School Books Donation Drives

As part of the Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain initiative, we went on a school books donation drives to Ganjam and Devanahalli in last few weeks. We have been dedicating the weekend for this activity. It been an amazing experience interacting and spending time with poor school going kids.

One thing that struck me most about them was their innocence and and love.

This gives you an idea of we did during these events

Date: 30th May

This year, Shree Public Charitable Trust (SPCT), the social service wing of the ashram, has adopted the programme of distributing free note books to needy school children in rural areas around Bangalore. The first of such events happened on 30th May.

Volunteers of the ashram visited the small town of Ganjam near Srirangapatna, and first and foremost headed for the Shri Nimishamba Temple and offered the first set of note books at the Lotus Feet of the Divine Mother. At the pre-appointed hour and place, hundreds of children had gathered to receive the books blessed by Parama Pujya Shri Shri Nimishananda. The attractive note books, carrying the picture of Pujya Guruji and shlokas printed on the front and back inside covers, were eagerly sought after. Around 850 note books were distributed. The session ended with the children being led through the recitation of the shlokas.

Date: 13th June

The second of the free note book distribution event was held at the Government Primary School at Devanahalli near Bangalore. Smt. Geeta, a teacher in the school and a devotee of Pujya Guruji, was instrumental in organizing this event. As volunteers arrived at the school, they were greeted with smiling children with hands folded in a ‘Namaste’. The entire school premises was decorated with flowers and mango leaves and after preliminary introductions among the school headmistress and staff, the neat and small stage was occupied by a few of the volunteers, staff and local dignitaries. Around 200 students assembled in the auditorium, and sat with crossed legs in orderly rows. The mandatory speeches over, the students eagerly came up on stage to receive the precious note books, and posed for photographs. They sincerely recited the shlokas led by a volunteer, eyes closed and hands enjoined, and promised to recite the shlokas every day at home and school.

After the formal function, students came up to the SPCT volunteers and mingled freely with them. They sang songs, danced and exchanged phone numbers. The simplicity, innocence and lack of inhibition among these lovely children was a refreshing change for the city-bred. The staff of the school too, expressed their gratitude to Shri Shri Nimishananda Ashram for this gesture and advised the students to make full use of Pujya Guruji’s blessings to become responsible and knowledgeable citizens.

As the volunteers prepared to leave, cries of ‘Jai Matha’, ‘Jai Gurudeva’ rent the air as little hands bid goodbye, seeking promises of more such visits.

Here are some pictures of the event:

Wipe a Tear Activity in Malaysia

The Shri Nimishananda Ashram Malaysia together with JS Ragaa Music Sdn Bhd(a renowned distributor of devotional and movie songs) recently participated in the 7TH GLOBAL INDIAN SHOPPING FESTIVAL 2009, an International Consumer & Trade show on Indian based products to promote "WIPE A TEAR REMOVE A PAIN DISCOURSE SERIES BY PARAMAPUJYA SHRI NIMISHANANDA GURUJI".The 10 day event was a grand success and it attracted a lot of people to our booth.

With the Grace of Pujya Guruji and Divine Mother,two discourses,"How to Increase Your Charisma for a Successful Living" in English and Divine Relationship(Deiveghe Urave) in Tamil was promoted very successfully with some 500 over cds sold.

A lot of people wanted to know more about WIPE A TEAR,REMOVE A PAIN and the activities being done in Malaysia,India and other parts of the world.They left their names and contact numbers for us to liaise with them on these activities.

Question and Answers with Pujya Guruji - 8

June 5, is observed as World Environment Day all over the globe. To mark this day, a this video has been uploaded in which Pujya Guruji stresses on some of threats that the environment is facing and also advises us on what measures we all must take to save, protect, nourish and cherish Mother Earth.

Care for the Homeless - A Wipe A Tear, Remove A Pain initiative by the Malaysian Ashram

The devotees of Shri Nimishananda Ashram Malaysia organised the "CARE FOR THE HOMELESS" programe to reach out to all the less fortunate and homeless souls on 17th May 2009.

