“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.14)

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अन्नाद् भवन्ति भूतानि
पर्जन्याद् अन्न-सम्भवः
यज्ञाद् भवति पर्जन्यो
यज्ञः कर्म-समुद्भवः

annād bhavanti bhūtāni
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

“Listen, I get it that the preacher is going to ruffle some feathers, on occasion. They are trying to wake people up, after all. Talk to the greats from any professional sport. They each tell a similar story. In the beginning, they thought they knew it all. They were brash, arrogant, and refused to listen to anyone. But then they met a teacher, a coach, or a fellow player who showed them the ropes. Sometimes, there were strong admonitions. Stern warnings, harsh rebukes, and the like. There was no sugarcoating the truth. The player on the receiving end might not have been receptive, at first, but years later they credit such intervention as being instrumental to their subsequent success.

“In the case of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, detractors tend to focus on the statements about women and how the Mayavadis are almost like demons. Appending the words ‘as it is’ to the title of the Bhagavad-gita translation and commentary was like a shot across the aisle. It essentially challenges every other published translation of the same Sanskrit text. Set aside the particulars of those issues for a moment. Today, I want to discuss the general characterization of the modern world as being run by demons. We find that characterization many times across the books.

“Do you not think that is a little extreme? The accusation is particularly directed towards the leaders. Okay, so politicians are not known for their honesty. They lie, cheat, and steal. They let a city go to waste, while their own family makes a fortune. Everyone else has to stay locked in their homes for two years, while these leaders force the closed restaurants to temporarily open, just for an intimate dinner with family and friends. These leaders tell the people to do one thing, while going the complete opposite way when the cameras are off.

“I get it that these people are not the best, but how can we say that everyone is a demon? How do we know that the world is run by these demoniac tendencies? I get it that Bhagavad-gita has a section describing the difference between the divine and demoniac natures. Sure, the description of the asuras and their tendencies aligns with what we see, with the situation on the ground. But still, isn’t the language too extreme? Isn’t it better to take a more positive approach? Bring others in, have them chant the holy names and advance in that way: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. What do you say?”

Can we acknowledge that life has been around for thousands of years? Can we admit that the people of the past somehow knew how to keep the population going? We know this because the world is populated today. Those people did not magically appear. They did not suddenly discover a new way to stay alive. The basics are more or less the same: food, clothing, and shelter.

Acknowledging this reality, now consider some of the medical interventions that are mandated for practically the entire population. In some places in the world, there is no option to decline. When your child is born, they must be injected with these substances or they will be banned from school. As recently as a few years ago, a similar mandate applied to adults. They had to take this brand new medication, rushed to market, without any concern for side effects. If they didn’t agree, they would lose their job. A job is what pays for things. To kick someone out of their way of earning a living is akin to beginning the process of eliminating them from this world.

If these interventions are a requirement for the continuation of life, for receiving permission to breathe, eat, and sleep, then how exactly are these interventions created? What is the process? What goes into the manufacturing? For starters, one area that is not under dispute is the presence of fetal bovine serum. The origin of this substance is exactly how it sounds. No, there are no accidents involved. There is intentional violence. How someone would choose to experiment along these lines is anyone’s guess. Another substance fundamental to the creation of these interventions involves the DNA and tissue of aborted human fetuses. Again, how anyone decided this is the way to produce medicines that would later be forced upon the population is anyone’s guess.

The presence of these two substances alone says that for the continuation of life there must be slaughter of the children of cows. There must be slaughter of intact and viable human beings, in utero. To characterize this as demoniac is an understatement. Contrast this with the recommendations from Bhagavad-gita. Shri Krishna explains how there is a time-honored practice of yajna. This is sacrifice. Yajna is the result of prescribed duties. In other words, everyone should conduct yajna. They should perform sacrifices, as this is how life will continue.

Keep in mind that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is not necessarily interested in the continuation of life for enjoying the senses. He would rather every individual instance of life return to the spiritual world. If He recommends yajna, it must mean that the process is beneficial for achieving the highest objective in life. There is no slaughter of innocent animals involved in such yajna. There is no tissue extracted from a living fetus, who is no longer living after that tissue is intentionally extracted. This means by an objective analysis alone, Krishna is not a demon. He is not after needless violence. There is the food chain, presented in the sacred text that is Shrimad Bhagavatam.

अहस्तानि सहस्तानाम्
अपदानि चतुष्-पदाम्
फल्गूनि तत्र महतां
जीवो जीवस्य जीवनम्

ahastāni sahastānām
apadāni catuṣ-padām
phalgūni tatra mahatāṁ
jīvo jīvasya jīvanam

“Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands; those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the subsistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is food for another.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.13.47)

This merely describes the way of animal life. A superior species dominates a lower species. The human being is the highest species. To dominate is a choice. To follow the divine way, the standard of the suras, is also a choice. To give others no choice, to say that they must consume products of evil or have no chance at living, is the very definition of demoniac. The choice is clear, and so the wise and honest always side with Krishna.

In Closing:

Always with Krishna siding,
Who over universe presiding.

Process of yajna providing,
For humans on earth residing.

Such that everything necessary to come,
Never required through violence done.

Worship in peace and happily chant,
A higher consciousness to grant.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, prabhupada