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The animal eats simple grass. Does it mean that you are advanced than the animals? There is no logic. Eating is eating. "One man's food, another man's poison." That is another thing. But eating is there

Expressions researched:
"the animal eats simple grass. Does it mean that you are advanced than the animals? There is no logic. Eating is eating" |"One man's food, another man's poison" |"That is another thing. But eating is there"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

The animal eats simple grass. Does it mean that you are advanced than the animals? There is no logic. Eating is eating. "One man's food, another man's poison." That is another thing. But eating is there. Somebody eats poison; somebody eats ordinary . . . but eating is there. So nobody can avoid eating. That is the main symptom. Even in human society, there are different varieties of food. We Indian, we like a different type of dish. European, Americans, they like a . . . (indistinct) . . . but eating is there. Either American, Indian or cats, dogs, eating must be there. That is real symptom. After eating, you must sleep. That is essential.

Prabhupāda: I am a human being. You accept that I have got soul. By what symptoms you accept that I have got soul? First of all you have to ascertain that. What is the symptom that we agree that I am human being, I have got . . . I am a soul? By what characteristic, analytical study, you accept that I have got soul and the dog has not got soul?

What are these different characteristics? First of all, we have to enumerate that thing. If we find in the characteristics, then we can say there is no soul. But if we see that both the animal and the human being have the same characteristics of living condition, then how you can say the animal has not soul?

Yogeśvara: His point was that the animals don't show the same symptoms. They don't think as . . .

Prabhupāda: Why not? Why not? The general symptom is: animal eats, you eat; animal sleeps, you sleep; animal has sex, you have got sex; animal also defends, you also defend. Where is the difference?

Yogeśvara: Well, his point was that human beings, they think on higher platforms than animals do.

Prabhupāda: What that higher platform? Eating . . . you require to maintain the body. I eat something; you eat another. That does not mean higher or lower. You eat; I also eat. That's all. You eat according to your taste; I eat according to my taste. So the eating is the real symptom, not the varieties of eating. By varieties of eating, suppose I . . . a animal, the cow is eating grass, and you are eating the same animal by keeping a huge slaughterhouse with machine and . . . does it mean that you have improved your eating process? Simply by having big, big machine and ghastly scenes?

And the animal eats simple grass. Does it mean that you are advanced than the animals? There is no logic. Eating is eating. "One man's food, another man's poison." That is another thing. But eating is there. Somebody eats poison; somebody eats ordinary . . . but eating is there. So nobody can avoid eating. That is the main symptom. Even in human society, there are different varieties of food. We Indian, we like a different type of dish. European, Americans, they like a . . . (indistinct) . . . but eating is there. Either American, Indian or cats, dogs, eating must be there. That is real symptom. After eating, you must sleep. That is essential. So where is the difference of real character . . . characteristic between the animals and the human beings?

Yogeśvara: Then his point was that we find God's creatures, many of them, not just human beings, but it's a symptom of life everywhere that meat-eating is allowed. There are many creations, he said, many species . . .

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Meat-eating, that is another thing. First of all, if the . . . point is that you say that the animals have no soul. So what is the special point that you are speaking of the animals having no soul? You eat meat, or I eat rice, that doesn't matter; eating is there. That is the common thing. You cannot say the animal does not eat or man does not eat, only animal eats. No. Everyone eats. First of all you enunciate: how do you say that the human being has got soul and the animal has not soul? What are the special symptoms?

Yogeśvara: His . . . his point was that only in humans do we find a metaphysical search for the meaning of life.

Page Title:The animal eats simple grass. Does it mean that you are advanced than the animals? There is no logic. Eating is eating. "One man's food, another man's poison." That is another thing. But eating is there
Compiler:undefined
Created:2022-12-10, 13:10:19
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1