Hi, I do not class myself as Vegetarian!

[eyeopen]

Nor do I wish to, lol,

However I did stop eating meat, then drinking beer last year, I dont know why,

I still smoke (tobacco) and recently not sure how things are where you live but I make rolling tobacco and I started using filters in them, which make it less stronger, also Im not smoking like before.

I started doing Puja last year also, I have always believed in God but it never felt like God was there much regarding myself and my long hard life, as it hasnt been nice.

But recently it has felt like God came into mylife and everything changed, Im a very spiritual person, however I am not as spiritual in the same way as I use to be. It seem I have changed in many ways, but I still have a far way to go.

Regarding being "vegetarian" I dont know if it is for me, although ive nearly not had meat for a year. But I guess with beer and meat I thought itd be nice to have a detox and I did this at Navratri time last year so im nearly there.

Health wise it felt really bad to begin with, I was most confused at restraunts where I had NO Idea what to order as I didnt "know" Vegetarian food, lol. Not in the restraunt way where I would order the food I loved eg meat which I couldnt get at home.

I still am confused to what a vegetarian could order which would be a blessing to go out and eat, lol. I never got to eat meat at home much specially indian style so I guess was always nice to eat out.

How does Being Vegetarian effect you and your life? does it make much of a difference to God? Does it affect our spiritual journey as Im on one, although now it is in relation to God?

[Believer]

Namaste,

I am sorry to read that you have had a difficult life. Hope things are better now.


I still am confused to what a vegetarian could order which would be a blessing to go out and eat
We can all use a hearty laugh once in a while and what could be more amusing than an Indian Hindu asking about vegetarian food served in Indian restaurants. Are you for real? Your profile says you are in India, where most restaurants serve ample vegetarian food. And your intro says you live in UK, where there are tons of Indian restaurants, and if you want to venture into other ethnic foods, there is the vegetarian pizza, pasta with vegetarian sauce, vegetarian lasgna, vegetarian middle eastern dishes, vegetarian Russian dishes and much more. What exactly is your question, if any?


How does Being Vegetarian.........make much of a difference to God?
Does one become a vegetarian for God's benefit? What is the real question here?

It does not take long for trolls to expose themselves for what they are.

Pranam.

[satay]

namaste,



I still am confused to what a vegetarian could order which would be a blessing to go out and eat, lol.



That's easy. When at a restaurant, tell them to give you something to eat that didn't have parents.

I once was at a 'Stakehouse' (long story) yet they gave me vegetarian food even after the Waitress reminded me when I was hard time finding something on their menu by saying, "sir, you are at a stakehouse." :cool1:

[eyeopen]

Lol, I never expected this kind of reply, you just dont get my sense of Humour.

Ok so to verify Im in the UK, born n bread, which means all my life basically.

I do not live in India and also profile says Im Sanatana Dharma, so does every one elses so maybe site error? But No I am a indian Hindu. Explained all what I believe in my Intro thread. Also my posts are governed by the Moderators they saw my sense of humour and truthfulness in my posts and threads, so you should too.

We, are mayeb different to you in India? Although I have been there 4 times, I love it there, I use to go to Gujarat Vijapur, and recently Ahemdabad.

I was and have always been into meat, I gave up Beef Last year in the name of God, I wont change my mind regarding this.

As for being Vegetarian, I dont want to be, I dont know why I cant eat meat at the moment, only God can answer this.

As for how it make a difference to God, its an honest question. I wish to have opinions of Knoledgeable people, regarding meat and Karma, spirituality, shakti, etc. How eating Meat effects ones spirituality etc.

Im closer to God than alot fo people so please dont insult me by calling me a Troll. I do Puja, I go to the Mandir, spend longer preying than others, I use to go Swadhya and dont now but still know and say the Trikhal Sandhya every day. I also read the Prarthna Priti to those who know what it is.

Jai Shree Radha Krishna.

Also Its Laxshmi Puja day, so shes probably watching me, lol.

