I served as Indian Ambassador/High Commissioner to seven countries (Finland, Estonia, Tunisia, Tanzania, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti) and as Consul General of India at. Dubai, and Birmingham UK .Hosting/attending dinners and receptions is an important part of diplomatic life. At dinners I was often asked as to why I did not take beef. This regular questioning made me study the matter deeper on my own as the education policy devised by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and Jawaharlal Nehru kept we Hindus ignorant of such basics. Some Hindu writers claim that Vedas sanction beef-eating. Their all pro-beef eating arguments have been demolished in detail in chapter VIII of my book Vedic Equality & Hinduism.
Vedas prohibit killing of cows repeatedly declaring it aghanya. Nirukta (VI.43) explains aghanya to mean one that does not deserve to be killed. There are at least sixteen Vedic richas in which aghanya word has been used for cows. Eight richas of RV (VI.28) are devoted to cows as devata (deity). Twenty-six richas of Atharvaveda (IX.7) are devoted to worship of cows. Twenty-four richas of Atharvaveda (IX.4) are devoted to worship of bull (Risabh) as a deity
मा॒ता रु॒द्राणां॑ दुहि॒ता वसू॑नां॒ स्वसा॑दि॒त्याना॑म॒मृत॑स्य॒ नाभि॑: । प्र नु वो॑चं चिकि॒तुषे॒ जना॑य॒ मा गामना॑गा॒मदि॑तिं वधिष्ट ॥ RV(8.101.15).
mātā rudrāṇāṃ duhitā vasūnāṃ svasādityānām amṛtasya nābhiḥ | pra nu vocaṃ cikituṣe janāya mā gām anāgām aditiṃ vadhiṣṭa || “(She who is) the mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus, the sister of the Ādityas, the home of ambrosia– I have spoken to men of understanding– kill not her, the sinless inviolate cow.” Other four richas that command not to kill, not to harm cows are RV (VI.28.3,4,7) and (VII.101.16).
न ता न॑शन्ति॒ न द॑भाति॒ तस्क॑रो॒ नासा॑मामि॒त्रो व्यथि॒रा द॑धर्षति । दे॒वाँश्च॒ याभि॒र्यज॑ते॒ ददा॑ति च॒ ज्योगित्ताभि॑: सचते॒ गोप॑तिः स॒ह ॥ RV (6.28.3)
na tā naśanti na dabhāti taskaro nāsām āmitro vyathir ā dadharṣati | devām̐ś ca yābhir yajate dadāti ca jyog it tābhiḥ sacate gopatiḥ saha mm“Let not the cows be lost; let no thief carry them away; let no hostile weapon fall upon them;”
Vedas prescribe harsh punishment of death for killing a cow and inform that fire quickly consumes those who harm cows. In other words butchers of cow and beef eaters die earler than others. Atharva Veda (1.16.4) “ If you kill our cow or horse or men, we shall kill you with lead balls” There are seven richas in which agni kills/burns alive butchers of cows: RV(X.87.2-5,16,18,19).Vedas prohibit beef-eating to escape harsh punishments and premature deaths
AV (12.4.38) reads “and he who thinking her barren cooks the cow at home his sons and sons sons also bound in fetters of death” . See AV (12.4.37) also
, Now modern science also admits that beef-eating has potential to cause deadly mad cow diseases which are fatal and non-curable. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the mad cow disease i.e. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSEs). WHO bulletins are given in the Gallery Section of this website. Strong evidence currently available supports the theory that the BSE agent is composed largely, if not entirely, of a self-replicating protein called prion which is highly stable, resisting freezing, drying and heating at normal cooking temperatures, even those used for pasteurization and sterilization so it lands up in cooked dishes too..
In humans such diseases are known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), variant CJD, kuru, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome [GSS], and fatal familial insomnia etc. Consumption of food of bovine origin contaminated with prions has been strongly linked to the occurrence of vCJD in humans. CJD is now admitted to be transmitted genetically from one generation to another generation in the family. Kuru studies showed for the first time that a slowly progressive neurological disease of humans can be infectious. There is bovine tuberculosis (TB) also with which cattle suffer and it too cannot be detected before slaughter.
Beef contains significant quantities of toxic organic chemical dioxin, which causes cancer, colon cancer, endometriosis, Attention Deficit Order, chronic fatigue syndrome, rare nerve and blood disorders, immune system deficiency, etc. (www.cqs.com/beef.htm) . Beef harbours a deadly germ coli 0157:H7 causing food poisoning.
No wonder, due to deadly combination of beef and coconut oil, incidence of dyslipidemia and coronary artery disease (CAD) are on the higher side in south India.. The Indian Medical Association, Kerala branch in a paper by Dr NG Kaimal of Alleppey (March 2001) reported that in India there is a geographical variation for the prevalence of CAD, only seven to nine per cent in the northern region and twelve to fourteen per cent in the South. As majority of people in the Hindi heartland in North India do not take beef it can be safely said that higher percentage of CAD in Kerala, Tamil Nadu etc is due to consumption of beef.
Because beef has potential to cause infectious and fatal genetic disorders many Hindus do not want to sell or let out their properties to beef-eaters or eat from kitchens wherein beef is cooked. There is no test to ascertain in advance whether the cattle being slaughtered is BSE infected or not.
Thus beef eating exposes to dangers of contracting vCJD, cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer, etc-whether the beefeater is a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or a Marxist with no religion. Diseases are secular and religion blind. Apart from Vedic prohibition we Hindu on grounds of health should keep away from beef and beef cooking kitchens
A hadith from ibn Masud :”Muhammad said use the milk and fat i.e. butter of cow and avoid its flesh for indeed its milk and fat are medicine and its flesh is a disease.” Saheehah 1533 and saheeh al Jami 1233 also convey the same instructions. (Tabarani). (Kreately.in).
Thus the Holy Vedas and the WHO are on the same page that beef is injurious to human health.