Does Practise Make Perfect?

Published in The News Agency of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness- December 11 2007

Dear Sir

Anuja article, ‘Does Practise Make Perfect’? shows how confused Hindus like her have become regarding this faith. Part of the problem is the word ‘Hindu’ itself. While at one time it meant a people or a nationality, it now means a faith. A faith has certain principles by which its adherents live, it cannot mean that anything goes. The problem is that many Hindus and quite a few Hindu leaders want their Hinduism without any annoying restrictions.

Dr.Gautem Sen of the London School of Economics whom Anuja quotes: ‘ I am sympathetic to giving vegetarianism a higher status within Hinduism, though not a vegetarian myself, but to use it to exclude virtually everyone is absurd’ is a good example of this thought process.

Dr. Sen is obviously a proud Hindu but it would be nice to know what salient values of Hinduism he practises in everyday life. The Krishna Avanti primary school is based on Hindu ethos and vegetarianism is a very crucial part of this ethos–what problem do Anuja and other Hindu leaders have with it? Why do they want meat to be served in a school which is based on Hindu principles? Why did they feel the need to do go to the national press about this? Do they serve meat in Arya Samaj schools and colleges in India? The government wants every one to eat five portions of fruit and veg a day and what on earth could be the objection for the students to be served a healthy, sattvic lunch at this school? Anuja goes on to question the very notion that Hinduism can be practised! She lays the blame on ‘ the Christian origins of most of the ISKCON followers’. This is an unfortunate slur on millions all over the world who have come to Krishna.

ISKCON, whose founder was Srila Prabhupada, and whose teachings this movement follows, has nothing to do with the Christian origins of its adherents. Srila Prabhupada taught that it is not enough to be proud of your faith, you have to practise it. It is therefore essential to differentiate between born Hindus and practising Hindus. As a guide to who is a practising Hindu one has to look at the life of a Hindu monk. Certainly there is no Hindu monk I know of that eats meat, fish or eggs.

Anuja does not want a separation between a ‘universal, all encompassing Hinduism and those that practise their Hinduism.’ By that logic even beef would be OK and if it is not why not? There are, after all, no rules in Anuja’s view of Hinduism. Our young people are constantly mocked that our religion cannot be taken seriously because there are no core values that Hindus adhere to. Vegetarianism is in fact one of the greatest gifts of Hinduism to the world. Meat eating is destroying the planet, is the cause of many diseases and above all a cause of immense cruelty to animals. Instead of promoting this great gift to the world, meat-eating Hindus want vegetarianism to become irrelevant to the faith.

Anuja claims that ISKCON-Hindu school would sit, ‘uncomfortably with the Hindu integrative, democratic and egalitarian principles of a Dharmic world view’. ISKCON devotees distribute free food to tens of thousands of people in UK, they have translated the Bhagavad Gita in most of the worlds languages, and their egalitarian principles extend to animals. It is no use saying how great our Dharma is and then have chicken for dinner. Ahimsa and compassion are the greatest gems of our Dharma take them and away and there is not much to differentiate us from other religions.

Nitin Mehta