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Summary of Question:	Eating Meat Is Wrong In Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Category:	Sikh Practices
Date Posted:	Monday, 9/03/2001 1:31 PM MDT

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa,

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

Before I start, there will be those who will ignore teachings in Gurbani - It stricly condemns meat eating.

One will say it only applies to halal meat. One should also remember in the time of Guru Ji, it was only halal meat that was "available".

Now this is an article from a Sikh website.

Let me contribute an article i found on the net which could shed some light on the topic..here goes.
EATING MEAT? WHY NOT? I'LL TELL YOU WHY NOT...

Bhagat Kabir ji states: Oh Kabir, the dinner of beans and rice flavoured with rice is acceptable But who is prepared to have his throat cut [in the hereafter] for the hunted animal. [1374]

It is a disturbing thought that many Sikhs believe that to attain spiritual enlightenment one can continue to tuck into a juicy steak, that the pain and suffering of the animal is separate to the succulent roast chicken on the table, that the cutting of the animals life force will not have a direct effect on their own 'karmic account '. According to the maryada booklet , Kutha, the meat prepared by the Muslim ritual killing is prohibited for a Sikh. Regarding eating other meat, it is still silent. Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (SGGS) makes various references to meat but is does not clearly state for or against. This has been taken by many as a green light to consume flesh. For most Sikhs this is very convenient as it is easier to eat meat then not to. As it stands most Sikhs are of the opinion that meat is open to Sikhs and they produce copious amount of information and, supposedly evidence to support this. Avarice is a dog, falsehood the sweeper and cheating the eating of meat. (Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Sri Raag p15)

Falsehood is my dagger and to eat by defrauding is meat. (Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Sri Raaj p24) Here Guru ji clearly classifies meat with bad deeds. The pro-meat lobby will site Guru Hargobind Sahib ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji as accomplished hunters, in a book called Sikh & Sikhism it states

"The game would have been cooked and put to good use, to throw it away would have been an awful waste."??? This is a case of authors making things up as they go along, pure conjecture. Do they not know who the Gurus were ? They were not ordinary human beings , in our Ardaas we call them ' Doe Jahan Dhai Vali' and 'Sristee they Malik'. They reason the Gurus went hunting was not for pleasure or the need to satisfy their taste buds, they were above this , it was to settle long overdue 'accounts' to release the souls of the poor unfortunate animals who may have wronged in the past, to grant them Mukti / salvation. There is a story of Guru Gobind Singh Ji who sent out his falcon to hunt an animal, once caught Guru Ji watched as the Baaj tore into the animals flesh. Asked by one of his Sikhs what was the reasoning behind this Guru ji stated that in a previous life the animal had borrowed some money from the Baaj and swore on Akal Purakhs name that he would pay it back, he never did, now was pay back time. There are

many instances like this which illustrates that the Gurus were not hunting for meat but to save these souls from the continuous cycle of birth and death. In two Hukkhamnamas of Sri Guru Har Gobind Sahib Ji there are clear cut instructions prohibiting the eating of meat, fish etc. The actual words are

"Maas machhi de nerrey nahai jawnaa" Dr Gopal Singh in his History of the Sikh People. " In the Gurus kitchen (or Guru Ka Langar) meat dishes are not to be served , maybe it is on account of it being perhaps expensive, or not easy to keep for long."??? When has money stopped Sikhs from doing anything?. An appeal at any local Gurudwara for funds for a project or disaster will yield hundreds of pounds donated by the sangat on the spot. A flesh eater will go to any lengths to get his fill, so this 'expensive' argument just does not hold. Giani Sher Singh in his Philosophy of Sikhism. "Kabir held the doctrine of Ahinsa or non-destruction of life, which even extended to his followers. The Sikh Gurus, on the contrary allowed and even encouraged the use of animal flesh for food.."??? Does the author go on to expand on this , does he give any evidence for this, No he does not!. Again pure conjecture and speculation from people with hidden agendas. One should step back and think for a moment what is being said here. T

he Gurus were pure souls, Sikhs believe them to have merged with the Akal Purkh are we then led to believe that they would tear into a chicken leg at meal time, piayrio don't even go there. Eating meat is a very primitive act and the Gurus taught us to be above this, to control our emotions and urges if we were to develop spiritually. H.S Singha in his Mini Encyclopedia of Sikhism. 'Guru Amar Das Ji ate only rice and lentils but this abstention cannot be regarded as evidence of vegetarianism, only of simple living.'??? Why cannot it be evidence of vegetarianism ? If we look at the lives of the Gurus and try to emulate as much of them as possible because we regard them as ideal living then why not this ? Now, lets get to the heart of what eating meat really means. We are talking about inflicting pain & killing another being , cutting of its flesh and muscles which that animal relied upon for its existence and consuming it, primarily for the taste. That's right, for the taste of it. We can exist quite happily w

