Spirituality and vegetarianism

[randomGuy]

Most of us are deeply respect Indian spiritual texts - bhakti yog, raj yog, Gyan yog and Karma yog and our spiritual gurus.

 

While most of them including osho, srila Prabhupada (founder of iskcon) etc. specifically promote vegetarianism, people do not know exactly what Budhha said (quoted below) . Turns out, buddha also promoted vegetarianism

 

Quote

1. The “Threefold Purity” Rule
Buddha allowed monks to eat meat under specific conditions:
A monk can eat meat if:
He did not see the animal being killed for him
He did not hear that it was killed for him
He does not suspect it was killed specifically for him
 This is called the principle of “threefold purity”.

2. Strongly Against Killing
Even though eating meat was allowed:
Buddha clearly condemned killing animals
Compassion toward all beings was central
This ties to Ahimsa (non-violence):
If you cause or demand killing → negative karma
If you passively receive food → less karmic impact (in his framework)

 

 

Spirituality makes you a vegetarian/vegan naturally imo. Not a strict rule but directionally as a society for sure.

 

If you respect India spirituality (rather spirituality in general), you should look at vegetarianism with respect and possibly something to strive for.

 

@Lone Wolf @Gollum

 

[Lone Wolf]

13 minutes ago, randomGuy said:

Most of us are deeply respect Indian spiritual texts - bhakti yog, raj yog, Gyan yog and Karma yog and our spiritual gurus.

 

While most of them including osho, srila Prabhupada (founder of iskcon) etc. specifically promote vegetarianism, people do not know exactly what Budhha said (quoted below) . Turns out, buddha also promoted vegetarianism

 

 

 

Spirituality makes you a vegetarian/vegan naturally imo. Not a strict rule but directionally as a society for sure.

 

If you respect India spirituality (rather spirituality in general), you should look at vegetarianism with respect and possibly something to strive for.

 

@Lone Wolf @Gollum

 

Disagree as  Early Indian Vedic texts points us towards common occupations as animal husbandry, horse based culture similar to Indo Iranian culture and subsequently Shakti traditions and sacrifice based.. and it ofc involved meat eating.

We even find that stuff in Mahabharata period.

 

Vaishnav tradition and Jainism came much later to India and it effected the staple diet of the Indians.

 

Hindus were very much spiritual and consumed both non vegetarian as well vegetarian food.

Though weather conditions played its part.

[randomGuy]

India has a long tradition of spiritual teachers who encouraged or strongly supported vegetarianism, usually based on ahimsa (non-violence), purity of mind, and compassion. Here are some of the most influential ones:

Hindu Gurus & Saints
Adi Shankaracharya
Strongly emphasized sattvic (pure) diet, which is vegetarian
Saw food as influencing mental clarity and spiritual progress

 

Ramanujacharya
Promoted strict vegetarianism in the Sri Vaishnava tradition
Food offered to God (prasadam) must be vegetarian
Madhvacharya
Advocated vegetarianism as part of devotional purity
Udupi tradition is still strictly vegetarian

 

Swami Vivekananda
Personally not strictly vegetarian always, but:
Acknowledged vegetarianism as ideal for spiritual seekers
Linked it with control of mind and compassion

 

 

Jain & Buddhist Influences
Mahavira
One of the strongest advocates of vegetarianism in history
Absolute non-violence → strict vegan/vegetarian lifestyle
Gautama Buddha
Did not universally mandate vegetarianism
But promoted compassion toward all beings
Later Buddhist traditions (esp. Mahayana) strongly support vegetarianism

 

 Big Picture
Across Indian traditions:
Jainism → strictest (absolute non-violence)
Hindu yogic paths → recommend vegetarian (sattvic diet)
Buddhism → mixed, but compassion-focused
Sikhism → optional, not mandatory

 

 

 Core Reasons They Gave
Most of these gurus supported vegetarianism because:
Ahimsa (non-violence)
Mental clarity & meditation
Compassion for living beings
Spiritual discipline
 

[randomGuy]

 

 

 

Founder of iskcon.

 

[ravishingravi]

Ok. This seems like my world :)

 

I have the approach to keep the text aside and focus on the principle. Otherwise not much difference between us and abrahamics. 

 

In principle and in practice, as one becomes more spiritual, one also becomes more sensitive and receptive. Impact of colours, sounds, energy and Food. As one begins to meditate, it becomes very clear why Mahavir forbid garlic and onion. It's absolutely antithetic to a person's receptivity and sensitivity. Same principle can also be extended to meat. 

 

In fact, I don't agree that people should be asked to quit anything. But if a person becomes meditative and goes on path of Yog especially Kriya, the person will eventually give it up. Again depends on where you are in your journey. But for someone trying to breakthrough, this is a hindrance. For someone who has broken through, it's irrelevant. 

 

 

 

 

[coffee_rules]

Taking the argument of vegetarianism to spirituality is like taking the high road. As far as I know, Vedic philosophy, and later text like Manusmriti has not rejected eating meat altogether and say it is not a sin to eat meat. There are many Hindu  castes that are highly spiritual and religious and still eat meat on specific days. I don’t want to go out into the supremacy of either kind of diet. 

[randomGuy]

11 hours ago, ravishingravi said:

Ok. This seems like my world :)

 

I have the approach to keep the text aside and focus on the principle. Otherwise not much difference between us and abrahamics. 

 

In principle and in practice, as one becomes more spiritual, one also becomes more sensitive and receptive. Impact of colours, sounds, energy and Food. As one begins to meditate, it becomes very clear why Mahavir forbid garlic and onion. It's absolutely antithetic to a person's receptivity and sensitivity. Same principle can also be extended to meat. 

 

In fact, I don't agree that people should be asked to quit anything. But if a person becomes meditative and goes on path of Yog especially Kriya, the person will eventually give it up. Again depends on where you are in your journey. But for someone trying to breakthrough, this is a hindrance. For someone who has broken through, it's irrelevant. 

 

 

 

 

Very relevant video.

 

@Lone Wolf seemingly suggests somehow it's a good thing if more of india becomes non veg. It is not, spiritually speaking.

 

it is perhaps a hindrance to spiritual growth as acharyaji says. Simultaneously i think people themselves would not have it or avoid it as they grow spiritually. Probably it's a sign of how spiritually grown someone is. Then again, i am not a judge as well. Best I guess i can do is to try to purify myself (diet aside), there is huge huge scope.

Edited April 2 by randomGuy

[singhvivek141]

At present, I am the only non vegetarian in the generation of my siblings/cousins. Almost everyone has become vegetarian (almost coz some still consume egg).

 

While I don't myself as deeply religious, I do fasting during Navratris, Chhath and eat only veg during Shravan month & Tuesdays/Thursday.

 

I have felt that the time when I dont consume nonveg for a decent amount of time, I dont have to think twice before visiting temple. However, on other days, I have to make sure that after consuming non veg, I should stay away from temple unless I have taken bath. In my rural home, we even eat on an entirely different plates and cook non veg on a different gas to ensure the utensils dont get mixed up.

 

Its probably a solitary incident, but probably thats where the theory comes up that vegetarians are more spiritually connected than non vegetarians. Specially in the society like mine in North India, where vegetarians are in majority.

 

Things might be different in WB, JH, Odisha, Goa & MH...where if I understand correctly that non veg food (specially Fish) is a pretty common dish to consume even during tje festivals.