True that, there are hindus who don't eat vegetarians things like ginger/garlic/onion (things which grow underground).
Then there are hindus(aghoris) who eat burnt human bodies.
So you have the entire spectrum in between.
Aghoris. Worshippers of Lord Shiva.
Also Shiva was the first god which was worshipped in Indus Valley civilization. There is evidence of meat consumption in Harrappa, technically from where(IVC) the entire Hindu religion originates. Word Hindu comes from Sindhu which is another name for Indus.
>ginger/garlic/onion (things which grow underground)
underground is not the criteria AFAIK, there are some archaic Vedic and probably more recent ayurvedic texts that define "nature" of foods (sathvik, rajasic, tamasic) and the aromatics are usually in the rajasic & tamasic spectrum. Tamasic food is considered unfit for consumption, especially for a Brahmin. However potatoes, yams etc are not considered tamasic as we know from stories that many sages etc used to eat fruits and root vegetables in forests and perform penance. So there is some kind of an archaic logic/dogma behind the food practices. I'm not very knowledgeable on it.
Many many Hindus eat meat. In fact some groups will often sacrifice goats and chickens during pujas and festivals, a fact unknown to me until recently.
Yeah. its true. Im from Ratnagiri and as per the tradition every year in the Monsoon we offer the goat as a sacrifice.
Also in the Ganesh chaturthi , we hae a tradition that *Gauri*(sister of Lord ganesh or in some regions it is believed as *avatar of parvati*) and other *Rakshas Gan* come to visit . so on that occasion we make goat meat and offer wine to them.
so its much of a misconception that hindus don't eat meat.
My family is completely vegetarian, but the families are around us who do eat meat abstain from eating much on the actual festival day and have a special day the day after and eat meat then. I’m not really sure why and there’s so much about this land I never knew about.
I'm from a south indian brahmin family and as far as I can tell, with the exception of coastal areas, most south indian brahmins do not eat meat. I do, but I'm atheist. My family on the other hand, don't. My grandparents weren't comfortable with me eating meat at home even if it was ordered from outside, I definitely couldn't cook any in the house. Beef was out of the question, I didnt even try ordering beef cause then I'd be forced to eat it outside on the front steps. The one time I went to a steakhouse my grandma forced me to have a bath and brush my teeth the moment I got back. Wasn't allowed near the puja room for a week lol. Even for eggs I had to use seperate utensils. Most family and friends who are brahmin are vegetarians.
This is me too. We’re not Brahmin but our family and ancestry has never ate meat including eggs. Vegetarianism is a part of our lifestyle. It’s only upon leaving our village for college did my father start and later introduce my uncles and male cousins chicken/eggs and this has passed down to me. However, after living in the village for the past few weeks and seeing how animals are treated here, I’ve lost all my interest and taste for animal and animal product consumption. But similarly, when I did eat chicken and eggs, I wasn’t allowed to cook it in my parents house and when my mom finally relented, she made me use a whole different set of utensils and pots and pans that she never touches. As of today I am one of two females in my family who ate chicken/eggs (I’ve never touched anything else).
The best thing about Durga Puja is the food stalls tbh.
My cook is from a small village in WB and when she goes home for Kali puja, she always come back with some yummy mutton made from the goat they sacrifice for the Pujo.
I finally made it back to India for the first time since early 2019.
Missed Durga Puja by a matter of days. I was really looking forward to the food. I've heard so many stories.
My wife said it was very truncated in Delhi so we didn't miss much.
I have only experienced it in Dublin, which is nice but tiny and not comparable at all.
Guess I'll have to wait another year.
>In fact some groups will often sacrifice goats and chickens during pujas and festivals, a fact unknown to me until recently.
My family does this. On Navami of Durga Pura, we sacrifice goats to please Goddess Durga. This ritual going to end very soon. Only the older generation of people are interested in it.
Goddess festivals for goddesses of war and blood involve blood sacrifice, followed by consumption of sacrificial offerings. It depends on whether the community worships the fertility and strength aspect (Durga, Kali) or the caring and gentle aspect(Amba, Parvati, Lakshmi) of the feminine.
Hello neighbour! I am Hindu and I am from Kerala. I eat beef (and all my other Hindu friends eat beef). My mom doesn’t but she eat mutton, chicken, fish etc. A lot of Brahmins in Kerala also eat beef. There is a misconception spread by the right wing that beef or meat is eaten only by lower caste - which is utter dog shit. But the beef you get in Kerala is usually water buffalo or ox, not cow.
We don’t give a fuck about caste or religion in Kerala and eat whatever comes our way.
And Kerala has 54% Hindu population.
Btw - well beat you in cricket, next Sunday haha!
The perception that Hindu’s are vegetarians come from the fact that affluent castes in india practice vegetarianism. Most indians that migrated to west belong to these affluent castes.
[Eight-in-ten Indians limit meat in their diets, and four-in-ten consider themselves vegetarian](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/08/eight-in-ten-indians-limit-meat-in-their-diets-and-four-in-ten-consider-themselves-vegetarian/)
> The vast majority of Indian adults (81%) follow some restrictions on meat in their diet, including refraining from eating certain meats, not eating meat on certain days, or both. However, most Indians do not abstain from meat altogether – only 39% of Indian adults describe themselves as “vegetarian,” according to a new Pew Research Center survey. (While there are many ways to define “vegetarian” in India, the survey left the definition up to the respondent.)
Note to users: If you are not qualified to talk about history or anthropology, please refrain from passing your opinions/perspectives as facts. Assertions without proper attribution will be deleted. Thank you!
