Compassion Lost By Reckless Consumption of Innocent Animals
Pride is the antithesis of compassion, which begins with non-violence. Ahimsa (Non-Violence) is at the core of Lord Buddha’s teachings, which explains why serious Buddhists are strict vegetarians. However in today’s world, particularly in the Western hemisphere, there are all sorts of people who claim to follow the teachings of Lord Buddha who aren’t even Vegetarians! That lacks as much verisimilitude as the excessively overweight person who habitually confabulates about eating well and getting regular exercise!
The most conspicuous example of our lack of compassion is evident in our eccentric patronization of the meat industry. Meatpacking has turned animal slaughter into a highly efficient, cold, and ruthless science capable of transforming as many as six full grown ¾ ton walking steer into cardboard cases of frozen hamburgers every minute! In the days of Maharaja Pariksit this would be considered as atrocious as any mass Holocaust! But today’s fast paced society hardly gives it a second thought! Instead consumers inattentively patronize the purveyors of fast food and indoctrinate their children into the same odious habit, sometime simply because they offer free colorful toys for their children. The epitome of this thoughtless mind numbing behavior is reflected in the name “Happy Meal.” It certainly is not a “Happy Meal” for the 300,000 cows that get slaughtered every day to feed the burger industry!
Cleanliness Destroyed by Wanton Pursuit of Recreational Sex
Our society has been equally obsessed with pandering to lust. The pandemic of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is medically linked to the insatiable obsession we have for sex, which is ubiquitously evident in widespread advertising, main-stream television entertainment, birth control devices and a gargantuan adult entertainment industry. Venereal disease is undeniably hard tangible evidence that the body has become seriously contaminated and is no longer clean! This disregard for physical cleanliness is a reflection of how dirty the mind has become. Now charlatan gurus contribute to polluting the minds with opprobrious mantras like You are God,” and everything in the world is for “My/Your Enjoyment!” We challenge those who preach this reckless nonsense to simply “Enjoy” their own so called “Godly doing” when they experience personal ailments, the consequences of natural disasters, or the pangs wrought by other living entities.
Austerity Destroyed by Indulging in Intoxication
Evidence of the loss of Austerity is evident in the news everyday. Our society is becoming more demanding, impatient, spoiled, lazy, intolerant and filled with an attitude of entitlement! All these things confirm the lack of Austerity. The use of drugs for recreational purposes is what destroys the willingness for many to go to work. The excessive consumption of alcohol destroys the quality of patience and makes one indignant about even simple things like waiting on a line or the sometime irritating subtle mannerisms of others.
According to the observations of the Antediluvian King Pariksit, this is exactly what to expect in a culture that indulges even in mild stimulants like coffee, cigarettes, and tea, what to speak of the more serious intoxicants like liquor, marijuana and dangerous narcotics like methamphetamines, cocaine, and heroine. Drug addicts can only go so long without getting their fix before they will engage in theft or violent crime to fulfill their self destructive tendencies. America now consumes 66% of the world’s psychosomatic drugs but only has 5% of the world population. Are these drugs actually helping people get better? Or is it possible they are what lies behind the neurotically numbed down mass public “whatever” apathy that seems to be getting worse everyday?
Truthfulness Destroyed by Gambling
At least for now, some semblance of truthfulness is still present although that too is rapidly fading. False advertising, misleading emails, and deceptive use of the English language is now all fair game in a commercially obsessed world. Identity theft has become a huge epidemic and honor is so rare that when somebody actually returns a lost wallet or does some other “nice” (simply honest) thing it gets mentioned in the: “News!”
The Vedas tell us that the proliferation of Gambling is responsible for the destruction of personal truthfulness. This can be better understood when one realizes that entering into a gambling proposition is a form of dishonesty because when one does this the intent is with the hope of getting a big payback for doing no more then engaging in dreamy wishful thinking.
Las Vegas and Atlantic City have become coveted destinations for worldwide travelers and the government now relies on various lottery schemes and sweet deal taxe excemptions for wagering clubs im order to balance budget spending. We are coaxed into purchasing things by the allurement of scoring a sweepstakes. People can now loose their life saving gambling on the internet and high-dollar Poker games are glorified on broadcast television like respectable sports!
As Dharma crumbles So does Civilization!
So the next time you are inclined to give take a vow or your word don’t,.. if you aren’t committed to keeping it! That is the first step towards restoring truthfulness in the world today. If you know you have difficulty in this regard then perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at your gambling habits?
Do you wager on sports like the Rose Bowl game? Do you purchase too many magazines from Ed McMann with the hope that you will win the ten million dollars from “Publishers Clearing House?” Have you ever purchased a few lotto tickets with hopes of hitting the jackpot? According to the Vedas, behavior like this contributes to the deterioration of person integrity so you might want to reconsider engaging in that type of gambling. This is particularly relevant because Krishna clearly states:
“I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.” - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 10 “Opulence of the Absolute’, Text 36. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/36/en
- Bg 10.36
In this regard His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada comments:
There are many kinds of cheaters all over the universe. Of all cheating processes, gambling stands supreme and therefore represents Krsna. As the Supreme, Krsna can be more deceitful than any mere man. If Krsna chooses to deceive a person, no one can surpass Him in His deceit. His greatness is not simply one-sided-it is all-sided. - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 10 “Opulence of the Absolute’, Text 36. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/10/36/en Purport
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