dear wgmeets ,
I have been trying to find a credible source online (yeah I know haha) for days now about what are the do's and dont's on what is allow for food or consumption in Hinduism.
as you can see from the replies so far not all hindus belive that vegetarianism is a strict requirement (amongst the laity) , and in most traditions it is left to the practitioner to make his own decision , untill the point of initiation then in many traditions devoteees undertake a strict vow of abstainance from meat fish and eggs .
Can anyone point me to the right direction on specific scriptures/writings that do say it prohibits the meats and seafood?
the three divisions of food stuffs
sattvic , foods in the mode of goodness ,
rajasic , foods in the mode of passion ,
tamasic , foods in the mode of ignorance (darkness) .
has been taught through the yoga system for thousands of years ( pre dating the advent of buddhism and jainism ) and allthough over many thousands of years the different traditions under the umbrella of hinduism have come to interpret these teachings differently , however the yoga system makes it quite clear that the serious adherent should choose the satvic diet because it is most condusive to realization ,
bearing in mind the seperations between
sattva (goodness),
rajas (passion) and
tamas (darkness) which are known as
gunas (modes) , hindus reading scriptures such as the
bhagavad gita will understand from verses such as ...
V , 14 .....Ch , 6
Oh sinless one the mode of goodness being purer than the others is illuminating , and frees one from sinfull reactions .those situated in the mode of goodness become acustomed to happiness and knowledge ,
V , 14 ....Ch , 17
from the mode of goodness true knowledge develops , from the mode of passion greed develops , and from the mode of ignorance foolishness , madness and illusion develop .
it is well worth reading the whole chapter as it fully describes the modes ,
but it is allso worth bearing in mind two other verses ...
V , 9 .... Ch , 27
what ever you do , what ever you eat , what ever you offer or give away , and what ever austeritys you perform , do that as an offering to me .
a devout hindu will offer all to the lord before he himself partakes of it , and it is made apparent what is offerable in the preceding verse ...
V , 9 .....Ch , 26
if one offers me with love and devotion , a leaf , a flower , fruit or water I will accept it .
here krsna is outlining things which are offerable these can be clearly seen as things in the mode of goodness ,
to a vaisnava (devotee of visnu) quite simply it is understood that if it is not offerable to krsna then it is not to be taken by the devotee as the devotee only accepts what has previously been offered to the lord ,
and allthough there are many texts which enforce those above , I have given you quotes from the gita as it is read by a large proportion of hindus on a daily basis , and of course it is easily accessable ,
there is allso the principle of
ahimsa which should be born in mind ,
in the gita everything krsna explains is to clarify to the confused soul that which is
dharma (duty), and that which is
adharma (against dharma), what is correct and what is incorrect .
krsna allso says ....
V , 12 ....Ch , 13-14
one who is not envious but is kind to
all living entities ,who does not think himself a proprietor, and is free from false ego , who is equal in happiness and distress , who is tolerant , allways satisfied , self controlled and engaged in devotional service , with determination , his mind and inteligence fixed on me .... such a devotee is very dear to me .
of course to a vaisnava as it is allso to many other hindu traditions ,
ahimsa , non harming , automaticaly means
kindness to all living entities , which includes all animals , fish and eggs (as they are of the reproductive system of a living being )
krsna is allso saying that we should be simply satisfied , and that we should not think ourselves to be proprietors ,not to be owners , or above any other living being , that allso we should be free from false ego
ahamkara that thinks our self seperate from the lord or any other being , as equaly all beings posess
jivatma a soul non different from the lord ,
and just as you or I have a soul that is a minute portion of the lord , so to does any animal , therefore we respect the animals position as the animal allso is working its way through a sucession of births on its path towards enlightenment , libberation or moksha .
and finaly in this verse krsna says that such a person who has controled his desires who lives in accordance with krsnas instruction , who is a friend to all living entities , ........
"is very dear to me "
sri bhagavan ki jai :bow: