Thank you for your patriotic and communal fervor, Suresh. I am organizing some of my thoughts in the order of the issues you raised.
1. I have read Gandhi's "My experiments with Truth" more than a couple of times and happen to own a copy of that book. So if you could please mention the page(s) or chapter where he discusses that, 'untouchability came into existence mainly because brahmins discovered that non-vegetarianism was a sin', I'd be much obliged.
2. I think Gandhi does not mention Aryan invasion or non-invasion theory because he considered it largely irrelevant to his life and his 'experiments with truth'.
3. You mention that you find it difficult to believe that Brahmins eat meat in the US. Well, it is happening in India too. If you don't already know, I humbly suggest that you go out and see the world a bit more.
4. You raise a valid point - if Brahmins go out and start eating meat, can they still be called Brahmins? The answer to this question is tricky because Hinduism, in practice, assigns caste on the basis of birth, not on the basis of actions. Lord Krishna in the Gita discusses Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic qualities as Gunas, or characteristics; he does not mention that these are necessarily related to birth. But in practice since the caste system came to be based on assignment by birth those who eat non-veg retain membership technically but may not possess the qualities required of a Brahmin.
If actions and (eating) habits of Brahmins should be scrutinized why stop at vegetarianism/non-vegetarianism? After all this is only one physical habit. Mental habits are more important and crucial. Why not go all the way and question whether Brahmins have focused on building spiritual strength the way they were supposed to?
5. TN Govt 'sponsors' drinking because it is a source of revenue - nothing funny about it. It is simple economics. The US 'sponsors' gambling through its state lottery systems. Not all policies are 'value' based; some are based on pure economics.
6. TN Govt gives eggs because it is scientifically proven that it is a good source of protein. I agree that it is not the only source of protein - there are lentils, beans, soy etc. But distributing eggs, I don't think is meant to offend Brahmins or Hinduism. There are lots of other things happening like bad movie portrayals which are far more serious.
7. I find it really strange that you keep equating the Indian constitution with Hindu scriptures. Indian constitution and democracy has tried really hard to market itself as "secular". The system is actually quite confused about how to execute it, which is why we are having problems of minority protection and majority neglect.
So it will be really helpful if you quote appropriate passages from the relevant scriptures and appropriate sections of the Constitution so that we all can get a chance to discuss it better.
N.SURESH said:
hi silverfox and all of you! mahatma gandhi inhis book'my experiments with truth' has clearly said that untouchability came into existence mainly because brahmins discovered that non vegetaranism was a sin. so they considered meat eaters as untouchables. if you eat meat , even if you r a brahmin you r untouchable. gandhiji, unlike nehru does not subscribe to aryan invasion theory . he does not even mention about it.
i find it difficult believe that brahmins eat meat, port etc.-even in u.s. in any case if you consume meat you cannot say you continue to a brahmin.its like saying a vegetarian eats meat?!how can you be a vegetarian if you eat meat? similarly you cannot be a brahmin if you start consuming meat- this is what the hindu scriptures say. you hve mentioned about positive points of egg. not negative points, what about that. even cigaratte smoking is a man's personal choice. if a govt were to sponsor smoking, will it not be funny? the tn govt sponsoring drinking, egg eating is really funny to say the least.the hindu religion, indianconstitution do not consider meat eating, drinking as personal choices alone of individuals. there r many restrictions, discouragements for meat eaters, drinkers in hindu scriptures, indian constitution.
bharat mata ki jai!!
alos hinduism DOES NOT ADVOCATE supremacy of one caste over other. it only advocates supremacy of one ideology(i.e. vegetaranism) over non vegetaranism. since brahmins were pure veggies, they benefited because of this. moreever, more than consumption meat, hinduism condemns the killing and/or slaying and/or injuring live animals for the consumption of meat.
