Is non-veg allowed in Hinduism? - Page 2

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Chiillii

@Chiillii

Senior Member

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

@ myraluvpanchali

Hinduism does not prohibit non veg food.

As per Ayurveda, a person should eat food as per 3 criterial

1. balanced ( what western science indicates balance in terms of proteins, carbs, vitamins and fat..in Ayurveda balance is indicated by tastes - sweet, sour, pungent, salty, bitter, astringent).

2. Locally sourced and preferably organic, and seasonal

3. As per a persons individuals body metabolism

The reason why certain Varnas ( castes) in Hinduism don't eat non veg food is due to the metabolism aspect

Ayurveda relates metabolism with the nature of activity a persons lifestyle consists of..

Brahmins and vaishyas (scholars, businessmen) had primarily sedentary lifestyle with highly intellectual nature of work, hence animal protein is not good for their health whereas Kshatriyas and shuudras (soldiers and people doing physical labor) due to heavy physical work should eat meat

Same reason why Brahmin in cold Kashmir will eat meat. Brahmin in coastal Bengal will eat fish

Relating vegetarian food to ahimsa is Jain and Buddhist concept but like all good ideas Hinduism has happily assimilated it into its culture.

Primary reason for not cows and bulls becuase in our agrarian society they were considered life sustenance providers hence worshipped...cows milk and bulls are used for tilling the land for crops

Ayurveda is very specific that each individual's body is unique with its own metabolism and hence what's an ok diet for cannot be ok for another...

So eat basically what suits you...

Charaka Samhita provides guidelines for eating both vegetable and animal products. It does not state or recommend routine meat eating. Rather, it states that meat is nutritious for the alleviation of certain diseases and when dehydrated, emaciated, weak or convalescing.

The text also mentions that meat is 'unwholesome' when it comes from an animal that has been raised in a habitat that is not its natural environment or in an area that it is not native to. Animal meat is toxic if the animal has eaten food that does not form part of its natural diet or does not come from its normal environment.

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varaali

@varaali

IF-Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: Myraluvpanchali
Ok I don't know whether it is silly to ask or not but can someone please tell me whether non-veg is allowed in Hinduism?Actually I've been practising Hinduism only since one year and I am still very alien about the concepts related to Hinduism.i actually have a very weird religious background,my mother is a Christian,my father is a Hindu and my grandmother is a Muslim.after the divorce of my mother n father,I've stayed with my mother n practised Christianity but I never liked the concept of killing n eating animals,so I could never find peace with it and then I started researching about Hinduism and in most of the places I found that non-veg is not permitted in Hinduism and also eating beef is a crime.but then what really confused me was when I saw a video of Dr.Zakir Naik and he said that in mahabharat yudhistira asked bheeshma that what should he serve as food for the rajsuya yagya n beeshma replied that he can serve fish and beef.so is that true? I've always thaught Hinduism to be the only religion sensitive to other living organisms and In many places I've read that cow is like a mother in Hinduism!so how can Hinduism permit killing n eating a cow?

To answer your question in one word - yes, it is allowed.

Sanatana Dharma is - at its core - a very practical religion. Unlike Buddhism and Jainism, Hinduism accepts that people come in all shapes and sizes, their intrinsic natures are different and a one-size-fits-all policy cannot be advocated or adopted. Hence there cannot be a total ban or regimentation on food habits across all sections of society.

However, having said this this religion has also laid down certain dos and don'ts. The Vedic society was categorized into different varnas and ashramas. Ashrama here, doesnt mean hermitage or hut but the four stages- brahmacharya / grihasta / vanaprastha and sanyasa

Varna of course means brahmana / kshatriya / vaishya and shudra

Before anyone jumps to erroneous conclusions, let me give the age old disclaimers which true scholars have always given - that- the classes (varna) were based on nature and characteristic traits and the work of a man, not by birth. And we have enough instances to show how how a person born into a different varna has become a brhamana, etc

Now, those persons involved in fighting / military etc required the strength / stamina / muscle power etc and hence there was no restriction on them in terms of food or drink (read: wine). Moreover during long military campaigns they had to survive on the kind of food available, and could not afford to be picky-choosy.

Vaishyas (the merchants and trading community) also were involved in travelling to distant lands often by sea, hence there was no restriction on them too.

Shudras - who did hard manual labour too were allowed meat etc- even those animals which were forbidden to the other too classes (e.g - pork) possibly because only those who did that kind of labour could digest that kind of meat.

Brahmins were forbidden. Period. Why ? Brahmins ( by brahmana, I mean a person involved in Vedic study and agnihotra rites) were supposed to inculcate sattvik qualities. Only a sattvik nature is conducive to mantra siddhi, tapas, and memory. Meat promotes rajasic / tamasic tendencies - primarily because of the long time taken for digestion.

Interestingly, there are certain exceptional conditions in which a brahmana is allowed to eat meat. Our vedas don't say that if no conducive food is available, you have to starve to death- but cant touch meat. Vedas don't say like this. Unfortunately, this exception which has been provided- has often been twisted out of context by mischief makers and anti- hindus

Now, even in this - during the brhamacharya stage, meat consumption was prohibited for all three classes. So too in vanaprastha and sanyasa.

If you want to know more abt Hinduism, pls close your ears to Dr. Zakir Naik. There are better people than him whose advise you can rely on.

Quotations from MB and vedas referring to beef and cow sacrifice are translations of English mischief makers and crooks whose sole aim was to prove that Sanatana Dharma was a pagan religion.