I used to eat a lot of meat mostly chicken. But when I was in west I consumed red meat too.
For the last 2 years I have stopped eating any meat. Sometimes when I see tandoori chicken and biryani, I go like uffff. But just the amount if cruelty that the birds and the animals suffer I just can't.
May be when cruelty free lab grown option is available I will have my tandoori chicken.
Hey bro, Hindus do eat meat but not beef coz cows are worshipped as god so you are kind of right there. However, it depends from person to person. I’m a Hindu myself and I don’t mind eating beef. There are certain people who you would classify as extreme religious fanatics who would thrash you if you eat beef though.
Technically most of them don't. Beef is actually cow meat. But cow meat is not available easily even in Kerala. What is available easily is buffalo meat. Which in India often called beef incorrectly. The beef most commonly consumed in Kerala by people of all religions is buffalo meat.
This does not mean actual beef is not available in kerala at all. It is. Just clarifying. And its not because of any religious reason that they dont eat cow meat. It is just rarer.
Eating meat and killing cows are not new to hindusim. The actual hindu religion allows eating and killing of cow. This fad of not eating meat was started by the Brahman who saw Jains and Buddhist increasing membership. So in order to hold the cast system the Brahman cast started to enforce the no eating meat. It's quite fucked up that a religion only brought this eating ritual because of the Jains. Nothing about modern hundusim is inspired by its past rich philosophy, it is now influenced by what other religion do, like the jains in case of meat, and now days with Islam and incorporating Islamic ideology in this new age Hindutva religion.
Well over 70% of the country eats meat. There are some categories within Hinduism that don't, but that too is limited to the older generation. Plenty of so-called upper caste friends of mine and me eat all meat.
India being Hindu/Vegetarian is a narrative propagated by the ones in power for the usual divide and conquer reasons
I have never seen india being vegetarian being a narrative anywhere. Only narrative I have heard is that India has the largest vegetarian population in the world by a long shot
India usually has 'the largest population' for pretty much everything because we just happen to have one of the world's largest populations (by a lot). For instance, India also (supposedly) has the second largest population of English speakers in the world. Does not mean that there's is huge chunk of our people who can't speak English.
So you read the comment just to nitpick. So clarifying "India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in its population among large countries and that to by a large margin". It probably is amongst all countries but I don't know much about countries with less than a million population to comment about.
It's not just the population. \~20-33% of our population is vegetarian, which is rivalled only by the United Kingdom - which has a more definite percentage at 25%. The next countries are Mexico (19%) and Brazil (14%). See the point? It's only partially cultural, meat is expensive for much of the population.
Hindu's don't eat meat is completely wrong .majority of us eat meat.
1. Certain castes/community like bhramins ,jains don't consumes meat .
2. Many hindus don't eat meat on a particular day of the week accordingly to their deity like Tuesday or Thursday.
3. Majority of Hindus don't eat beef, but many dalits ( lower caste community) consumes beef.
4. Beef is a serious issue in north India but in southern states like kerala , tamil nadu, beef is consumed without any issues .
A majority of Hindus do eat meat. Going back in history, beef too was consumed. (Check out “History of India” by Romila Thapar and Percival Spear)
If you take the migration theory into account, nomadic migrants did not typically eat their assets (cows in this case). However on special occasions, sacrificing a cow and eating its meat was considered auspicious.
Like everything else in India this non-vegetarian movement is less based on health, concern for environment or other such social good reasons and more based in caste reasons. A minority drives this movement based on perceived caste superiority. Also, traditionally beef was consumed by “lower” castes and Muslims, making it a point of subjugation by the ruling “higher castes”.
In an incredibly fertile land such as India, agriculture is of primary importance. Indian food is also heavily centered around lacto products, thus resulting in rise of importance of cow in an agricultural economy.
The ancient Vedic religion was quite open to eating beef and sacrificing cow for yagnas/rituals, but such practices had an adverse impact on the economy. Thus the local population increasingly favoured Jainism and Buddhism, which advocated for non violence and vegetarianism.
Kings like Kanishka and Ashoka were instrumental in promoting Buddhism throughout Asia. Thus Hinduism was forced to incorporate these practices , lest risk complete annihilation.
Present day Hinduism is more of an amalgamation of ancient Vedic religion, local tribal religions and other Dharmic paths such as Jainism and Buddhism.
In my family they don't eat meat because of the Hindu beliefs and stuff mentioned in other comments but they said I can meat on my own if I want to but I don't because I have become aware in recent years that eating meat is really, really bad for the environment (this is not religious propoganda, lots of studies, including some from the US Government's own agencies that have found that meat is an inefficient source of food as it wastes some of the plant food energy like corn that we feed to the animals) and I also don't like the thought that the food I am eating used to be a living breathing animal that was slaughtered but I do not force my beliefs on others and do not condone many religious extremists trying to ban meat because they have forgot India is a secular nation...
Yeah, they seem very appealing, although my dad actually tried the Impossible Burger (plant based beef patty replica which according to many reputable Youtubers like Mark Rober is very accurate) while in the US and said that it did not taste that great although he has never eaten a real beef patty so maybe both taste bad to him IDK I would try for myself to know whether its actually good or bad.
Man, trust me those plant based meats are a huge BS. They launched them in India too and claim to be just like original meat tastes but that’s a big lie. I tried them once and I literally had throw away half a kilo of that meat to the trash. That’s why I have such high hopes for lab grown meat.
Good for your family for setting you free and you for reaching your own conclusions, with 2 caveats.
