Book Title: Practice of Karma Yoga
Author(s): Swami Sivananda
Publisher: Divine Life Society

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Page 127
________________ SWADHARMA of the individual, time and circumstances, and the country in which one lives. To eat meat in Cashmere is perfectly moral for a Bengali Brahmin. In the eyes of a Madrasi Brahmin this is highly immoral. To have four wives (polygamy) is perfectly moral for a Muslim or a Chinaman, but for a Hindu this is highly immoral. A gentleman or a lady can have divorce of his wife or her husband very easily in the West. Marriage is a contract in the West, whereas in India it is a sacrament or holy act that is done before the sacred fire. Divorce is quite moral in the West, but it is highly immoral in the East For an Arya Samajist widow-marriage is quite moral; for a Sanatanist it is highly immoral. Poliandry (one woman marrying several husbands, the opposite of polygamy) is quite moral in Tibet, but it is highly immoral in the eyes of people of other countries It is perfectly moral for a Sikh to drink, but it is immoral for him to smoke. People of cold countries. require meat and a little liquor to keep up heat and help digestion. A soldier needs meat to keep up his strength and martial spirit. A Brahmin or a Sannyasin wants vegetable food, milk and fruits to help his meditation and keep up his Sattwic mental attitude. Rishi Viswamitra had to eat prohibited meat when his life was in jeopardy. Morality changes when one's life is at stake (ApatDharma). Ignorant people hate others when they see them doing something that they themselves are not doing. A Madrasi vegetarian Brahmin hates a fish 123

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