By: Devakinanda Pasupuleti
Showing love and compassion in the name of religion to proselytize others into your religion versus having non-violence and religious tolerance as the central core of your religion are like day and night. Having yama and niyama as a foundation, for every Hindu born on our Bhāratabhūmi, having compassion, kindness, kṣhama (forbearance) and love towards fellow human being is natural rather than based on religious motives. With the understanding and attitude that every soul is part of Parabrahman, we Hindus show sahruḋayabhāvana towards anyone irrespective of their race, religion or creed. We don't have that exclusive brotherhood feeling like some religions do.
In Sanātana Dharma, greater importance is given to ahimsa (non-violence) and that's why there are so many vegetarians in Hinduism. Vegetarianism is spreading like a wild fire among the western countries and they are advising their people to eat more vegetables than meat. Scientific studies have confirmed what our ancient sages have prescribed thousands of years ago that vegetarianism is quite healthy. 'You are what you eat' applies to all and with soft food you will have soft thoughts and soft behavior which Sanātana Dharma describes as sāttvic (gentle, soft and endowed with virtue). By showing kindness to all humans across races, creeds and religions, it shows your character and virtue. That is our religion and our Sanātana Dharma.
People with pets pour so much love on them, but at the same time they eat every animal that moves. How can that be sahruḋaya bhāvana? They laugh at Hindus for worshipping cows and treating them like our mothers, calling cows as māta (mother). They ridicule that the vegetarians are starving, when there is so much food roaming on the streets (cows and pigs). But strict Vedic-Hindus rather starve. Our seers and sages ate roots, leaves, vegetables and fruits in the forests and wore loin cloth of animal skin from those animals that died of natural causes.
Our land is so blessed with sages who not only have lived sāttvic life but have shown us that path. Our land is 'Sahruḋbhāva Bhūmi'.
