No beef with beef ingestion?

The Myth of the Holy Cow (Original Version 2001)

Author: D. N. Jha

Twenty out of twenty-eight states in India have laws prohibiting the slaughter of cows. The consumption of beef has recently become a contentious issue, highlighted by incidents of cow vigilantes intercepting cattle transportation and the lynching of individuals who eat beef.

Initially published in 2002, this book received considerable criticism upon its release. With the memory of Salman Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses' ban in 1988 still fresh in people's minds, the Hyderabad Court initially prohibited the book. There were even threats to the author's life for allegedly offending Hindu sentiments.

Through his extensive intellectual discourse, the author endeavours to convince readers that abstaining from beef is not an ancient Hindu practice. He begins his discussion by asserting that beef and meat consumption were prevalent in the Vedic era. Animal sacrifices, including those of horses and cows, were common. Even Brahmins partook in eating beef. It was customary for attendees to consume these offerings. He provides evidence of this practice in the texts of the Rigveda and similar scriptures that followed. Recipes for beef preparation and its medicinal properties were also reported to exist.

Additionally, the Manu Smriti permits its consumption. The portrayal of Rama and Lakshman during their exile in the Ramayana suggests they were hunters, and Sita preferred deer meat. The Pandavas were not vegetarians either.

 

Jha, a vegetarian, appreciated the protection of cows but struggled to comprehend why cows should avoid slaughter. As a historian, he did not endorse the sanctity of the cow. With more Hindus linking abstention from beef to Hinduism, this serves as his counterargument against such a practice.

It is widely believed that Asoka's edicts, illustrated on his iconic pillars, do not mention cow protection. However, the author argues otherwise. Asoka simply instructs his subjects to safeguard 'four-legged animals'; there is no specific mention of cow slaughter or beef consumption. It is often asserted, at least in one version, that Gautama Buddha ultimately passed away after consuming a tainted pork meal. Furthermore, many Buddhist sects do not demand vegetarianism, and meat is served within their temple premises. Cows continued to be slaughtered during the Maurya rule.

The shift towards abstaining from beef became fashionable, likely in the first century CE. This change may be linked to the Advaita movement, which propagated the notion that all life is sacred and part of the greater Brahman. The idea of the transmigration of souls was introduced.

 

The ostentatious display of animal sacrifices and the emphasis placed on them spurred a rise in vegetarianism. The Jain and Buddhist concepts of kindness towards animals may have captivated the public. As interest in Brahminic practices diminished and more individuals identified as Jains or Buddhists, the Vedic practices, which had likely evolved into Brahmanic traditions, had to undergo a rebranding.

 

The ancient Bharat Hindus comprised believers in Shiva (Shaivites), Vishnu (Vaishnavites), and the feminine divinity (Shaktas), and can generally be classified as flesh-eaters and vegetarians. Some flesh-eaters consumed beef while others did not, and there was even a faction that only consumed cows that had died of natural causes rather than those that had been slaughtered.

 

There is a theory suggesting that the Brahmanicals sought to position themselves as superior to the animal-loving Buddhists and Jains, who still consumed meat. They adopted a fully vegetarian lifestyle.

 

By the 5th century CE, consuming beef had become an offence, yet people continued to partake nonetheless. The British may have accentuated the division between beef and non-beef eaters, further supporting the strategy to 'divide and rule'.

This book edition features a chapter by Baba Ambedkar on the subject, which is intriguing to read with an open mind.

 

The take-home message, at least for me, is that there were meat and beef eaters then, just as there are today. As sacrificial animal slaughter reached industrial levels in ancient India, many became disenchanted. As discussions surrounding the souls of living beings arose, Buddhism and Jainism emerged as alternative practices opposing animal sacrifice. People embraced these ideas. The Brahmins endeavoured to rebrand themselves as superior. Those elitists adopted a fully vegetarian lifestyle, and suddenly, it became fashionable to abstain from meat altogether.

