GOVINDA / Go Vegan shirt By Ollie Dove
The pushback for being vegan that I experienced early on in my exploration of bhakti was almost enough for me to give up, as I was aggressively and constantly told that as devotees we must offer and consume dairy for a whole litany of ridiculous reasons, none of which were based in shastra. Now it's my turn to push back.
Humans are the only mammals who consume milk after infancy, that's why Krishna was only stealing butter as a baby, Ladoo Gopal, Makhan Chor. I know of no reference to Krishna stealing butter or suckling on a cow's udder in his kishor era, it's ALWAYS as a baby. So why the emphasis on dairy consumption amongst devotees? Especially with all the heart attacks, strokes, diabetes etc ravaging the devotee community? All of these ailments are direct results of consumption of animal "products." Perhaps it's time to recognize that evolution is a good thing. If you choose to consume dairy that's fine, but you should at least acknowledge that the meat and dairy industries are inextricably linked, and that there's no true vegetarianism when dairy is consumed.
As far as this all too prevalent idea of associating dairy consumption with loving and serving gau-mata, I'm not sure how exactly that works. The lines between love and exploitation are blurred enough in the material world, what need is there to project that into the spiritual?
bhagavad gita 9.26
patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati
tadahaṁ bhaktyupahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one endowed with devotion offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I accept the offering of such a pure-hearted person presented with devotion."
Translation by Srī Srī Satyanarayana das Babaji.
This design was originally a back print for an Antimaterial Worlds shirt a few years back... I felt like we should make some front print versions so we did.
GOVINDA / Go Vegan shirt By Ollie Dove
The pushback for being vegan that I experienced early on in my exploration of bhakti was almost enough for me to give up, as I was aggressively and constantly told that as devotees we must offer and consume dairy for a whole litany of ridiculous reasons, none of which were based in shastra. Now it's my turn to push back.
Humans are the only mammals who consume milk after infancy, that's why Krishna was only stealing butter as a baby, Ladoo Gopal, Makhan Chor. I know of no reference to Krishna stealing butter or suckling on a cow's udder in his kishor era, it's ALWAYS as a baby. So why the emphasis on dairy consumption amongst devotees? Especially with all the heart attacks, strokes, diabetes etc ravaging the devotee community? All of these ailments are direct results of consumption of animal "products." Perhaps it's time to recognize that evolution is a good thing. If you choose to consume dairy that's fine, but you should at least acknowledge that the meat and dairy industries are inextricably linked, and that there's no true vegetarianism when dairy is consumed.
As far as this all too prevalent idea of associating dairy consumption with loving and serving gau-mata, I'm not sure how exactly that works. The lines between love and exploitation are blurred enough in the material world, what need is there to project that into the spiritual?
bhagavad gita 9.26
patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati
tadahaṁ bhaktyupahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
"If one endowed with devotion offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I accept the offering of such a pure-hearted person presented with devotion."
Translation by Srī Srī Satyanarayana das Babaji.
This design was originally a back print for an Antimaterial Worlds shirt a few years back... I felt like we should make some front print versions so we did.
