Thursday, January 22, 2015

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Recently certain churches in USA had claimed that the early Christian churches had a mistake when translating the 10 Commandments into English. Their main concern was the 6th Commandment which says ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’

According to the churches, it should be translated as ‘Thou shalt not murder.’ They say its OK to kill any animal or even human being (as soldiers or police in the line of duty) but not murder (illegal killing).

Please refer to the links provided at the bottom of this page

We are here not to question their opinion. This post has nothing to do with this claim but to honor cows for the recent "Maattu Ponggal" festival. Hindus respect cows as mother. The best explanation on why Hindus are abstained from eating cow (beef) was given by Jagad Guru Srila Prabhupada to Cardinal Jean Danielou at a monastic retreat near Paris, in July of 1973.

The transcript below was prepared by ISKCON based on the entire conversation.

Srila Prabhupada:
Jesus Christ said, “Thou shalt not kill.” So why is it that the Christian people are engaged in animal killing?
Cardinal Danielou:
Certainly in Christianity it is forbidden to kill, but we believe that there is a difference between the life of a human being and the life of the beasts. The life of a human being is sacred because man is made in the image of God; therefore, to kill a human being is forbidden.
Srila Prabhupada:
But the Bible does not simply say, “Do not kill the human being.” It says broadly, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Cardinal Danielou:
We believe that only human life is sacred.
Srila Prabhupada:
That is your interpretation. The commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.”
Cardinal Danielou:
It is necessary for man to kill animals in order to have food to eat.
Srila Prabhupada:
No. Man can eat grains, vegetables, fruits, and milk.
Cardinal Danielou:
No flesh?
Srila Prabhupada:
No. Human beings are meant to eat vegetarian food. The tiger does not come to eat your fruits. His prescribed food is animal flesh. But man’s food is vegetables, fruits, grains, and milk products. So how can you say that animal killing is not a sin?
Cardinal Danielou:
We believe it is a question of motivation. If the killing of an animal is for giving food to the hungry, then it is justified.
Srila Prabhupada:
But consider the cow: we drink her milk; therefore, she is our mother. Do you agree?
Cardinal Danielou:
Yes, surely.
Srila Prabhupada:
So if the cow is your mother, how can you support killing her? You take the milk from her, and when she’s old and cannot give you milk, you cut her throat. Is that a very humane proposal? In India those who are meat-eaters are advised to kill some lower animals like goats, pigs, or even buffalo. But cow killing is the greatest sin. In preaching Krishna consciousness we ask people not to eat any kind of meat, and my disciples strictly follow this principle. But if, under certain circumstances, others are obliged to eat meat, then they should eat the flesh of some lower animal. Don’t kill cows. It is the greatest sin. And as long as a man is sinful, he cannot understand God. The human being’s main business is to understand God and to love Him. But if you remain sinful, you will never be able to understand God—what to speak of loving Him.
Cardinal Danielou:
I think that perhaps this is not an essential point. The important thing is to love God. The practical commandments can vary from one religion to the next.
Srila Prabhupada:
So, in the Bible God’s practical commandment is that you cannot kill; therefore killing cows is a sin for you.
Cardinal Danielou:
God says to the Indians that killing is not good, and he says to the Jews that…
Srila Prabhupada:
No, no. Jesus Christ taught, “Thou shalt not kill.” Why do you interpret this to suit your own convenience?
Cardinal Danielou:
But Jesus allowed the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb.
Srila Prabhupada:
But he never maintained a slaughterhouse.
Cardinal Danielou:
[Laughs.] No, but he did eat meat.
Srila Prabhupada:
When there is no other food, someone may eat meat in order to keep from starving. That is another thing. But it is most sinful to regularly maintain slaughterhouses just to satisfy your tongue. Actually, you will not even have a human society until this cruel practice of maintaining slaughterhouses is stopped. And although animal killing may sometimes be necessary for survival, at least the mother animal, the cow, should not be killed. That is simply human decency. In the Krishna consciousness movement our practice is that we don’t allow the killing of any animals. Krishna says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati: “Vegetables, fruits, milk, and grains should be offered to Me in devotion.” (Bhagavad-Gita 9.26) We take only the remnants of Krishna’s food (prasadam). The trees offer us many varieties of fruits, but the trees are not killed. Of course, one living entity is food for another living entity, but that does not mean you can kill your mother for food. Cows are innocent; they give us milk. You take their milk—and then kill them in the slaughterhouse. This is sinful.

