Alcohol in Hinduism

Anish — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:52:40 +0000

It can be noted that almost all of the religions of the world have declared alcohol as something that one must abstain from consuming. The ‘Abrahamic religions’, such as Islam, Christianity and possibly even Judaism, forbid the use of alcohol in varying degrees. I always wondered what the Hindu stance was on the consumption of alcohol, because there I have never seen any part in the scriptures that states that drinking alcohol is forbidden. However, in a practical sense, we all know that alcohol does affect the state of mind in a negative fashion.

Some sects of Hinduism declare that if one consumes alcohol, he or she is sent back to the beginning of the spiritual path that a soul must take to attain oneness with God. Personally, I feel like that belief is similar to the rules of the Snakes and Ladders board game in which the snakes bring the player almost back to the beginning of the game. This doesn’t mean that alcohol isn’t bad for us – practically speaking, I’m sure that spiritually, one’s soul may take a few steps backward upon the consumption of alcohol. But does this mean that one must not even go near alcohol so that he or she may attain oneness with God? Absolutely not! Nor does this condone excessive drinking of alcohol. My primary argument is that there is no absolute right or absolute wrong in Hinduism when it comes to alcohol. As long as one maintains the thought of ‘nothing in excess and everything in proportion’, there won’t be many problems within the Hindu religion.

I understand that many of you may not agree with me on this stance and I ask that you please state your thoughts on this matter, as it is so applicable to our lives as college students.

Hinduism and alcohol? I don’t think drinking alcohol should be a moral problem...
The task that faces us Hinduism has always been a geographic faith, tied to South...
We help ourselves, not the world I remember being told that in order to progress spiritually,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Garuda Purana

Siddarth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:57:23 +0000

The Garuda Purana, one of the puranas of Hindu tradition, embodies the Hindu (Vaishnava) understanding of death and afterlife. The Purana is generally perceived as divided into two parts: the first describing death itself, and the second detailing what happens after death. The Purana is often recited during funeral rites in North India, and for this reason, one is generally discouraged from formally reading it. A lot of the Purana is extremely graphic:

30-32. Some go on the way neck, arms, feet and back bound with chains, bearing many loads of iron,
And being beaten with hammers by the awful messengers of Yama; vomiting blood from the mouth, which then they eat again,
Bewailing their own karmas these beings, becoming exhausted, full of very great misery, go on towards the mansion of Yama.

I find the Garuda Purana very interesting, for the simple reason that this Purana is one of the few places where Hinduism formally designates certain actions and thoughts as wrong. For instance:

34. Those who eat, having neglected their wives, children, servants and teachers, and having neglected the offerings to the forefathers and the Shining Ones,–these certainly go to hell.

Or:

52. The very sinful man who sets fire to a house, a village or a wood, is captured by the messengers of Yama and baked in pits of fire.
53. When his limbs are burnt with fire, he begs for a shady place, and then is led by the messengers into the forest of sword-like leaves.
54. When his limbs are cut by its leaves, sharp as swords, then they say, ‘Ah, ha! Sleep comfortably in this cool shade!’
55. When, afflicted with thirst, he begs for water to drink, then the messengers give him boiling oil to drink.
56. Then they say: ‘Drink this liquid and eat this food.’ As soon as he drinks it he falls down, burning inside.
57. Getting up again somehow, he wails piteously. Powerless and breathless he is unable even to speak.

It also showcases a face of Hinduism that I’ve never encountered elsewhere:

49. Some of the sinful are cut with saws, like firewood, and others thrown flat on the ground, are chopped into pieces with axes.
50. Some, their bodies half-buried in a pit, are pierced in the head with arrows. Others, fixed in the middle of a machine, are squeezed like sugar-cane.
51. Some are surrounded closely with blazing charcoal, enwrapped with torches, and smelted like a lump of ore.
52. Some are plunged into heated butter, and others into heated oil, and like a cake thrown into the frying-pan they are turned about.
53. Some are thrown in the way, in front of huge maddened elephants, and some with hands and feet bound are placed head downwards.

