The taboo on cow slaughter and beef eating did not exist in Vedic era.+

The taboo on cow slaughter and beef-eating did not exist in the Vedic era.

As we peep into the annals of Indian religious history we find: ~

Then there is clear evidence in the Rig Veda that Aryans regularly ate beef and sacrificed cows for religious purposes which are strictly forbidden in Hinduism:~

Quoting from Rigveda, historian H. H Wilson writes: ~ “The sacrifice and consumption of horse and cow appear to have been common in the early periods of the Aryan culture.” 

Rig Veda says:~   "May the wind blow upon our cows with healing; may they eat herbage ... Like-colored various-hued or single-colored whose names through sacrifice are known to Agni, Whom the Angirases produced by Ferbvour - vouschsafe to these, Parjanya, great protection. Those who have offered to the Gods their bodies whose varied forms are all well known to Soma." (Hymn CLXIX)  (The Rig Veda (RV), translated by Ralph H. Griffith, New York, 1992, p. 647).

In the Rig Veda: ~ Agni is described as "fed on ox and cow" suggesting that cattle were sacrificed and roasted in the fire. (RV: VIII.43.11)

Rigveda declares, “On the occasion of a girl’s marriage oxen and cows are slaughtered” (10/85/13)

Rig-Veda states that “Indra used to eat the meat of cow, calf, horse, and buffalo. (6/17/1)” 

Hindus are not in contact with their religious history therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Hindus traditionalists refuse to debate whether the Vedic people practiced cow slaughter and ate beef. They believe such a debate is irreligious.

The taboo on cow slaughter and beef-eating did not exist in the Vedic era. Cow slaughter and beef-eating are barred by Hinduism is the influence of the Bhakti moment.  The cow is always connected with Lord Krishna. No Hindu will eat beef because every Hindu believes the cow is the most sacred. 

All Hindus are not vegetarians. Non-vegetarian Hindus eat other meat except beef.    There is no need to support cow slaughter and beef-eating but one must know the religious history of India for his own information.

Cow slaughter and beef-eating are barred by Hinduism, but the taboo on cow slaughter and beef-eating did not exist in Vedic times. The taboo on cow slaughter is not Vedic in origin it has been adopted from Jainism.   

Criteria like taboo on beef-eating or belief in reincarnation might stamp the Vedic seers as non-Hindus”.

The cow was a sacred animal that the authors of the Vedas sacrificed cows and ate beef on special occasions. This argument only substantiates the view that the cow was not an inviolable animal and that beef-eating was not taboo in Vedic times.

"Beef was an important part of the Vedic diet. In ancient India, cow slaughter was considered auspicious on the occasions of some ceremonies. The bride and groom used to sit on the hide of a red ox in front of the ‘Vedi’ (alter).”

Many scriptures are witnesses to such sacrifices and killings of animals for consumption. References to such commands are replete in Hindu scriptures like Manusmriti, Vedas, Upanishads, Brahmins, Grih sutras, Dharma-sutras, and others.

Quoting some references from different scriptures is imperative to bring home the point and clear the misconceptions:~

Manusmriti says: ~ “It is not sinful to eat the meat of eatable animals, for Brahma has created both the eaters and the eatables.” (Chapter 5 / Verse 30)

Manusmriti states: ~ When a man who is properly engaged in a ritual does not eat meat, after his death he will become a sacrificial animal during twenty-one rebirths. (5 / 35)

 Maharishi Yagyavalkya says in Shatpath Brahmin:~ “I eat beef because it is very soft and delicious.” (3/1/2/21)

Apastamb Grihsutram says: ~ “The cow should be slaughtered on the arrival of a guest, on the occasion of ‘Shraddha’ of ancestors, and on the occasion of a marriage.” (1/3/10)

Vasistha Dharma-sutra writes: ~ “If a Brahmin refuses to eat the meat offered to him on the occasion of ‘Shraddha’ or worship, he goes to hell.” (11/34)

Swami Vivekananda said: ~ “You will be surprised to know that according to ancient Hindu rites and rituals, a man cannot be a good Hindu who does not eat beef”. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand, Vol.3, p. 536).

Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane says:~  “Bajsancyi Samhita sanctifies beef-eating because of its purity”. (Dharmashastra Vichar Marathi, page 180)

Sage Sankara says: ~ ‘Odan’ (rice) mixed with meat is called ‘Mansodan’. On being asked whose meat it should be, he answers ‘Uksha’. ‘Uksha’ is used for an ox, which is capable to produce semen. (Commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad 6/4/18)

Renowned historian R.C.Majumdar says: ~ “this is said in the Mahabharata that King Rantidev used to kill two thousand other animals in addition to two thousand cows daily in order to give their meat in charity”. (Vol.2, page 578) (‘The History and Culture of the Indian People’, published by Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan)

As is clear from the above, several aspects that are intrinsic to the Hinduism of today, such as the doctrine of re-incarnation, avatars (‘descent’) of Gods,  caste system, and the taboo on cow slaughter and beef-eating were absent in the Vedic religion.

It was shown by a critical study of the Vedas that the Aryans had not developed the idea of the caste system, (.…)  The taboo on the use of beef was shown to be of later origin, that the cow was freely killed for ceremonial and other purposes in ancient India”.

Looking at the above aspects,   the Hinduism of today is not the ancient Santana Dharma or Vedic religion.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Santana Dharma deserves to be treated on its own as a distinct religion with its own sacred texts and practices without interlinking it with Hinduism.+

                               As we peep into the annals of religious history:~

Hinduism came into existence with its own code of conduct beliefs, rituals after the 8^th century.    Hinduism, as one knows it today is of recent origin.

“Hinduism did not really achieve its status as a coherent, though still baffling, religious complex until after the establishment of British rule in India.

Hindus are not in contact with their religious history therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Hindus traditionalists refuse to debate whether the Vedic people practiced cow slaughter ate beef. They believe such debate is irreligious.

In discussing the Vedic religion, it is also to be remembered that in the course of history, many non-Aryan elements entered into the Vedic religion. The Vedic Aryans freely borrowed elements from the culture and the society around them. But we cannot say with precision, which are the non-Aryan elements in the Vedic Religion. Therefore, the thesis of the direct ancestry of Hinduism of today from Vedic religion is to be considered as a myth purported by orthodoxy.

Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is distinct from Hinduism. The Vedic religion or Santana Dharma deserves to be treated on its own as a distinct religion with its own sacred texts, rites, rules of social life, beliefs, and practices without interlinking it with Hinduism. Perhaps it is right to maintain that the Mimamsa School which is concerned with the investigation of the Vedic texts, their correct interpretation, and the meticulous performance of the Vedic rituals and ceremonies has preserved and defended a part of the heritage of the Vedic tradition.

The Vedanta school also may have received a part of the inspiration from the Vedas. For the rest of the Hindu philosophical schools and religious sects, the influence of the Vedas is nominal. However, in as much as elements from the Vedas have influenced some aspects of Hinduism, it may be considered as one of the many factors influencing Hinduism.

But by no means can it be maintained that Hinduism has its direct ancestry in the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. Therefore, Hinduism of Vedic times is an imagined community. Hinduism is of a much later origin, and a historical view of Indian religions would endorse a dichotomy between Vedic religion or Santana Dharma and contemporary Hinduism.

Hinduism does not have a long ancestry as is often presumed or propagated by the Hindu ideologues. In fact, historically, religions like Buddhism and Jainism can claim greater antiquity than the Hinduism of today. Hinduism began to take a systematic form from the time of Sage Sri, Sankara (8^thcentury A.D). In this sense, he may be considered as the ‘founder’ of Hinduism but it was not identified as Hindusisn in Sage Sri, Sankara's time. 

Remember:~

Temple worship, pilgrimages, the Gods, and Goddesses are important to the Hindus. Hindu Gods are Rama, Krishna, Kali, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the respective consorts of the last three, namely, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Shakti. None of these deities figured prominently in the Vedic pantheon and some of them are clearly non-Vedic. The major Gods of Hinduism like Vishnu and Shiva are non-Aryan in origin. Though they may have belonged to the Vedic tradition they played no major role in the Vedas. The more important religious sects among the Hindus, like Vaishnavism, Saivism, and so on, did not have a Vedic origin but had come into existence in more recent times.