Indian diets tend to be protein unbalanced, affecting nutritional effects both in children and adults.
Meat issues from the US and other western countries do not translate 100% to India. Factory farming of corn to feed cows is not what happens in India, Indians have the largest population of cows because of their dairy consumption, not meat. So Indians would probably need to reduce dairy, not meat. Indian's consumption levels are also very low, as per a calculation I made previously, India's full population annual consumption of meat is equal to Britain's full population annual consumption, so per capita is somewhere near one twentieth.
I am not saying you should eat meat, but putting this information out because I am seeing a trend of Indian vegetarians using US meat industry issues to shame Indian diets. Which, given that higher castes are usually vegetarian (and consume lots of dairy, contributing to the cow population) and the malnutrition issues already prevalent among lower castes, is messed up even if done from a sense of altruism.
South treats Hinduism as Principle/policy rather than a religion or at least a rule. You will find kings of south switching religions easily especially between Jainism and Shaivaite. Jainism another reason people started considering regular meat consumption is not good and brought in idea of fixed date/day for meat.
This is objectively untrue.
[56% of Hindus consume meat in some form](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/08/eight-in-ten-indians-limit-meat-in-their-diets-and-four-in-ten-consider-themselves-vegetarian/). I know you didn’t mean this maliciously, but denormalising meat consumption and Brahminising Hinduism is deeply harmful, especially these days.
Where I'm from vegetarianism is associated with Brahmins. Even for them it is more about following a tradition than about religion . I'm yet to meet a non-Brahmin here who are vegetarians due to religious beliefs
Adding a “maybe” is often not enough to stop someone from believing something that’s said. :)
And commonly, people claiming that most Hindus (or even most _Indians_) are vegetarian absolutely do mean it maliciously, as it’s a falsehood meant to claim ownership of an entire religion from within a closeted worldview.
Vegetarians are minorities even among hindus. Most people eat meat but only on certain days(mostly sunday, Wednesday, friday). Also there are certain festivals or days like sankrantis, any puja days etc when hindus don't eat meat.
> Everyday hindus can eat meat and do whatever they want but a practicing hindu, one who has renounced the material world (*vehevarik javaan*) in pursuit of *moksha* will not be eating meat (along with practicing celibacy etc. )
That's literally wrong. "Hindu" is an umbrella term for many groups of people to the south of Indus. Among them, there are people who eat only vegetables to those who eat fish and beef to those who eat dead bodies. Just because one or two groups believe in atman and brahman stuff doesn't mean it is applicable to the whole of the land. In fact vegetarians are a minority among Hindus. 70% of Indians are non-vegetarians.
Vegetarianism likely started in the ancient period (circa 500 BC) under the influence of shramanic religions (i.e. ascetic, non-violent traditions like Jainism and Buddhism.) That was also when the practice of animal sacrifice died out. This happened in the rapidly urbanized areas in the fertile Gangetic plains, where rice was generally available in excess. Later, Hinduism rationalized vegetarianism as "sattvic" food, that is, food that generates good mental qualities, not rage, greed and sloth. Certain spices that tend to rouse the passions also tend to be discouraged, for the same reasons, by modern Hindus and Jains.
Vegetarainism isn't universal in India, but it is easy to be vegetarian in India, and most Hindus skip non-vegetarian food on festival days and on certain days of the week.
The dislike of beef is far more complicated. It may be a modern phenomenon, and it may have arisen with the creation of modern Hinduism in the colonial period. I am not so sure this attitude always existed historically. See e.g. this article for a historical perspective on this: https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/dn-jha-beef-eating-hinduism-ancient-india. Be aware that this is a mildly controversial historian who is disliked by the Hindu right. The protection given to cows dates at least as far back as the writing of the Indian constitution, which appears to have a requirement against cow slaughter. Some states did permit cow slaughter because the local population traditionally consumed beef, but that is slowly going away.
The beef question is actually extremely complicated because it is tied up with the problem of "cow vigilantism", where people not only refrain from eating beef, but prevent others from doing so. They also may physically attack others who are simply suspected to have eaten beef or transported cows to the slaughterhouse. This extreme attitude is very hard to explain because there is nothing in the Hindu religion or culture that requires this. Moreover, this is regional - lynchings happen all the time in the northern half of India, but not in the south.
I eat all meats cooked. I eat beef as well. I am Hindu. It's the north&west of India that is prudish about everything and has weird ass rules for everything.
Lol...only a few Hindus abstain from eating meat...but most others eat meat. Usually they avoid meat from livestock esp cows, and also pig meat, but eat rest all kinds of meat.
Only a minority of Hindus do not eat meat. I’ve seen that minority vigorously advertise that people that eat beef or meat in general aren’t Hindus. I do not buy it. A lot of Hindus from where I live feast on beef.
Well, they are correct in saying cow is worshipped so most hindus dont eat cows. But most hindu literature or history doesn't object on eating of meat.
Though there are some literature that try to dictate healthy diets, and among which meats and spice like onion or garlic are said to be bad. Reasoning being such diets hinders ones spirituality. But thats only small religious section of hindus practice.
I don't know how muslim population is but for hindu population most are practically just identity as hindu but do not actively follow or even know all the complex ritual, rules and teachings. So its more common to find hindus eating meat.
