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Summary of Question:	Sikhs "Not" Being Vegetarian (Eating Meat Is Wrong)
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 3/05/2002 10:27 AM MST

SAt sri akal!

i really need ur help.
i have been a vegetarian for over 1 year now and am quite proud of myself as i thought i'd never be a vegetarian.

In religous Ed. today the teacher said that "sikhs are not vegetarians due to religous reasons" she also said that if they do not eat meat its due to their "compassion" towards animals as such.

I asked her about this and she said it doesn't actually command anywhere in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib for sikhs no to eat meat and she said the only meat that sikhs do not eat is halal!!

I know the halal part is wrong cos in my opinion eating meat is the same weather its halal or non halal.

so my question i guess is-: IS SHE RIGHT?

if shes wrong could u plz give me some quotes or anything backing it up

i didn't really know what to say to her cos she insists it doesn't say u should be a vegetarian anywhere in the SGGS so i said i'd get back to her on it next week.

thanx in advance!..
Taranjeet Kaur

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REPLY
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Sat Sri Akal,

This question has been answered ad infinitum, but I'll give it one more go.

Your teacher is 100% wrong. The Sri Guru Granth Sahib states in several places that eating meat is wrong. I will give you several places in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib which illustrate that eating meat is wrong:

1) Page 467:
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"They (the truest of the true) burn away the bonds of the world, And eat a simple diet of grain and water."

In this passage, the Guruji says that people who are truly one with God/Waheguru eat only foods made from grain and water, implying that they eat only plants. If the Truest of the True people only eat plants, and not meat, then eating meat must be wrong.

2) Page 1377:
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"Kabir, those mortals who consume marijuana, fish and wine - no matter what pilgrimages, fasts and rituals they follow, they will all go to hell."

This part of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib lists those things which will not bring you any closer to Waheguru. The marijuana refers to taking drugs, fish refers to eating meat, and wine refers to drinking alcohol. People who take illicit drugs, eat meat or drink alcohol will go to hell (i.e., not merge with Waheguru and have to go through 84 lakh cycles of life and death).

3) Page 332:
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"You kill living beings and worship lifeless things, at your very last moment, You will suffer terrible pain."

The Guruji is saying that killing beings (humans or animals) will in the end not bring you any closer to Waheguru. By saying that if you kill living beings you will suffer terrible pain implies that your karma will be tainted, you will have to go through the life/death cycle and you will not be free from this physical world. Thus, eating meat is wrong (since an animal has to be killed).

4) Page 1350:
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"Do not say that the Vedas are false, false are those who do not reflect. If in all is one god, then why does one kill the hen?"

Sikhism says that Waheguru is in everything (in Kirtan Sohila, Sub Mei Joth, Joth hai Soi: "The light is in everything"; and in Japji Sahib, Hukma undher subko, bahar hukum na koi: "The command of Waheguru is in everything, there is no other command."). So, if Waheguru is in everything, if Waheguru loves every single little thing, why take its life away? Thus, killing even an inconsequential hen is wrong. So obviously, eating meat is wrong.

5) Page 723:
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"The world eats dead carcasses, living by neglect and greed. Like a goblin, or a beast, they kill and eat the forbidden carcasses of meat. So control your urges, or else the Lord wil throw you into hell."

Guruji quite bluntly states that eating of meat is forbidden. No matter if you think it "tastes" good or people "claim" it to be healthy (which in fact it is not) you need to control your urge to eat meat, or else you will end up in hell. The part of the worl that eats meat are just greedy, greedy for the so called taste, for the pleasure of taking something that is forbidden. These type of people neglect the real Truth of the world.

6) Page 899:
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"You are the treasure of mercy, O my Beloved Lord God. I cannot even describe Your many Glorious Virtues. The cat sees the meat, but does not eat it, and the great butcher throws away his knife; the Creator Lord God abides in the heart; the net holding the fish breaks apart."

In this passage the virtues of Waheguru are being extolled. The Guruji says that when Waheguru has you in his favor you will surely be saved. The cat won't eat a mouse/meat, a butcher won't kill animals, and nets holding fish will break, thus freeing the fish to live. This means that whatever Waheguru loves in this world, he will free it from pain. The catch is, Waheguru loves everything in the world, thus Waheguru wants to free everything from being needlessly killed or pained. When humans kill animals merely to eat, they are needlessly killing animals since humans do not need meat to survive. Thus, eating meat is wrong.

7) Page 1374:
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"Sayeth Kabir, that the best food is eating kichree (daal/lentils) where nectar sweet is the salt. You eat hunted meat, but which animal is willing to have their head cut?"

This is a very simple passage. Guruji is saying that eating a vegetarian diet is the best. The Guruji says that there is no animal that is going to be willing to give up its life, to be killed, just so a greedy human can eat its meat, which the human doesn't even need to survive.

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From these passages from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, I think it makes it quite blantantly obvious that the Guruji does not want his Sikhs to eat meat. If you are a real Sikh, and follow the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (if you don't follow the Sri Guru Granth Sahib then you're not a Sikh), then you must not eat meat.

Additionally, Bhai Gurdas Ji (nephew of Guru Amar Das ji) says in Var 31, pauree 9: "Just because the Guru has saved the butcher, That does not mean that we can kill animals and eat them."

Of course, you can always eat meat and do whatever you want as you want it, just don't call yourself a Sikh and denigrate the teachings of our Gurus. In the end, all that will go with you are your deeds. Please note that nothing that I have said is coming from me or my experience. It is coming straight from the Guruji himself. I am merely reciting what I learnt through the Guruji. The Guruji is the True Teacher.

I hope this helps, let us know if you need more help.

Gur Fateh,
HSD