Animal sacrifice?

 


„The ksatriyas, when they are fighting in the battlefield, the killing is not a sin for them.

Similarly, a brāhmin, when he's offering sacrifice, sometimes animals are sacrificed; so that does not mean that he is committing sin. This animal sacrifice was made not for eating the animals. It was for testing the Vedic mantra. Whether the brāhmins who were engaged in offering sacrifice, whether they were chanting the Vedic mantra in right way, that was tested by offering one animal and again giving the animal a new youth life.

That was animal sacrifice. Sometimes horses, sometimes cows were offered. But in this age, Kali-yuga, they are forbidden because there is no such yājñika-brāhmin. All kinds of sacrifices are forbidden in this age.” 

(Lecture on BG 2.2-6 -- Ahmedabad, December 11, 1972)

 

„Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "The purpose of the Vedas is to establish such principles under the order of the Supreme Lord, and the Lord directly orders at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā that the highest principle of religion is to surrender unto Him only and nothing more. The Vedic principles are to push one toward complete surrender unto Him and whenever such principles are disturbed by the demons, the Lord appears. From the Bhāgavatam we understand that Lord Buddha is the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa who appeared when materialism was rampant and materialists were using the pretext of the authority of the Vedas. Although there are certain restrictive rules and regulations regarding animal sacrifice for particular purposes in the Vedas, people of demonic tendency still took to animal sacrifice without reference to the Vedic principles. Lord Buddha..."

Prabhupāda: Just like still animal sacrifice... Not only the followers of Vedas, every religion—animal is killed or sacrificed under certain religious rituals, in the lower stage. In the higher stage there is no such animal sacrifice. Just like this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, there is no ritualistic process as animal sacrifice. But the Vedas, they will include everyone. Suppose one is addicted to fish-eating or meat-eating. So the Vedas do not reject him also. He gives him direction that "You... All right, you can eat meat, but not you can start slaughterhouse. You can sacrifice one goat in the presence of goddess Kālī, and then you can eat." That means restriction. Goddess Kālī cannot be worshiped daily. So at least, he is forbidden to eat daily, meat. That is the idea. „

(Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969)

 

 

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