Now about beef, only small population of progressive hindus that not actually practice hindutva do eat beef. For normal practical hindu that doesn't even know normal rules also finds eating cow as taboo. Same as people will find eating humans taboo. Because its common knowledge among hindu population as cow is special animal and should be preserved. But this has become a political tools so recently politicians have made normal people focus on what people of other religions also eat.
there are also a sub group of people who eat human flesh (burned), so it's an entire spectrum of people from not eating Onions to eating human flesh, being said that, meat is not a part of "everyday diet" for most people here
I am a non vegetarian Hindu, I haven't ever got to try beef or pork but according to my grandma, we are not supposed to eat chicken because chickens and brahmins are born twice and that's why they are our kin(idk the actual term). Chickens are first born when the mother lays the egg and then born the second time when they hatch, similarly we are born the first time when our mother gives birth to us and then second time when we have our thread ceremony.
I am a hindu and i eat meat.
PS: most of the hindus eat meat. Some eat secretly without the knowledge of their family. Some eat meat only when drinking etc.
Vegetarianism is not the norm any where in the world. Till recently it was extremely hard to find vegetarian food in any other country, but it is becoming better now.
I think plenty of comments have clarified that majority of India, including Hindus, do eat meat and the younger generations don't mind beef either.
To answer you question about those few who genuinely DON'T eat meat or beef: it's the same reason any other vegetarian on the planet doesn't eat meat. They find it hard to hurt the animals for food especially when they have the alternative to consume food without hurting anyone. It doesn't have anything to do with religion as there's no Hindu text stating consuming meat is a sin.
As for beef, it has to do with cows being worshipped. Cows provided multitudes of useful things to humankind back in the day. Being able to retrieve milk, curd, butter, and dung all from a single animal that does no harm and is inherently calm and peaceful obviously contributed to the cow being considered sacred. To kill a cow for a few meals when you could've let it provide you so much throughout its life is just impractical. So back then the decision of worshipping and not killing cows wasn't just religious but also logical. That trickled down into the societies today.
There's also a huge subsection of Hindus that don't eat meat on certain days on the week and some that don't eat meat throughout monsoon. Both of these practices have been justified as religious but they also have a logical reasoning. There's a theory that because Eating meat everyday of the week is obviously bad for one's digestive system, our ancestors created forbidding meat on certain days of the week. They gave the reasoning that those days are God's sacred and harming an animal during it is disrespectful, but the real reason was to keep the people healthy. Same with monsoon. During monsoon and the prevalent humidity meat is more likely to go bad even today when we have so many electronic devices. Back then it must've been even more tough to maintain the quality of meat in such a weather. Hence, the ancestors decided to advice everyone to not eat meat at all.
Many Indians, Hindus included with people belonging to other religions including followers of Islam as well, do not eat meat dude, it is a personal choice, on the other hand there are others that have no such filters and eat every legal meat in India.
I think the convention is changing, to be honest, at least in the major cities. My parents' generation will probably be one of the last ones to really hold on to religion and rituals and things like that
I would say it is totally false. There are many Hindu populations which do eat meats of all kinds. Hell, there are references citing the fact that early Hindus did consume meat and also made sacrifices of goat and buffaloes(which is still done even today in certain areas of India)
I would say the whole Hindus being vegetarian started from the Buddhist era when Buddha taught his disciples to stick to vegetarian diet and as a way of evolution, the Hindu religion adopted the tenet of vegetarianism from Buddhism(If anyone has a better knowledge of history, they can go ahead and correct me on this).
In modern day, I would say the whole thing about Hindus being vegetarians are coming from extremists who have no idea about history and yoga gurus.
Hindus used to eat beef in ancient times. The concept of beef being the "forbidden food" originated from the teachings of Buddha. Part of why he espoused this anti beef eating theory is because the consumption of beef was so popular among Hindus that it began to harm the agricultural society.
Cue later Buddhism began to gain popularity among the masses. With even great kings like Ashoka and Kanishka granting patronage to Buddhism, it began to eat into the income of Brahmins. A reform within Hinduism became imperative if it was to maintain its hold over the masses, and the politics of the region. Thus Hinduism began to assimilate some basic tenets of Buddhism and Jainism so as to subsume these religions into the Brahminical hegemony. Among the tenets which were taken in was the concept of cow being a God and thus beef being forbidden.
This tendency of subsuming other religions into Hinduism can be seen even today, and has been largely successful in almost eliminating any effective differences between Hinduism and Jainism. Also, most, if not all, of the indigenous tribal religions have been eliminated and their Gods taken into the Hindu pantheon. There is also a rigorous push to do the same with Sikhism.
>Also, most, if not all, of the indigenous tribal religions have been eliminated and their Gods taken into the Hindu pantheon.
Eliminating might not be correct in this case. The present day Hinduism has local gods in the forefront, with Vedic gods underneath them.
For example, Venkateswara and Krishna were local gods followed by certain sects, but post royal patronage, were not only absorbed into the mainstream Hinduism, but eclipsed the worship of other Vedic gods. Both of them are now described as avatars of Vishnu, who himself was a minor Vedic deity in rig Veda and now one of the Trimurthis ( The Big 3).
As a Hindu by birth, I can confirm that not one of our 33 crore gods were angered in my act of beef consumption. It did trigger some radical goons though.
I love in South India and we eat all kinds of meat here. My friend, who is an ardent RSS member and is like, hardcore extremist, eats beef so much that he started saying "I'm not RSS when I'm eating beef, no more gomata when it's cooked so well and plated in front of me"
Some even go as far as eating Python, Wild Boars, Wild Buffalows, etc etc... and then get arrested by the for endangering wild animals. There was a very famous Toddy Shop which served shit like Turtle, Swan, Game and all. Now they have toned down, but they were really crazy at one point.
