There are different types of sacrifice recommended according to the different classes of men. There are generally three classes of human being: those who are under the influence of the modes of goodness, and those who are under the modes of passion, (coughs) and those who are under the modes of ignorance.
The whole Vedic scriptures, they are also divided into three divisions according to these modes of material nature. There are eighteen Purāṇas. Purāṇas means supplementary to the Vedas. The Vedas, they are written in very difficult language, but in order to explain them to the ordinary persons there are Purāṇas, Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa . . .
(aside) It is disturbing to me. (pause)
The Vedic principle is described . . . according to these modes of material nature, there are eighteen Purāṇas. Out of that, six Purāṇas are in the modes of goodness, and six Purāṇas are in the modes of passion, and six Purāṇas are in the modes of ignorance. So there are different varieties of sacrifices according to the different class of men. The whole idea of Vedic literature is to give chance to every human being to develop a spiritual consciousness under certain rules and regulation.
So what is applicable to the persons who are in the modes of ignorance, they are not applicable to the persons who are in the modes of goodness; or those who are in the modes of passion, they are not applicable to the modes of goodness. The gradual process of evolution.
Now, just like there are recommendations of animal sacrifice. There are many different types of sacrifice. There is recommendation of animal sacrifice also in the Vedic literatures. And what is that? That is a sort of restriction to the animal-eaters. Indirectly it is restriction, but it is sanctioned also by sacrifice in the Vedas. Just like the Vedic principle says that if you want to eat flesh, don't eat flesh which is not offered in the sacrifice. Which is not offered in the sacrifice.
Now, those who have been in India, perhaps you have seen the goddess Kālī. The goddess Kālī, before the goddess Kālī a goat sacrifice is . . . and is offered. But the Vedic principle says that if you want to take flesh, then you must sacrifice the goat before the goddess Kālī and then you can take.
And that prescription is also very difficult, because on the dark moon night the goat has to be sacrificed, and there are so many paraphernalia, and the mantra, the hymns chanted there . . . the goat is, I mean to, whispered within the ear that "The man who is sacrificing you, he will be responsible for your life, and for yourself, you are going to get the next life as human being without waiting for the evolutionary process."
The animals . . . there is an evolutionary process. That is accepted in Darwin's theory also, anthropomorphism. What is that? Anthropology. Yes. Not anthropomorphism. Anthropology. Anthropology, there is evolutionary process. So that is accepted in the Vedic literature also.
So the animal which is sacrificed, he gets immediately his evolutionary process developed and promoted from animal life to human life. But the man who is offering that sacrifice, he becomes responsible. These are therefore there are so many hymns in the Vedic literature. So whole idea is that by offering such sacrifices man is restricted from flesh-eating.