"Thou Shall Not Kill"

The last Saturday, I was selling books on Yoga at the Atlantic City boardwalk.  I ran into a gentleman Mark who was very much interested in spirituality. He told me that he follows Christianity; he even did missionary activity in Vietnam in his younger days.   We had a very interesting discussion that I share below.

Sudhakar: I have complete faith in Lord Jesus. I make an attempt to sincerely follow all His Ten Commandments. The unfortunate situation today is that hardly anyone follows him in Atlantic City.
Mark: Why do you say that?
Sudhakar: No one follows the Ten Commandments.  For example, if you take "Thou Shall Not Kill", we interpret it to mean "Thou Shall Not Kill Humans".  What Jesus really meant applies to animals also. Jesus was indeed preaching vegetarianism. Surely, Jesus was wise enough to know the difference between kill and murder.  Today's followers of Jesus accuse him of not understanding the difference between kill and murder.
Mark: But, the Old/New Testament allows meat eating.
Sudhakar: Well, it is easier to follow His direct instructions than to rely on an interpreted testament which is changing over time. A good portion of Jesus's original teachings are lost. Honestly, the bible of 100AD is very different from today's bible. Constantin changed it quite  a lot.

People who eat meat are taking an unnecessary spiritual risk.  We are asking mercy from Jesus.  Don't you think Jesus would hope that we are merciful towards beings lower than us?  Imagine yourself approaching Jesus who is holding a lamb. You tell Jesus, "may I have that lamb so I can eat it?".  Kindly ask Jesus if he would be pleased. If we cannot be merciful of beings lower to us, we are not being spiritual when we ask Jesus for mercy.

Mark: Well, Jesus might have eaten meat.

Sudhakar: Aha. So, Jesus was crucified for our sake.  Are you willing to crucify yourself?  There is little point in comparing ourselves to Jesus. He might have eaten meat in the deserts of Israel where there may have been very little eat.  But, in New York City, we have enough tomatoes and greens. Also, note that medically vegetarian diets are better. Even the environment benefits. Actually, Jesus was indeed preaching vegetarianism in the Holy Bible.

Mark: But, I have faith in Jesus.  He has already been crucified for us.  That should save me.
Sudhakar: The purpose of faith is to instill a discipline to follow instructions to purify oneself. If you have faith in instructions, but not follow them, do you really think there is much meaning? It is like a drunkard who knows he has to give up drinking to lead a better life, but does not give up drinking.
   Unfortunately, the church teaches that one is absolved of all sins if one goes to the confession box. What is the point if the confession ritual does not result in an elevation of consciousness to purify oneself.  Without a purification, if one is intending to use Jesus's suffering to protect oneself from his sins, it is actually exploitation, and not love.



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Somehow, this person was moved by the argument. He agreed to buy the book  "Perfection of Yoga" --- which explains how . I was happy to sell two books at $1 each.