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Good to know!

How I Became a Hindu (1982, Third Reprint,2008)
Author: Sita Ram Goel

Trigger Alert. Readers' discretion is advised. 

Sita Ram Goel, Ram Swarup, Koenraad Elst, David Frawley and publications linked to the RSS may not be hailed as literary marvels or considered literature pieces by the mainstream. Yet, the knowledge is there for all to scoop.

The mainstream always labels right-wing writers as rabble-rousers out to tip the serenity of public harmony. Everything they say and write is painted in the same stroke, as venomous. I decided to look at one of Sita Ram Goel's early writings.

For the uninitiated, Goel is revered as a formidable Indian historian, religious and political activist, writer, and publisher known for his influential contributions to the literature on Hinduism and Hindu nationalism in the late twentieth century. With his direct, unapologetic presentation of facts and provocative book titles, he has stirred the psyche of the Hindus and many Indians to look at India and its history with a new lens, the one previously tinted by leftist historians of the yesteryears.

Goel and his publication house, Voice of India, have had complaints issues against them for his writings on comparative religious studies, specifically Hinduism against Christianity and Islam. His research on Hindu temples in India was hailed by Hindus but criticised by the mainstream. He asserted that many of the iconic religious buildings in India were initially Hindu temples, the famous one being the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

Goel is vehemently opposed to the idea of evangelism.

I think it is essential that everyone indulges in other alien ideologies to open their minds. Just the other day, a very dear childhood friend, for who I have only high esteem, who happens to be an unapologetic Muslim, asked me a daft question. He had earlier introduced a book on high-level science to me and my circle of friends. The author compared what the scientific world knows now to what is written in the Old Testament, Bible and Quran. He showed a fantastic similarity between the two. The daft question was how many scientists had converted to Hinduism after reading the Hindu scriptures. Of course, everyone knows that no one converts to Hinduism. One can scrutinise, embrace or reject some or all of its scriptures. One does not need to pledge any allegiance to be a Hindu. One can check in, check out or leave anytime they like.

Forget that knowledge from the cradle of Islamic civilisation originated from the Indian subcontinent anyway.

Like most people in the Indian-Hindu diaspora, Sita Ram Goel, too, grew up confused. They were fed myths and fables about the Hindu religion that seemed detached from reality. They soon became ashamed to be associated with Hinduism. In keeping with their friends and to speak the same lingo as the elitist circle, they looked at Abrahamic religions as their saviours. Goel grew up at a time when India was in its march to Independence. Gandhism initially made a lot of sense. Dogmatic beliefs and stickling to ritualism made him explore the Arya Samaj movement, which rejected idolatry practices. He again felt awkward when everyone around looked down at the Harijans and shunned away from their worship. As a student, he explored Marxism, Communism and Socialism. In his assessment, Leninism and Stalinism swayed far away from Marx's teachings. They are merely rebranding of Western capitalism. The final endpoint is material gain. In capitalism, wealth is controlled by the wealthy few linked to the ruling class. In Communism, it boils down to the same at the end. In Goel's mind, the Abrahamic religions are no different from Communism, as indoctrination is the mainstay. Goel fell very sick once. A Reverend took him in and nursed him back to health. Goel got disillusioned when the holy man kept pestering him to accept Jesus as his Saviour.

Living through the age of Nehruism, he noticed that Hindus have evolved into apologists. They have resigned themselves to the fact that they can be a punching bag to everyone, and yet be careful not to offend others. The Hindus, when they are the majority, they have to keep Christians and Muslims happy. Conversely, Hindus as minorities in Muslim-majority nations have to endure so much discrimination. But no one is bothered. As Muslims have a propensity to do street demonstrations, Hindus have been conditioned not to offend but to maintain the peace.

