Namaste,
Should we eat meat as we are Hindu ? Should we do this ... should we do that ... etc. etc. !!
These questions don't bother a born Indian Hindu. He does whatever he likes and he has no compulsion of doing something to prove that he is a true Hindu ! Why does it bother the new comers, I wonder.
Let's be clear on one thing. There is no taboo in Hindu Dharma except one or two and there also exceptions are there. There is no Mullah or Church telling you what to do or what not to do. Yes, once you have a Guru, you must follow what your Guru says.
a) Eating meat or not doesn't decide whether you are a Hindu or not. It is your choice. However, Hindus don't eat beef. Cow is sacred.
b) Though there is no authority stopping you from eating meat ... Ahimsa and controlling your sense organs have been considered important for higher spiritual aspirations. Again, there is no reason to become unreasonable here. If you are stranded on the Tundras where you can't find anything but meat to eat during winter ... please go ahead and have it ... as it is compulsion created by the situation you have been where you have no choice. So, it is your destiny and you accept it graciously. Middle path is considered the best ... so don't go the extremes ... going to extremes will harm you. There should be a sense of reasonableness and sense of proportion in deciding whether to indulge in anything or avoid it.
c) The above applies to all actions and indulgence in sensual gratification including sex (this question has also been raised here time to time). Any attraction towards sense gratification is our own bondage ... the more we are free from it ... is better. However, leaving anything just by action but not mentally is not advisable. It is better to indulge in an so-called action and then works towards spiritual upliftment with our other actions/choices forgetting that action ... than to keep thinking of the subject of sense gratification. The latter is more harmful.
OM
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