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Hunting Moderators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]	View previous thread :: View next thread
Yoga -> General Yoga	Message format

sark

Posted 2007-08-22 1:02 PM (#94742)
Subject: Hunting

Does yoga philosophy condemn hunting? My father in law wants to take me elk hunting in Colorado this year. It sounds exciting as we would be taking horses deep into the backcountry and camping far from roads. The problem is that I try to live by yoga philosophies and one of them is nonharming. However I do eat meat and I think it would be hypocritical of me to condemn hunting while at the same time basically support slaughter houses. Truth be told I would rather my meat came from free, wild animals than from hormone fed captive ones. I know I should just do what I feel is right, but would like others opinions on this, thanks.

Posted 2007-08-22 1:17 PM (#94744 - in reply to #94742)
Subject: RE: Hunting

Condemn? It is only religions that condemn. Yoga does not. Each person has a unique path and all of those paths lead to Divinity. For some people it takes several lifetimes to learn not to harm other things, to be mindful of the planet, to behave as a creature among creatures rather than as a creature of dominance.

But Yoga does not condemn. In fact you might say yoga advocates "indifference". Read The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali I:33

Hunting animals for the purpose of survival is very different than the hunting done today.
Try using a bow and arrow and see how far you get. In addition to that food is so readily available that unless you are living in the wilderness the context is completely different. And are you out hunting cows and chickens? I think not.

Relative to ahimsa, just because you are not yet perfect in your application of ahimsa does not mean you throw the baby out with the bath water. Fine you still eat some meat. But perhaps six months from now you will not and therefore you are progressing on that path. Is hunting progressing on the path for you? If it supports your growth, do it. If it is not supporting your direction then pass.

Cyndi

Posted 2007-08-22 1:17 PM (#94745 - in reply to #94742)
Subject: RE: Hunting

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I feel the same way Sark. I would rather eat venison than any other meat, and I do. There is a big difference in eating the animal than killing the animal. Once you ever do kill an animal such as this, you will know the difference and what I am talking about. In most cultures they have people that are the hunters. Their karma is shaped much differently. In a way, their job is to provide the food, they receive a special blessing and prayers to wipe out their negative karma. All cultures are different, but basically similar when it comes to dealing with this practice. If you're just wanting to kill the animal for sport, or thinking that you have to do it because of the reasons you stated, for my thinking, it would not be a very good practice. It certainly is not good for a yoga practice....especially where there are vows involved. Then again, it's also a personal issue and maybe you're not finished with hunting and need to experience this to know what it is you want. Best wishes. I know its a hard decision.

The other day I took my horse to another place where there was a solid white deer that took up on the farm. He was beautiful. I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to harm or kill him. I imagine one day some idiot is going to want his skin for a trophy, which made me very sad. This deer was very special and to see him mingling with the other horses like he was part of the group, was a beautiful and rare sight to see.

tourist

Posted 2007-08-22 1:30 PM (#94750 - in reply to #94745)
Subject: RE: Hunting

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There are lessons to be learned everywhere. My son just got back from a job out in the woods and told me about accidentally killing a mouse. It gave him a tremendous amount to think about in terms of life and death and reincarnation. Of course, and accident is different from hunting, but I think you are right that hunting the food you are planning to consume will make you much more clear in your relationship to the meat you eat. And then there is the possibility that you will just have a fabulous trip and not actually end up shooting anything

Cyndi

Posted 2007-08-22 2:03 PM (#94760 - in reply to #94750)
Subject: RE: Hunting

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tourist - 2007-08-22 1:30 PM

And then there is the possibility that you will just have a fabulous trip and not actually end up shooting anything

Which is usually what ends up happening,

I'll never forget my first hunting trip (23 years ago) with my EX husband. I actually sat there and prayed for the deer and was relieved when it was over. On our way out we saw so many fresh deer droppings...I guess my prayers provided some kind of invisible shield, heehee....we came home empty handed

Edited by Cyndi 2007-08-22 2:04 PM

jonnie

Posted 2007-08-22 2:21 PM (#94764 - in reply to #94742)
Subject: RE: Hunting

The Vedic scriptures establish Ahimsa (non violence) as the ethical foundation of vegetarianism.

According to the Vedas, God is the supreme father of all creatures, not just humans.

Therefore, the slaughter of innocent animals is considered the equivalent of killing one's brother or sister.

Jonathon

Posted 2007-08-22 9:17 PM (#94792 - in reply to #94742)
Subject: RE: Hunting

which leads us right into the Gita.

And the messsage there is???

Edited by purnayoga 2007-08-22 9:17 PM

Cyndi

Posted 2007-08-22 9:23 PM (#94793 - in reply to #94792)
Subject: RE: Hunting

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Hey Purna,

That would all depend upon how one interprets the Gita, you do know about that don't you???

The Gita is very similar to the Holy Bible, it too has had it's mis-representations and mis-interpretations all these thousands of years,

Edited by Cyndi 2007-08-22 9:24 PM

tmarques

Posted 2007-08-22 9:49 PM (#94800 - in reply to #94742)
Subject: RE: Hunting

NOT JUDGING, but..

Last week a sparrow flew right into my windshield and I felt awful for days. The thought of hunting makes me queasy.

OTOH, considering the cruelty with which animals are treated in farms and slaughterhouses, I agree that consuming animals hunted in the wild is far preferable.

Cyndi

Posted 2007-08-22 10:05 PM (#94804 - in reply to #94800)
Subject: RE: Hunting

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I got really mad at one of my cats the other day. There was this big huge beautiful Dragonfly flying around my yard. I was on the phone telling the person, wow, you should see this Dragonfly. I turned around for a split second, only to find the cat had torn him in half. I was so mad her.

Then, a couple of years ago...I ran over one of my cats and he died right in my driveway. In fact, we discussed it here on this forum. I felt like crap. I cried over the fact that I killed an animal. Later that evening, I gave him a beautiful Hindu pooja ceremony in my garden.

Anyway, I do not have the heart to kill any animal or fish. We live in a strange world where everything is at our fingertips and all we have to do is go into the market and buy what we need. I used to be in conflict with that, but after I started my yoga practice, clarity came to me and I'm quite content with how I handle this, since I am a meat eater. It's my choice as to whether or not I want to be a vegetarian - been there and done that, and it's also my choice as to whether or not I want to kill for my food and/or whether I want to make the best choices of where my meat came from and how it was prepared, which includes how it was killed, raised, etc. Since we live in an convenient world, it sure does make it easier to eat meat without having remorse or thinking about it. I say this because that is my observation. I personally go to the extremes in knowing where my food comes from. I do have my 5% leniency (sp?) on how much junk food or my misc. food when I'm not in a condusive environment that supports my healthy lifestyle, that I will consume though,

yes, Tourist, Ice Cream is in this category,

jonnie

Posted 2007-08-23 12:29 AM (#94814 - in reply to #94792)
Subject: RE: Hunting

purnayoga - 2007-08-23 5:17 AM

which leads us right into the Gita.

And the messsage there is???

I think you know Gordon

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