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ScottMalaysia
12 March 2010, 03:26 AM
Are there any vegetarian Hindus here that own pets? (I'm mainly talking about cats and dogs). If so, do you feed your pets on a vegetarian diet or do you get the normal meat pet food? I know that the prescribed food for cats and dogs is meat, but the Manu-Smriti states that if you buy meat or cut up meat then you are responsible for the death of the animal and it is equivalent to eating meat. I've heard of vegetarian dog food but I don't know how healthy it is for the dog to be fed on a total vegetarian diet (but then I'm not a vet). I'm not sure if cats could be totally vegetarian at all.

I have also been told (by an ISKCON devotee) that meat contaminates a house? Is this view shared my most Hindus or is it an ISKCON peculiarity? Another ISKCON devotee told me that pets themselves are contaminating and it's best not to have them.

Krsna Das
12 March 2010, 04:33 AM
Hari Bol !

I am here again to annoy you :)

My opinion is that it is best not to have any pets in the house including the fishes in acquarium.

We are already so much entangled in maya, associating our identity with physical body or our relationships wihin the family. Our situation is that we are unable to give up our "mamatva" for these temporary relationships.

Whereas the objective of bhajan is to awaken our true identity, our relationship with the Lord.

When one keeps pets, one gets attached to them. Have you even seen the plight of someone whose pet dies? They mourn as if there own family member has left them.

Why doesn't one mourn when one sees a dog or a cat dead, lying on a street? Because there is no "mamatva", and so one does not mourn for them.

This human life is meant for realization of Supreme, and one should resist accumulating the things which are unnecessary or instead prove to be an obstacle in the path of bhakti.

Have you read the katha of Jada-Bharat in Bhagwatam and katha of Saubhari Rishi? Read it and then decide for yourself what is better for your spiritual progress.

Radhe !

ScottMalaysia
12 March 2010, 07:28 AM
Hari Bol !

I am here again to annoy you :)

My opinion is that it is best not to have any pets in the house including the fishes in acquarium.

We are already so much entangled in maya, associating our identity with physical body or our relationships wihin the family. Our situation is that we are unable to give up our "mamatva" for these temporary relationships.

Whereas the objective of bhajan is to awaken our true identity, our relationship with the Lord.

When one keeps pets, one gets attached to them. Have you even seen the plight of someone whose pet dies? They mourn as if there own family member has left them.

Why doesn't one mourn when one sees a dog or a cat dead, lying on a street? Because there is no "mamatva", and so one does not mourn for them.

This human life is meant for realization of Supreme, and one should resist accumulating the things which are unnecessary or instead prove to be an obstacle in the path of bhakti.

Have you read the katha of Jada-Bharat in Bhagwatam and katha of Saubhari Rishi? Read it and then decide for yourself what is better for your spiritual progress.

Radhe !

Namaste Krsna Das,

Based on what another Gaudiya Vaishnava told me, this response is typical. But my question was about meat-based pet food - it is contaminating to have it in the house? (For the sake of argument let's say you already had a cat or a dog before you converted to Gaudiya Vaishnavism).

Eastern Mind
12 March 2010, 07:28 AM
Vannakkamm Scottt;

We have 2 cats and a dog. We feed them regular cat and dog food. I see no philosophical or moral reason to do otherwise.

Aum Namasivaya

Ramakrishna
12 March 2010, 09:20 PM
Namaste Scott,

This is a good topic, as I have been thinking of the exact same thing because I want to own a cat someday. Currently my household has birds and fish. The birds only eat seeds and fruits. The fish food has "fish meal" as one of the main ingredients. From my understanding, "fish meal" is made up of the wastes from processing fish for human consumption as well as actual fish that are killed to put in fish food.

I was thinking that when I get a cat, I can just feed it vegetarian food. But I'm pretty sure my cat wouldn't live long on a vegetarian diet, as a cat's body is naturally designed to eat meat and its survival depends on it. I am of the opinion that the human body is not designed to eat meat, but obviously there are many animals (such as cats) whose bodies are made to eat meat.

I say that there's nothing wrong with having a cat or a dog and feeding it meat. You are just taking care of the animal and doing what is necessary for its survival. God created these lower class species in a way that they must eat meat to survive, but we do not need to and to do so is a sin. But I don't believe it's a sin to have a pet that needs meat to survive and providing it with what is necessary for survival.

Now obviously another argument would be that having a pet is a choice, and to be safe it's best not to own one and risk having bad karma by feeding it meat. But the counter to that is that you are just helping to take care of God's creatures and having yourself a nice companion. Also, I think it would be better to own a dog or a cat and feed it what it needs to survive rather than have it be one of the thousands of dogs and cats that are killed because of overcrowding in shelters.

Krsna Das
12 March 2010, 09:37 PM
Namaste Krsna Das,

Based on what another Gaudiya Vaishnava told me, this response is typical. But my question was about meat-based pet food - it is contaminating to have it in the house? (For the sake of argument let's say you already had a cat or a dog before you converted to Gaudiya Vaishnavism).

Yes it is contaminating. By purchasing meat, we are also responsible for killing that animal to some extent. This is mentioned in puranas.

"converted to Gaudiya Vaishnavism" - what do you mean by that? I did not talk of Gaudiya Vaishnavism anywhere in my post. I just talked of the things which are favourable or non-favourable for bhakti.

Once, Jada-Bharata , after renounced everything in his Life, got attached to a small deer and kept him as his pet, thinking that he would be unable to maintain himself since he is so small. Later during his last moments, the thought of deer came to his mind, and he was reborn in the next birth as deer, and was not able to attain the actual position, for which this human birth is given to us, attainment of Bhagwan's service in his abode.

You need to understand the difference b/w Laukik-daya and pArmArthik-daya. Laukik-Daya may sometimes land you in trouble.

I am not saying to give up everything, but yes, whatever we can give up, or at-least not accumulate what is unnecessary for our spiritual progress.


"(For the sake of argument let's say you already had a cat or a dog before you converted to Gaudiya Vaishnavism)"

Do you already own a pet? If yes than this question of your's is valid, otherwise what is the point of asking this question? - Anyways, If I had been in that position, I would have asked my Guru Maharaj about it, and whatever he would have suggested, I would have done that - even if he had told me to just get away with the animal.

At last, it is YOU who has to decide what should be favourable for your spiritual progress.

NayaSurya
25 March 2010, 08:18 AM
We rescued a dog, our children tend to it.

It eats mostly scraps from our meals, it loves pasta and rice. I would say cheese is her weakness however...

The animals protect our family from very large animals that live within the nature reserve where our home is. Raccoons in America have a very specific round worm which kills human beings. Our dog Holly is not only family member but also crucial to protect family from rabid and infected creatures.

I have cried for the robin, the dog..the child...not for death, because death is liberation from the suffering of an animal. But I have cried for the suffering animal in pain. I am the Mother, all things that suffer find a place of compassion in my heart. I have a story about such a creature, one when I was a very little girl. Here is the link to that story<3

http://canonbridge.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-robin

Many of the lower creatures on this world need meat to survive. If you have such an animal that is dependent upon you for care, you must do so to the best of your ability. If it causes conflict, you can always find a new home for it so that it does not cause either of you suffering.