Here is what one the devotees said about the event

We all gathered at the ashram around 11am to pack the food and drinks which were individually packed in plastic bags. A total of about 100 packs were ready by 12.30 and we were ready to move -the first of WIPE A TEAR ,REMOVE A PAIN programme here.After a short prayer laying everything at the Lotus feet of Divine Mother and our beloved Pujya Guruji the convoy of 7 cars left the ashram around 12.45pm .We broke into several teams and went to several areas where the homeless were known to wander. Seeing them without proper clothing and lying at the five foot way moved many of us to tears.These unfortunate souls need care and love. As we moved along the streets handing out our love we could see them gazing at us with a sense of gratitude.How often they get some attention we wonder.

We moved on to several areas around Pudu Raya, Taman Sentosa Brickfields and Masjid Jamik areas. The weather was blistering but none of the devotees felf anything as we were all focused in serving a decent meal with lots of love.Prama Pujya Guruji's teaching of caring and sharing was put into practice and we all felt Pujya Guruji leading us in this programe of love.

When we had served all the food we re grouped and our team leader Devan ji thanked all for the wonderful effort put in saying this is the beginning for many many more to come .lt was a wonderful feeling for all of us and we all took a stand that this should go on on a regular basis.

As we headed home at 5.45pm l was in silent prayer thanking Divine Mother and our beloved Pujya Guruji for giving me a chance to serve a less fortunate soul. May Divine Mother's and our beloved Pujya Guruji's blessings be showered on all the poor souls . This experience has given me the determination to carry on this selfless service in whatever way l can. As Pujya Guruji says"The seva that you do is not as important as the intention behind it. When you do any activity with love in your heart and without any expectations, it becomes seva.

Wipe a Tear, Remove a Pain!

Ahimsa - A video discourse

Ahimsa means non injury.  Many people think that if we do not hurt others physically, we do not hurt. them  But Ahimsa is also not to hurt the feelings of others.  Ahimsa includes us also.  All the qualities within us like depression, anger, jealousy etc. that hurt our inner feelings is also Himsa or injury.  Listen to this discourse by Parama Pujya Shri Shri Nimishananda Guruji to get insight to ths very important aspect in life.

 

Please pass this information to your like minded family, friends and relatives so that they also get the pearls of wisdom from Pujya Shri Guruji and use them in their daily lives for their spiritual upliftment.

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Dear All,
 
It is indeed a great joy to see that the group's forum is back in action after a little lull. Thanks should go to Padmini for starting off this exciting thread. Stirring sharing is being exchanged and some salient points are being raised for all of us to ponder on.

Ponder we must, as the true jewels that we actually have are water, food and words of wisdom as clearly stated in the scriptures - prTHivyAm thrINi rathnAni jalam annam subhASHitham / mUDaihi pASHANa khaNdESHu rathna sangyA viDHIyathE  which means in this world there are only three precious gems - water, food and words of wisdom. They are but fools who call mere pieces of stone as gems.

Water is something neutral that we all have no problems with, it is food and the words of wisdom that we have to focus on. There is a saying that a man is but a creature of his habit. The food that we have been consuming since childhood is something very personal, very close to our heart ,conditioned through our mind by the "words of wisdom" that were the "truth" for us then. These food habits or conditioning happened based on the environment and the people that we grow up with. If our parents were vegetarians, than being a vegetarian will be our second nature; we will only have to struggle when we are brought within the close proximity of a non vegetarian food. The joy felt in the senses of a meat eater will be a nauseating feeling for the vegetarian.

However both the vegetarian and the non vegetarian are hooked to their sensory system. This is called as the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). What language that is planted in our mind through our brain since childhood as far as food is concern becomes the linguistic programming of our neural system .This controls our senses. That is why we salivate when seeing delicious food (sense of sight); our nose sweats when someone talks of tasty food (sense of smell) and so forth. This science is actually derived from Bhagavad-Gita – you may ask how?

Bhagavad-Gita propagates three Yoga – Nyana Yoga (Yoga of Transcendental Knowledge); Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion) and Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action). When the conscious mind is unified with an embedded knowledge that is gained over the years by habit (has a bit), the Bhakti (devotion) for this knowledge is naturally expressed by the body through its action (Karma).We call this voluntary expression in layman's term "willpower" i.e. "with lots of love power".