ithout meat so why do many people feel the urge to consume it, taste plays a large part of it. Can we in our hearts believe that the Gurus advocated this? Question : Do beings get born on this earth and have living bodies just to be a convenience food ? Or do beings get born into a life with a body so that they can develop and eventually evolve away from Karma and into Dharma ? In the beginnings of SGGS , Guru Ji says : This human body has been given to you. This is your chance to meet the Lord of the Universe. Nothing else will work. Join the SaadhSangat, the company of the holy. Vibrate and meditate on the Jewel on the Naam. Make every effort to cross over this terrifying world-ocean. Your are squandering this life uselessly in the love of Maya I have not practiced meditation, self discipline, Self restraint or righteous living. I have not served the holy; I have not acknowledged the Lord, my king. Says Nanak, my actions are contemptible! O Lord, I seek Your Sanctuary, please preserve my honour. The 'body'

is given to all in order to meet Akal Purkh and the Guru says that there is no other way to meet him. By killing a healthy animal for consumption interrupts its life experience and its evolution towards meeting God. Animals can sense impending doom especially if they can hear the death throws of their colleagues having a 'bolt' driven into their skulls in the shed next door. This can evoke a very powerful glandular response in the animal and hormones are pumped into its body. When you eat that flesh you take on those hormones, and of course its Karma. This has a great effect on your Atma, for the Atma feels pain. By adding the karma of that soul to yours you are also interfering with your own desire to meet the Lord of the Universe. If you have not cleared away your own Karma why would you want to create the Karma of killing and consuming the flesh of another being ? Sikhs do not eat or take into their bodies anything which is harmful or have an ill effect upon the body or mind. Meat is a stimulant of the gro

ss passions of the mind and body. Meat is harmful on a physical, mental and spiritual level. You are killing a soul who is in the process of evolving towards God. Meat stimulates your 'lower nature' making it impossible to achieve a meditative spiritual mind set. If you want constant confusion and irritation then chew on a piece of flesh. If on the other hand you want to evolve spiritually , open up the capacity for meditative comprehension of higher truths then the karmic and polluting nature of meat cannot be ignored. It is said by many that plants also have life so why do we not abstain from eating plants ? It is very true that plants do have life but the karmic energy and consequences of eating plants do not compare to those of an animal which has nervous systems; feeling, possible thoughts, parental instincts towards is offspring. Also plants ( and I am talking about the normal ones that we eat - lentils, maize , spinach etc) are not harmful on a mental, spiritual level but are in fact good for the diges

tion. Much has been made of the Nihang Singh sect eating Maha Parshad, but the Nihangs also drink a concoction of Marihuana and opium called Suckha, are we all to start taking drugs because of this?

They (the truest of the true) burn away the bonds of the world, And eat a simple diet of grain and water. (SGGS p467)

Kabir, those mortals who consume marijuana, fish and wine - no matter what pilgrimages, fasts and rituals they follow, they will all go to hell. (SGGS p1337)

You kill living beings and worship lifeless things, at your very last moment, You will suffer terrible pain. (SGGS p332)

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 ? (SGGS p1350)

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 ? (SGGS p137

In this dark age of Kali Yuga, people have faces like dogs; They eat rotting dead bodies for food. (SGGS p1242 The Vars of Bhai Gurdas Ji are known as the 'kunji' (key) to Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Var 31 pauree 9 : "Just because the Guru has saved the butcher,That does not mean that we can kill animals and eat them."

A final thought, the Sants and Mahapursh of the present day all warn us of the evils of eating meat. They all urge us to take Pahul/Amrit and to give up maas, shraab and birri. Not one Sant has ever said otherwise. As a young lad I can just remember the times when Sant Baba Puran Singh Ji (Krichowali) used to administer Amrit to hundreds to people up and down the country and they never ever condoned meat eating. In recent times I have also been blessed by darshans of Sant Baba Bhagwan Singh Ji (Southall), not once have they ever even entertained the notion of meat and Sikhism. Surely, being spiritually on a higher plain then all of us if there was any ambiguity in the 'meat - no meat' argument Baba ji would have stated it. But instead they are fiercely against meat. So who are we going to believe, Sant Mahapurshs or some academic manmukh ? Do we eat to live, or do we live to eat ?

ASK YOURSELF WHY DO YOU DARE EAT MEAT