From: mvishnu@morse.uwaterloo.ca (m vishnu)
Subject: Re: Animal Sacrifice in Temples
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 18:17:17 GMT

In article <42433@ogicse.ogi.edu> partha@mse.cse.ogi.edu (R. Parthasarathy) writes:
>Meenan Vishnu writes:
>
>> but, hope that you don't treat this as a flame.
>>There is a saying in coimbatore area.
>>"saathathilE pee irukku, iruthaapale oothunu sonnana
>>
>>
>>If there is shit in the food, how can we filter it and eat. We have to
>>throw the food. We know all the veda and varNa and things and
>>their interpretations, defence and what not does not have
>>any sense. Why do people still defend that?
>>
>
>Mr. Vishnu has been an ardent critic of the Vedas. At the same time he
>sympathizes with a terrorist organization whose principle is to achieve
>its goals by brutal means. I don't understand how someone can have such
>a double standard. Vedas according to him have sayings which do not
>treat humanity the way it should be. Does a terrorist organization like
>LTTE treat humanity the way it should be treated? Killing people, especially
>the ones with different opinions, is similar to having shit in the food
>which is fighting for independence in this case. If Vedas should be
>ignored for crappy statements, how come this gentleman adheres to crappy
>principles of the LTTE? 
>
>FYI, I have read a brief translation of the Rg Veda (I forgot the author's
>name). It didn't appeal to me either. Most of the things that I came
>across were on different types of Gods who have to be appeased. The whole
>universe is considered as one big sacrifice (!). Then there is one chapter
>in which Indrani talks about how great Indra is (with pretty blatant
>sexual remarks). I can post that chapter if guys are interested. 
>
>I consider the Vedas as religious texts belonging to the yester years.
>Sure there have been several ingredients in them which formed the basis
>for the Indian philosophical systems. The Vedic Aryans had social hierarchy
>not as rigid as it is today according to historians. They had Rajanya,
>Brahmana and bourgeois classes. How rigidly they adhered to it we don't
>know. It seems such a division existed even among the Aryans who settled
>in the Iranian lands. 
>
>Why is Mr. Vishnu living among people who openly preached white color
>skin to be superior not long ago? Material comforts? 
>
>Learn this fact. The whole world is full of shit one way or the other.
>You clean up one, another one emerges. What does one do in the mean time?
>Try to remain clean at the personal level. Blaming people of yesteryears
>will not bring any solutions to the present day problems. You cannot look
>at things of the past from the twentieth century view. Even now prejudice
>exists. It is going to exist as long as human beings exist. It is a kind
>of emotion. 
>
>
>If you don't like the Veda, be my guest. I know that lots of guys who get
>turned on by your remarks on Vedas, haven't looked at even the translations
>of them once. They believe what their elders have been saying - that the
>Vedas contain all the truth about the world; that there are lots of
>hidden technological secrets which the Germans stole to make their rockets
>etc.. 
>
>It is wrong to psyche oneself into hating a community by piling up all
>kinds of junk and wrong interpretations. Sure there have been terrible
>things committed in the past. While the Vedas have lot of crap in them,
>there must be a lot of good things said in them too. The best thing an
>individual would do is to ignore the bad aspects and build himself with
>the good aspects. But you seem to be building Nazi like hatred with
>whatever you read.
>
>The reality is not as bad as you make it out to be.
>
>So give up these prejudiced analysis and contribute something useful for
>everyone.
>
>Partha sarathy


Oh dear Partha Sarathy,

Please be careful before you accuse me.  The quoted lines were NOT 
written by me.  I think Kathiravan Krishnamoorthy wrote it.

However just as Kathiravan, I am no fan of Vedas either.  I think people
should not blindly praise Vedas without studying their contents.

I don't why you (my critics) always bring in LTTE in all the issues. 
Vedic rituals are in no way connected to LTTE nor vice-versa! 

Thank you

Meenan Vishnu