The horror of material existence

Imagine a horror movie where people are locked inside a dark basement and have to eat each other to survive. It sounds pretty scary, but that's our situation here in the material world.

Imagine a horror movie where people are locked inside a dark basement and have to eat each other to survive. It sounds pretty scary, but that's our situation here in the material world. Carnivorous animals kill other animals and eat the meat, vegetarians kill and eat plants, and plants feed on the decomposing remains of dead animals in the soil. The details may differ, but we always need to eat someone in order to survive.

Even the Srimad Bhagavatam speaks about this:

"Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands; those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the subsistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is food for another." (SB 1.13.47)

People who like to eat meat often say that animals are there to be eaten, and that's the law of nature. In a certain way, that's true. As this verse explains, the general material rule is that the strong eat the weak. What they fail to consider is that it may sound cool when they are the ones eating others, but it will not be so funny when they are the ones being eaten. If one were locked in a room with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mike Tyson and they started discussing who to eat for dinner, it would not be so amusing.

Another point to consider is that this is the rule for animal life. It is the general rule that just because most souls in the material world are in animal species, human beings are supposed to do things differently. In the case of human beings, the prescribed diet is neither carnivorous nor vegetarian. Human beings are supposed to offer their food in sacrifice and eat the sanctified remains. As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita:

"The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." (Bg 3.13)

That's why it's actually not correct to define ourselves as vegetarians or lacto-vegetarians. As Prabhupada mentions, we are not vegetarians; we are prasadarians. We eat only food that has been offered to Krsna.

Both the meat-eater and the vegetarian are incorrect because both kill and eat others. The vegetarian kills vegetables, while the meat-eater kills animals. Killing animals is certainly worse in terms of severity, but this is not different in principle. In both cases, one is killing. What makes the devotee different is that only the devotee follows the prescribed process that frees one from the material entanglement by eating only Krsna-prasāda.

The process of offering food to Krsna is simple and accessible for anyone. As Prabhupada explains in his purport to Bg 9.26:

"It does not matter what one is or where one is situated. The process is so easy that even a leaf or a little water or fruit can be offered to the Supreme Lord in genuine love and the Lord will be pleased to accept it. No one, therefore, can be barred from Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because it is so easy and universal."

There is a catch, however. Only foods cooked by devotees can be offered to Krsna since He explicitly says that He doesn't accept anything that is cooked or offered by a non-devotee. Devotees should therefore form families and communities, cook and share prasada, so there is no need to eat outside. Real deity worship is when we regularly offer nice food to the Lord and then share the prasadam with other people, so they can obtain the mercy of the deity.

This is also explained by Prabhupada in the same purport:

"Kṛṣṇa wants only loving service and nothing more. Kṛṣṇa accepts even a little flower from His pure devotee. He does not want any kind of offering from a nondevotee. He is not in need of anything from anyone, because He is self-sufficient, and yet He accepts the offering of His devotee in an exchange of love and affection. To develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfection of life. Bhakti is mentioned twice in this verse in order to declare more emphatically that bhakti, or devotional service, is the only means to approach Kṛṣṇa. No other condition, such as becoming a brāhmaṇa, a learned scholar, a very rich man or a great philosopher, can induce Kṛṣṇa to accept some offering. Without the basic principle of bhakti, nothing can induce the Lord to agree to accept anything from anyone. Bhakti is never causal. The process is eternal. It is direct action in service to the absolute whole."

Therefore, everyone must become a devotee and, from this platform, offer their food to Krsna. As Srila Prabhupada explains, by eating only prasadam, one can very quickly become free from material contamination. Becoming vegetarian or vegan is positive for general people, since non-violence is the first step in spiritual realization, and this brings them closer to Krsna, but just being vegetarian is not by itself anything more than a first step. Elephants are vegetarians, but this doesn’t mean they are aware of self-realization.

When Krsna eats, the food immediately becomes pure and spiritual. It even tastes different! In comparison, any other food that can't be offered to Krsna, be it vegetarian or not, is just the combination of decomposing remains of other living entities. When one starts to see from this angle, that cupcake in the cafe or that bar of chocolate in the supermarket ceases to look so attractive, especially considering that it can affect our consciousness in ways that can prolong our imprisonment in the nightmare of material existence.

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If you have questions, use the comments; I will answer as possible. They may even become the topic for another article. Your thoughts and opinions are also very welcome. ⤵️