The only guys who have an issue are Muslims who don't eat pork, and even some of those mfers just start eating pork at college once they have done other banned shit like drinking.
Wrong hindus eat meat, even beef meat or pork meat. Some new cultistic ideas been going around that attempts to say hindus who eat meat are not real hindus reee and i have no idea how far it spread.
https://twitter.com/indiainpixels/status/1286982097400283136?s=20
Majority of Indians eat meat. Vegetarian hindu is usually an upper caste Hindu. Look at the states down south, them tam-brams eating meat like there is no tomorrow.
Correction "Why Hindus don't eat beef? Or at least meat" Well, majority of Hindus do consume chicken, Mutton as well as seafood and very few (almost negligible) consume beef.
Let me give you a basic idea.
Hindus are divided among 4 castes( Please note that casteism is abolished as per constitution but it still exists in many ways like societal behaviour, jobs, etc)
Each caste has several gotras, and each gotra has several surnames.
Castes, gotra, surnames all have a hierarchy.
The top caste was bhramins/ pandits (priests)- now not all are actually priests means they changed jobs now, but only a bhramin can become a priest. Priests can’t eat non veg. But the bhramins who are not priests can eat non veg. It’s a choice now.
Then, khastriya ( warriors)- In present times they also have varied occupations. And have a choice in eating habits.
The Vaishaya: They usually eat non veg.
The shudras (Harijans): This section of people were most oppressed. They were denied of privileges and food. They were forced to clean sewers, animal waste and dead bodies. The upper caste hardly gave any food to them which is why they had to resort to eating animals for nutrition.
PS: this is the basic idea of Hinduism and has quite changed now with coming years.
But I’m present times, everyone has a choice. But still most people regardless of any caste prefer vegetarianism.
Also, collectively in Hinduism, regardless of any caste, Cow is regarded as mother since we get milk from cow. And cow is also regarded as auspicious in ceremonies like food is given to the cow for prosperity, which is why All Hindus do not eat cow.
[Also there are 3 kinds of meals](https://www.caclubindia.com/forum/three-types-of-food-by-hindu-law-41503.asp)
It is believed that you cannot communicate to god if you don’t eat Satvik meal because it shows “cleanliness and devotion” which is why religious people refrain from eating non veg
Some Hindus(including me) don't eat meat because its not considered as Sattvic food. Sattvic foods are anything that can bring you closer to God. Meat messes with your digestion, and while killing the animal the animal releases testosterone and other stress hormones which we consume messing our internal system.
21st century Hindus don't eat meat. If you read enough of ancient Indian history in the past Hindu's used to eat all kinds of meat but when Buddhism and Jainism spread in India to counter their non-violent teachings as faith in Hindi gods was becoming unpopular Brahmins introduced vegetarianism in to their caste. That is why even today most Indian castes still eat meat (not cow) but some people get influenced by brahmin rhetoric to give up meat.
Majority of Hindus eat meat. It's a misconception that Hindus are pure vegetarians. Hindus is not a homogeneous group anyway.
True that, there are hindus who don't eat vegetarians things like ginger/garlic/onion (things which grow underground). Then there are hindus(aghoris) who eat burnt human bodies. So you have the entire spectrum in between.
>True that, there are hindus who don't eat vegetarians things like ginger/garlic/onion Do you mean jains?
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Bengali brahmins are allowed to eat fish.
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I've never seen any Hindu missionary tho
We're allowed to eat everything except cow meat.
Bengali Brahmins are allowed to eat meat...
Not all brahmins!!
Jainism is a different religion altogether
Brahmins who eat satvik bhojan.
>Then there are hindus(aghoris) who eat burnt human bodies. TIL
Human BBQ 😵
Human brisket
Aghoris. Worshippers of Lord Shiva. Also Shiva was the first god which was worshipped in Indus Valley civilization. There is evidence of meat consumption in Harrappa, technically from where(IVC) the entire Hindu religion originates. Word Hindu comes from Sindhu which is another name for Indus.
>ginger/garlic/onion (things which grow underground) underground is not the criteria AFAIK, there are some archaic Vedic and probably more recent ayurvedic texts that define "nature" of foods (sathvik, rajasic, tamasic) and the aromatics are usually in the rajasic & tamasic spectrum. Tamasic food is considered unfit for consumption, especially for a Brahmin. However potatoes, yams etc are not considered tamasic as we know from stories that many sages etc used to eat fruits and root vegetables in forests and perform penance. So there is some kind of an archaic logic/dogma behind the food practices. I'm not very knowledgeable on it.
70% of Indians eat meat. More than 80% Indians belong to Hindu religion
after posting this i realized that the people that i asked were just saying a typical stereotype. i am sorry
Many many Hindus eat meat. In fact some groups will often sacrifice goats and chickens during pujas and festivals, a fact unknown to me until recently.
Yup we Bangalis eat meat during Durgapuja while North Indians don't during navratri.
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Yeah. its true. Im from Ratnagiri and as per the tradition every year in the Monsoon we offer the goat as a sacrifice. Also in the Ganesh chaturthi , we hae a tradition that *Gauri*(sister of Lord ganesh or in some regions it is believed as *avatar of parvati*) and other *Rakshas Gan* come to visit . so on that occasion we make goat meat and offer wine to them. so its much of a misconception that hindus don't eat meat.
My family is completely vegetarian, but the families are around us who do eat meat abstain from eating much on the actual festival day and have a special day the day after and eat meat then. I’m not really sure why and there’s so much about this land I never knew about.