Student:
Srila Prabhupada, Christianity’s sanction of meat-eating is based on the view that lower species of life do not have a soul like the human being’s.
Srila Prabhupada:
That is foolishness. First of all, we have to understand the evidence of the soul’s presence within the body. Then we can see whether the human being has a soul and the cow does not. What are the different characteristics of the cow and the man? If we find a difference in characteristics, then we can say that in the animal there is no soul. But if we see that the animal and the human being have the same characteristics, then how can you say that the animal has no soul? The general symptoms are that the animal eats, you eat; the animal sleeps, you sleep; the animal mates, you mate; the animal defends, and you defend. Where is the difference?
Cardinal Danielou:
We admit that in the animal there may be the same type of biological existence as in men, but there is no soul. We believe that the soul is a human soul.
Srila Prabhupada:
Our Bhagavad-Gita says sarva-yonisu, “In all species of life the soul exists.” The body is like a suit of clothes. You have black clothes; I am dressed in saffron clothes. But within the dress you are a human being, and I am also a human being. Similarly, the bodies of the different species are just like different types of dress. There are soul, a part and parcel of God. Suppose a man has two sons, not equally meritorious. One may be a Supreme Court judge and the other may be a common laborer, but the father claims both as his sons. He does not make the distinction that the son who is a judge is very important and the worker-son is not important. And if the judge-son says, “My dear father, your other son is useless; let me cut him up and eat him,” will the father allow this?
Cardinal Danielou:
Certainly not, but the idea that all life is part of the life of God is difficult for us to admit. There is a great difference between human life and animal life.
Srila Prabhupada:
That difference is due to the development of consciousness. In the human body there is developed consciousness. Even a tree has a soul, but a tree’s consciousness is not very developed. If you cut a tree it does not resist. Actually, it does resist, but only to a very small degree. There is a scientist named Jagadish Chandra Bose who has made a machine which shows that trees and plants are able to feel pain when they are cut. And we can see directly that when someone comes to kill an animal, it resists, it cries, it makes a horrible sound. So it is a matter of the development of consciousness. But the soul is there within all living beings.
Cardinal Danielou:
But metaphysically, the life of man is sacred. Human beings think on a higher platform than the animals do.
Srila Prabhupada:
What is that higher platform? The animal eats to maintain his body, and you also eat in order to maintain your body. The cow eats grass in the field, and the human being eats meat from a huge slaughterhouse full of modern machines. But just because you have big machines and a ghastly scene, while the animal simply eats grass, this does not mean that you are so advanced that only within your body is there a soul and that there is not a soul within the body of the animal. That is illogical. We can see that the basic characteristics are the same in the animal and the human being.
Cardinal Danielou:
But only in human beings do we find a metaphysical search for the meaning of life.
Srila Prabhupada:
Yes. So metaphysically search out why you believe that there is no soul within the animal—that is metaphysics. If you are thinking metaphysically, that’s all right. But if you are thinking like an animal, then what is the use of your metaphysical study? Metaphysical means “above the physical” or, in other words, “spiritual.” In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, sarva-yonisu kaunteya: [Bg. 14.4] “In every living being there is a spirit soul.” That is metaphysical understanding. Now either you accept Krishna’s teachings as metaphysical, or you’ll have to take a third-class fool’s opinion as metaphysical. Which do you accept?
Cardinal Danielou:
But why does God create some animals who eat other animals? There is a fault in the creation, it seems.
Srila Prabhupada:
It is not a fault. God is very kind. If you want to eat animals, then He’ll give you full facility. God will give you the body of a tiger in your next life so that you can eat flesh very freely. “Why are you maintaining slaughterhouses? I’ll give you fangs and claws. Now eat.” So the meat-eaters are awaiting such punishment. The animal-eaters become tigers, wolves, cats, and dogs in their next life—to get more facility.
Transcript courtesy of: ~ ISKCON


Saturday, January 17, 2015

The World Keeps Vedic Time

World Vedic Heritage By: P.N. Oak



The uniform worldwide tradition of time-management and the Sanskrit terminology associated with it, is yet another emphatic proof of the prevalence of a uniform , unitary Vedic culture throughout the world from time immemorial. The Hindu alias Vedic almanac is the ancient most because it adheres to the Srushti-Samvat i.e, the time -computation from the creation of the cosmos. Nothing can be more ancient.

What is more, anybody undertaking any Vedic ritual at any time in any part of the world has to recall and repeat the entire computation of the aeons, eras, years and days that have passed from the moment of the creation to the day of the ritual. Thus a continual, up-to-date, day -to -day computation uttered through billions of months down the ages, day -in and day –out, all over the world has ensured an unerring tally of eternal time, A quick 
Review of the cosmic time tally is part of the Sankalpa uttered at Vedic rituals. 

People retaining the Vedic tradition are currently identified as Hindus. And since Vedic-tradition has been a world-heritage every human being is, in a way, a Hindu, in Modern parlance. 

