#AcharyaPrashant #आचार्यप्रशांत #Philosophy #BhagavadGita
Do Vegan Athletes Really Avoid Animal Cruelty? || Acharya Prashant (2024)
Video Information: 11.12.2024, Vedanta: Basics to Classics, Goa
Description:
In this video, a young questioner asks Acharya Prashant about the use of animal-based products, particularly in the context of vegan athletes. Historically, human practices have often relied on ignorance and cruelty, incorporating animal products into various industries like music, sports, and sugar production. For example, leather has been used in cricket balls, and animal intestines in racket strings, largely due to tradition and habit. Despite advancements in technology that offer cruelty-free alternatives, these practices persist due to a lack of awareness and compassion.
The video delves into the idea that true change cannot arise from isolated actions, such as saving individual animals, but requires addressing the deeper issues of human ignorance and ego-driven exploitation. A shift toward a more compassionate world demands a transformation in human consciousness, ultimately reducing cruelty across all aspects of life.
🎧 Listen to Acharya Prashant on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2QmVEAA
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~
Do Vegan Athletes Really Avoid Animal Cruelty? || Acharya Prashant (2024)
Video Information: 11.12.2024, Vedanta: Basics to Classics, Goa
Description:
In this video, a young questioner asks Acharya Prashant about the use of animal-based products, particularly in the context of vegan athletes. Historically, human practices have often relied on ignorance and cruelty, incorporating animal products into various industries like music, sports, and sugar production. For example, leather has been used in cricket balls, and animal intestines in racket strings, largely due to tradition and habit. Despite advancements in technology that offer cruelty-free alternatives, these practices persist due to a lack of awareness and compassion.
The video delves into the idea that true change cannot arise from isolated actions, such as saving individual animals, but requires addressing the deeper issues of human ignorance and ego-driven exploitation. A shift toward a more compassionate world demands a transformation in human consciousness, ultimately reducing cruelty across all aspects of life.
🎧 Listen to Acharya Prashant on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2QmVEAA
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Pranam Achyai ji.
00:04Yes.
00:05My name is Akshaya and I am 14 years old.
00:10I have been doing sessions and watching you with my mother since 2 years.
00:16And my question is that I have seen a lot of pro players, mostly tennis players,
00:25that they use tennis rackets of cows cut strings, if you know that.
00:33And they are actually vegan.
00:36And some people, a lot of people appreciate that they are vegan and they don't do any animal cruelty.
00:44So I want to ask if they are turning vegan for their own reasons because of their improvement and instructions from their coaches,
00:54are they changing anything at all?
00:58Even those things are happening.
01:02Sports equipments are undergoing a change.
01:05Also, the guts, the cords, they were called guts specifically because they were made of animals' intestines.
01:14That's the reason you used to call them guts.
01:17But sports technology has advanced and more and more you have these strings that are no more made of animal material.
01:27I do not know of specific players who are vegan and are yet using these animal strings.
01:35But technology has provided the choice that you don't need to.
01:42See, you have to understand something.
01:47Human history hasn't exactly been of compassion.
01:55You look at arts, sciences, any field of human endeavour and you will find animal products are everywhere.
02:06Because that's the way we have been.
02:08When a large animal like a buffalo, a cow, a bull is slaughtered, every part of its body is used somewhere, mostly industrially.
02:20which means that everything, almost everything that comes to you contains or is likely to contain some animal product.
02:34Even if it's not having an animal product, it's possible that something from animals has been used in its manufacturing.
02:44That is because our history has not been of compassion.
02:48You look at music for example.
02:50You look at your tabla, your dholak, these things, many of the musical instruments.
02:56And you know you are using animal skin.
03:00That's animal skin.
03:02You also see that there is a lot of use of wood there.
03:06But even if you keep wood aside, the animal skin is very visible in the musical instruments.
03:14Same thing for your sports, you look at cricket.
03:18The ball, it's a leather ball.
03:20There is leather.
03:22Because that's the way we have been.
03:25So that kind of ignorance and indifference and cruelty,
03:30it exposes itself, reveals itself in whatever we do.
03:36This sugar that you get.
03:39Animal products are used in the processing of sugar.
03:43There is hardly any industrial product that is totally free of animal cruelty.
03:56In that context, sports too carry the imprint of animal cruelty.
04:04Which is not necessary.
04:06But that's how it currently is.
04:09As human consciousness awakens, and that's our endeavour,
04:16you will find that the need to put an animal something somewhere,
04:23that need decreases.
04:26Because it's just a matter of tradition, convention, habit.
04:32It is unimaginable that creating a racket string of the right kind of polymer,
04:45cannot fetch the same results as the racket string made of animal guts.
04:51So science is obviously advanced enough to create those things.
04:57It's just that we are not feeling the need.
05:01These medicines that you take.
05:04Many of them contain animal products.
05:06Most of them in fact contain animal products.
05:08And the ones that do not contain animal products.
05:10And the ones that do not contain animal products.
05:11Have been tested on animals.
05:13The cosmetic products that you use.
05:15It's winters these days.
05:21Getting the right clothing for oneself.
05:25Is quite a task.
05:29In some way or the other, there is wool or something there.
05:35You want footwear.
05:37Again, you have to spend five times energy in getting a simple pair of sandals.
05:44And even if you get it.
05:47And even if you are told that this is a cruelty free product.
05:53Still you can never be 100% sure that it indeed is.
05:56A waist belt.
05:59You just don't know.
06:01A shirt.
06:03You don't know the entire chain of its manufacturing and also of its logistics.
06:10It is possible that there is some animal cruelty somewhere.
06:14In the supply chain.
06:17And all of that is coming from a single point.
06:23And the point is human ignorance.
06:26If you can deal with human ignorance.
06:31Only then there is the chance we will be more friendly.
06:37More compassionate towards animals.
06:39Otherwise, as I said you have a 600 kg animal.
06:43And you litter it.
06:46And every bit of the 600 kg is put to use somewhere.
06:53The one littering it will not let go anything waste.
07:00If it can be exploited for material gain, it will be exploited.
07:08And whatever waste product that remains.
07:14Whatever it is that cannot be sold to anybody.
07:17That will be used to destroy the environment.
07:21That will flow into a river.
07:27Or that will go into the soil and corrupt the ground water.
07:32That's how we have been.
07:36Just not self aware.
07:39Just not knowing our relationship with the environment.
07:43With other species.
07:45Since we don't know who we are.
07:46Therefore, we do not know what our right relationship with everything must be.
07:50Therefore, we are cruel in as many ways as possible.
07:54This cruelty cannot be challenged in a fractured way.
08:00You cannot say, oh you know that fellow.
08:04He is s***ing up a buffalo.
08:06I will stop him and I have done a great job.
08:09Obviously, if I too find somebody s***ing up a buffalo.
08:12I too will, by my humanity, want to stop him.
08:17But I would also know that that serves no larger purpose.
08:21The life of one buffalo is saved.
08:23But nothing beyond that.
08:25If you really want to make a difference.
08:29Then you will have to attack the problem at its centre.
08:34And the centre is lack of self knowledge.
08:39The centre is ego.
08:44As we become more self aware.
08:49All kinds of animal cruelty will decrease.
08:56Otherwise, a sectoral approach, a fragmented approach.
09:02That will at most make you feel good about yourself.
09:06You know I was able to rescue one goat and one dog.
09:12And so I am a good fellow.
09:13I will feel good about myself.
09:15But in the bigger picture, it does no favour to the animals or to the environment.
09:30Yeah.
09:31Thank you Acharya Ji.
09:33Welcome.