{"id":11381,"date":"2013-03-18T05:24:07","date_gmt":"2013-03-18T04:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=11381"},"modified":"2013-03-18T05:24:07","modified_gmt":"2013-03-18T04:24:07","slug":"why-veganism-in-iskcon-does-not-work-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=11381","title":{"rendered":"Why Veganism in Iskcon does not work, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

After having received a healthy feedback from my original article I thought it necessary to write another article. After reflecting the feedbacks it has become clearer to me the need for more clarification especially for the Vegans amongst us. I thought my first article dealt well with the matter to hand, firstly that Veganism is essentially a dietary consideration and secondly Veganism does not offer an alternative to Cow protection within Iskcon.<\/p>\n

From speaking at length to my Vegan friends it appears that in the secular world there is basically just one reason for being Vegan. That reason is just a dietary consideration and a dietary reason based on the aversion to violence in the Dairy industry and an aversion to eating meat and fish. When we try to make a fair analysis of the Vegan ideal it falls apart due to the secular individuals\u2019 different ways of trying to practise their own way of Veganism, thus it becomes a fairly inconsistent effort.<\/p>\n

If we just try to look at how a Vegan operates from the kitchen point of view then we have a small jigsaw puzzle understanding of what a Vegan is. Looking at Vegan\u2019s lifestyles brings in more circumstances to that picture. Many Vegans take intoxications, engage in illicit sexlife and perhaps gamble, considering this lifestyle to be totally acceptable. As we zoom out from the personal lifestyle of a typical Vegan in secular world then the practises of food production comes under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

I have not actually been able to find a Vegan producing farmstyle that is sustainable and eco friendly that actually follows its credentials. All of the Vegans that I know just shop at supermarkets, their local grocer, a farm shop producing \u201corganic\u201d vegetables and etc etc.(of course most \u201corganic\u201d produce is using animal products) As far as most of the Vegans I talked to say, they don\u2019t use Honey produced by Honey Bees, so presumably they also don\u2019t eat fruit that is pollinated by bees on most UK commercial farms and around the world.<\/p>\n

As a Beekeeper, myself, from a long time ago Beekeepers were an integrated part of commercial fruit production and of course a lot of fruit is pollinated in this way. All trees like Apples, Pears, Cherries and Plums etc are pollinated by bees whether in commercial fields or just in your back garden. So where do Vegans draw the line? The answer is the line is arbitrary. And if you\u2019re drinking alcohol as a Vegan then your principles are questionable anyways. And as we meander through the Vegan swamps then it becomes totally clear that Vegans are consistently inconsistent. <\/p>\n

With Veganism the lofty heights of principle connection take us to the higher modes of passion and the lower modes of goodness at best, that\u2019s analysing a Vegan that follows four regulative principles. So from just a dietary point of view they are wanting. But lets then take the next step away from just dietary considerations. What is the Vegan lifestyle, how is it defined, where is it manifest and how is it Scriptually authorised?? <\/p>\n

Unfortunately there is not one. The deep meditation that Veganism offers in the secular world does not exist. They actually don\u2019t have an answer, there is no alternative. There is no consistent model for secular society to opt into; there is no Vegan standard. And there is no authorised process apart from the speculated ideas.
\nIn fact there is no Vegan competition to Cow protection whatsoever. There is no economic model, no community model, no symbiotic relationship, no sustainable path to follow as a standard way of life, there is no agricultural model of sustainability, there is no alternative energy production model, and there is no social answers whatsoever. In fact my research and talking to Vegans personally have borne absolutely no fruit. Veganism has no example of integrated lifestyle. Not one part of the Cow protection project is at all compromised by Veganism. Cow protection comes in hands down in front of anything Veganism can or can\u2019t offer.<\/p>\n

What makes this so relevant is because the devotees of Lord Krishna associate their existence and identity within the Iskcon Vaisnava organisation. Out side of Iskcon there is debate, as the independence of every living entity is never called into question. But once we step inside Iskcon everything changes. That\u2019s everything. Because we have a Founder-Acharya of Iskcon, the antithesis of Veganism, and we have a Sampradaya history stretching back to Lord Krishna Himself we have the mahoosive advantage of authority, authorised practises, Instruction, association, and Scriptural evidences.<\/p>\n

Cow protection positively and pro-actively illustrates the opposite to Cow slaughter whereas Veganism just negates that practice by abstinence. That\u2019s a massive advantage over Veganism straightaway. Cow protection is part of a universal holistic organism as a way of life for devotees to follow. This lifestyle is not just universal, holistic and sustainable but readily illustrates how to exhibit the Agricultural model without slaughtering animals. In fact it is a harmonious process. Veganism can\u2019t exhibit this model, even if they wanted to because it does not positively include animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vegetarian Myth\u201d book authored by 20years Vegan practitioner Mr Lierre Keith illustrates clearly the pitfalls in global Veganism. From dietary deficiencies, the total lack of vegan fertiliser for Nitrogen in a natural form for Vegan Agriculture, to the modern practises of Agriculture for the Vegan market are all explained from the ex-Vegan perspective. Because Vegans ethically cannot use animal torque and draught power when it comes to farming 1000\u2019s of acres of Soya, Wheat and Rice then their only resort is the modern tractor with all its devastating consequences. And then marrying that technique up to the post-war application of artificial fertilisers for N.P.K., which all Vegans have to subscribe to whether they like it or not, we are faced with a horrendous picture that is the Vegan & Vegetarian conclusion.<\/p>\n