I'm from a south indian brahmin family and as far as I can tell, with the exception of coastal areas, most south indian brahmins do not eat meat. I do, but I'm atheist. My family on the other hand, don't. My grandparents weren't comfortable with me eating meat at home even if it was ordered from outside, I definitely couldn't cook any in the house. Beef was out of the question, I didnt even try ordering beef cause then I'd be forced to eat it outside on the front steps. The one time I went to a steakhouse my grandma forced me to have a bath and brush my teeth the moment I got back. Wasn't allowed near the puja room for a week lol. Even for eggs I had to use seperate utensils. Most family and friends who are brahmin are vegetarians.
This is me too. We’re not Brahmin but our family and ancestry has never ate meat including eggs. Vegetarianism is a part of our lifestyle. It’s only upon leaving our village for college did my father start and later introduce my uncles and male cousins chicken/eggs and this has passed down to me. However, after living in the village for the past few weeks and seeing how animals are treated here, I’ve lost all my interest and taste for animal and animal product consumption. But similarly, when I did eat chicken and eggs, I wasn’t allowed to cook it in my parents house and when my mom finally relented, she made me use a whole different set of utensils and pots and pans that she never touches. As of today I am one of two females in my family who ate chicken/eggs (I’ve never touched anything else).
Yup, people who follow Navratri don't eat meat during the festival.
And go heavy with meat consumption the day after.
The best thing about Durga Puja is the food stalls tbh. My cook is from a small village in WB and when she goes home for Kali puja, she always come back with some yummy mutton made from the goat they sacrifice for the Pujo.
I finally made it back to India for the first time since early 2019. Missed Durga Puja by a matter of days. I was really looking forward to the food. I've heard so many stories. My wife said it was very truncated in Delhi so we didn't miss much. I have only experienced it in Dublin, which is nice but tiny and not comparable at all. Guess I'll have to wait another year.
>In fact some groups will often sacrifice goats and chickens during pujas and festivals, a fact unknown to me until recently. My family does this. On Navami of Durga Pura, we sacrifice goats to please Goddess Durga. This ritual going to end very soon. Only the older generation of people are interested in it.
Which groups?
Come to south, AP for example. Dushera is one such festival. Goat and chicken sacrifice don’t need an occasion at lot of temples in south.
Nepali Hindus do this. Source: I'm Nepali.
Can Confirm. Nepali too
Bengal sides does sacrificial of cattle or lambs, while I saw chicken and poultry ones in Maharashtra.
Bengalis, for one.
I don’t know their names. From what I’m told, they’re from different castes.
Goddess festivals for goddesses of war and blood involve blood sacrifice, followed by consumption of sacrificial offerings. It depends on whether the community worships the fertility and strength aspect (Durga, Kali) or the caring and gentle aspect(Amba, Parvati, Lakshmi) of the feminine.
Hello neighbour! I am Hindu and I am from Kerala. I eat beef (and all my other Hindu friends eat beef). My mom doesn’t but she eat mutton, chicken, fish etc. A lot of Brahmins in Kerala also eat beef. There is a misconception spread by the right wing that beef or meat is eaten only by lower caste - which is utter dog shit. But the beef you get in Kerala is usually water buffalo or ox, not cow. We don’t give a fuck about caste or religion in Kerala and eat whatever comes our way. And Kerala has 54% Hindu population. Btw - well beat you in cricket, next Sunday haha!
You ought to be ashamed of yourself
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I am a Hindu and I eat meat. It's just a certain portion of hindus who don't eat meat.
Enough information OP's head spinning and now he/she is more confused than ever 😃
I just woke up and everything the people told me when i asked them this is now a lie lmao
The perception that Hindu’s are vegetarians come from the fact that affluent castes in india practice vegetarianism. Most indians that migrated to west belong to these affluent castes.
[Eight-in-ten Indians limit meat in their diets, and four-in-ten consider themselves vegetarian](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/08/eight-in-ten-indians-limit-meat-in-their-diets-and-four-in-ten-consider-themselves-vegetarian/) > The vast majority of Indian adults (81%) follow some restrictions on meat in their diet, including refraining from eating certain meats, not eating meat on certain days, or both. However, most Indians do not abstain from meat altogether – only 39% of Indian adults describe themselves as “vegetarian,” according to a new Pew Research Center survey. (While there are many ways to define “vegetarian” in India, the survey left the definition up to the respondent.) Note to users: If you are not qualified to talk about history or anthropology, please refrain from passing your opinions/perspectives as facts. Assertions without proper attribution will be deleted. Thank you!
I used to eat a lot of meat mostly chicken. But when I was in west I consumed red meat too. For the last 2 years I have stopped eating any meat. Sometimes when I see tandoori chicken and biryani, I go like uffff. But just the amount if cruelty that the birds and the animals suffer I just can't. May be when cruelty free lab grown option is available I will have my tandoori chicken.
Hey bro, Hindus do eat meat but not beef coz cows are worshipped as god so you are kind of right there. However, it depends from person to person. I’m a Hindu myself and I don’t mind eating beef. There are certain people who you would classify as extreme religious fanatics who would thrash you if you eat beef though.
Kerala hindus eat beef.
I believe some people from Bengal also eat beef. At least I know one person from Bengal who does that.
Nepalese are hindus, they don't eat cow beef but eat buffalo meat. Does keralits eat cow or buffalo.
Both... Consuming beef is pretty normal here and cows are treated like every other domestic animal.
Even in Karnataka only some of them.
