February 6, 2008

Beefy?

What is the point of not eating beef when one is not following the principles of Hinduism to begin with?

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eating meat and Hinduism.. don't think there is any connection. No where is there any mention of a diet program to be followed. It is purely individual choice.

Deepali said...

Nice - this is the blog style I like :D

I agree with your point - but I think we all end up doing little things so that we feel less guilty.

Solitaire said...

@ Veens, is it really? I grew up eating every single animal but the sacred cow. Is that what Hindus do? Protect only cows but kill all other animals?

@ Deepali, thanks! My grandmother never allowed us to eat meat at home because the "sacred temple" was in the house. I respect my grandmother's wishes but do not see the logic.

gP said...

hemmm...because its sacred? I dont know...its just a choice. The ones they teach when you grow up. I you're the last human on earth and ur a vegetarian hindu and theres only one beef steak left, what you'll do? :p

eagleharry said...

well may be because .. from our child hood we have been listing to the phrase ..

"GAI HAMARI MATA HAAN"

dats a diff thing ka

"USKA AGGA KISI KO KUCH BHI NAHI ATA HAIN "

gP said...

hi books I can give...do you read science fiction?

Lukkydivs said...

umm decided to eat beef from now on :P

Anonymous said...

Cow is scared for us, but is it written anywhere that it should not be eaten?!

I mean the holy books preach about the ways of living.. but well they don't say anything about diets/dresses/money.. etc!

I am not saying I have no belief and I don't follow.. and thats the problem.. our religion doesn't tell us all this rather religious people imbibe it onto our veins!

And we are just too hesitant to break the decades long traditions :|

That includes me as well.

And on that note, I am a recent convert to vegetarianism [of course till I can resist the desire.]

Solitaire said...

@ Ghost Particle, I cannot even imagine myself in that situation because I consider myself a pure nonvegetarian. :)
No science fiction for me.


@ Eagleharry, you are toooo tooo funny!

@ Divya, really? Try spaghetti with meatballs. Yummy!!

@ Veens, maybe it is common sense that it is not ok to kill something sacred to eat it. So they decided not to write about it in the books.

Keshi said...

Amen to that! SPOT ON.

ppl often do that just to satisfy their ego.

Keshi.

Rho Tau GWIS said...

I think Hinduism doesn't preach just not to eat meat, it preaches to not eat any living being. There are so many Hindus who don't even eat eggs because they feel that an egg could potentially develop in to a bird....

Don't get me wrong... I am a Hindu and I eat pretty much ANYthing that tastes good.

To answer your question Solitaire, I believe that the people who feel they should not to eat meat just because it is against Hinduism, but they defy other 'preachings' of Hinduism, are hypocrites.

KP said...

I say go to OUTBACK(Best steak place) and eat steak(best red meat) have it medium!!!

Tuhin said...

I agree with veens. I haven't read the holy books on Hinduism, but as far as I think, Hinduism does not say anything on eating beef.

In fact, I have even read in several articles (not Wikipedia!) that ancient (Vedic) Hindus used to eat beef.

This article says so too - http://www.hinduonnet.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm

Although Hinduism doesn't directly prohibit eating beef, it does treat the cow with great respect and a matriarchal figure, symbol of wealth etc.

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080125135704AAFZj16

I guess that's why the good Hindus don't eat beef.

BTW, I celebrated the Chinese New Year by eating pig ears :D

Solitaire said...

@ Keshi, I eat to my heart's content..do not think about ego.

@ Carolinagal, I am sure they would fume if they read this statement.

@ KP, cant eat steak! My stomach hurts!

@ Tuhin, thanks for the article!!! It was very interesting!

ceedy said...

not doing something with a pretext of a reason is always an escape route...

Rho Tau GWIS said...

Yeah, I figured...oh well.

Pavi!!!! said...

Hmm... I'm a vegitarian. Eat eggs tho.

Here is my call on this..n i dont intend any offense to the non-veggies. So pls don't get me wrong!

If eating beef is a sin , eating any animal is a sin. I couldn't imagine eating a living thing n yes, I know plants breathe as well but they don't move. atleast not visibly!

