Eating meat

[McKitty]

Vanakkam,

I am happy to see that food habits/veg-non-veg of various people of the forum are respected. To be honest I was fearing that this tread may turn into a "bash the meat eaters" tread.

While I understand the concerns raised by YajvanJi for example, there are some things to take into consideration. In US or India, it is absolutely easy to be veg. There is everything available for everyone, including veg products, veg restaurants, knowledge of veg cuisine....All of this doesn't exist, or so few, in others countries. In my country for exemple, there is no veg restaurant. Zero around me for kilometers and kilometers away. Vegs and natural products are really expensive, I cannot afford most of them, most of my friends do. Like many I have not been raised in a veg family, I'm born in a country where all kind of meat is the basics of food since thousand and thousand of years....So I have no knowledge of veg cuisine. And even with that, what can I do, drooling before tasty veg recettes without having the money to buy half of the ingredients ?
I can't eat carrots, potatoes, salads and pasta all the time I'll be sick

But in India it's so easy not to eat meat, all the culinary culture is centered around it. If one day I have to live in India or in a country where veg is available and affordable like US, well, I'll turn veg without any problem But for now, I can't be starving until this day

I think many living in those kind of countries have this problem. It's not always a question of willpower, when you are in a country with a strong culture that is not centered around veg cuisine, you can't go against it. Unless you have time to shop and money.
But that does not make "meat eaters" devoid of compassion. If they cannot practice Ahimsa by being fully veg, they can practice Ahimsa in another way. It can be some kind of penance "I can't do that for now, but here, I make efforts to show you that I'm a good person and attonement for sin" until they can fully bloom and being veg

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Anirudh]

Namaste McKitty,

Interesting situation in your country or the place you live. Do you mean to say if a pure vegetarian from India visit the place you live he ll starve to death. A vegetarian friend (in a tight budget) of mine had to go (8 weeks project) South Korea for an implementation. As per him, rice served in eateries had jelly fish in them. He ended up cooking rice and preparing curd in the company provided accommodation. It was hard but he supplemented other nutrients with fruits and salads. I think your place might be worse than South Korea.

[McKitty]

Vanakkam,

It's not especially worse, it's just not in culture...Japanese for example, they mostly live on what sea provide them (fish etc..) now tell a japanese to stop eating fish and eggs...He will be lost, since 3,5/4 of his culinary culture is based on fish and eggs.

There is for example many spices and kind of veg in India that are the very basics for veg cooking...Impossible to find here. Well I have find some, there is also specific brands that sell natural and veg products...But for 2 or 3 time the price of a normal one

It's not horrible or impossible, it's just very hard and not adapted

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Anirudh]

Namaste McKitty,

I can understand your plight to an extent as guys who travel on long term vizas to countries like South Korea pack spices along with them. A guy who goes to Japan will forget his passport but not shaving blades, cream etc etc as Saloon charges are very high out there.
I guess you may not have access to Jeera or Raai which is a must for Tadka. Never traveled, so my experience is only hearsay. However it ll be strange situation as you are forced to do what you don't want to do.

[Amrut]

Hi, I was wondering if it is bad to eat meat and go to the temple? Tuesday is one of the day's I visit the mandir (Hanuman's day) and I mistakenly ate a small piece of meat and I remembered just after I ate it. I'm not sure if I should still go or not, what are your opinions? I will ask for forgiveness as well.

Namaste Sachin,

Do not take decision in a rush. Please understand advantages of veg over non-veg. Take your time. Do not switch immediately.

Practically speaking, as one progresses in spirituality, one has to drop non veg. But some food like pork which has too much negative energy (said by some meditators - I do not have any concrete proof) should at once be discontinued.

A practical solution will be not to take meat when you go to temple. Later in evening you can take meat if necessary or situation demands.

I do not encourage meat-eating. I do not take any. What I say is that mental purity is more important than just physical purity. Food does make definite impact upon mind, but my stress is that first be mentally pure, then you can quit meat all together.

In dakshineshwar (where Sri Ramakrishna stayed, meat was allowed. Meat means fish only, as some bengali brahmins do take meat and so does some maharastrian brahmins (ckp brahmins). They re the once where land was barren and they had no choice but to eat fish, which was available in abundance. Initially, they ate some flesh and again stitched fish again and put it back into river, out of respect, thanksgiving and some guilt. This story was told by my Marathi teaching teacher who is a ckp brahmin.

Aghoris eat human and animal flesh. For them it is just a matter, even dead body is just a matter and not live anymore with soul in it. Both veg and non-veg ultimately becomes blood. Some Aghoris or advanced yogis can even transform meat into a veg delicacies. I have heard about it from one of my relative, from a Yogi (acharya) and it's documented by Swami Rama (if you believe him). Converting non-veg to veg is not child's play and only highly advanced yogis / aghoris can do it.

I am not promoting non-veg food. What I am saying is that at times, it is not possible to just live without it.

Veg food has it's definite benefits. Some of which I would like to share

1. food is light, easily digestible and less prone to disease.

2. saves you from sin of killing a living being. Plants are created for providing us food. Some say that even they are living so even eating them is as good as non-veg. But there is a difference. Earlier rishis and even devout men would pray to tree and request them to grant permission to pluck fruits. Whole of ayurveda is developed by this way. Rishis would pray a plant / herb to show it's properties. Rishis could see which divya drishti (divine vision) their properties and then apply them to negate on sick body.

3. Animals when killed have lots of negative energy, as no one wants to die. They are forced to die and are kept in pathetic conditions. i saw that chicken was made, fried right in front of other living chickens. They know their fate too. So there is a lot of negative emotions in them. That enter into us too.

4. Food which grow underground or herbs have more of tamas guna. Tamas simply does not mean negative. Our physical body is also made of tamas gunas. So please do not apply Gita verse, which says that anything that is stale has tamas Guna. This applies to even fruits amd vegitabes and any packed / stored food which are in deep freeze. Herbs and underground food (kand-moola) - - roots like carrot, beet, are good for health and hard working people i.e. ones doing physical work, heavy work should take them. the simply cannot live on fruits

5. Fruits grow completely in air. They have more akasha tatva (space element), which is subtle than earth, water, fire and air. So their effect upon eating in morning is very good. Our mind gets more sattvik enengy / vibrations.

6. One should atleast eat proper food i.e. lunch or dinner (I personally prefer lunch). In the night you can take light food. Some dietitians say opposite. i prefer light food in night, mostly fruits or milk, but not a mixture of both at a time.

7. Do not eat apple + milk as they are viruddha ahara. Take apple, later after 30 minutes, you can take milk if you are still hungry. Sweet fruits can be taken with milk, but I personally prefer only one of the two at a time

8. Veg diet may not appeal to on who has to build body in west, but veg food increases stamina. When you are not entering Mr. World competition, it's fine if you cannot become Arnold . There are many veg eating wrestlers, who are tough to beat.

9. In general our system and our mind is more clean when we eat veg food.

10. Also do not take onion + milk / milk products at same time. They are also viruddha ahara (food of opposite nature e.g. acidic and alkaline foods).

I am not a pro when it comes to diet, but that all info I have got.

When you will seriously practice religion and meditate for more than 1 hour daily and sincerely, then you may have a second thought.

Aum
Indiaspirituality

[Sachin95]

Thank you so much for all the great feedback! Will take it all into consideration.

[Viraja]

I'm just curious - are there any Hindu deities that are tolerant to meat eating? In other words, you can eat meat and still worship them? How about some ferocious grama-devatas like 'Kaatthavaraayan', 'Madurai Veeran', 'Karuppannasami' and so forth.. ?

[Ramakrishna]

Sita Ram,

I would just like to emphasize that if one chooses to eat meat, please at least make sure to avoid eating the flesh of slain Gomata.

Jai Sri Ram

[Amrut]

I'm just curious - are there any Hindu deities that are tolerant to meat eating? In other words, you can eat meat and still worship them? How about some ferocious grama-devatas like 'Kaatthavaraayan', 'Madurai Veeran', 'Karuppannasami' and so forth.. ?

Namaste,

In General, who cares what God thinks. does anyone goes to temple for God for God's sake, simply to chant his name and be with him? Most people go to temples for solving personal problems.

what we believe is upto us. it all depends upon where we live and the tradition that the place follows. Many people do not show interest in reading bhagavat or Gita. It also depends upon availability of type of food. Aghoris eat human flesh. Their theory is that nothing is impure. Everything created by Shiva is pure and cannot be rejected. regarding eating flesh, they think that it is just a matter, a dead body without soul. But this philosophy is not accepted by common public. In general, hinsA (violence) is not accepted. How many temples are dedicated to Lord Parashurama? who many worship him as their personal deity. Vaishnav word may include all avatars of Vishnu. Rama can be accepted, but I have not heard of a vaishnav who is dedicated his life to Parashurama. Most of them are devoted to Krushna. But God keeps exceptions in all cases to bust up our myth.

I have also been taught that as one advances in spirituality, one has to quit meat. But general public is not interested in moksha and live life as per tradition followed by their family, samaj (cast) and society.

Aum

[Amrut]

Sita Ram,

I would just like to emphasize that if one chooses to eat meat, please at least make sure to avoid eating the flesh of slain Gomata.

Jai Sri Ram

Jai shri Ram,

Oh Yes, Cow is considered very sacred and so called as mother gau-mata (Gomata).

Nice suggestion

Jai Shri Ram