Through Science and Psychology we can prove our past conditioning till our childhood but what about beyond that i.e. all the karmic actions that we have carried in our past lives. This limited knowledge is what makes us to have a yo-yo action as far has giving up our bad habits are concerned. Till that past is known or at least the knowledge that there is past conditioning before our births which has tagged or hatched along to this birth is made aware to us we will not be able to make any impact on our present action in order to change our lifestyle habits. Only The Grace of Guru can guide us and remove us from the bonding of the past karmas. That is the reason why some people gain immediate change and feel instantaneous peace in their heart, when they come in close proximity to a Guru during the first darshan itself.

On a personal note, together with my wife; we have experienced several failed attempts in trying to become vegetarians for several years because just like everyone, we knew that eating on animal meat is bad just like how everyone knows that drinking alcohol and smoking cigarette is bad but did not how to establish a permanent change in us. Our will was not strong as it was powered by the fuel of the past.

All this changed when through several chain of events; we were brought to the Lotus Feet of Paramapujya Guruji. There are no coincidences in life, we know that all that happens has been destined to happen, we just have to be present one hundred percent at the moment (nimisham) of the happening. As Nimishambians, my wife and I realize that now. However at that time we were not able to comprehend the change that is about to come. Our thanks should go to a close and dear friend, Sailendra through whom we were introduced to Pujya Guruji. To him we always give our gratitude of love.

From day one of we allowed ourselves to become direct beneficiaries of Paramapujya Guruji's(PG) teachings that gave us the Jhanya(Self Realisation) (SR) which transformed us from a meat lover(ML) to vegetarians(VG).To me the formula for becoming a successful vegetarian is  VG = PG+SR–ML.

We can say with great humility that the constant bombardment of Pujya Guruji's teachings into our system for 8 months from July 2002 till Feb 2003 gave us the Knowledge of Self Realization of our inner core which is linked with the ultimate unlimited infinite source of compassion residing in heart – the Holy Nest(honest) . That gave me a paradigm shift in my thinking. From the "survival of the fittest" mentality with an attitude of live and let die, I was made to embrace the unconditional love in my heart with the new attitude of "jeevastha,jeevyasam" (live and let live) and ahimsa(non injury).

This was my state of Jyana. A state when time freezes a moment and in that frozen moment you gasp in awe of the knowledge that has synced into your system. That moment of truth for me came on Feb 2003 when Paramapujya Guruji gave a talk in Tamil in a town called Kajang some 40kms away from the city of Kuala Lumpur.

Someone in the audience asked Pujya Guruji on why should one become a vegetarian- Pujya Guruji gave a simple but life changing impactful answer – it is because animals are conscious that they are alive, whereas plants are not. Whether that person who asked the question has changed, we wouldn't know but he has definitely helped me and my wife. Our gratitude goes to him. As we were driving back from the discourse, told my wife from this day we are vegetarians and vegetarians we are ever since.

One ancient Mantra that Parampujya Guruji resides at every satsang that we have listened over and over again that has helped to soften our hardened mind and synced in to our hearts allowing the compassionate joy of our soul to be felt by us is:-

Lokaha Samastaha Sukino Bhavanthu (May the whole world be happy)

Sarve jana Sukhino Bhavanthu (May all the people be happy)

Sarva jeeva janthu sukhino bhavanthu (May all forms of life be happy)

Bahujana hithaya (Welfare of all)

Bahujana sukhaaya (Happiness of all)

There is such power in this mantra and said with much faith and devotion can help any souls to REALISE the link with all living beings however big or minute the beings maybe. With this realization we will know that we like all living beings are beings of AHIMSA and as such PREMA (LOVE) is what we can express with JOY and ENTHUSIASM.

MAY THIS JOY FELT IN MY HEART BE FELT BY ALL

IN THE SPIRIT OF WIPE A TEAR, REMOVE A PAIN

 humbly,

devan

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Dear All,

There can be another reason as to why all of us should turn into vegetarians. It is the divine vision and mission of ‘Wipe a Tear; Remove a Pain’ as we are not here just to remove the pain of human beings but also remove the pain of all creatures of Divine Mother’s creation. While we indulge in the cruel act of killing animals for our food or witness innocent creatures being slaughtered and do nothing about it; how can we call ourselves ambassadors of this noble cause. The teachings of care and compassion by Pujya Guruji should not be restricted to our relatives, friends, another human being or at the most our pets at home.

