z:\ ambedkar\vol 011\vol11 05.indd MK SJ+YS 5 10 2013/YS 18 11 2013 400
400 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
- “ ‘ Indra we call upon, Brahma we call upon, Isana we call upon, Prajapati we call upon, Brahma, we call upon, we call, we call.’
IV
- “Verily, Vasettha, that these Brahmins, by reason of their invoking and praying and hoping and praising, should after death become united with Brahma—verily such a condition of things can in nowise be.”
§ 4. It is Not What You Eat that Makes You Holy
A Brahmin happened to meet the Lord and raised the question of the effect of food on a man’s character.
The Brahmin said : “ The millet-grain, palm-nuts, pulse, bulbs, and wilding shoots—this diet rightly got, ever prompts the good life. Tis eating carrion that is bad.”
The Blessed One replied: “Though you (Lord) say you touch no carrion, you eat choice dishes made with flesh of birds—I ask what you term ‘carrion.’
“Killing and maiming, stripes, bonds, theft, lies, fraud, deceit, adultery—not meats, but these are carrion.
“Pursuit of pleasure, lust for guzzlings, life unclean, blatant dissent—not meats, but these are carrion.
“Backbiting, cruelty, betrayals, ruthless pride, mean stinginess—not meats, but these are carrion.
“Anger, conceit, revolt, guile, envy, bluster, pride, low company—not meats, but these are carrion.
“Base living, slander, fraud, cheating, the trickster’s wiles, foul infamies—not meats, but these are carrion.
“This rage to slay and steal, these crimes, are fraught with doom and end in hell—not meats, but these are carrion.
“No abstinence from meat and fish, no nudity, no topknots, shaven crowns, or garb of pelt, no cult of sacred fire, no stark austerities to purchase