mass destruction, which is just waiting in the wings. ” These are the consequences of karma. Those who know how the law of karma works understand that peace cannot be achieved through demonstrations and petitions. Instead, explain to people what the consequences of killing innocent creatures (and unborn children) entail. Of course, this would help ease the burden of karma on humanity. To solve the problems existing in the world, only people with pure consciousness can understand that the true misfortune of humanity is the lack of spirituality. Sinners have always existed and will continue to exist, but in no case should they be allowed to go public.
Meat eaters often blame vegetarians for using violence to kill plants, an accusation that is one of the most common arguments against vegetarianism. In response to this, it should be noted that such vegetarian products as ripe fruits, many vegetables, nuts, grains and milk, a person receives, without committing any murder. As for those cases when we still have to take life away from plants, it is easy to understand that since plants have less developed consciousness than animals, the pain caused by them cannot be compared with the agony of animals in a slaughterhouse, not to mention about the suffering endured by animals intended for slaughter throughout their lives.
Of course, we do not deny that vegetarians have to kill plants and that this killing is also violence, but we cannot do without food at all. The Vedas say: jivo jivasya jivanam - in the struggle for existence one living being is food for another. Thus, the problem is not to completely avoid violence — this is practically impossible — but to provide yourself with the necessary food, causing minimal suffering to other living beings. One who takes the life of another living being, even if it is just a plant, certainly commits a sin, but Krishna, the supreme controller, frees us from sin by accepting what we offer to Him.
By offering cooked food to the Lord, we are freed from responsibility, like a soldier who kills people on the battlefield. In a war, a soldier who orders an attack commander and kills an enemy is awarded a medal. But, if the same soldier kills someone on a whim, he will be punished. Similarly, if we eat only prasad, we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (3.13): “The devotees of the Lord, who eat the food offered to Him, are delivered from all sins. Those who prepare food to enjoy it, feed on one sin. ” That is, in itself, vegetarianism, despite all its importance, is not an end in itself ...
dopomoga.unas.cz/Philosofy/Karma.htm
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/3003/
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