Animals on today's factory farms have no legal protection from cruelty that would be illegal if it were inflicted on dogs or cats: neglect, mutilation, genetic manipulation, and drug regimens that cause chronic pain and crippling, transport through all weather extremes, and gruesome and violent slaughter. Yet farmed animals are no less intelligent or capable of feeling pain than are the dogs and cats we cherish as companions.

Animals on factory farms are treated like meat and egg machines. Chickens have their sensitive beaks seared off with a hot blade, and male cattle and pigs are castrated without any painkillers. All farmed chickens, turkeys, and pigs spend their brief lives in dark and crowded warehouses, many of them so cramped that they can't even turn around or spread a single wing. They are mired in their own waste, and the stench of ammonia fills the air. Animals raised for food are bred and drugged to grow as large as possible as quickly as possible—many are so heavy that they become crippled under their own weight and die within inches of their water supply. 

Animals on factory farms do not see the sun or get a breath of fresh air until they are prodded and crammed onto trucks for a nightmarish ride to the slaughterhouse, often through weather extremes and always without food or water. Many die during transport, and others are too sick or weak to walk off the truck after they reach the slaughterhouse. The animals who survive this hellish ordeal are hung upside-down and their throats are slit, often while they're completely conscious. Many are still alive while they are skinned, hacked into pieces, or scalded in the defeathering tanks.

When we question, why should another living being undergo all this pain, the answer is simple, its just for the taste buds of few. Though sad, it is the truth.

As followers of Parama Pujya Guruji, it is our dharma to first stop eating meat and for people who are vegetarians; it is our moral responsibility to make sure that we thrive forward in bringing in awareness in as many people as possible to stop eating meat.  We just have to create awareness about there are vegetarian alternatives to almost any animal food.

Bowing humbly at the Lotus Feet of Parama Pujya Guruji- the reservoir of care, compassion and unconditional love; let us all take a sankalpa to LOVE, CARE AND PROTECT ANIMALS AND NOT EAT THEM.

“No Himsa (cruelty); Become A Hamsa (Enlightened One)”

 In the spirit of ‘Wipe a Tear; Remove a Pain’

 humbly,

ashwini

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

I have gone through your submission and wish to convey my impression on the subject as follows:-

1. Those who are not spiritually inclined.............a good question indeed- It is for us to talk to them to convince, explaining clearly the favourable effects on human health,virtues, multidimensional and effective growth for good,to know what kindness and love is towards animals equally living beings like human beings. It's not difficult if rightly approached to those who are not inclined and bring them in to the fold of vegetarianism.

When Pujya Guruji tell us some thing, it has strong seasonings and beliefs behind it- we just have to accept it in totality and work to achieve for the good results of Pujya Gurudev's sayings That's it.

Yes............There are scientific, environmental and physical(from the point of view of human health, to turn into vegetarianism and you will find these at the end of this mail, with statements of conviction to turn to vegetarianism from known and prominent personalities.

hat you have mentioned in the last but third paragraph is a hypothetical situation, according to me. If one is prepared to eat only vegetarian, knowing very well that he is a vegetarian, will find ways and means(will be prepared) to eat only vegetarian food, to go with good old saying " IF THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY".

To remain a vegetarian or to change over to vegetarian has got nothing to do with religion, as there are justifiable, valid and authenticated reasons.

It is only a question of acceptance of "What is good" and rejection of "What is not good" and to remain healthy- It's all in the mind- It can accept and reject after all "Mind is the Master" of all our intentions and activities.

With Regards.

Yours in Divine friendship.

J.Kannan

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Yes, i agree with you, Leena, that sitting in front of an enlightened master works miracles within us, but we must also think of those who are not spiritually inclined. You and i - all of us - have felt the transformation within when Pujya Guruji tells us to give up something that has been a habit, or even an addiction, for years, but what about a person who refuses to accept it? We must be prepared with answers that are appealing not only to people who are spiritually prone, but also to scientific brains and intellectuals.

Here are some points that, after getting in contact with a few such people, i discovered were the reasons for them to give up eating meat:

1. The suffering of animals when they are kept in cages, and their suffering when they anticipate death, is great. They also generate hormones of tension and stress, which remain in the blood even after they are killed. Therefore, these hormones are absorbed by those who eat them, causing stress and tension in turn.

