Vegetarianism in Hinduism

Vegetarianism in Hinduism

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Hinduism emphasizes on eating vegetarian food. 

Why? According to the law of nature, (Sanathana Dharma; eternal law) every living being, in order to live, has to eat other living things. We cannot deny these. We cannot eat non-living things such as water, fire, stone and etc. Human has many choices when comes to eating. But we definitely have to eat either animals or vegetables. The different religious order has a different opinion on this. Every scholar of their faith has put forward their opinions. Which one is the true path humans must follow? Which one is God’s path?

There are four different types of eating habits.

There is, non-vegetarians (himsa). Christians, Moslems, Taoists, atheists, tribal communities and etc are non-vegetarians. Their scriptures or teaching orders allow followers to eat animals. They claim God prepared animals and plants for humans. They are enjoying the meals with certain restrictions.  They further claim human's teeth structure is mended for eating meat and etc.

There are vegetarians (ahimsa). Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and etc. claim, we should only eat vegetarian meals. They claim we should eat vegetarian food only in order to receive God’s divinity easier.  We cannot eat meat and non -vegetarian food and etc.

There are people fasting (vrata) for a certain time period but can eat later after the fasting period. Many religions also emphasis on fasting with their own sets of rules.  Hindus are fasting by being vegetarian or by drinking milk and eating fruits only.

There are people on complete fasting (non-eating). They don’t eat anything. They never eat or drink at all. There are people like these, such as yogis, saint s and etc. Ordinary people cannot do this.

The idea of vegetarianism is much profound. 

Hinduism emphasizes on ahimsa (non- violence)for reducing karmic debt. Actually, whatever you eat, the outcome after the digestion and defecation is the same. So, why there is a lot of arguments on what we are eating? In my view, there is no difference. God never asks anybody to be vegetarian. You can eat what you want and like it because you are responsible for your action. You are answerable when you have to. Scriptures emphasize vegetarianism but do not impose strict rules.

Those people stay in cold regions, they need to eat accordingly so they survive the best. They need meat as an important diet and easily available to them. The people in the hot region, have to eat according to their survival and availability. So, when God had suggested to humans, what we supposed to eat? Certain religious order claims the sets of rules. In fact, if there is no food, humans in hunger can easily get angry, when anger overtakes the mind, God will disappear. In reality, food takes a more important role than God for those in hunger.

According to Sanathana Dharma (Eternal Law)

Being vegetarian (ahimsa) is the best option when you want to be near God.  It helps you reduce the bad karma, by eating an animal you have to kill the animal. By killing the degree of bad karma is increased compare to eating plants. In fact, by eating rice, you have to kill many souls. Every single grain of rice has a soul in them. By boiling it, you are killing all of them. The difference is, the degree of sin you are committing. Manusmriti had mentioned that the dvijas (Brahmins, Ksatriyas, and Vaishas must be vegetarians) and Sudras have no such restrictions. In case any of them wants to eat animals, they should sacrifice the animals to Devas or Devatas or Manes in order the avoid the karmic sin. It must be the last option of choice. If just slaughter for the purpose of eating without sacrifice, it will accumulate karmic sins.

When you kill an animal, we can feel the pain, the cry. That is the reason you should not slaughter the animals in front of their own kind. It is because the animals too can feel.  This action carries a huge sin. First, as a human, we have no right to take or give life, it is God’s right. In order to survive or pleasure, we eat them, so we need to pay for that. By eating plants, even it is killing to a certain extent, but the degree of sin is far less.  When our soul leaves the body, all those you killed for the enjoyment of eating or etc., will appear and give mental torture. Your good deeds will come and protect you. You will be born according to the mental state when your soul is leaving this body in this birth into the next birth if any.

Even, some can argue that by killing the animal, he is actually helping the animal to take the next birth faster. But who are we to help the animal to escape from its karma. By eating that animal we have to carry its karma together. This karma only can be avoided if sacrificed for Devas.

Vegetarianism is also to emphasis on ahimsa (non-violence). When we cut the plants to cook or eat, do you think they bear the pain and cry? I think yes they do. But that pain and cry are far beyond our five senses to realize. If you are able to realize this, then very well. You are a God-conscious person. The human got no choice in order to live, we need to eat. And it is our duty to look after the body given to you by God. When you return back the body, you supposed to return back the body to God accordingly; otherwise, you have to pay for that too. So we must eat with the consciousness of God and karma.

Fasting. (Vrata)

In Hinduism, the real meaning of fasting is to stay alive without eating any living thing in order to survive. How is this possible? By eating fruits and drinking milk. When you choose the fruits, you must choose the fruits which are not cut with a knife. For example, mango fruit, the ripe fruit fell from a tree.  If nobody eats that, it will be rotten and dispersed into nature. By eating them you are not killing anything. By drinking milk, you are not killing anything; you are sharing with the calf ( one cannot milk a cow which gives birth for at least 10 days and only milk after the calf had its portion). This supposed to be real fasting in Hinduism.  Fasting cannot harm the body; remember this body is not yours. It is a temporary tool given to us in the journey (samsara).

Complete fasting, non-eating at all, which can harm the body should be avoided. You can fast for a period of time. Your body comprises billions of cells which depends on you. You got no right to punish them in order to fulfill your aim.

It is your own choice to choose which type of food you are eating. God never made this choice for you. SCriptures suggest the best choice is been vegetarian, it makes it easier to overrides samsara (rebirth). So you can choose. You are responsible for your own action. 

Om Namasivaya
Sivasiddhi
Sivasiddhi Spiritual Foundation Malaysia
21 June 2014