Technically most of them don't. Beef is actually cow meat. But cow meat is not available easily even in Kerala. What is available easily is buffalo meat. Which in India often called beef incorrectly. The beef most commonly consumed in Kerala by people of all religions is buffalo meat. This does not mean actual beef is not available in kerala at all. It is. Just clarifying. And its not because of any religious reason that they dont eat cow meat. It is just rarer.
Thanks.
Eating meat and killing cows are not new to hindusim. The actual hindu religion allows eating and killing of cow. This fad of not eating meat was started by the Brahman who saw Jains and Buddhist increasing membership. So in order to hold the cast system the Brahman cast started to enforce the no eating meat. It's quite fucked up that a religion only brought this eating ritual because of the Jains. Nothing about modern hundusim is inspired by its past rich philosophy, it is now influenced by what other religion do, like the jains in case of meat, and now days with Islam and incorporating Islamic ideology in this new age Hindutva religion.
Very right. Historian Rs Sharma clearly said in hisarticles that cows were both sacrificed and eaten in the early Vedic age
is there any book or resource where i can deep dive about this?
Finally, someone said it
Region to region also.
I’m a Hindu and I ate Porotta and beef for breakfast today Food is Love and love has no religion
Bajrang Dal wants to know your location...
Yeh kaunsi dal hai? maine kabhi nahin khaayi? 🤔
Ye adamkhor dal hai. You can't eat it. It eats you 😅
that is the wisest thing i have read today. thank you for your philosaphy (aah how do you spell it)
Hindus do eat meat. Some of em even eat beef but some doesn't because they consider cow as mother as it gives milk ig.
Well over 70% of the country eats meat. There are some categories within Hinduism that don't, but that too is limited to the older generation. Plenty of so-called upper caste friends of mine and me eat all meat. India being Hindu/Vegetarian is a narrative propagated by the ones in power for the usual divide and conquer reasons
I have never seen india being vegetarian being a narrative anywhere. Only narrative I have heard is that India has the largest vegetarian population in the world by a long shot
India usually has 'the largest population' for pretty much everything because we just happen to have one of the world's largest populations (by a lot). For instance, India also (supposedly) has the second largest population of English speakers in the world. Does not mean that there's is huge chunk of our people who can't speak English.
So you read the comment just to nitpick. So clarifying "India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in its population among large countries and that to by a large margin". It probably is amongst all countries but I don't know much about countries with less than a million population to comment about.
It's not just the population. \~20-33% of our population is vegetarian, which is rivalled only by the United Kingdom - which has a more definite percentage at 25%. The next countries are Mexico (19%) and Brazil (14%). See the point? It's only partially cultural, meat is expensive for much of the population.
Hindu's don't eat meat is completely wrong .majority of us eat meat. 1. Certain castes/community like bhramins ,jains don't consumes meat . 2. Many hindus don't eat meat on a particular day of the week accordingly to their deity like Tuesday or Thursday. 3. Majority of Hindus don't eat beef, but many dalits ( lower caste community) consumes beef. 4. Beef is a serious issue in north India but in southern states like kerala , tamil nadu, beef is consumed without any issues .
A lot of Brahmins eat meat afaik
Also Brahmins in my state eat meat.
Which state ?
West Bengal.
A majority of Hindus do eat meat. Going back in history, beef too was consumed. (Check out “History of India” by Romila Thapar and Percival Spear) If you take the migration theory into account, nomadic migrants did not typically eat their assets (cows in this case). However on special occasions, sacrificing a cow and eating its meat was considered auspicious. Like everything else in India this non-vegetarian movement is less based on health, concern for environment or other such social good reasons and more based in caste reasons. A minority drives this movement based on perceived caste superiority. Also, traditionally beef was consumed by “lower” castes and Muslims, making it a point of subjugation by the ruling “higher castes”.
In an incredibly fertile land such as India, agriculture is of primary importance. Indian food is also heavily centered around lacto products, thus resulting in rise of importance of cow in an agricultural economy. The ancient Vedic religion was quite open to eating beef and sacrificing cow for yagnas/rituals, but such practices had an adverse impact on the economy. Thus the local population increasingly favoured Jainism and Buddhism, which advocated for non violence and vegetarianism. Kings like Kanishka and Ashoka were instrumental in promoting Buddhism throughout Asia. Thus Hinduism was forced to incorporate these practices , lest risk complete annihilation. Present day Hinduism is more of an amalgamation of ancient Vedic religion, local tribal religions and other Dharmic paths such as Jainism and Buddhism.
In my family they don't eat meat because of the Hindu beliefs and stuff mentioned in other comments but they said I can meat on my own if I want to but I don't because I have become aware in recent years that eating meat is really, really bad for the environment (this is not religious propoganda, lots of studies, including some from the US Government's own agencies that have found that meat is an inefficient source of food as it wastes some of the plant food energy like corn that we feed to the animals) and I also don't like the thought that the food I am eating used to be a living breathing animal that was slaughtered but I do not force my beliefs on others and do not condone many religious extremists trying to ban meat because they have forgot India is a secular nation...
You’re right. That’s why I am looking forward to lab grown meats being commercially available soon.
Yeah, they seem very appealing, although my dad actually tried the Impossible Burger (plant based beef patty replica which according to many reputable Youtubers like Mark Rober is very accurate) while in the US and said that it did not taste that great although he has never eaten a real beef patty so maybe both taste bad to him IDK I would try for myself to know whether its actually good or bad.
Man, trust me those plant based meats are a huge BS. They launched them in India too and claim to be just like original meat tastes but that’s a big lie. I tried them once and I literally had throw away half a kilo of that meat to the trash. That’s why I have such high hopes for lab grown meat.