Wikipedia lists punishments with corresponding sins:

Garuda Purana	Wrong doings	Punishment given in Naraka
Thamisra	Stealing other’s property including wife, children and belongings	Thrashing with Gadha
Andhathamisra	Post marital cheating between husband and wife	Unconscious circulation in abyss
Rourava	Destroying, spiliting other’s family and their belongings	Spanking the Life organs with trident by Yama’s kingaras
Maharourava	Brutally destroying other’s property and family for the sake of acquisition	A wild animal, Guru, tortures them in various forms
Kumbipaka	Destroying innocent lives for food	Roasting in hot oil tank by Yama’s kingaras
Kalasuthira	Torturing and putting elders and parents in starvation	Same set of treatment in hell
Asipathira	Abetting God and devolve from Dharma practises	Torture by devils; results in fear
Panrimukha	Punishing innocent people and serving as an accomplice unlawful activiites	Grinding under the sharp teeth of a animal resembling pig
Anthakoopa	Torturing lives and inhumane activities	Biting by wild animals; wild run over by animals
Agnikunda	Snatching other’s property by force, gaining undue advantage and unlawfully making best out of everything in the world	Roasting in agni kunda in an inverted position with hands and legs tied under a stick
Vajrakandaka	Unchaste people in physical contact with unmatching people	Physical hugging with fire spitting idols
Kirumibhojana	Selfish survival; eating other’s work	Insects are left intruding the body
Sanmali	Unchaste relationships by kamukas	Thrashing with gadha
Vaitharani	Using official stature to attain undue advantage, acting against dharma	Submerging in Vaitharini river where water is mixed with blood, urine and feces
Booyoga	Shameless behaviour, mixing with unchaste women & leading the life without any motive	Biting by poisonous insects and animals
Prayanyoga	Torturing lives and killing them	Spanking the vital organs with arrows by Yama kinkaras
Pasusava	All devatas are in cows; torturing those cows	Slashing by canes
Sarameyathana	Gutting houses, torturing lives, poisoning lives, involving in massacre	Torture by unknown wild animals
Aveesi	Giving false evidence	Submerging and torturing in livebodies
Paribathana	Drinking and making others drink alcohol	Drinking lava
Sharakarthama	Involving in bad activities and defaming elders and living with selfish motives	Torture the vital organs by unknown devils
Rakshogana	Performing narametha yaga, eating non vegetarian dishes and torturing soft animals	The same victims torture the hecklers
Soolaproga	Killing innocent people, masterminding people, committing suicide and doing nambike droha	Unknown birds peck and torture with shoola
Susimuga	Not doing any good, amassing wealth by wrong doings and stealing wealth	Stinging with nails and torturing with hunger and thirst
Kunthasootha	Not doing any good and always doing bad to others	Stinging by insects like scorpions
Vadaroga	Severely torturing living beings	Handcuffed and burnt in fire
Piravarthana	Defaming guests and not treating them	Torturing with hunger and thirst
Lalapakshuga	Torturing wife and involving her in unchaste relationships	Same set of treatment in hell

How do we feel about the Garuda Purana? How is it relevant to our every day life? Is it relevant at all? It’s clearly very restrictive, and I’m sure many of us break the “rules” that it lays down. Should this bother us? How does this change our perception of Hinduism?

Hinduism and alcohol? I don’t think drinking alcohol should be a moral problem...
Chapter 14: Discrimination of the Three Gunas In the Chapter Fourteen of the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna...
A Brief Lesson from Physics When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Hinduism and alcohol?

Saketh — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:43:41 +0000

I don’t think drinking alcohol should be a moral problem for Hindus. I don’t drink simply because I was raised in a household that didn’t drink.

This is a sensitive subject, and I’m sure many people disagree with me. That is why I hope to spark further discussion on this subject, which I feel is a vague spot in our faith. What are your opinions?

Alcohol in Hinduism It can be noted that almost all of the religions...
Why am I a vegetarian? I don’t know why I am a vegetarian. I was...
The task that faces us Hinduism has always been a geographic faith, tied to South...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Swadharma » alcohol

Alcohol in Hinduism

Garuda Purana

Hinduism and alcohol?