I have never had anything "non-veggie" n i guess that's mostly coz in my younger days i never tasted it and when I got older I wasn't comfortable with eating living things.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Solitaire,
Yes that's true. That would appear hypocritical.

Unknown said...

It would be incorrect for me to comment on this. But I could say, to each his own.

Btw.. why can't I comment on your psychobabble?

Just wanted to let you know.. the V day post got me thinking, so I upgraded from a 4Gb nano to a 80gb ipod :D For once, I have all my trance collection in one device.

Thanks for sowing the seed that led to this ;)

Anonymous said...

today no one follows religious principles to that extent as it was in the past....my sentiments do get hurt when i see beef, so i make it a point to ask the person if the food item he s serving has beef ?

chicken n lamb r fine, but pork n beef r big no no for me

Amandeep Singh said...

Well everyone seems to be doing this...without knowing why are u doing it, the fundamentals,principles...
alls blind!!

Amandeep Singh said...

and calling it a choice?

Well try eating one...n see the shiv seniks n rss ppl :O

Zahid said...

Hmm...It is nothing wrong to follow half the rules...I do that all the time...I am supposed to read namaz 5 times a day...i dont...i am supposed to eat only halal meat..that i do... Its all about being the max extent you can be religion wise... I like this blog....question and answer sessions...hehe

Zahid said...

i think there is nothing wrong with following half the rules....i also folow only half the rules i am supposed to....the thing is u got to be max releigion wise that you can be !!!!

Keshi said...

me too :)

u know I eat beef/pork/eggs/fish etc. To me not eating Beef and eating Eggs only, is hypocrisy.

Keshi.

willheim said...

there are plenty of reasons not to eat beef besides the hindu ones. most livestock is raised by steroids in unclean environments that charge the animal with negativity, which is passsed on to us thru the blood of the animal. even if the animal is raised so called antibiotic free, it still takes so many enviromental resources to raise a cow that not eating them is an environmental act. plus, too much red meat is bad for your arteries. but for me, it's mainly about the karma and blood thing. the sacred cow. well, traditions are good. hinduism if totally foreign to me.

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy, Exactly! That's how people like to abuse religion.

@ Pavi, but where does it say that eating an animal is a sin? You should check out the article that Tuhin has suggested. It is very interesting.

@ Mel, are you a non-vegetarian?

@ J, maybe because I want the users to be registered? I dunno! Enjoy your IPOD!

Solitaire said...

@ Ashu, why not pork?

@ Standbymind, true!

@ Zahid, thanks a lot! If someone follows only some of the principles, will they be considered religious or not?

@ Keshi, it seems to me that some people like to eat certain "animals" based on blind faith and no logic or taste likes/dislikes.

Solitaire said...

@ Willheim, thanks for the logical explanation. I know that there is a belief that eating animals tend to make you think like one (whatever that means) and therefore, vegetarians do not like to eat meat. But picking one animal over the other never made sense to me.

Pavi!!!! said...

@ Solitare - Nope, I din't say eating animals is a sin . I said
"If eating beef is a sin, then, eating any animal is a sin".

n like i tried explaining in my previous comment, I guess its just wat one is used to eating as a kid. I'm not comfortable coz as a kid i have never eaten chicken or fish or any other animal.
likewise I've heard that most indians cant consume all the stuff that japanese are said to eat (snakes n worms) n that i feel is simply coz we are not used to it!

PS: I've heard that in japan they serve foetus...n that to me is a sin!

Solitaire said...

@ Pavi, YIKEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!
I love Japanese food but that limits only to sushi, sashimi, and noodles!

buddy said...

saying ewww to beef somehow probably makes one feel more 'hindu'...

P said...

A friend of mine didn't want to eat beef and somewhat jokingly said that he will loose caste if he did so. We asked him how come he didn't loose it already on crossing the seven seas and by living-in with his girlfriend. He gave up and now he doesn't order anything other than Steak when he eats out :D

Known Stranger said...

Hinduism ??? what does that mean ?? explanation please.