Articles From The Writings of Vasu Murti

Nonsectarian Ahimsa

1. A Nonsectarian Ethic

Do you feel like you're being forced to practice the Quaker religion since the government doesn't allow you to own a slave? Did the Quakers impose their morality on the rest of mankind when we abolished slavery? Or was it social and moral progress for all mankind to abolish slavery? What about abortion? A lot of people don't see abortion as a secular and nonsectarian civil rights issue which applies to all mankind (including atheists and agnostics), they see it as religious fanatics pushing their personal beliefs on others.

Why do pro-lifers see one ethic (not killing the unborn) as applying to everyone, including those outside of their faith and including atheists and agnostics, but see another ethic (not killing animals) as only applicable to certain religions? That's my point. Like pacifists and/or pro-lifers, vegetarianism, in itself, is merely an ethic, and not a religion. There are Jewish pacifists, Catholic pacifists, Protestant pacifists, Hindu pacifists, atheist pacifists, etc. In all cases, moral opposition to war, militarism, and bloodshed is the common denominator. Similarly, there are Jewish pro-lifers, Catholic pro-lifers, Protestant pro-lifers, Hindu pro-lifers, atheist pro-lifers, etc. In all cases, moral opposition to killing the unborn is the common denominator. Similarly, there are Jewish vegetarians, Catholic vegetarians, Protestant vegetarians, Hindu vegetarians, atheist vegetarians, etc. In all cases, the common denominator is moral opposition to killing animals. One can become a vegetarian without fear of being "converted" to "another religion."

Are pro-lifers more likely to "convert" to "another religion" where the mistreatment of animals is less brutal, or are they more likely to accept animal rights as a secular and nonsectarian moral philosophy which applies to all mankind (including atheists and agnostics), along the lines of the abolition of (human) slavery and/or women's suffrage?

Like pacifists and/or pro-lifers, vegetarianism, in itself, is merely an ethic, not a religion. Like the pro-life ethic, vegetarianism has attracted some of the greatest figures in history: Leonardo Da Vinci, Count Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, Percy Shelley, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, etc. Like the pro-life ethic, vegetarianism has served as the basis for entire religious traditions. Buddhism, Jainism, Pythagoreanism, and possibly early Christianity all immediately come to mind.

Topics include:

1. A Nonsectarian Ethic
2. Sentience and Self-Awareness
3. The Slippery Slope
4. Hinduism and Ahimsa (Nonviolence)
5. Our Own Hypocrisy
6. A Generic or Nonsectarian Ahimsa
7. Devotees of Krishna and Hindus in General Should Consider These Points:
8. "Dietary Laws" or the Animals' Right to Life?
9. Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita Puports Indicate Obtaining Food Nonviolently is the Overriding Concern
10. Srila Prabhupada's Own Teachings on Ahimsa (Nonviolence).
11. Nonviolence is a Higher Dharma (Religious Duty) Than Eating or Offering Only Food in the Mode of Goodness.
12. The Main Ingredient
13. These Ideas Are Now in the Mainstream
14. Attention: armchair activists!
15. A Spiritual Basis
16. Generic Ahimsa or Nonsectarian Ahimsa Is the Spiritual Basis for Animal Rights
17. What's Wrong with the Silk Industry?
18. A Return to Organic Farming

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