[redifflal]

Luckily for me, the whole vegetarian thing never took root with me. My family is non-veg by tradition, they used to do buffalo sacrifice in our ancestral home 5 generations ago. So while I'm aware of the schools of thought that emphasize vegetarianism, it never was a part of me.

BTW, much like anything else in Sanatan Dharm, you use vegetarianism as a technique for self-growth and development, you're not "doing it for God." You do things for your own growth, and yes, in the process of becoming a human being of higher consciousness, you are doing good things for community, humanity and nature, which in essence is doing good by God.

Refraining from meat is recommended in the schools of thought where they believe that meat is a testosterone-boosting commodity that disturbs the mental balance. There is some truth to that, but my own belief system is more in line with kaulachari thoughts of seeking moksha through bhoga, so there is nothing wrong in it. In fact recently I was talking to a Ramakrishna Mission monk about this very topic and he was telling me why they are okay with eating eggs but still not okay with beef, and he was very explicit about how beef will make you lust after women by raising your libido and thus disturb your inner peace. I was very respectful of swami of course, but I found it funny because I have eaten beef all my life and I and other people find me very peaceful and centered person. When I eat vegetable like beet, then I'm a different person ;) Also I see my wife in devi-rup (it helps her eyes look like Maa Durga), so there is no question of deliberately subsidizing my masculinity, but instead I focus on emphasizing the male energy within...

[Believer]

Namaste,

.........my own belief system is more in line with kaulachari thoughts of seeking moksha through bhoga, ....
Excuse the digression, but curiosity got the better of me and this is a learning opportunity for me.

What exactly is Kaulachari thought? How do you practice Hinduism in this line of thought? What are the pujas performed, rituals conducted, and which deities are revered? I would appreciate if you could explain in detail about your daily religious observances, activities and sadhana in pursuit of higher consciousness through this line of thought. Do you celebrate the mainstream Hindu festivals like Janamashtami, Diwali, Ramnavami etc.? Thank you.

Pranam.

[brahma jijnasa]

As for how it make a difference to God, its an honest question. I wish to have opinions of Knoledgeable people, regarding meat and Karma, spirituality, shakti, etc. How eating Meat effects ones spirituality etc.

For starters try with this one:


"Having well considered the (disgusting) origin of flesh and the (cruelty of) fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh." (Manu-smriti 5.49)

Although according to dharma shastras to eat meat that has been properly offered in sacrifice according to injunctions of the scriptures is not prohibited, nevertheless people are encouraged to entirely abstain from eating flesh.
Manu continues "abstention brings great rewards" (Manu-smriti 5.56), and provides a practical example of such rewards:


"By subsisting on pure fruit and roots, and by eating food fit for ascetics (in the forest), one does not gain (so great) a reward as by entirely avoiding (the use of) flesh." (Manu-smriti 5.54)

Offering of non-vegetarian food to Lord Vishnu is totally out of the question. Only offering of sattvic vegetarian food is allowed in this case.

regards

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam ... and the chapter from the classic Tirukkural :

Abstaining from Eating Meat

251
How can he practice true compassion
Who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?
252
Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless,
Nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.
253
Goodness is never one with the minds of these two:
One who wields a weapon and one who feasts on a creatures' flesh.
254
If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkind?"
It is not killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.
255
Life is perpetuated by not eating meat.
The clenched jaws of hell hold those who do.
256
If the world did not purchase and consume meat,
There would be none to slaughter and offer meat for sale.
257
When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh
Of another creature, he must abstain from eating it.
258
Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion
Will not feed on flesh abandoned by life.
259
Greater then a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires
Do not do sacrifice and consume any living creature.
260
All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration
Of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat.


Aum Namasivaya

[Sudas Paijavana]

Vannakkam ... and the chapter from the classic Tirukkural :


Pranams, EM:

Because my ignorance of Sangam Literature and Tamil Books of Law is appalling, I have always wanted to ask the following:

Is the Tirukkural a Hindu text?

[Eastern Mind]

Pranams, EM:

Because my ignorance of Sangam Literature and Tamil Books of Law is appalling, I have always wanted to ask the following:

Is the Tirukkural a Hindu text?

