Danda 1995 - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

The true intellectual is the devotee who engages his buddhi (intelligence) inKrsna's service. This is called buddhi-yoga. It is explained in such gitaverses as 2.39, 2.41, 2.44, 2.49 2.51, 2.52, 2.53, and 18.57."Desired activities" may have a mundane or transcedental context. In the mundanecontext, if a husband and wife of the higher order desire a child, they willperform garbhadhana-samskara. In the transcendental context, a devotee maydesire a particular perfection in devotional service. For instance, in NODthere is mention of a lady devotee who desired Krsna as her husband. To thisend, she danced all night for the pleasure of the Lord.EUTHANASIAQuestion from Kurma dasApril 21, 1995Dear Suhotra Swami,Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.In the Australian media Euthanasia has become a hot topic.Could you enlighten us with any information re the Vedic view of this subject?Obviously Euthanasia in its grossest form is akin to homicide but what of aterminally ill devotee fasting until death or refusing medication? What aboutSrila Prabhupada's departure in relation to his non-consumption of food? Its agood time for the devotees here to come out and present a well rounded Krsnaconscious viewpoint. Can you help?Answer by Suhotra SwamiApril 23, 1995Here are three statements about euthenasia or mercy killing from SrilaPrabhupada.(1)Srila Prabhupada: They say, "Oh, it is better to kill him than to give him somuch pain." That theory is coming in communist countries. An old man--grandfather--is suffering, so better to kill him. And there--in Africa there isa class of men who make a festival by killing their great-grandfathers. Is itnot? Yes.Syamasundara: They eat them?Srila Prabhupada: Yes. [Syamasundara laughs.] Yes?(2)Himavati: But then if you think further, that is that if you are going to make aprogram to feed the animals in your house, then won't more and more animals comeinto your residence? Suppose I feed these rats and I go on feeding them. Won'tmore and more rats come?Prabhupada: Well, the rats will be fed. Either you give or not, it will steal.So that is not the problem. But if you give them food, they will... Of course,that is Western philosophy, that because the animals are increasing, they shouldbe killed. We Indians also, we have taken that view--because we cannot giveprotection to the cows, they must be sent to the slaughterhouse. That is themodern view. But that is not injunction of the Vedas. The Vedas says thateveryone has right to live, every living entity. That is going on not only inconsideration of the animals, even in human beings. Just like the Americans,they were all Europeans, and they entered this American land, killed so many redIndians. So these kind of things are going on, but that does not mean that isthe law. You killed so many red Indians for your benefit, but you have to suffer