2. Land usage: it takes a lot of land to grow food for one cow (which will be eaten); you can use the same land to feed many more people directly through agriculture.

3. From many environmental points of view, in fact, such as forests being cut down for cows to graze so that burgers can be made, vegetarian is better than non-vegetarian. The same land produces more veg food than non-veg food through grazing.

4. Evolutionarily we are omnivores, and it is 'natural' for us to eat meat. But because we are at the top of the food chain, and our population is too large, if we all eat meat at the rate that is 'natural' for us it is simply not sustainable.

5. There are arguments about the inhumane conditions at abattoirs (where animals are bred and butchered).

However, one of them came up with a point that made me think. According to her, we must try not to come across as wanting to 'convert' the world into vegetarians, since if you were stuck on an island with no food but fish, would you not eat it to survive?! She feels that that is a good question and reminds us that reasons for being vegetarians have to be rational and not religious.

We must find an answer to that question...Suren, can you think of something to say that would convince her to remain a vegetarian - whatever be the circumstances???

"No Himsa (cruelty), become a Hamsa (enlightened one)!"

maitri.

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Dear Padmini,

I read your post and it further reminds me of Pujya Guruji’s teachings when Pujya Guruji came to Malaysia. I am a meat eater and have actually reduced my meat and sea food intake so much that it is quite shocking to my mum, all because Pujya Guruji in one of Pujya Guruji’s satsangs in Malaysia advised us not to eat meat. I really don’t know how to advise someone to stop eating meat. But sitting before an Enlightened Master, can really change a person in-side-out and up-side-down. That really happened to me. I think giving people Pujya Guruji’s teaching material and slowly introducing people to Pujya Guruji may bring about the changes that are required within as it has brought about to me. These changes that happen so instantaneously within will thereafter bring about changes to the persons conduct and activities and hence spread into the person’s life style, work atmosphere etc. It even begins to spread to the person’s immediate family and slowly to the extended family, clients and everyone that the person comes into contact with.

Once these changes start happening within and externally to a person, then I verily believe that the person will slowly start realizing Pujya Guruji’s teachings in every aspect of the person’s life. Then, hurting an animal, eating meat and other live beings will all become life issues for the person and it is against Ahimsa principles as stated by you. These realizations will start to hit hard at the person and the person will transform to be a vegetarian not only with regards to the food intake but also in thought and deed.

I am so glad that I have found my own Guru in Pujya Guruji and Pujya Guruji’s teachings are easy to be assimilated and is simply a ‘click’ to my soul!

Regards

Leena

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

My Dear Padmini,
A very good and nice presentation on "Vegetarianism" and will certainly make an impact on people reading it(I ref only to non-veg if any pl) and make them ponder over thetopic and switch over to vegetarianism.

Our endeavour and efforts should be to reach this message to as many as possible and it will make a change.

To add to your your nice presentation on the topic, I send my views.............................................

vegetarianism.

Gluttony is considered one of the seven deadly sins. There is no reason to take the life of an animal and eat it, except that you enjoy the taste or texture of its flesh. What is truly more important: a passing pleasure, or the life of a fellow being?

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine advocates vegetarianism as the healthiest diet. Vegetarianism have far less incidence of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and osteoporosis than consumers of meat and dairy. In fact, according to Dr. Neil Barnard, PCRM President, The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined.
Our bodies produce all the cholesterol we need.

Animals makes cholesterol too, which is why we add to our own whenever we eat them. In countries that ingest a lot of cholesterol, like the United States, heart disease is the number one cause of death. If you are worried about getting enough protein for strength, just think of gorillas; they only eat plants! Plants high in protein include beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and all soya products like soya milk, soya protein powder, and tofu.

A vegetarian diet is not only good for animals and your own longevity, it is also good for the environment. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization released a document in 2006 entitled Livestock's Long Shadow. This scientific study revealed that animal agriculture causes 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than all of the world's transportation combined. Writer Kathy Freston coined the phrase:

Vegetarianism is the new Prius because it takes very little land and water to produce a pound of soybeans, but it takes an unbelievable amount of land, water, and plant-based food to produce a pound of beef. In this way, meat addicts use up far more than their fair share of the world's food resources.

The organization Farm Sanctuary, with locations in California and New York, is a place where you can meet farm animals face to face. Once you've met and petted turkeys and witnessed how they enjoy affection and attention, you will NOT want to consume one that's been slaughtered for your temporary eating pleasure.