Vannakkam: You're kidding, right? (Just in case you're not, yes it is. It's Tamil Saivism's greatest ethical scripture, penned some 2200 years ago.)

Aum Namasivaya

[Sudas Paijavana]

Vannakkam: You're kidding, right? (Just in case you're not, yes it is. It's Tamil Saivism's greatest ethical scripture, penned some 2200 years ago.)

Aum Namasivaya

Pranam-s,

No, I was not kidding. Like I said, my ignorance of Tamil Sangam literature is appalling.

I asked for clarification because a few Tamil Brahmins I have spoke to about Sangam literature have told me that most books on Tamil Law are secular or have Jain influence.

It is good to know that the Tirukkural is a Shaiva scripture.

I have also heard rumors from a few Tamil South Indians that the Tirukkural is Christian and was created after Thomas' visit to South India. None of that is true, right?

From what I know, Kannagi from one of the Sangam scriptures mentions the Tirukkural and talks highly about the Brahmins of that time period and even assists many Brahmins during her ventures. And, she herself was a Hindu, and I think she was a Brahmin as well, if I'm not mistaken...

[Eastern Mind]

I have also heard rumors from a few Tamil South Indians that the Tirukkural is Christian and was created after Thomas' visit to South India. None of that is true, right?



Vannakkam: That claim sounds very rumorish! I certainly don't believe it.

Aum Namasivaya

[Sudas Paijavana]

Vannakkam: That claim sounds very rumorish! I certainly don't believe it.

Aum Namasivaya

Pranam-s,

Yeah, I don't buy it either. In my opinion, I believe the Tirukkural was finalized/penned around 100-30 BCE. But, it's philosophy was already vivid in terms of being acted upon in South India much before 100 BCE.

To me, it seems that the Tirukkural is one of the first scriptures in the world advocating not just vegetarianism but speaking out, instead, against the consumption of meat.

[redifflal]

Namaste,

Excuse the digression, but curiosity got the better of me and this is a learning opportunity for me.

What exactly is Kaulachari thought? How do you practice Hinduism in this line of thought? What are the pujas performed, rituals conducted, and which deities are revered? I would appreciate if you could explain in detail about your daily religious observances, activities and sadhana in pursuit of higher consciousness through this line of thought. Do you celebrate the mainstream Hindu festivals like Janamashtami, Diwali, Ramnavami etc.? Thank you.

Pranam.

I don't profess to be a practitioner of it, and all information I know of it is from the internet and some personal acquaintances back in India. There was a poster on this forum named Arjuna, he had a lot of good information about it. It is generally tied with Shakta and/or Shaiva worship in the Tantric philosophy. For example, Durga Puja is a big deal for us, not just a cultural function as is treated by general society around us to show off new clothes...I'm digressing. Just like other Hindu groups, it's not that Vaishnavs don't celebrate Durga or Kali Puja or that Shaivas don't celebrate Janmashtami...it is still celebrated and with equal fervor, but Shaktas view Devi as supreme, so Krishna/Ram etc are Her sons, as attested by Shri Ram praying to Durga before battle.

[fem_phoenix1109]

Namaste,

Vegetarianism was just something that occurred naturally, I wasn't really trying to be vegetarian. But the last few times I went to prepare meat, the flesh just disgusted me. At first I tried to resist, since I hate wasting perfectly good food, but even once it was prepared I couldn't bring myself to eat it. The smell, the texture, everything about it was off-putting. It was way before the exp. date, and I even asked a few people if they thought it had turned, but they said it was fine. So I guess it was just my perception. So naturally, I gave it up.

Thank you for letting me share my experience on this matter.

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste,

Vegetarianism was just something that occurred naturally, I wasn't really trying to be vegetarian. But the last few times I went to prepare meat, the flesh just disgusted me. At first I tried to resist, since I hate wasting perfectly good food, but even once it was prepared I couldn't bring myself to eat it. The smell, the texture, everything about it was off-putting. It was way before the exp. date, and I even asked a few people if they thought it had turned, but they said it was fine. So I guess it was just my perception. So naturally, I gave it up.

