When plants too have life, how is killing plants different from killing animals?
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So, how do we so, if there is killing involved in plants and then what is the big difference between vegetarian and being non-vegetarian? Multiple, we can talk from the scientific perspective, we can talk from the karmic perspective, we can talk from the emotional perspective, we can talk from the aesthetic perspective. So, from the scientific perspective basically you know any sensitive human being would not like to cause pain to others or if pain is to be caused, cause as less pain as possible to others. That is the normal cultured way people should behave.
So, from the scientific perspective, plants have a far less developed nervous system than animals and that is why even when they die, the plants, the soul in the plant body is also attached to the plant body, but its consciousness itself is less. When the consciousness is less, the amount of pleasure it can experience is less, the amount of pain it experiences also is less and that is manifested through the underdeveloped nervous system. So, plants suffer far lesser pain than animals.
It is not just that the animals can visually they can scream and they can move their hands and legs and that is why we can say that you see their pain, we cannot see the plants pain. It is not like that. It is true, we can see the plant, animals pain and not the plants pain, but additionally the plants actually because of the lesser nervous system, they suffer less, much much lesser.
And same principle if you take on the karmic perspective, the amount of pain we cause that much karmic reaction we are able to get. So, the extent of pain that is caused in the case of animals is far far greater than the extent of pain that is caused in the case of plants. Thirdly, in many cases, in the case of plants, the fruits just fall off the tree, so there is no killing involved that way, even if we consider grains, you know grains actually if they are not harvested at that time they will just die.
So if we see the grains have more or less by the time they grow, they have lived their life and after that they will just rot and die. So, their life is more, when they are harvested, their life is more or less over by that time. After that they will just decay.
In contrast, when animals are killed, animals are usually killed when they are fully grown, it is not when they are old, especially in harvesting places, they are killed when they are young. So, it is their life is cut short. In the case of harvesting, their life is more or less going to end after that time.
They are not going to live for a long time. So, intuitively also or from an aesthetic point of view, we see that in not just in Indian culture, but everywhere in the world, harvesting is a time of celebration. People sing songs, people have festivals, that is the time of harvesting.
But if we go to a slaughterhouse, there is a lot of season of celebration over there. It is a very gloomy and grim atmosphere. There is blood all around, they are screaming and screeching.
People may say that there is killing in both. But suppose that person is a parent, ask that parent. If in your school they tell that they want to take the children for a field trip, you will take them to harvesting to see how crops are harvested.
No parent will oppose. When you tell them they are going to take them to a field trip to a slaughterhouse to see animals, how animals are slaughtered. No parent will allow that practice.
Very few parents will allow. Why is that? Because intuitively we know there is a difference. So, actually when crops are harvested, nature has given her bounty.
And we are grateful that nature has given her bounty and we are actually celebrating. And nature is also in a festive mood at that time. So, but on the other hand, animals are slaughtered, it is completely different.
Animals life span is being cut, cut short. And it's a very brutal bloody atmosphere over there. So, Prabhupada also says, even if you have to eat meat, just let the animal die its natural course and then you can eat the meat.
You just have to wait for some time, then you can eat that. Prabhupada did not oppose that so much. So, in this sense, we can, even without going into Shastra so much, from a common sense point of view, we can say that there is a big big difference between plants and animals.
And that's why killing plants is, see, ultimately Jivo Jivo says Jivo. We have to kill someone to live. So, if we don't kill, we ourselves will not be able to live.
But while killing, we should try to create, cause as less pain as possible. And that is why we avoid, we are told to avoid eating meat, avoid killing animals and then ultimately as devotees, we are not just vegetarians, we are Krishnatarians as we say. We don't just take vegetarian food.
We take the vegetarian food that is offered to Krishna. And then when we take that food, that is actually very much karma free. So, even the karmic consequences that are involved in killing animals, even that is avoided when we offer it to Krishna.
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