This rainy morning a friend wrote to say they had read on article on India about the Hindu and Jain belief in pure veg living...honoring their compassionate commitment to other sentient beings & from my travels in India I had to answer as follows --
good morning...and not to burst your bubble about India
but not all of India agrees with the Hindu/Jains on the treatment of animals...in India you can eat at pure veg, veg, veg/non-veg and totally non-veg spots all over India
the influence of Christianity being adopted by many Indians as the "new religion" beyond the superstitions and "stigma" of old India, as well as so many of the Muslim faith, means a LOT of Indians are choosing to eat meat
one long bus ride from a state where cattle cannot be slaughtered to Christian Goa where they can saddened me beyond imagination...thousands of the most scraggly, head held low animals were being marched to their death awaiting in the next state and they knew it...clearly no food on the road b/c they were going to die anyway -- and their handlers walking right beside them whipping them if they stumbled from weakness or slowed down.
for a while i didn't get why the bus was surrounded by this sea of cattle, what was happening...and then it became clear and when i shouted to my busmates my "theory" they all nodded their heads with a certain bobble of acceptance that saddened me even further
India is a world of contradictions at times and can make you feel nearly crazy in moments, for the shadow of India is as deep as the brightness
not a very cheery response on a dark, rainy morning...but a direct perception...
1 comment:
On this dark, rainy morning in the berkshires, i see the beginning of a wonderful dialog here.
I see this both you are creating as a possible means to bring some light- lightness- sense of integration- into an otherwise, often crazy making, experience i call life. To be able to hold ALL the "truths" as people see them - with less reactivity...to be able to withstand raw reality- from the unthinkable depravity to the unimaginable bliss..... and yet go deeper. Yes, deeper... into the eternal truth and beauty beneath this chaotic mess. It is that possibility that helps me to come back to see my life as an amazing Opportunity - not an ongoing battle. liza belle- i wanted to preview this to see how post show up in your blog- but needed a user name for each of the profiles... don't understand the how/ what of that.... PS- i LOVE the look of your site... awesome...experiences in India finding a way to come forth. -SL
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