Hindu Served Beef at Taco Bell

We sympathize with the plight of a fellow Hindu Indian, Mukesh Rai, who was carelessly served a beef burrito by Taco Bell (Jan. 25). However, as an educated and established immigrant, Rai should perhaps have recognized that beef is ubiquitous in the U.S., and that fast-food orders can be mixed up. Nor could a low-wage employee be expected to have the international sophistication to realize the gravity of possible error. In his situation, a cursory check before eating might have been prudent.

The experience must undoubtedly have been painful. However, Rai may perhaps find some comfort in the knowledge that the eating of beef was not uniformly considered sinful by our Vedic ancestors: “Now if one wishes . . . a son, learned, famous, a frequenter of assemblies . . . they should have rice cooked with meat and eat it with clarified butter, then they should be able to beget (such a son), either veal or beef.” (Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad, VI.4.18, “The Principal Upanishads,” translated from the Sanskrit by S. Radhakrishnan.)

DILIP and CHITRA ADARKAR

Manhattan Beach

* So, Rai bit into a beef burrito instead of the bean burrito he had ordered from a Taco Bell. As a result, he has had to travel to England for spiritual cleansing, and plans to travel to India to bathe in the Ganges to further purify his soul. All this plus damages, he hopes, should be paid by Taco Bell.

Call me overcautious, but if I believed my eternal well-being depended on an order from a fast-food restaurant being correct, I certainly would have unwrapped the burrito to check for meat before biting into it. As for Joel Crosby’s comment as Rai’s attorney that Taco Bell should take this suit very seriously, I believe we all should. It is indicative of how low many lawyers will go in search of a buck. Mr. Crosby, please join Rai when he cleanses his soul in the Ganges.

MICHAEL McWATTERS

Sherman Oaks

* To Mr. Rai: Cut into your burrito first if it’s such a great concern.

To Taco Bell: Give him 10 free bean burritos.

To the lawyers: Get a real case.

RICHARD BEIGEL

Buena Park