People in his circle have described Sita Ram Goel as an 'intellectual Kshatriya'. His pet projects include researching the history of temples and mosques built on top of pre-existing ancient temples, including the Ayodhya debate. To answer the question of how he became a Hindu, after experimenting with all philosophies and religious teachings, he found the Abrahamic teachings quite dogmatic and restrictive. The Marxists, Leninists, Stalinists and Capitalists are one and the same, rebranded differently. Sanathana Dharma, despite its man-made rituals and divisions between people, is actually more inclusive. A Sanathani can pray to his God in whatever way he feels fit. His God may or may not have a form. He may even be a non-believer of Gods and still a Hindu.

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Fighting the system?

Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016)

Director: Alankrita Shrivastava

This is one of those movies which could not be screened at a film festival in India because the censors could not clear it for public screening. I was later accused of being too 'female-centric' and pornographic in its audio and visual narration. After a few cuts, it was passed for viewing.

The fact of the matter is that they cannot be too kosher when the theme of the story is about female sexuality and its suppression thereof. To be frank, this 2016 film is mild compared to what people in 2023 can access on their streamed platforms in their dialogue and boldness in showing skin.

On the subject matter, one cannot help but compare it to 2023'sAmazon Prime's 'Four More Shots'. Both may appear to be talking about women's empowerment or feminism. At deep scrutiny, one will realise that the emphasis is different, poles apart. It also shows how the women's movement had evolved from one demanding their deserved rights to equal opportunities to one which wanted to dominate the other.

'Lipstick Under The Burkha' shows how ladies of a time screamed discrimination and yearned not to be pushed down from doing their own thing. It tells the story of four ladies who want to escape social oppression. A teenage girl from a conservative Muslim family dreams of a carefree life where she dresses up like her pop idol, Miley Cyrus - dressed sexily, with makeup and accessories that go with it. Forced to don a hijab and spend time in the family business of tailoring, she wants to participate in a band, wear sexy clothes and join the popular clique of students. To sustain her secret lifestyle, she goes shoplifting.

Next, a hijab-clad housewife is living a fearful life with a hostile husband who wants sex on demand and refuses contraception. The husband hardly brings home money but rejects the idea of his wife going to work. The wife, on the sly, works as a door-to-door salesgirl and a very good one at that. She even wins the best employee award. One day, she spots her husband in the romantic company of a young lady.

The small-time beauty parlour artist wants to be able to see the world. She desires to escape the rat hole she lives in. She lost her father at a young age, and her mother worked hard to sustain life. Her mother wants to get married as marriage assures her a respectable place in society. She knows because she went through hell trying to earn some money. The mother tries to matchmaker a groom. The groom wants to make her a full-time housewife, but the girl has a sizzling affair with a photographer who is only interested in her body. They plan to elope.

The final character is a 55-year-old spinster who is a respectable figure in her colony. She plays a matriarchal figure in handling day-to-day issues. Her secret indulgence is reading trashy romance novels. While babysitting some children at a pool, she is tricked into jumping into the pool. The children's swimming instructor offers her swimming lessons because she cannot swim. She develops a crush and starts stalking the instructor, engaging in phone sex. The instructor has soft spots for another girl and assumes the caller is the girl he fancies.

All the clandestine activities finally come out into the open - the shoplifting, the part-time job, the plan to elope and the double life of the 55-year-old spinster. The ending is not pleasant, highlighting the double standards of society. It is predominantly patriarchal and cultural as well as religious teaching just gives an authoritative seal of approval for it to continue. 

On the other hand, 'Four More Shots Please!' (FMSP) gives the vibe that its message could be anti-establishment, anti-patriarchal or downright anarchical. The four ladies again, seen in FMSP, range from a divorcee, one in the marriage market for a suitable match, a free-spirited bisexual, to a lawyer who all share a common bond. They enjoy meeting up in a drinking joint, overindulging and pouring out their hearts' discontent about life with no restraint. It is said to be India's answer to the U.S.' Sex in the City' (SITC). LUMB and SITC try to educate their viewers about an entity called female sexuality or the lack of its awareness in India (in the case of LUMB). In my view, FMSP portrays all males as shallow and evil. They paint a picture of Indian ladies swimming in a cesspool of male toxicity. To be able to stay afloat, they need to fight the patriarchal society, the system and fellow members who are immersed in the system.