Originally Shiva and the cult of the Mother Goddess belonged to the religion of the Indus Valley people. As one goes in deeper into the annals of the Indian religious history  Vishnu and Shiva cult is a melting of at least two cultures, if not three, namely, the Aryan culture, the pre-Aryan culture of the Ganges Valley, and the Indus Valley culture. These three cultures were closely knit by the first century of Christianity and in the later period underwent further developments, and probably also a fourth tradition of the indigenous tribes that stood outside the four classes of the caste system as outcastes.

Vedic worshippers did not use temples and idols as Hindus of today do. For them, the sacrificial rituals were more important than the temple or idol worship the major Hindu feasts of today are based on the epic feats of Rama and Krishna and the Puranic lore pertaining to Shiva and the Goddess.

Hindus are idol worshipers of a large number of non-Vedic Gods and Goddesses whereas in Vedas the God has been described as:~  

v  Sakshi (Witness)

v  Chetan (conscious)

v  Nirguna (Without form and properties)

.

v  Nitya (eternal)

v  Shuddha (pure)

v  Buddha (omniscient)

v   Mukta (unattached).

The nature of the Atman (soul) is:~

v  Witness

v  conscious

v  Without form and properties

v  eternal

v  pure

v  omniscient

v  unattached

Thus, it refers to formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (soul), the innermost self within the false experience. Thus, it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.  Thus, the  Atman or Soul, the innermost self is God. 

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshipped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains.  There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme self i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

Yajur Veda indicates that: ~  They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc. - (Yajurved 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."- (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

Remember:~

The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs caste, and creed.  

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes. 

The Vedic religion was modified and reintroduced with new add-ons by Sage Sankara a great Advaitin Sage to uplift the Vedic culture, and Santana Dharma, which was in ruins in the clutches of foreign invaders. The new belief system introduced by Sage Sankara is present-day was founded Hinduism.  And after the 8thcentury many saints have founded new sects and castes with diverse ideologies also come under the umbrella of Hinduism. 

That is why Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods? (Swami Vivekananda ~ Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900)

 As indicated in ISH Upanishads: - By worshipping Gods and goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spend there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

It clearly indicates that:-If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.   

Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman.

The Vedic pantheon of Gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be the only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this reason, "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.

Thus, the goal is to realize Atman (consciousness).  If Atman (consciousness) is nothing but Brahman and by realizing Atman (consciousness) as Brahman (ultimate truth) is truth realization or Self-Realization, then there is no need to follow a religion, study scriptures or glorify Gods or gurus and follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when there is an easier path.  By mentally tracing the source of the mind from where it rises and subsides one becomes aware of the fallacy of the mind, which rises as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep.  The mind raises from consciousness and subsides as consciousness.

Yajurveda says: ~

If one worships what is not God: ~   

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc.).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) - (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti is intent. ("Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." -(Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc. - (Yajurved 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."-(Yajur Veda 40:9.)

The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs caste, and creed.  

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes. 

Vedic religion was modified and reintroduced with new add-ons by Sage Sankara a great Advaitin Sage to uplift the Vedic culture, and Santana Dharma, which was in ruins in the clutches of Buddhism.

 18 Puranas are introduced in the name of Veda Vyasa the dualist's Sages because the Puranic Gods are non-Vedic Gods. Worship of Such Gods barred Vedas.  

 As one goes deeper into the annals of history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Puranas in the name of Veda Vyasa the grandmaster of Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced Puranas which have all conceptual Gods.

The Avatara and caste system are not Vedic in origin.  The theory of Avatara (‘descend’) of Gods which is very important to modern Hinduism is non-Vedic. The term Avatara (…) is not found in the earlier Vedic texts, and is absent from the older Sanskrit glossaries”.

Vedas are not the important sacred scriptures for the Hindus. The Vedas as a body of scripture contains many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For most Hindus of today, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. In addition, the Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones.

The collection of hymns called Vedas that are written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus of today. Most Vedic Gods do not find a place in Hinduism.

 Rig Veda ~ consisting of about 10,500 verses ― there is only one occasion where there is mention of a return to this world after death. What is implied here is that it cannot be taken as important teaching of the Rig Veda.:~Santthosh Kumaar