--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sgrayatlarge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Human sacrifice in Hinduism > > from Wiki: >
********** There are no human-sacrifice rituals authorized by the Vedas -- those who think so are merely expressing the inability of their low consciousness to think in terms other than what would satisfy their blood lust. In fact, even animal sacrifice is not authorized: "Brahmana who have access to knowledge of the veda which is the key to self-knowledge, misread and misinterpret the vaidika injunctions and indulge in drinking wine, animal sacrifice and sexual pleasure. The veda permitted these as a concession to the ignorant who have no self-control, and even then wine was only to be smelt, the animals should only adorn the ritual site, and sexual enjoyment be indulged in for the sake of progeny only. They who are ignorant of this, haughtily considering themselves wise, kill animals which in turn kill them when they depart from the world." from Book Eleven, Ch. 5 of the Concise Srimad Bhagavatam http://tinyurl.com/ywykn6 As far as Hindus go, of course they are capable of slaughter -- as many as a million people were killed when during Partition in 1947: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/aug/05/india.theobserver The whole purpose of the TM movement is to raise the level of awareness to a point where people, regardless of their nominal relationship with a religion, do not find it necessary, because of their anxiety and frustration, to kill their neighbors. > -Human sacrifices were carried out in connection with the worship of > Shakti till approximately the early modern period, and in Bengal > perhaps as late as the early nineteenth century[28]. Certain tantric > cults performed human sacrifice till around the same time, both > actual and "symbolic"; it was a "highly ritualised" act, and on > occasion took many months to complete[28]. > > The question of whether human sacrifice is permitted in the Vedas > and, if so, was actually practiced is a matter of dispute by > scholars. The prevailing nineteenth century view, associated above > all with Henry Colebrooke, was that human sacrifice had little > scriptural warrant, and did not actually take place. Those verses > which referred to purusamedha were meant to be read symbolically [29] > or as a 'priestly fantasy'. However, barely a generation later > Albrecht Weber collected textplaces referring to human sacrifice with > greater specificity; and Rajendralal Mitra published a defence of the > thesis that human sacrifice, as had been practiced in Bengal, was a > continuation of traditions dating back to Vedic periods[30]. Hermann > Oldenberg held to Colebrooke's view; but Jan Gonda underlined its > disputed status. > > It was agreed even by Colebrooke, however, that by the Puranic > period - at least at the time of the writing of the Kalika Purana, > human sacrifice was accepted[29]. These two periods, however were > separated by a period of increasing "embarrassment" in the use of > violence in worship, contemporaneous with the Upanishads. > > In the post-Puranic medieval period, however, it became increasingly > common. In the seventh century, Banabhatta, in a description of the > dedication of a temple of Chandika, describes a series of human > sacrifices; similarly, in the ninth century, Haribhadra describes the > sacrifices to Chandika in Orissa[31]. It was "more common" in the > Southern parts of India, where it took on a scapegoating rather than > purifying role[31]. > > The Khonds, an aboriginal tribe of India, inhabiting the tributary > states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, became notorious, on the British > occupation of their district about 1835, from the prevalence and > cruelty of the human sacrifices they practised.[32 > > > -- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante <no_reply@> > wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, sgrayatlarge <no_reply@> > > wrote: > > > > > > I guess you can include the violence of Hinduism as well Bob re: > > > MahaBharta, how many died in that great battle? > > > > > > You also forgot to mention why Moses the slaughter. Balaam was a > > > swell guy now wasn't he? > > > > > > > ******** > > > > The warfare in the Mahabharata was between warriors on the huge > > battlefield on the plains of Kurukshetra, not the slaughter of > > innocent civilians. The only difference between Moses and the > > Israelis now killing civilians in Lebanon and wherever they can is > > that Moses liked to keep fresh young virgin girls around (not that > > Jews are any more or less disposed to slaughter than other peoples). > > > > Of course, you don't have enough brains to distinguish between > > killing a bad guy like Balaam and slaughtering an entire people, as > > if the existence of one bad guy could in any way justify the > killing > > of defenseless women and children. > > > > You are "at large," all right, but a mentality like yours, like > other > > beastly proponents of slaughter of innocents, belongs in a cage at > > the zoo. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante <no_reply@> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Vaj <vajradhatu@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Full length English version now on Google Video. Learn some > > > history > > > > > on the Religion of Peace in this controversial documentary: > > > > > > > > > > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-871902797772997781 > > > > > > > > > > Link > > > > > > > > > > "Everything you've always wanted to know about Islam but were > > > afraid > > > > > to ask. The feature documentary that discovers the basis of > > > Muslim > > > > > violence in the Koran and the life of Muhammad." > > > > > > > > > > > > > ************ > > > > > > > > When you consider the centuries and centuries of brutal warfare > > and > > > > exploitation by so-called Christians against other Xtians and > > other > > > > peoples, it's ridiculous to characterize Muslims as being any > > more > > > > violent, either in scripture or in historical fact, than > > Christians > > > or > > > > Jews. > > > > > > > > Read the Bibles' Numbers 31, in which Moses ordered the > slaughter > > > of an > > > > entire group, allowing only the virgin girls to live: > > > > > > > > http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/num/31.html > > > > > > > > > >