However the Cow protection Agricultural model when properly practised is able to counter these global practises and solve these logistical issues. The Bullocks and in some cases Horses provide all the torque and draft power necessary to farm these acres of land. Their manure completes the perfectly harmonious arrangement in the Cow protection projects by fertilising the lands, using biodynamic methods; rotational farming and green fertilisers all together provide invigorating health for the living soil. <\/p>\n

Cow protection then demands mode of goodness solutions to the economic problems of life. Based on a symbiotic relationship with Cows, Bulls and land a mode of goodness community solves the problems of life. Veganism has absolutely no answers for this problem. Cows manure is used in a two-fold system for helping solve the problems of economy by providing Methane Gas in anaerobic digesters for sustainable energy solutions and then by providing perfect (Nitrogen) fertilisers in the form of ammonium bicarbonate for fields, greenhouses, gardens and orchards. In fact there is no limit to how Cow protection affords facilities to devotees, its practically endless. It doesn\u2019t just stop at Cows and Bulls. Horses also can be engaged for individual and collective transportation; Sheep\/Llamas\/Al Paccas can provide the ever-useful and versatile raw wool for allsorts of practical solutions. And the eternal Vaisnava quality of inclusive mercifulness means all animals can take shelter of Cow protection projects without being exploited. Animals can take positive sanctuary. Again Veganism has nothing to offer on these levels.<\/p>\n

Cow protection steps up to the mark again by offering the mode of goodness association in many ways. Cow protection is a mode of goodness activity in itself. The location is mode of goodness, the foodstuffs are mode of goodness, the lifestyle is mode of goodness and the mode of goodness culture that is Brahminical culture is part of Cow protection through its lifestyle solutions. Cow protection is in itself a self-sustaining natural process by using the Bullocks as torque and draft providers in an Agricultural setting. Cow protection is a way of life in the mode of goodness. <\/p>\n

Then there are so many social and governing benefits of this mode of goodness culture that Veganism does not even dream about. The Cow protection process has been systematically handed down to us in Iskcon. We have our Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada, perhaps the greatest of all our Acharyas who has explained to Iskcon with so many different instructions on how to protect Cows. This integrated philosophical approach has greatly enhanced the need for Cow protection into today\u2019s secular society to positively proactively illustrate the alternative to Cow slaughter. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo many facilities are afforded by cow protection, but people have forgotten these arts. The importance of cow protection is therefore stressed by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita. Even now villagers live happily simply by giving protection to the cow. They keep cow dung and dry it to use as fuel. They keep sufficient stock of grains, and they have sufficient milk and milk products to solve all the economic problems.\u201d <\/p>\n

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.6.19.<\/p>\n

This is the mission of Cow protection that Veganism has no conceptions on. Veganism exhibits their anti-animal abuse principles by negation, by not consuming animal products and by not symbiotically relating to Cows. Their stance is to be involved against cruelty by engaging in positively avoiding animals and animal products. But Iskcon\u2019s stance is the direct opposite and this makes Veganism directly the antithesis of Iskcon. Iskcon directly pro-actively illustrates the positive alternative to animal slaughter with the wonderfully sublime Cow protection projects. We engage with animals and especially Cows by protection. The Bull is the representative of Religion and the Cow is the representative of Earth and our Mother. And Iskcon is directly in a symbiotic relationship with both these honourable beasts. We worship our Cows and Bulls, that\u2019s how important they are placed by Iskcon members and Srila Prabhupada\u2019s Mission. And again there is nothing worshippable in Veganism; it\u2019s just a dry, mental process.<\/p>\n

From the philosophical point of view regarding the principle of violence, it is not possible to avoid violence by abstinence or by inaction. A devotee is guided that he must execute his prescribed duties, which are glorious, without material profit. And then significantly the devotee is instructed that he must regularly perform his devotional activities without excessive violence. (S.Bhagavatam 3.29.15.) From Explanation of Devotional Service by Lord Kapiladeva.<\/p>\n

The concept of violence within activity in conditional life is beyond our control. We have to commit violence; that is a natural law. But we are implored to commit \u201cminimum violence\u201d or natihimsa. The concept of Veganism of avoiding violence by abstinence does not stack up philosophically. We cannot avoid violence in conditional life, so we must minimise violence. And in Iskcon we follow that instruction by Cow protection in a very pro-active positive action. That\u2019s another reason why Veganism does not work in Iskcon; because we have the intrinsical Cow protection project as a mission given by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita and within the purposes of Iskcon. If we followed the Vegan ethic in Iskcon then Cow protection would not get a look in because Vegans don\u2019t eat, use or protect animals and animal products. Vegans do not have a pro-active principle of engaging animals or even using animal products such as wool, milk and dairy products, animal manure, animal torque and draft power and so on. <\/p>\n

The point of this clarification is two-folded.<\/p>\n

That Veganism is just a dietary consideration primarily based on a certain ethic, that shows no alternatives to pro-actively engage in, which is purely egocentrically motivated.<\/p>\n

That Cow protection is the theistic answer to all our problems. That Cow protection is a perfectly complete and completely perfect universal holistic system that offers all benefits to the practioners of Cow protection and to the Cows themselves through a safe protective environment. Cow protection affords the many facilities to mankind without animal exploitation and slaughter by example. That Cow protection is way beyond just an agricultural and food production process by being part of the social organism that mankind has to live by. Cow protection offers mode of goodness government, the ability and facility of corruption avoidance, the opportunity of society to live a communal simpler way of life through Brahminical Culture.<\/p>\n

These are the advantages of Iskcon Cow protection over Veganism; the diet of Vegans is just a tertiary point. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dusyanta dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Veganism is just a dietary consideration primarily based on a certain ethic, that shows no alternatives to pro-actively engage in, which is purely egocentrically motivated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-cow-protection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}