Hindu temple in Lahore

Even under slavery or apartheid, people were not in unison supporting the status quo. Pockets of dissent were heard from people who were victims as well as those who benefitted or were not involved in it. One should assume that if the other party is not one of them, they must be against them. Jews would not have escaped Germany. Pakistani Hindus are still able to fulfil their Vedic requirements despite the presence of an intensely hostile environment against idolatry there! It is the system, not the people. But then, people make the system and can be herded to change their thinking, which could change the status quo.

N.B. Why is the lipstick generally red? It is postulated that sexual arousal increases blood perfusion to the lips. In fair-skinned females, lips assume a redder hue. Hence, the application of red lipstick entices the observer to see what is in store!

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A thing well done is worth doing!

Annapoorani (Tamil, 2023)
Writer-Director: Nilesh Krishna

Some flashbacks from my childhood. You go to the Indian barber. He has an opinion on everything. He proudly boasts that everyone bows down at his command, and he has his clientele by the throat. Sure, people do that when they need a haircut or a shave. What he gets is insider information from the horse's mouth.

Then you go to your neighbourhood 'teh tarik' joint. Again, the shop owner knew everything. He knew about last night's football results, why Malaysia failed miserably, about inner dark secrets about Malaysian cabinet ministers, you name it.

These two people knew everything: how to run the country, how to schedule garbage collection, and even how to win an election. One thing neither can do is what they set up shop for, to cut hairstyles that they claim to be able to do and make a decent tea respectively.

A thing well done is worth doing.

When my OTT algorithm suggested the above movie for viewing, I gave it a pass. The idea of an Indian Master Chef did not excite me. Reading the summary, I could predict the storyline. Brahmin girl, vegetarian, daughter of a temple priest going rogue, savouring non-vegetarian food, upsetting family and proving everyone wrong by swimming against the currents and sharks.

Talk about the Streisand effect. The movie hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. A complaint was raised in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh against its filmmakers for hurting religious sentiments and promoting love jihad. I had to watch it.

Two scenes in the film were a concern for the complainants.

The aspiring chef grew up enjoying the aroma whiffed from stalls selling non-vegetarian food. When she takes up cooking in school, she breaks her vegetarianism to make the best biryani. Trying to justify her meat consumption, somebody mentions that even Lord Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, hunted for his meals during his 14-year exile, as written by Valmiki in Ramayana.

Her love interest is a Muslim who positively (or negatively, pick a choice) influences her in her setbacks and endeavours.

Surprisingly, nobody raised any alarm seeing this same Brahmin girl donning a hijab and bowing deep in Islamic prayers before starting the seminal dish that finally won her the coveted 'Best Indian Chef' award.

The complainants allege that the film's release timing is carefully curated to coincide with the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandhir on 22nd January 2024.

Annapoorani is the Goddess of food and nourishment. She is the manifestation of Parvati. After going through multiple famines throughout their existence, Hindus realise that food is sacred. Offering food during auspicious functions is revered and is assumed to be blessed by Goddess Annapoorani. And we know how critical sattvik diets play in Ayurveda and Hinduism. It also includes the concept of ahimsa (not harming living beings) in it.

So, to cast a Brahmanic priest who gave up all the lure of a high-paying job to become a cook at a temple in Srirangam, to serve Lord Vishnu and to have a daughter to break the mould to dig into chicken biryani and offer namaz is in poor taste. Perhaps the makers should have been more sensitive. Imagine if it were a Muslim and it involved haram stuff; all hell would break loose.

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We are not taking questions, thank you!