Thank you for letting me share my experience on this matter.

Vannakkam fp: I think this is reasonably common ... a natural progression to a general distaste. Sure beats mentally having to work on it, if it just comes naturally.

Aum Namasivaya

[sunyata07]

Namaste,


Vegetarianism was just something that occurred naturally, I wasn't really trying to be vegetarian. But the last few times I went to prepare meat, the flesh just disgusted me.

I became vegetarian-minded a little while before I discovered Sanatana Dharma, so when I realised a meat-free diet was recommended for a spiritual life it wasn't nearly so difficult because like yourself, I began to abstain purely because the smell, the taste and even the texture of meat began to put me off dinner. IMO, the more you begin dwelling on the idea behind vegetarianism based upon self-enquiry and compassion for the animal which has died for your consumption - where did it come from, what soul inhabited this body before being taken to the slaughterhouse, what did it feel before it died, did it know it was going to die, etc.? ... when all these thoughts begin filling your head, it's only a matter of time before you find you cannot bring the animal's flesh to your lips anymore. There is that famous quote from Paul McCartney when he says that if abbatoirs were made of glass nobody would want to eat meat anymore, at least not anyone with a sense of empathy for his fellow creature. It becomes no longer simply a case of wanting the pleasure of taste sensation. You even begin asking questions like the ones you just asked - how does my not eating meat affecting my spiritual life? Does it make a difference to God if I do or do not?

I don't think eating meat makes you a "bad" person or any less spiritual than the next being, but it certainly could get in the way of fostering a complete and sincere understanding of the precept of ahimsa, extending beyond just abstaining from being violent to others. Not only are you trying to keepwhat physically enters into your body as sattvic as possible, but you are also reinforcing that concept of compassion each time you refrain from meat eating not because you'd rather not (although eventually it does come to that point when you have abstained from eating it long enough), but because you choose to live without it.

Good luck with whatever you choose for your spiritual life.

Om namah Shivaya

[Mystical Soul]

Pranams, EM:

Because my ignorance of Sangam Literature and Tamil Books of Law is appalling, I have always wanted to ask the following:

Is the Tirukkural a Hindu text?

Thank you for asking this. I did not know either. In fact I copied and pasted it into Word so I could look it up later. Sometimes I see words of which I have no clue as to their definition and in order to keep from seeming so ignorant I look them up later. Sometimes it only adds more questions. At any rate thanks to Eastern Mind for answering because I will now have more background when I do research and read more about meat eating. This whole thread has been very informative. Thanks to all who contributed and to the original poster
Aum

[ArjunAchary4]

Nor do I wish to, lol,
How does Being Vegetarian effect you and your life? does it make much of a difference to God? Does it affect our spiritual journey as Im on one, although now it is in relation to God?

I'm not a vegetarian and not at all trying to be, but Hindus who are/do become vegetarians don't do it because "it makes a difference to God", but instead to avoid eating the product of cruelty and killing to sentient beings. This of course would decrease one's bad karma as one would no longer be eating creatures which had to be killed (ultimately) for our own consumption.

[Aanandinii]

Namaskar,

Since this thread has been revived, and it actually seems to be a good place to put this:

I am a vegetarian because I don't wish to eat the flesh of dead animals, particularly ones raised and slaughtered the cruel way we do here, and being a Human omnivore I have that choice to make. I will eat egg only if it comes from my brother-in-law's chickens, who each have names, are doted on and downright spoiled, and get acres of land to forage through every day - he has no rooster.

Anyway, that was my main reason, and there are others that other people have cited. However, if you're looking for yet another reason, here is a recent study (http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-diet-rich-methionine-memory-loss.html) showing that high meat-protein diets can actually boost memory loss. I have to wonder if the growing meat industry and lobby here has contributed to the huge and unexplained rise of Alzheimer's and Dementia.

