Thirukkural on Compassion

Thirukkural on COMPASSION

Among vegetarians those who drink milk are called lacto vegetarians.Milk and egg eaters are called lacto ova vegetarians ( lacto=milk, ovo=egg) 

Fish eating vegetarians are known as pescatarians,

Some of the brahamins in Bengal are pescatarians.

Vegans are those who avoid all animal products including honey.

Thiruvalluvar is against meat eating. 
He speaks of avoidance of meat eating and compassion 
   towards other living creatures in many kurals.    

Kural 259 says

Avoidance of  killing and  eating the meat 
of even one animal is meritorious than 
thousand sacrifices performed  by pouring 
ghee in the fire (yagnas).

Yagna = ritual conducted by pouring ghee in the fire

அவிசொரிந் தாயிரம் வேட்டலின் ஒன்றன்
உயிர்செகுத் துண்ணாமை நன்று.

அவி சொரிந்து ஆயிரம் வேட்டலின் ஒன்றன் 

உயிர் செகுத்து உண்ணாமை நன்று (259)

அவி சொரிந்து = by pouring ghee.

ஆயிரம் வேட்டலின் =performing  thousand yagnas. 

ஒன்றன் உயிர் செகுத்து = killing one animal 

உண்ணாமை நன்று = avoidance is meritorious.

The food habits of Hindus vary according to their community  traditions.To-day thirty percent of Indians are lacto vegetarians.Pork/ chicken  is widely eaten meat in the world, People of Denmark eat more meat per capita than any other world country.

It is a wonder that  even Buddhists  monks are allowed to eat meat. I had association with some Buddhist monks in my native place.
There was a monastery where some monks were living in a community. 

I used to invite them for lunch during death anniversaries of my parents.

They would come with big coconut shells, used them as bowls, mix all the food items and consume the mixture without considering the taste. They are not permitted to eat the food items one by one which would lead to taste  addiction.

Once I asked them, whether the Buddhists are allowed to eat meat.They said that that  if they like , even the monks are allowed to eat meat. In Srilanka and other foreign countries some of the  monks  eat meat.Meat eating is a food habit which is not against Buddhism..

Theravada Poli Canon reveals that Lord Buddha ate meat deliberately to show  his disciples that, they can eat meat if needed.There are many groups in Buddhism, some eat meat, some do not.

Theravadins in general eat meat, most of the Tebetian and Japanese

Mahayana Buddhists eat meat.

Muslims eat only halal cut meats, there are several rules observed during

halal cutting.The animal should be healthy, should be killed with minimum suffering,should  be given water before cutting with a sharp knife in a single stroke. The head of the animal should be positioned facing Mekkah, etc

Kosher laws of Jews prescribe the list of animals whose flesh  to be consumed. 

The animals which chew the cud and have cloven hooves are kosher. Eg cows ,sheep,deer, goats,  etc. In poultry, chicken, turkey, ducks,geese, pigeons, etc

Among fishes, only those with fins and scales are allowed.

Kosher Prohibited are, eagles, hawks,vultures,insects,rodents , reptiles, rabbits, pigs, lobster,camel ,etc (conservative Jews 
strictly follow kosher rules ) Meat eating and compassion towards other living beings are not two different aspects. One can love  animals as well remain  a meat eater. In many countries meat is their main food,  at the same time 

they love  their pet animals.

We hired an American to colour wash our home (US), 
he came in a truck with all equipment and started the work, in between, 
he went out for smoking . 

He had brought a meat burger and a canned coke , he ate the burger for lunch. About a quarter of the burger, he preserved and kept in his pocket.

He finished his work in the evening, he was paid on hourly basis.

I accompanied  him to his truck , I  noticed a pet cat lying on the seat.

He sat by its side , petted it, took the preserved burger and started feeding it.

Then I realized that, he was coming out often, not to smoke, but to see the pet . 

He was about 40 years old American.His compassion towards the pet cat 

touched my heart.

The kural 244 says,

For those who treat other living beings with kindness,

There is no fear for  their deeds of  life . 

மன்னுயி ரோம்பி அருளாள்வாற் கில்லென்ப
தன்னுயி ரஞ்சும் வினை.

மன் உயிர் ஒம்பி அருள் ஆள்வாற்கு இல் என்ப .

தன் உயிர் அஞ்சும் வினை.(244)

In US, pet animals are looked after  very well, there are  pet animal food shops  
where all  canned food stuffs for pets are available.
There are ' pet animal parks' where pets are taken for walk, dogs are trained not to bark at other dogs and urinate in the public places. There are pet animal clubs for their recreations.  When the owners  go on holidays, there are 'Pet animal day cares'  to look after pets. There  are ' animal cops ' ( Police ) to deal with animal cruelty.

Recently, I went to  my my younger brother's  house at Bangalore, just two days back their beautiful nine years old Irish Setter dog had  died of heart attack.The entire family was mourning, the photo of the dog in a silver frame was kept in the parlour. The dog was buried in the compound and spot was garlanded.The house was filled with melancholy as if a member of the family had  passed away.Friends and relatives kept on coming to condole the sudden demise of the pet.

From there I went to see my childhood friend  P.Sampathkumar who is a retired DRDO scientist, it was 8 pm,He was standing in front of the gate and feeding eight stray dogs ,He  called every dog by name and fed them with love. He told me, " I  take mysupper only after feeding these kids." It is nothing but a noble  task of sharing the food with other living beings. 

Kural 322 says

Sharing of food with other living creatures is the top

of all the virtues compiled by the authors in their  books.

பகுத்துணடு பல்லுயி ரோம்புதல் நூலோர்
தொகுத்தவற்று ளெல்லாந் தலை.

பகுத்து உண்டு/ பல் உயிர் ஒப்புதல்/ நூலோர் 

தொகுத்தவற்றுள் எல்லாம்/  தலை (322)

In simple words," there are  many books in which the authors had prescribed 
many virtues, among all these virtues, the top is the sharing  of what we eat 
with other livings creatures "

In India, the  general public are allowed to adopt animals those 
are in zoos.Weekly charges for maintenance are,

Tiger,Lion,Giraffe, Rs 2,300/

Rhino, Hippo, Guerrilla, Rs 1,500/

Elephant Rs 4,000/

If the prescribed fee is paid, the animals will be looked after in the zoo.

Many cine stars and cricket players had adopted animals in the zoos.

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