Sunday, August 27, 2006

Brahmins dogs

I was reluctant to blog this, but as I saw a debate going on about cats and dogs on 'gaudiya-repercussions' I decided to add my opinion here.

There is an increasing number of western Vaiṣṇavas that start keeping dogs in their house, many of them claiming a quick-fix brahminhood, taking a second birth without having the first birth to start with, saying they are instead brahmins by quality. These qualities are mentioned in Bhagavad Gītā 18.42 as śama damas tapaḥ śaucam. śaucam means cleanliness, and keeping a dog inside the house is certainly not clean - loose mammals like cats and dogs contaminate the whole house, lock stock and barrel. And such devotees usually keep deities inside their house as well! In India not even the sweepers keep dogs in their houses, so why should then the 'qualified' brahmins here in the west do so? Is there then really such a gap between birth and quality after all? How completely opposite was the attitude and conduct of Śrīla Sanātan Gosvāmī - though he was the greatest sadācārī (devotional puritan) he rather burned his foot-soles on the hot beach-path of Puri than to touch the pūjārīs of the Jagannāth Temple. Of course, Śrīman Mahāprabhu delivered Śivānanda Sena's dog, but Caitanya Caritāmṛta mentions (Antya 1.28): prabhu pāśe bosiyāche kichu alpa dūre, that the dog sat at some distance from the Lord. He did not sit on His lap or lick His face, which I have seen happening with the above-mentioned devotees. Sādhu Bābā also had a dog for a short while, but she too was kept far away from the cooking pots, the kitchen and the āśram's quarters, nor have I seen Sādhu Bābā or anyone else touch her.

A pet-loving 'brahmin' then argued that 1) Kṛṣṇa keeps two dogs too (Vyaghra and Bhramarak), but of course these are transcendentally pure eternally liberated souls, and 2) that rāgānugā bhakti is beyond rules and regulations, but that is not the opinion of Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī:

śravaṇotkīrtanādīni vaidhi bhaktyuditāni tu
yānyaṅgāni ca tānyatra vijñeyāni manīṣibhiḥ


(Bhakti-Rasāmṛta Sindhu 1.2.296) 

"All limbs of vaidhi bhakti, such as hearing chanting etc. are also to be practised in rāgānugā bhakti. This is the verdict of the wise."

If anyone still argues that this inclusion only applies to hearing and chanting, then my question is 'when did the rāgānugā role-models Rūpa and Raghunātha keep dogs inside their kuṭīrs where they worshipped their dieties?'

Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda comments on this verse that only meditation on Dwārkā, mudra, nyāsa and worship of Kṛṣṇa's queens are exempt for rāgānugā sādhana.

11 comments:

  1. Indian dogs are particularly nasty.

    I could see keeping a dog if he is partitioned from the kitchen and pooja room, making it easy to bathe before entering that part of the house (or kept strictly outside). However, it sounds like a pain to practice such frequent bathing.

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  2. Indeed, why would any Vaishnava go through such a hassle? What is the benefit of keeping a dog? As a guard to the house perhaps? Move to a safer neighborhood, I would advise, rather than purchasing a bloodhound. Or a teckle, or a poodle......

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    Replies
    1. Maintaining other embodied souls with Prashadam, caring for and loving them is not a hassle and does not need to have a functional benefit beyond doing it. Other born creatures are not objects to be used - an alarm should be more efficient for guarding the house.

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  3. 1) Krishna keeps two dogs too (Vyaghra and Bhramarak)
    ........

    Krishna is also not a Brahmin.

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  4. These western vaisnavas who defy traditional ways by keeping cats, dogs, goats, llamas, chicken, think such step is keeping up with modern times and a sign of intelligence. They feed their pets meat, then they allow the animals inside the home free to sniff and nibble on Tulasi.

    These pet owners also claim to have a deeper and wider undertanding of Vaisnavism. The pet food industry really like such intellectuals.

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  5. 1) Krishna keeps two dogs too (Vyaghra and Bhramarak)
    ........

    Krishna is also not a Brahmin


    That is quite a silly argument, anon. The Bhagavata clearly forbids imitation of Krishna: naitat samAcarejjAtu manasApi hyanIsvara "You should not even within your mind, imitate the Lord."
    If you can lift mount Govardhan for 7 days on your little finger you can also keep dogs, is that a deal?

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  6. "The truly learned, with the eyes of divine knowledge, see with equal vision a Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater".
    One that only benefits cows and animals that are more highly regarded in the flowery language of the Vedas, is doing it only for their own selfish benefit.
    Dogs are loving loyal soul friends. Maybe that's why the Lord Krishna keeps two? Dogs love Kirtan and Prashadam and can easily be vegetarian. Whoever sees them as dirty lacks vision beyond the dirt they're visioning.

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  7. If equal vision means touching dogs then why are there restrictions in arcana and sadacara? No one says that dogs are not loyal. That does not mean we should hug them and then cook for the deities. Try to understand the difference between vyavahara and paramartha dealings.

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  8. The arguments with Krishna's dogs was also dealt with in my previous response - "That is quite a silly argument, anon. The Bhagavata clearly forbids imitation of Krishna: naitat samAcarejjAtu manasApi hyanIsvara "You should not even within your mind, imitate the Lord."
    If you can lift mount Govardhan for 7 days on your little finger you can also keep dogs, is that a deal?"

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  9. "Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto me alone". But if you chose to follow cleansing dharmic principles that's a great path too. Hugging my beloved dog and seeing him as a loving soul and not a dirty creature is certainly my choice. And yes - it takes some more vacuuming the house and washing hands before preparations which is totally worth it for me.
    I don't try to imitate the lord himself by having a dog, but think if having dirty useless animals as pets was a bad thing, the knowledge of Krishna and Radharani having them wouldn't be passed on for thousands of years for us to know.

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  10. An average dog can register about 200 words. Some even 500. Please realize how much benefit you can give a soul embodied in a dog's body just by chanting Hare Krishna. My opinion is that dogs, being so loving and attentive but "not holy", can really help us be less selfish - and that's another form of cleanliness.

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