~Pranam

[Believer]

Namaste,


I have to wonder if the growing meat industry and lobby here has contributed to the huge and unexplained rise of Alzheimer's and Dementia.
I started this post as I had something to say, but can't remember what it was. Perhaps Alzheimer is kicking in ;)

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Mad Cow Disease symptoms are eerily similar to Alzheimers. I would not at all be surprised if there was historical misdiagnosis, or even if that continues. Some of the most powerful government lobby groups represent adharmic industries. This is by no means limited to the meat industry, but is also true of the dairy industry, the gun industry, alcohol, tobacco, and many more.

Aum Namasivaya

[Aanandinii]

Namaste Believer Ji,

Namaste,


I started this post as I had something to say, but can't remember what it was. Perhaps Alzheimer is kicking in ;)

Pranam.First reaction: http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/happy/happy0084.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-rolleye-smileys.php) Awesome.

Later, thinking of how the quote you took sounds taken alone, I want to clarify. I didn't mean general meat consumption as most countries practice it, but specifically the increasing amount Westerners, particularly Americans, consume. Statisically, (this may have been posted before elsewhere), the average American not on a fad-diet eats a whole lot more (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/06/27/155527365/visualizing-a-nation-of-meat-eaters) meat than the average citizen of any other nation in the world, except for one - only Luxembourg (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/06/27/155527365/visualizing-a-nation-of-meat-eaters) eats more meat than we do. As of 2000, before these meat diets really took hold, an average person here was eating 57 pounds more meat per year than they would have been 50 years previously and taking in less dairy and eggs. The rates of Alzheimer's diagnosis have risen alongside the rates of consumption of the kinds of meats mentioned in the article I posted earlier, and this can't be entirely explained by more prevalence of medical care and/or a rise in life expectancy. Interestingly, if one looks at current prevalence (http://www.dementiatoday.com/ad-prevalance/) and projection data and maps of that data (http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/alzheimers-dementia/by-country/), there's an apparent correlation with amount of meat consumption. Yes, correlation doesn't equal causation, and this is certainly a complex disease with a genetic risk factor component, but the parallels are certainly interesting.

And then there are the fad diets that are hugely popular in this country and are pushed by the meat lobby here - like the Atkins Diet, so-called 'Paleo' Diet and other diets that push eating almost entirely meat and as little vegetables, fruits and grains as possible because the latter contain Carbohydrates, which they label as anywhere from 'unhealthy' to 'evil'. Of course that means these people have to take handfuls of unregulated vitamin supplements every day to not end up with things like Ricketts and Scurvey, but hey, our ancient ancestors couldn't possibly have eaten any vegetation, nuts or grains, right? Y'know, forgetting all we know about the history of agriculture and hunter-gatherers and all that nonsense. I have a few people who practice this in my family. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-basic/rolleyes.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php) Recently there have been studies where the first stages of Alzheimer's are being found in some 20 year olds. Surprise!

So just to clarify, I wasn't saying that eating meat is cause, but that if this is the majority of what you eat similar to the average American - or like the extreme examples of these diets, if it is almost all that you eat - then it may very well be a contributing risk factor, particularly in light of the study in my earlier post and the one before it that this study was following up on.

~Pranam

[Believer]

Namaste,


And then there are the fad diets that are hugely popular in this country and are pushed by the meat lobby here - like the Atkins Diet, so-called 'Paleo' Diet and other diets that push eating almost entirely meat and as little vegetables, fruits and grains as possible because the latter contain Carbohydrates, which they label as anywhere from 'unhealthy' to 'evil'. Of course that means these people have to take handfuls of unregulated vitamin supplements every day to not end up with things like Ricketts and Scurvey, but hey, our ancient ancestors couldn't possibly have eaten any vegetation, nuts or grains, right? Y'know, forgetting all we know about the history of agriculture and hunter-gatherers and all that nonsense. I have a few people who practice this in my family. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-basic/rolleyes.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
People would not be going to great lengths to do all that if only they knew that no one gets out of this world alive. ;)

Pranam.