Mentega Terbang (Butterfly, Malay; 2021)
Writer, Director: Khairi Anwar

This release was released about two years ago and won international awards for its efforts. Unfortunately, it became famous in Malaysia only after the local artists guild decided to make a police report about it as they deemed that it offended the sensitivities of Malay Muslims in Malaysia. Many of its dialogues appeared like they were ridiculing Islam, it is alleged.

The Malaysian certification board had no control over Malaysians viewing it as it was broadcast online on a webpage. Since the recent brouhaha, even the said screening platform decided to stop having it on its accord.

We all grew up wondering about death in our formative years. With all the cultural-religious rituals associated with funerals and the stories related to the soul and the afterlife, we naturally assumed that God and religions give a kind of shield to protect us from untimely death. This internal squabble to choose the 'right' religion to fulfil our spiritual needs was important in my moulding into an adult.

Naturally, when Aisya, a 16-year-old Malay girl has an ailing mother with terminal pancreatic cancer, the thought that her mother may be gone at any moment must be daunting. The zest to save her mother from death or what would happen to her mother prompted her to venture into other holy scriptures to understand death. However, her parents, strict Muslims, were quite relaxed with their daughter reading other religious books about it. 

Aisya is excited about reincarnation and rebirth as preached in Buddhism and Hinduism. The idea of her deceased mother hanging around her as a bug or a butterfly in her next birth excites her. Her journey of discovery is eased with the presence of her neighbour, the dog-walking Auntie Esther, who helps with Christian scriptures. Then her classmate, Suresh, gives the Hindu-Buddhist perspective of life and death. To pour cold water into her burning passion is her busybody neighbour, Uncle Kassim, who is everywhere to remind her to stick to her religion and beware of the other practitioners who are out to sway her away from the one true path.

On her path to self-discovery, Aisya is seen patting and getting cosy with a dog, hanging around doing her school homework with her male classmate in her bedroom and saying that she has no qualms about eating pork. The scene that probably took Malaysians by storm must be the one where Aisya's father offers her the choice to embrace another religion if she pleases to come to terms with her mother's death. Even in the last scene at the mother's burial ground, Aisya thinks her mother is with her as a butterfly that lands on the tombstone. That is reincarnation.

History suggests the world of Islamic civilisation around Babylon and Basra was the envy of the learned. Its coffee houses with its intellectual discourses were to die for at the time when Europe was in Dark Ages. The Mutazilites' brand of Islam of the day encouraged such discussions in search of the truth. All that came to a grinding halt when the Ash'arites became the dominant force. Open Aristotelian type of arguments about religion was put to an end. A grown adult with his faculties intact has no willpower but to leave his life to a group of leaders who herd people into submission by invoking the name of God for their own nefarious intentions.

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Angry birds!

Angry Indian Goddesses (2015)

Writer, Director: Pan Nalin

The first thing you wonder about in this nearly all-female cast movie is why everybody is so angry. This is a feminist film, but everybody is popping like sesame seeds on hot oil in a wok. They never seem at peace despite their relatively comfortable living status, high educational levels, self-confidence and jobs.

A group of six old school friends get together for a bachelorette party before one of them marries. The host, Freida's, helper is the other person at the party. Frieda is a frustrated fashion photographer who feels her talent is unappreciated by the lay public. Mad, a singer-songwriter, has hit writer's block. Su, a single mum and a fiery businesswoman, is vigorously pushing her team to develop a particular land. Pammy, who used to be an excellent student, is now a frustrated housewife who regrets a life that could have been. Jo, an Anglo-Indian, is an aspiring actress only hired for her physical attributes, not her talent. Lakshmi, the helper, had seen her cousin murdered before her eyes. Nargis is an activist. Her work with the tribal people brought her to a head-on-head clash with Su.

Freida initially refuses to reveal the groom's identity, but it is plain to the viewers. Freida and Nargis were to get wed when it was illegal in India.

