Human rationality means transcending animal nature to seek Absolute Truth, not merely amending material circumstances.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Hayagrīva: Hm. This is John Stuart Mill. In his essay on nature Mill writes, "The order of nature, insofar as unmodified by man, is such as no being whose attributes are justice and benevolence would have made with the intention that his rational creatures should follow it as an example. It could only be as a designedly imperfect work which man in his limited sphere is to exercise justice and benevolence in amending." So Mill concludes...
Prabhupāda: Ah not with any other living beings, only man.
Hayagrīva: Well man, Mill concludes that, "Conformity to nature has no connection whatever with right and wrong, and that man must amend nature." He must not act according to nature, but must--the word he uses is, "Amend".
Prabhupāda: Yes, amend. Not only amend. The nature if you..., that we discussed, almost always the nature is animal nature. But man must be above the animal nature. That is rationality[?]. Normally a man is called rational animal, so he should advance in rationality. Just for eating, eating is common to the man and to the animal, but man should be advanced, what kind of eating it should be. Not only natural, although natural tendency is... Just like man, some man--not all, some of them want to eat meat. So rationality is that, "If I have got better foodstuff, why shall I kill that animal?" This is
rational; rationality. But because he can eat meat, he can kill animal, he should go on killing animal; ah that is less intelligence. God has given so many nice foodstuff. Take for fruits, there are varieties of fruits Ka has given to the mankind, and we can utilize milk in so many nice preparation. So the fruits are not eaten by the animals. The dogs, cats, they do not eat fruit. It is meant for human being, so similarly there must..., discrimination is the better part of valor. Is that not English proverb? So man should have discrimination, and especially for eating. I think George Bernard Shaw wrote one book, You are What You are Eating.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So the eating, about, there must be rationality not to be carried by the nature's way. Nature's way, a man can eat anything and they are eating also at the same time. The other day I saw in the airplane one Marwari gentleman he was eating the intestine of the hog. What is called?
Hayagrīva: People eat pig's feet also, that's a...