It was during that long stretch of universal administration that a uniform time-calculation system and terminology was introduced. The world still sticks to it and yet very few seem to be aware of it.

The word Time itself is a corruption of the Sanskrit word ‘Samay’. That was pronounced as ‘Tamay’ and later as ‘Time.’ 

Take the word ‘calendar’ itself. That is the Sanskrit word ‘Kalantar’ (कालांतर) which signifies a chart detailing the divisions of time (namely the day, week, month and year.

Likewise the word clock is Sanskrit ‘Kala-ka’ (काल-क)i.e a recorder-cum-indicator of time.

Let us know start from the split-second to find out how the entire time computation around the world is all of the Vedic tradition.

The 60 second, 60 minute calculation is Vedic mathematics because according to the 60 vipalas make one ‘pala’ and 60 ‘palas’ make one ‘ghati’(i.e. 24 minutes). The word ‘second’ itself is a malpronunciation of the Sanskrit word ‘Kshan’(क्षण). The word Minute is also corruption of sanskrit word ‘Mit’(मित).

The term ‘hour’ is a malpronunciation of the Sanskrit word (होरा)’hora’ (which is made up of 2 ½ ghatis).

60 Pal = 1 Ghati (24 Minutes)
2.5 Ghati = 1 Hora (=1 Hour)
Below in detail -
1 Krati = 34,000th of a second
1 Truti = 300th of a second
2 Truti = 1 Luv
2 Luv = 1 Kshana
30 Kshana = 1 Vipal
60 Vipal = 1 Pal
60 Pal = 1 Ghati (24 Minutes)
2.5 Ghati = 1 Hora (1 Hour)
2.5 Ghati = 1 Divas (1 Day)
7 Divas = 1 Saptah (1 Week)
4 Saptah = 1 Maas (1 Month)
2 Maas = 1 Ritu (1 Season)
3 Ritu = 1 Ayana (6 months)
6 Ritu = 1 Varsha (1 Year)
100 Varsha = 1 Shatabda (1 Century)
10 Shatabda = 1 Sahasrabda
432 Sahasrabda = 1 Kali Yuga (432,000 human years)
2 Kali Yuga = 1 Dwaapar Yuga (864,000 human years)
3 Kali Yuga = 1 Treta Yuga (1,296,000 human years)
4 Kali Yuga = 1 Satya Yuga (1,728,000 human years)
10 Kali Yuga = 1 Maha Yuga (4,320,000 human years)
1000 Maha Yuga = 1 Kalpa (4.32 Billion human years)
The word ‘day’ is the corrupt form of the Sanskrit word 'din’ (दिनम्).

All the days of the week too follow the order laid down by Vedic tradition wherein each day is named after the members of our solar system in a specified order. For Instance. Sunday (the day named after the Sun) follows Saturday (the day of Saturn). Monday (which is Moonday) follows Sunday and so on. 

Tb whole world couldn’t have followed this system without the slightest egoistic or chauvinistic murmur from anywhere, had it not been subject to a common Vedic administration. 

After the week comes the month. The division of the year into 12 Parts (each or which is known as month, corresponding to the twelve Zodiacal signs) is devised by the Vedic system and is unquestioningly followed all over the world. 

Even the Sanskrit term ‘mas’ (मास) signifying a month is still used in Europe. The European terms Christmas and Michaelmas signify the months in which the celebrations concerning Christ (alias chrisn)and Michael are observed. Michael is Sanskrit Mukul.

The names September, October, November and December are the Sanskrit words (सप्तांबर)Saptambar, (अष्टांबर)Ashtambhar, (नवांबर)Navambar, (दशांबर)Dashambar where (अंबर)’ambar’ is the Sanskrit term for the Zodiac while the numbers (सप्ता) sapta, (अष्टा)ashta, (नवा) nava and (दशा) dasha, signify the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months respectively.

If the remaining eight months are not easily identifiable as Sanskrit that is because history always leaves ruins in its wake for various reasons. It is like an old man whose teeth have wide gaps. The two rows of well-set teeth of his childhood do not remain intact as age advances. But the remaining teeth and dented gums do lead to the conclusion that once the man did have a full set of teeth.

The same may be said of the months. From the four months still clearly identifiable as Sanskrit. It can be safely deduced that the remaining eight months too had Sanskrit names. 

Among the others a few more can still be identified as Sanskrit on a closer look. The name Januarius is the original name, of which January is an abbreviation. Here it may be recalled that in Latin the name of God Ganesh came to be spelled as Janus.So even the Januray beginning of the year is rooted in the Vedic tradition of Ganesh worship. Even the name Januarius misbelieved to be Latin in the Sanskrit term ‘gana-raya-eash’ ()signifying Lord Ganesh. 