The film continues with the characters whining about each others' predicament and disappointment with overt emotional displays and hugging each other as if hugging solves everything. Jo is gang-raped and killed, exposing the patriarchal view of society.

As in most Indian movies, empowered women are always portrayed as combative and loud, ready to shoot anybody who even dares to raise discontent against them. They dress in the skimpiest clothing and flirt openly but are prepared to pounce when the other party responds accordingly. They accuse the public of stereotyping them and looking at them with jaundiced eyes.

Have the members of the fairer sex been burdened with such heavy responsibilities that they cannot carry them? Has the load taken away the accommodating motherly vibes they used to exude?

Feminist films repeatedly remind us of the raging blood-thirsty combative image of Kaali and call for the female gender to rise to demand their rights. But glaringly, they forget the remind us of the gentle and nurturing Gauri or the pleasant demure of Laxmi or Sarasvati.

This film had a brush with the Censor Board. From the getgo, the opening credits, which depicted various Hindu Goddesses, the Board insisted that the images of Goddesses had to be blurred.

The title sequence that the Censor Board did not want the public in India to see.

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Charge God for negligence?

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Directed by Taika Waititi

Soon after the March 8, 2014, disappearance of MH370, the world went into a prayer frenzy. People from various denominations were in unison in wanting to invoke their respective Gods to give a favourable outcome to the fracas. Despite all the fear of possible eternal surveillance by the powers that be, people soon realised that they could let a magnanimous Boeing plane go missing right under their noses with no recourse to recover it.  

All the penance and the prayers proved futile as we have been made to believe that the vessel just disappeared into thin air. What is the response of the believers? Are you going to move on in life believing that the Divine Forces, in all their wisdom, work in mysterious ways and do what is best for mankind? Are they going to think that they had not prayed hard enough, or would they turn livid, believing that the Gods had let them down?

These thoughts went through my mind as I viewed MCU's latest offering. Not being an avid consumer of comics (I was made to believe in my childhood that comics are a waste of time), the characters introduced in this outing are Greek to me. 

As a devoted theist, Gorr soon discovered that the gods he held in high esteem were haughty, self-indulgent figures who never really cared for their loyal followers. At the height of emotional turmoil, Gorr unearthed a god-killing sword, Necrosword, to become Gorr the God Butcher. Gorr becomes a menace, threatening the existence of God. Thor has to save the day with the help of his ex-girlfriend Dr Jane Foster @ now Mighty Thor, as she can handle the hammer Mjolnir now; Valkyrie, the leader of New Asgard and Korg, an alien warrior.

The film earned temporary notoriety after being banned from being screened in Malaysian cinema halls because of its 'gay elements'. As the story in the movie goes, they is a suggestion that Korg was conceived when two male partners 'held hands over a fire'. And Valkyrie expressed love interest in somebody of the same gender in one of the scenes.

The ban is just viewed as a minor storm in the teacup. Nobody is bothered anymore as those who want to watch it do not have to depend on theatrical screenings. They have creative ideas for accessing it digitally, bypassing local authorities' restrictions. And the rest of the world is actually fed-up that LGBTQI elements are deliberatively inserted everywhere in the name of inclusivity, even though in real life, LGBTQI may only involve 1% of society.

The real issue highlighted here is about expecting 'God' to bail us out from all our follies. Should we accept whatever results come out of our endeavours as the will of God? Should we just pacify ourselves that whatever negative outcome manifest in our actions, we will be judged justly at the end of days? Then, why bother about anything, the discoveries, the legal system, the order and the whole shebang of living if living is for the afterlife? A case in point is the recent sentencing of Najib Razak. Despite all the glaring evidence, he and his lawyers insist they never got justice. His lead counsel even has the cheek to philosophise that only God can dispense true justice. It shows how much he believes in his profession; so much confidence he exudes in Lady Justice! 

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