Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari

Q. Bhagavad-gita teaches that people should follow their natures and worship Krsna in ways that are harmonious with their natures. How necessary is it to go against one's nature for the sake of adhering to the social norms accepted in devotee society? For example, how important is it to become a vegetarian to practice Krsna consciousness? Why emphasize a principle like vegetarianism that clashes with the acquired nature of the vast majority of the world's population? Why not relax that emphasis and be more inclusive, encouraging people to chant and worship Krsna without restrictions? In modern times even Brahmins cannot follow restrictions, what to speak of ordinary people. Brahmins are supposed to be vegetarians but many are not, and in Bengal and Orissa a large number of Brahmins eat fish.

Even the Pandava Bhima was said to be a meat eater, and are we to conclude that every member of the Vedic warrior class (ksatriyas) were pure vegetarians? How about the so-called lower classes and the aboriginal people of India, must they also accept a pure vegetarian diet before they can become devotees? Emphasis on restrictions push away people who might otherwise be inclined toward devotional life, so why emphasize rules like vegetarianism?

A. Following one's nature is an important instruction inasmuch as it is done in such a way that it leads to changing one's nature. When I say changing one's nature, I am referring to changing mentality, qualities, and activities of a lower nature to those of a higher nature. Ultimately, spiritual life is about change. In the third chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krsna emphasizes that people should follow their nature (sreyan sva-dharmo) with regard to prescribed activities. However, this instruction runs counter to his conclusion, stated in chapter eighteen, where he tells us to forego everything including our nature (sarva dharman parityaja) for the sake of spiritual advancement.

Of course, not everyone will be able to do this immediately. Therefore it is not always important to emphasize the need to give things up, including culturally dictated dietary norms. Even the great Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura said that he was prepared to serve meat to the British at his monastery in the sacred land where Sri Caitanya appeared in order to create a comfortable environment for them to come and learn about Krsna. It is understood that as people learn more about Krsna, they will want to change their lives in ways that will be more conducive to the culture of love for him.

Though at times he spoke about serving meat to induce the British to hear about Krsna, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura never put those words into practice. Both he and Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada insisted that their disciples eat a vegetarian diet of foods offered to Krsna. Rather than draw the masses, they wanted to create a new class of brahmana Vaisnavas who would exemplify a standard of behavior and practice that was conducive to the culture of Krsna consciousness. They did not expect that the entire religious world would follow the standards that they set for their disciples.

Srila Prabhupada talks about this in a conversation with the poet Allen Ginsberg who asked, "What's the future of a religious observance so technical as this? So complicated as this? Requires so much sophistication in terms of diet, daily ritual, arati, Ekadasi, all, the whole thing that you've been teaching, how far can that spread?"

Srila Prabhupada replied, "The whole idea is to keep the devotees always engaged in Krsna consciousness. Gradually, we shall introduce more and more so that he has no scope to go outside Krsna consciousness...so he can remain twenty-four hours in Krsna consciousness... That is my program. Krsna consciousness is not possible for everyone. In the Bhagavad-gita (7.19) we learn, bahunam janmanam ante. After many, many births one can come to this. So it is not possible that a mass of people, a large quantity of people, will be able to grasp it. Another place it is said in the Bhagavad-gita (7.3), manusyanam sahasresu. Out of many thousands of men, one may be interested how to liberate himself. And out of many such liberated persons, one may understand what is Krsna. So understanding of Krsna is not very easy thing. But Lord Caitanya is so munificent that He has given us an easy process. Otherwise Krsna consciousness is not easy because Krsna is the last word of Absolute Truth. "

Srila Prabhupada did make some concessions in introducing Krsna consciousness to people in western countries. Regarding vegetarianism, he was careful to make sure the diet was rich and delicious by any standard so that his followers would feel no compunction to return to a carnivorous diet. He was also well aware of the statement his guru had made about serving meat and mentioned it to his disciples a number of times. Although he never did so, it is conceivable that he might have agreed to employ this reasoning at some point in the larger context of encouraging a greater number of people to embrace Sri Krsna's teaching in the Gita.

After all, Krsna himself speaks of different standards in the Gita. For example, in Bg. 9.28 he speaks of pure devotion when he tells Arjuna to offer him a fruit, flower, leaf, or water in devotion with pure (sattvic / prayatatmanah) standards. In the following verse he speaks of a lower standard when he says, "Whatever you eat, whatever you offer and give away, and whatever austerities you perform, do that as an offering unto me." Krsna may not eat meat, but in this verse he says that if you do, still you should acknowledge God by offering the food to him in some way. Krsna does not say he will accept food that is not offered with sattvic standards but that the devotion present in such offerings will purify that person even if the offering is not perfect in terms of ingredients. Offering to Krsna what one is in a habit of doing will eventually bring one to the standard of pure devotion, where one does only things that are pleasing to Krsna. In this regard, Srila Prabhupada said that drunkards who consistently remember to acknowledge Krsna for the taste and effects of their wine would in time give up that wine and become devotees.

Once one attains the highest level of pure devotion, there are no rules because despite appearances all of the activities of pure souls are motivated by love of Krsna. Life in the lila of Krsna is entirely different from mundane life, and it transcends the life of the practitioner as well. If some devotees such as Pandava Bhima eat meat in Krsna lila, this is otherworldly and not something to reference as a standard for serious practitioners.

Otherwise, in general, if people are too addicted to meat eating, in the very least they should adjust their diet to the extent that their eating causes less suffering and is more environmentally sensitive. Throughout the world, socially and spiritually conscious people are already moving in this direction.