Animal-eating - Why Civilized Humans Must Take to Prasādam
It is an undeniable law of nature that living entities survive by consuming other living entities. However, the human form of life is endowed with higher intelligence and the capacity for moral discrimination. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that while animal-eating may be the natural standard for beasts and primitive men, it is completely inappropriate for a civilized society. To achieve peace and spiritual realization, humanity must elevate its diet from violence and exploitation to the pure standard of kṛṣṇa-prasādam.
The Diet of the Uncivilized
In the animal kingdom, there is no agriculture. A tiger must eat flesh to survive. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that primitive, aboriginal humans living in jungles or deserts where grains do not grow are also permitted to eat animals out of sheer necessity. But when modern, civilized humans—who have the intelligence and resources to grow abundant grains, fruits, and vegetables—choose to maintain massive slaughterhouses, they act worse than animals.
- Animals, they have no hands. So the primitive life, so they become food for the primitive natives or uncivilized man. They kill some animals and eat. And why civilized man do so? He can produce his food. God has given him land. He has intelligence.
- Why you should eat animals? That is uncivilized life. When there is no food, when they are aborigines, they may eat animals, because they do not know how to grow food. But when the human society becomes civilized, he can grow so many nice foods.
- The animal-eaters, they're like jackals, vultures, dogs. They're similar to these animals, the animal-eaters. It is not human food.
- Those who are eating another animal, they are not human being. Although they have got the form of human being, they are not considered human being.
Misunderstanding Vedic Sacrifices
People addicted to meat often try to justify their habit by pointing to ancient religious texts. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that while the Vedas do sometimes mention animal sacrifice, these rules are concessions designed strictly for the addicted. By forcing an animal-eater to personally sacrifice a goat to Goddess Kālī on a specific dark moon night, the scripture aims to restrict the violence, not encourage the opening of commercial slaughterhouses.
- For the animal-eaters, the scriptures have sanctioned restricted animal sacrifices only, and such sanctions are there just to restrict the opening of slaughterhouses and not to encourage animal-killing.
- The sudras, they can take a goat and sacrifice before the deity, goddess Kali, and then eat. Nobody should be given unrestricted freedom to eat meat. Or wine. If one is adamant to drink wine, then there is Candi-puja, Durga-puja. That means restriction.
- According to Vedic scripture, those animal-eaters should kill them personally, so that they can see how much suffering is there, so he will stop. But now the things are being done in the slaughterhouse. They do not see. They purchase very nicely packed.
- When people become too much animal-eater and simply giving the evidence of Vedas, "In the Vedas it is sanctioned," but without caring for the ritualistic process.
The Special Protection of the Cow
Even among those who absolutely refuse to give up animal-eating, the Vedic culture draws a hard line: the cow must never be touched. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that because the cow provides milk—the most miraculous and essential food for human brain development—she is considered a mother of society. Killing her is the ultimate act of ingratitude and a severe philosophical failure.
- Those who desire to eat meat may satisfy the demands of their tongues by eating lower animals, but they should never kill cows, who are actually accepted as the mothers of human society because they supply milk.
- Those who are meat-eaters, they can eat other, non-important animals, but cows must be saved, even from economic point of view. Here it is said that go-raksya. It does not say, Krsna, "elephant-raksya."
- If you are staunch meat-eaters, then you cannot touch cow. You can eat some other animal.
- Cow is so full of vitamin, valuable. But civilization is that "Why should you eat the animal? Take the milk".
Moving Beyond Vegetarianism
A common argument from meat-eaters is, "Vegetables also have life, so vegetarians are also killers." Śrīla Prabhupāda completely agrees. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement does not promote mundane vegetarianism. Because killing any living entity brings a karmic reaction, the only safe and pure diet for a human being is kṛṣṇa-prasādam—food that has been prepared with love and offered to the Supreme Lord, who absorbs all the sinful reactions.
- We are not propagating the philosophy of ahimsa, or nonviolence, because in some way or other, there is violence, either you take fruit or grain or animal. But the principle is that you have to take prasadam.
- Animal food is never recommended for human beings; instead, a human being is recommended to take prasada, remnants of food left by Krsna. Yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih (Bhagavad-Gita 3.13).
- Even the so-called vegetarians who do not take Krishna prasadam are as much sinful as the non-vegetarians. Our propaganda is different, to make people Krishna Conscious, which automatically makes them sympathetic against any kind of animal slaughter.
- In this temple, we don't eat anything. Neither we eat grass, neither we eat animals. We eat krsna-prasada.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that a person who maintains the gross habit of animal-eating cannot easily grasp the fine, subtle philosophy of self-realization. By giving up the consumption of meat, fish, and eggs, and exclusively accepting the spiritualized remnants of food offered to Kṛṣṇa (prasādam), we free ourselves from the dark cycle of karmic violence and rapidly elevate our consciousness back to the spiritual platform.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Animal-eating. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.