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For cruel people, those who are accustomed to killing, for them this is best advice, "Thou shall not kill". Next stage - prasadam. First of all let them stop

Expressions researched:
"for cruel people, those who are accustomed to killing, for them this is best advice" |"Next stage—prasādam. First of all let them stop"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

So this is the best formula. But therefore, for cruel people, those who are accustomed to killing, for them this is best advice, "Thou shall not kill". Next stage—prasādam. First of all let them stop. Generally, what is meant by killing . . . actually, vegetarians, they do not kill, because if you take fruit from the tree, the tree is not killed. Is it not?.

Prabhupāda: That is rascaldom. Where it is written that, "Thou shall not kill animals"? "Thou shall not kill." "Thou shall not kill" means you shall not kill anything. (break)

Devotee: . . . because Jesus ate fish. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Devotee: He said: "The fish can say: 'It's not what goes in your mouth, its what comes out of your mouth that's important.' "

Gurudas: Because Jesus ate fish.

Prabhupāda: Jesus said?

Gurudas: He said that the . . . (break)

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) . . . allowed.

Gurudas: But if there's no vegetables, you have to eat something.

Śyāmasundara: I read an article once that said . . .

Prabhupāda: No, no. The thing is that one has to eat. And whatever you eat, that is coming out of some living entity, even if you eat vegetables. The vegetable has also life, the tree, the plant. So the real explanation is that you take which is offered to Kṛṣṇa. That is nice philosophy. Killing you have to do. Either you kill vegetable or animal, killing you have to do. Therefore our proposition is that you take the prasādam of Kṛṣṇa, so if killing is bad, then the responsibility goes to Kṛṣṇa. We take Kṛṣṇa's prasādam.

So this is the method. And Bhagavad-gītā says, yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ mucyante sarva kilbiṣaiḥ. Suppose you don't kill animal, but you kill vegetables, but still you are responsible. Bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt (BG 3.13). Anyone who is preparing food for his personal eating, he's eating all sinful activities. It may be vegetables or animals, it doesn't matter. Bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpā.

So this is the best formula. But therefore, for cruel people, those who are accustomed to killing, for them this is best advice, "Thou shall not kill". Next stage—prasādam. First of all let them stop. Generally, what is meant by killing . . . actually, vegetarians, they do not kill, because if you take fruit from the tree, the tree is not killed. Is it not?

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupāda: You take grains, just like paddy or wheat. These plants, after producing the fruit, the grain, automatically they die. You are not killing. So those who are taking fruits, vegetable, grains, they are not actually killing. You take the milk . . . what is milk? Milk is transformation of the blood. So cow's milk means cow's blood, but still the cow is not killed. Cow's blood is nutritious, accepting this theory. Karnish, karnish it is called? Cow's blood? What is the meaning of karnish(?)? But by nature's way she is delivering you the blood, which is nutritious according to your science—but why you should kill her?

So any circumstances, the direct killing is not approved by any śāstra, any religion. Jīva hiṁsā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also says, niṣiddhācāra jīva-hiṁsā (CC Madhya 19.159). So jiva hiṁsā, violence upon other animals, that is against Vaiṣṇava principle. You cannot be violent. You cannot kill.

Lady devotee (2): "Thou shalt not kill" is one of the Ten Commandments, which is much older than Jesus' teachings. Moses delivered the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel thousands of years before Jesus appeared. So they knew all of this before Jesus.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Lady devotee (2): They lived by the Ten Commandments, or were expected to, way before Jesus appeared. The Ten Commandments are Moses' . . . it's Moses' teachings.

Page Title:For cruel people, those who are accustomed to killing, for them this is best advice, "Thou shall not kill". Next stage - prasadam. First of all let them stop
Compiler:Anurag
Created:2022-09-02, 08:37:58
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1