Previous
Next
Ask a Question| Previous | Next | Ask a Question |
| Summary of Question: | Vegetarian; Aren't Plants Alive? |
| Category: | Sikh Practices |
| Date Posted: | Thursday, 12/12/2002 8:16 PM MST |
I am an Amritdhari singhnee and therefore do not eat meat. Obviously, we are meant to be vegetarian, so that means, no meats and eggs. And ofcourse the main reason is that not to eat other living creatures. So we eat plants; however, they are alive as well. I do understand that there wouldn't be anything else for us to eat.
So, my question is, do plants have souls? If not, then how come they are considered as living?
I was about to post this question, and I did check the other questions on this forum, and couldn't find anything related. But I also just want to say that you have done a beautiful job putting up this forum for the youth, I had many loose ends that needed to be tied and you have all done that very nicely. Shukar Hai for the Cyber Saadh Sangat like you.
Guru Fateh!
Singhnee Kaur Khalsa.
***********
Reply
***********
Sat Siri Akaal, Singhee,
Search this forum using keyword 'plant' and see what you get. Plants do not have souls. Plants are indeed alive. Lots of sentient beings do not have souls. But there is an order of things, an Intelligence, if you will, that is an aspect of the Divine. Plants are lower on this chain than animals and fish. Moreover, it is possible, for example, to pick fruit or eat green vegetables without KILLING the entire plant. Finally, many food-plants have a short, seasonal life cycle. We harvest their bounty before they would die naturally anyway.
Guru ang sang,
DKK
Vegetarian; Aren't Plants Alive? (12/12/2002)