Edited by varaali - 8 years ago

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keshav

@VS-Cool

IF-Rockerz

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

Not at all...
Non veg is not allowed especially For Brahmins/Vaishnavas like us...
Infact in our Pushkarna Brahmin clan even Onion & lahsun is not at all allowed..
but its 21st century and we cant stop people from eating or we cant demand everywhere so people have to adjust for pyaz lahsun sometimes...(when they are not at home or in hostel)
But Non veg is strictly not allowed ...
it is said that blessings of "Janeu/Yagyopavit" we wore destroys by eating such things :)Edited by VS-Cool - 8 years ago

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Chiillii

@Chiillii

Senior Member

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

In Sanatana dharma the original Hinduism nothing is prohibited. As per it supreme God is a benevolent father who shows the right path but leaves the decision on us humans to follow it or not. So it is preferable for Brahmins to avoid non veg food. It is not prohibited.

That is the beauty of Hindu religion it appreciates the inherent good sense in people to understand that following he right path is beneficial. Vedas always use the tone of advise not the tone of order

Hence nothing is banned for Brahmins VS cool, only it is advised that if they are vegetarians it's good for them. No yagnopavit is destroyed by non veg food. Any food veg or non veg is considered a blessing of Devi annapoorna (an incarnation of bhudevi) and a blessing can never be impure or apavitra

By the way I am an iyer Brahmin. I don't eat non veg and garlic is avoided in our house too. But not because it is prohibited, because it is not.

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keshav

@VS-Cool

IF-Rockerz

+ 4

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: Adishakti
In Sanatana dharma the original Hinduism nothing is prohibited. As per it supreme God is a benevolent father who shows the right path but leaves the decision on us humans to follow it or not. So it is preferable for Brahmins to avoid non veg food. It is not prohibited.

That is the beauty of Hindu religion it appreciates the inherent good sense in people to understand that following he right path is beneficial. Vedas always use the tone of advise not the tone of order

Hence nothing is banned for Brahmins VS cool, only it is advised that if they are vegetarians it's good for them. No yagnopavit is destroyed by non veg food. Any food veg or non veg is considered a blessing of Devi annapoorna (an incarnation of bhudevi) and a blessing can never be impure or apavitra

By the way I am an iyer Brahmin. I don't eat non veg and garlic is avoided in our house too. But not because it is prohibited, because it is not.

when we Brahmins wears Janeu , during that ritual , a Pandit does yagya , & he clearly says that you have to promise that you will never eat eggs nonveg and all those things :)
Edited by VS-Cool - 8 years ago

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Chiillii

@Chiillii

Senior Member

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

The Rigidity in Hinduism is due to centuries of defensiveness, it started around the Mauryan period when Jainism and Buddhism became the favored religion of the state. The Brahmins started losing their authority they earlier had. then when Islam came to India followed by the British. Most brahminical orders became very rigid and not just Brahmins the whole society itself became very rigid. Women never covered their faces till Islam came to India.

For eg in my family since I am based in home town we are very liberal. My dad does puja every day. We are free to join him when we can. If we are in a rush to go to work it's not such a big deal to skip. But in my cousin's place In U.S. They whole family has to compulsorily sit for the puja in the morning

My uncle made the rule just to ensure that his children don't forget our culture in a foreign land, where other religions are equally popular. At home there is no such threat amongst our own people so we are allowed to make decisions

So when the pandit says do it or else...it's primarily the fear that if you chose not too and more people along with you chose not follow the codes of conduct, people will forget them . It's like my uncle says first they will eat non veg, then they will remove the yagnopavit while swimming, then they will forget yagnopavit itself, then forget they are Brahmins too. He keeps saying "bachon ko swatantrata denge to Sanskar Bhool jayenge"

Edited by Adishakti - 8 years ago

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Aradhana

@Aradhana87

IF-Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: -Cool-KeshuVS-
Not at all...
Non veg is not allowed especially For Brahmins/Vaishnavas like us...
Infact in our Pushkarna Brahmin clan even Onion & lahsun is not at all allowed..
but its 21st century and we cant stop people from eating or we cant demand everywhere so people have to adjust for pyaz lahsun sometimes...(when they are not at home or in hostel)
But Non veg is strictly not allowed ...
it is said that blessings of "Janeu/Yagyopavit" we wore destroys by eating such things :)

why should onion and garlic be avoided?

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Maverick_me

@Maverick_me

Goldie

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: Aradhana87

why should onion and garlic be avoided?

Onion and Garlic are said to be foods that increases 'Tamo guna' so anyone indulged in reciting vedas are asked to abstain from such foods.

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Aradhana

@Aradhana87

IF-Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: Maverick_me

Onion and Garlic are said to be foods that increases 'Tamo guna' so anyone indulged in reciting vedas are asked to abstain from such foods.

Thank you for answering😃

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Janaki

@RamKiSeeta

IF-Addictz

+ 6

Posted: 8 years ago

Originally posted by: Aradhana87

why should onion and garlic be avoided?

Onion and garlic are not allowed for brahmins because they are believed to create "rajasa gunas", basically "kingly qualities" like anger, stubbornness, and ambition, which are encouraged in the warrior caste due to the nature of their duties, but not in the brahmin class. Brahmins are supposed to be calm, peaceful and wise (due to running gurukuls and being role models for everyone) and onions/garlic are believed to diminish those qualities.

Many brahmin families still do not eat meat even today, but nowadays many brahmin households do eat onions and garlic because brahmins work in every career field now. They are no longer restricted to the gurukul field like in the ancient times, so the restriction of onion and garlic is no longer applicable today.

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