The Cow
Conundrum
First, if animal sacrifice is a part of
Vedic and Aryan rituals? If the animal also includes Cow? The answers are clear
yes. Some people vainly argue that animal sacrifice is not a part of Vedic
ritual and also say that Yajur Veda where in sacrificial rituals are
systematically described is not a Veda and there are only three Vedas. Why
shying away from truth? Veda are Shruti scriptures meaning directly heard.
Here are
some examples:
(1) In the
Anubandhya sacrifice either a barren cow or an ox was offered to Varuna and Mitra on the day of
Soma sacrifice 1.
(2) In
fact, the scripture controls you to kill the animal by suggesting the sacrifice
to be done in a specified season 2
like spring only (VasanteVasantejyotishaayajeta…). The sacrifice called
‘Jyotishtoma’ should be performed only in spring season……….. Bhavabhooti says in 2 Uttararamacharitam that the cow is killed when the
guest comes (Eshagowhmatamatayate…).
……..
(3) But local customs are infinite and
contradictory. Which are we to obey, and which not to obey? The Brâhmin of
Southern India, for instance, would shrink in horror at the sight of another
Brahmin eating meat; a Brahmin in the North thinks it a most glorious and holy
thing to do — he kills goats by the hundred in sacrifice. If you put forward
your custom, they are equally ready with theirs. ………………………………..
There was a time in this very India when, without eating beef, no Brahmin
could remain a Brahmin 3;
you read in the Vedas how, when a Sannyasin, a king, or a great man came into a
house, the best bullock was killed; how in time it was found that as we were an
agricultural race, killing the best bulls meant annihilation of the race.
Therefore the practice was stopped, and a voice was raised against the killing
of cows. Sometimes we find existing then what we now consider the most horrible
customs. In course of time other laws had to be made. These in turn will have
to go, and other Smritis will come. This is one fact we have to learn that the
Vedas being eternal will be one and the same throughout all ages, but the
Smritis will have an end.
(4) We must not forget great Ashvamedha
sacrifice of the royals.
(5) Let us see: While ghee by itself is
offered as an oblation, it is also used to purify other sacrificial materials -
in fact this is obligatory. In a number of sacrifices the vapa (fat or marrow)
of animals is offered. While ghee by itself is offered as an oblation, it is
also used to purify other sacrificial materials - in fact this is obligatory.
In a number of sacrifices the vapa (fat
or marrow) of animals is offered. Is the performance of a sacrifice sinful, or
is it meritorious? Or is it both?
Madvacharya was against the
killing of any pasu for a sacrifice. In his compassion he said that a
substitute for the vapa must be made with flour and offered in the fire.
("Pasu" does not necessarily mean a cow. In Sanskrit any animal is
called a "pasu". )
In his Brahmasutra, Vyasa has
expounded the nature of the Atman as found expressed in the Upanishads which
constitute the jnanakanda of the Vedas. The actual conduct of sacrifices is
dealt with in the Purvamimamsa which is the karmakanda of the Vedas. The true
purpose of sacrifices is explained in the Uttaramimamsa, that is the jnanakanda.
What is this purpose or goal? It is the cleansing of the consciousness and such
cleansing is essential to lead a man to the path of jnana.
The Brahmasutra
says: "Asuddhamiti cen na sabdat". The performance of sacrifices is
based on scriptural authority and it is part of the quest for Self -realisation.
So how can it be called an impure act? How do we determine whether or not an
object or an act is impure or whether it is good or bad? We do so by judging it
according to the authority of of the sastras. Vyasa goes on to state in his
Brahmasutra that animal sacrifice is not sinful since the act is permeated by
the sound of the Vedas. What is pure or impure is to be known by the authority
provided by the Vedas or rather their sound called Sabdapramana. If sacrifices
were impure acts according to the Vedas, they would not have accepted them as
part of the Atmic quest. Even if the sacrificial animal is made of flour (the
substitute according to Madhvacharya) it is imbued with life by the chanting of
the Vedic mantras. Would it not then be like a living animal and would not
offering it in a sacrifice be taken as an act of violence?
It is a matter of fact that animal
sacrifices during Vedic rituals were discontinued under the pressure of Jaina
and Buddha Dharma. Jains are strictly vegetarian and Buddhists are partial.
This happened around 500 CE when Jain and Buddha dharmas were at the peak of
popularity among the masses and Smriti scriptures, meaning said out of memory
were authored to justify the change. Still Aryanists say Vedas are infallible.
The arrogance of Aryanism is that Cow
slaughter is good and divine if they did it, otherwise “cow is their mother”
preached as ‘gai hamara mata hai’.
Well, people have the right to revise their
belief system including religion. But dictating others to follow is arrogance.
The real problem is that it is impossible
for a farmer to keep a barren cow as it does not make business sense. He has to
sell it to a butcher. If cow slaughter is not acceptable to any group then they
should run goshalas and buy as many barren cows as possible and breed them at
their cost. And also allow the slaughter houses to buy animals for food
production. Today beef costs just Rs 100 a Kg whereas Dal is Rs 200 a Kg. Beef is a nutritious food. It is the duty of
the Government to ensure nutritious and affordable food to the populations and
hence the present ban on Cow slaughter is to be lifted. It is also the duty of
the Government and the public to ensure no stray animals are left in the
streets which excrete on the streets, a public nuisance of high order.
(1)
Max Müller (1882).
Sacred Books of the East, Volume
12. Clarendon Press. p. 379.https://books.google.co.in/books?id=15AZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA379&dq=anubandhya+sacrifice&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JqJ8VODdI4iOuASh6oCADA#v=onepage&q=anubandhya%20sacrifice&f=false
(2)
Dattaswami, Extensive analysis of
Non-veg food in the light of Scriptures, http://creative.sulekha.com/extensive-analysis-of-non-veg-food-in-the-light-of-scriptures_562744_blog
(3)
The Complete Works of Swami
Vivekananda/Volume 3/Lectures from Colombo to Almora/Reply to the Address of
Welcome at Madura, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/Volume_3/Lectures_from_Colombo_to_Almora/Reply_to_the_Address_of_Welcome_at_Madura
(4) Kanchi
Kamakoti, Is Sacrificial Killing Justified?, http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap23.htm