In recent weeks, Fox News online aired an undercover PETA video where pigs were being brutally abused at a factory farm in North Carolina. A male supervisor is heard boasting about beating the animals and women employees laugh as they cut the testicles off of one piglet after another without anesthesia. When we reduce animals to commodities, some people act accordingly.

Cows' milk is for calves, but most mother cows do not get to suckle their babies; instead, they grieve as their babies are taken away to be raised as veal. Human beings then use machines to confiscate the milk intended for her child, and human beings keep her chronically pregnant to keep her breast milk flowing.

Real men protect; they don't use or abuse.

There are many such knights in our midst. Vegetarians include spiritual leaders such as The Dalai Lama, who said, Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures. Statesman and philosopher Mahatma Gandhi declared,

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Krishnamurti, Yogananda, and Deepak Chopra are spiritual leaders on the vegetarian roll-call. The current Pope (Benedict XVI) also spoke of farm animals when he said, We can see that they are given into our care, that we cannot just do whatever we want with them. Animals, too, are God's creatures... degrading living creatures to a commodity seems to me in fact to contradict the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible.

Artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci believed that the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men. Spiritual physicist Albert Einstein proclaimed,

Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures. Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.

Finally, I think this quote from Old McDonald's Factory Farm by C. David Coats says it all:

Isn't man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife by the millions in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billions and eats them. This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative and fatal health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently and once a year sends out cards praying for Peace on Earth.

I appeal to, those who are by habit eats non-vegetarian, to STOP IT to eat You will improve your health, help our environment, and personally reduce a lot of suffering for our animal friends. When you ingest animals who were not raised under humane conditions, you are absorbing cruelty, selfishness (evil), violence and tremendous suffering. Are those really things you want to take in and make an integral part of you and your life?

Our physical practises should enhance and support our spiritual practises; only in this way can we live lives of clarity, integrity and wholeness. Therefore make a physical and practical practise to discontinue with eating
non-vegetarian food, and save the society, nation and the world from sinking into incurable diseases. "Help Yourself & help Others be our motto", in living and thereby move away from "Cruelty to Enlightened One"

With regards.

Yours in Divine Friendship

J.Kannan

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

A few days ago when we were having a discussion session, in which a question was posted– “ What will you do when you see a butcher cut open a lamb?“. This question really hit us. 

Several thoughts came to my mind as I was recollecting and pondering over the question. My first reaction was to pray for the lamb. But then I thought, is that enough? Is our responsibility over by just praying for the lamb’s soul? I wasn’t sure what else I could do. I could go up to the butcher and speak to him about Ahimsa and non violence. But would he understand, as he is doing this only to earn his livelihood? 

These thoughts kept hovering in my mind as two days passed, it then struck me that the main problem are people who wish to eat meat, it is because of the selfish needs of such individuals the butchers are slaughtering animals. So if we have to make a difference and put a stop to such violence we have to talk, convince and discourage such meat eaters and not the butcher community. The butchers are only doing their job to make a living. 

So this brings us to a question, how do we convince, encourage staunch meat eaters to give up this diet of theirs? We can influence them by giving them scientific facts, or by logical reasoning, or by spiritual guidance or by stating the social aspects or by explaining the ecological imbalances created or we can list out the celebrities who have turned vegetarians. The choices are many. 

I would like to open this question out to you all. If your friend/family is a meat eater, which route would you pick to convince him to quit this diet of his and what will be your reasoning? What could be the possible answers your friend might give to prove that eating meat is good? 

We need to be prepared for all kinds of back answers we might face when we speak to such people. So let’s use this forum to discuss and share our ideas/facts/questions so we are ready for anything that comes our way! 

Let’s all join in and make a sankalpa (resolution) to try to convert as many people into Vegetarianism and, work towards the mission of “No Himsa (cruelty), become a Hamsa (enlightened one)!” 

Padmini

Dont Let Your Joy Go Up In Smoke

Banish the smoke and remove your pain!...many are those who suffer with interminable diseases due to smoking...and many are also those who shed tears for the former...so, to eliminate both these by making the world tobacco free.

Let us join hands to Wipe a Tear and Remove a Pain!!