The name of the succeeding month February wag spelled by the Romans as Februarius. That is a malpronounciation of the Sanskrit word Pravaresh. From the Sanskrit word ‘Pitar’ changing to' father' in European pronunciation we know that European 'f’ replaces Sanskrit ‘P’ Consequently Februarius was (प्रवरेश)Pravaresh. (प्रवर) Pravar in Sanskrit signifies a sage. So the term Pravaresh alias Februarius signified God as the Lord of Sages.

The term March is from (मरीचि) ‘Marichi’ -one of the Sanskrit names of the Sun. Since that month marks the beginning of longer alias a kind of waxing of the sunlight hours it was named after the Sun. Another explanation is that March signifies a start i.e marching orders. Since in ancient practice the beginning of the year coincided with that period, the opening month was named March. 

These clues should help scholars to trace the Vedic origin of the term April, May, June and July or either Sanskrit substitutes.It could be that May is named after Maya - i.e. illusion(in Sanskrit), the Holy Spirit which consorted with the Creator to create the cosmos. 

It is commonly believed that the name July originates from Julius Caesar and Augustus from Augustus Caesar. These could be explanations concocted by latter-day scholars. Muslim and Christian histories bristle with such concoctions . By that token other Roman emperors too should have had the remaining ten months named after themselves. Were they less egoistic or ambitious?. 

The term August and even the imperial name ‘Augustus’ derive from Sage Agastya (अगस्त्य) an ancient seer and Vedic scholar of world renown who was known for his impressive personality. The term ‘august personality’ and ‘august presence’ derive from that sage. The Agastya had a world impact is additional proof that the Vedas were revered and recited all over the world in ancient times.

December was observed as Chrisn-mas because Chrisn has mentioned in the Bhagwad Geeta that all months Margasheersh (i.e. December) represents him.
Chrisnmas ()has been so named in Vedic tradition also because that is the last month of long, dark nights and the word Krishna signifies darkness too.

In our own day September ranks as the ninth month though its Sanskrit name proclaims it to be the seventh month. What explains this anomaly?

September could be the seventh month only if March is counted as the first month. And actually all around the ancient world, in Rome, in England etc the year began only in March. It was only from 1752 A.D. that England formally switched on to January 1 as the New Year Day by an act of Parliament. Earlier its New Year Day used to be march 25.


The European tradition of counting the hours of the day from the midnight hour originated in India after the Mahabharata War, taking the time of Krishna’s birth as its base since Krishna was revered throughout the world and Krishna’s birth symbolized the end of a dark period of tyranny.

Another explanation is that the Vedic administrative headquarters for Europe used to be in London in the British Isles. London meridian time is 5½ hours behind the Indian time. When the sun rises at 5.30 a.m. India changes the date as per vedic practice. At that time it is midnight hour in London. Therefore, the vedic administration there cultivated the tradition of reckoning the day from the midnight hour. Forgetting that, our own times Indian bureaucracy reckons its official date to commence from the midnight hour.

Even the terms a.m. and p.m. have a Sanskrit connotation and not English as is easily assumed. The letters a.m. and p.m. are the initials of the hoary Sanskrit expressions (आरोहणम् मार्तडस्य्) Arohanam Martandasaya (i.e. the climbing of the sun) and (पतनम् मार्तडस्य्)Patanam Martandasaya (i.e. the falling of the sun)

London has been a very ancient Vedic capital. Its ancient Sanskrit name was Nondonium which is Sanskrit for a ‘Pleasing Habitation’. In Roman time, it was misspelled as Londonium. Later this was abbreviated to London.

The current trend of the academic world is to regard the Vedic era as the most primitive. Contrarily it was an era of almost divine excellence in every respect because of billions of years ago divinity itself provided the first proto-types of humanity. Hereunder is that split second scale of ancient Vedic calculation.
1 Paramaanu = 26.3 µs (Approx.)
2 Paramaanu = 1 Anu (57.7 µs)
3 Anu = 1 Trasarenu (158 µs)
3 Trasarenu = 1 Truti (474 µs)
100 Truti = 1 Vedh (47.4 ms)
3 Vedh = 1 Lav (0.14 second)
3 Lav = 1 Nimesh (0.43 second)
3 Nimesh = 1 Kshan (1.28 second)
5 Kshan = 1 Kaashthaa (6.4 seconds)
15 Kaashthaa = 1 Laghu (96 seconds)
15 Laghu = 1 Dand (24 minutes)
2 Dand = 1 Muhurtha (48 minutes)
30 Muhūrta = 1 Ahorātram (1 Day)

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May this day onward , you are showered with all the blessing from the Almighty
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