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Summary of Question:	Re Meat
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Monday, 1/29/2001 8:37 AM MST

its again about meat. i saw a query in the following topic and also went thru

your amswer to the same. but i want to have a clearer answer. i am a vivid non-vegetarian. i have non veg atleast in two meals a day.
i want to take amrit.
but i cannot change to be a vegetarian. this search for a clear answer is stopping me. so, were to i come to know in clear words can one have meat or not.
some gurudwaras were u take amrit say you cannot have hallal. but in western countries were there are no muslims , mostly meat (any type) is machine slaughter.
awaiting a firm reply
raji singh

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REPLY
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Dear Raji Singh Ji:

Sat Siri Akal. There are MANY queries with answers about meat/vegetarianism on this Forum. I urge you to search under keywords "meat" or "vegetarian" and see how many people ask questions similar to yours.

That said, you have DECIDED in your mind that you cannot become a vegetarian. You can just as easily decide you CAN make this transition, but you don't have to do it overnight. For most who make the switch, it does not come overnight. It comes gradually. The body and mind both adjust. It also helps immensely to have tasty vegetarian food to eat. Some people think food without meat is not tasty, but I can assure you there is good -tasting vegetarian food out there! I do not know if you cook or are cooked for, but it can be done either way. I mean, you have to LEARN how to take care of your nutritional needs as a vegetarian; in the beginning, it is a little more work than meat, but that changes with experience.

The idea of not eating meat as a Sikh is that Sikhs donot take the life of another in order to be sustained (at any level). I am not talking about an extreme survival situation. It is telling that Gurdwara lungar and Amrit ceremony do not include dead anything. Ask yourself why that might be.

I also suggest that you understand that a perfect Sikh does not take Amrit. A Sikh takes Amrit to commit to the discipline of being a Sikh, to become fully the form and identity that Guru Gobind Singh gave us. When I took Amrit, I was not reading 5 banis daily. It took me a while to create this aspect of the discipline in my life; but I would NEVER have attempted it had I not taken Amrit first. If you take Amrit now, you commit to becoming vegetarian, and then make honest attempts to do so.

I hope this helps. Please read other replies on this forum as well. God bless you. Guru Rakha,
-DKK