Hinduism and Food

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Hinduwebsite.com "The saintly persons get relief from all kinds of sins by partaking the food that has been first offered to gods as sacrifice. But those who prepare food for their selfish ends eat but only sins. (Bhagavad gita 3:13)VegetarianismAccording to Hinduism, food is responsible for our physical birth and also the development of our bodies. What we eat decides our physical well being as well as our mental makeup. If we eat sattvic food (pure food) we become sattvic (pure) beings. If we heat rajasic food (hot and spicy) we become rajasic (ambitious, temparamental, egoistic etc). If we eat animal food or intoxicating foods, we may develop animal qualities and lethargic nature. Therefore we have to be careful about our food. Besides killing innocent and

helpless animals for the purpose of filling ones stomach is a bad karma with harmful consequences. Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to (the attainment of) heavenly bliss; let him therefore shun (the use of) meat. (5:48)Meat EatingNot all Hindus avoid eating meat. A great majority of Hindus eat it. In ancient India even the Brahmins ate certain types of sacrificial meat. Hindu law books do not prohibit the eating of meat in general, but only certain types of meat. To a great extent Jainism and to some extent Buddhism influenced the food eating habits of the Hindu community in ancient India, although we cannot say definitely that the concept of non violence and avoiding meat eating were alien to them before. As early as the rig Vedic period, ancient Hindu sages who spent their lives in meditation and seclusion

subsisted on roots and tubers and plant food only to gain control over their minds and bodies and attain self-realization. Hiuen Tsang who visited India in the 7th Century AD noted that Indian ate mostly vegetarian food.

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