Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
258
In the Harivamsha Purana, the ancient Purusha, the Supreme Being, is described as the creator of the six karmas (actions). He is the protector, the Indra-like, the one worshipped by Indra, the self-existent (Svayambhu) praised in the Vedas. He is the guide to the path of liberation, the destroyer of the ocean of worldly existence, the one known as Isha, possessing infinite knowledge and happiness, the great Lord, Brahma, Vishnu, Ishana, the Siddha, the Buddha, free from disease, and the one with the color of the sun, the bull-like. Those who desire their own good worship him.
From this worship, humans attain heavenly happiness, and from it, they attain the imperishable happiness of liberation. From it, they attain fame, beauty, brilliance, and fortitude.
One should not even worship a lump of clay imagined as an animal, let alone a real animal, because evil thoughts lead to sin, and good thoughts lead to virtue.
The animal is said to be of four types, based on name, establishment, wealth, and the difference in feeling. One should not even think of harming such an animal.
The statement that death caused by a mantra does not bring suffering is false. If there were no suffering, then death would not have occurred in the past, just as it does not occur in a healthy state.
Death by mantra is impossible without binding the feet and covering the nose.
It is not true that an animal killed by a mantra attains a comfortable afterlife, because the animal that is killed cries out loudly, like one suffering from a planetary affliction, so its suffering is clearly visible.
The statement that the soul is too subtle to be killed is also not true, because when the soul resides in a gross body, it is also gross.
Like a lamp, this embodied being becomes subtle and gross according to the nature of its bodily support, and it undergoes contraction and expansion.
If the transmigrating being, who experiences countless bodies, is considered to be only subtle and not gross, then how can it experience happiness and suffering?
Therefore, it is undeniable that the body is the measure, and the mantra, tantra, weapon, and yoga are only for the body, not for the soul.