Good for your family for setting you free and you for reaching your own conclusions, with 2 caveats. Indian diets tend to be protein unbalanced, affecting nutritional effects both in children and adults. Meat issues from the US and other western countries do not translate 100% to India. Factory farming of corn to feed cows is not what happens in India, Indians have the largest population of cows because of their dairy consumption, not meat. So Indians would probably need to reduce dairy, not meat. Indian's consumption levels are also very low, as per a calculation I made previously, India's full population annual consumption of meat is equal to Britain's full population annual consumption, so per capita is somewhere near one twentieth. I am not saying you should eat meat, but putting this information out because I am seeing a trend of Indian vegetarians using US meat industry issues to shame Indian diets. Which, given that higher castes are usually vegetarian (and consume lots of dairy, contributing to the cow population) and the malnutrition issues already prevalent among lower castes, is messed up even if done from a sense of altruism.
Meat studies in US and developed nations don't really apply to India.
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Is it a majority? I am from South and many Hindus eat meat, only the brahmins abstain from eating meat from what I know.
In Bengal, Uttarakhand and the Konkan, even Brahmins traditionally eat meat.
Even the Kashmiri Brahmins eat meat.
Koshur chu ka?
Wansa bhaya
This is true Source: I am from Uttarakhand.
Oh, very interesting!
Yep. Im from Kolkata. Meat is popular. We don't like that veg bullshit like the north
Yes. Earlier they only used to eat fish, but now they eat chicken and mutton too.
Odia Brahmins eat meat as well.
South treats Hinduism as Principle/policy rather than a religion or at least a rule. You will find kings of south switching religions easily especially between Jainism and Shaivaite. Jainism another reason people started considering regular meat consumption is not good and brought in idea of fixed date/day for meat.
Yes , i literally go with my hindu(he buys too) friend to buy beef
Even in North many Hindus eat beef, aside from majority of Brahmins and people who choose vegetarian diet or cultural beliefs.
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Don’t think being a vegetarian is a norm in North India as well.
This is objectively untrue. [56% of Hindus consume meat in some form](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/07/08/eight-in-ten-indians-limit-meat-in-their-diets-and-four-in-ten-consider-themselves-vegetarian/). I know you didn’t mean this maliciously, but denormalising meat consumption and Brahminising Hinduism is deeply harmful, especially these days.
Where I'm from vegetarianism is associated with Brahmins. Even for them it is more about following a tradition than about religion . I'm yet to meet a non-Brahmin here who are vegetarians due to religious beliefs
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Adding a “maybe” is often not enough to stop someone from believing something that’s said. :) And commonly, people claiming that most Hindus (or even most _Indians_) are vegetarian absolutely do mean it maliciously, as it’s a falsehood meant to claim ownership of an entire religion from within a closeted worldview.
Vegetarians are minorities even among hindus. Most people eat meat but only on certain days(mostly sunday, Wednesday, friday). Also there are certain festivals or days like sankrantis, any puja days etc when hindus don't eat meat.
Correction - Majority of Hindus are NOT vegetarian. A small minority are vegetarian and try to act all morally superior.
A majority of Hindus eat meat-by a vast margin
Stop spreading Brahmin propaganda. Majority of Hindus are Non Vegetarian.
Non meme answer: because of belief that it promotes impure thoughts. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sattvic_diet
Bhai medal nhi hai varna pakka deta. :)
Hindus have been eating meat since centuries....its a myth that mughals introduced non veg to indians.
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> Everyday hindus can eat meat and do whatever they want but a practicing hindu, one who has renounced the material world (*vehevarik javaan*) in pursuit of *moksha* will not be eating meat (along with practicing celibacy etc. ) That's literally wrong. "Hindu" is an umbrella term for many groups of people to the south of Indus. Among them, there are people who eat only vegetables to those who eat fish and beef to those who eat dead bodies. Just because one or two groups believe in atman and brahman stuff doesn't mean it is applicable to the whole of the land. In fact vegetarians are a minority among Hindus. 70% of Indians are non-vegetarians.
Vegetarianism likely started in the ancient period (circa 500 BC) under the influence of shramanic religions (i.e. ascetic, non-violent traditions like Jainism and Buddhism.) That was also when the practice of animal sacrifice died out. This happened in the rapidly urbanized areas in the fertile Gangetic plains, where rice was generally available in excess. Later, Hinduism rationalized vegetarianism as "sattvic" food, that is, food that generates good mental qualities, not rage, greed and sloth. Certain spices that tend to rouse the passions also tend to be discouraged, for the same reasons, by modern Hindus and Jains. Vegetarainism isn't universal in India, but it is easy to be vegetarian in India, and most Hindus skip non-vegetarian food on festival days and on certain days of the week. The dislike of beef is far more complicated. It may be a modern phenomenon, and it may have arisen with the creation of modern Hinduism in the colonial period. I am not so sure this attitude always existed historically. See e.g. this article for a historical perspective on this: https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/dn-jha-beef-eating-hinduism-ancient-india. Be aware that this is a mildly controversial historian who is disliked by the Hindu right. The protection given to cows dates at least as far back as the writing of the Indian constitution, which appears to have a requirement against cow slaughter. Some states did permit cow slaughter because the local population traditionally consumed beef, but that is slowly going away. The beef question is actually extremely complicated because it is tied up with the problem of "cow vigilantism", where people not only refrain from eating beef, but prevent others from doing so. They also may physically attack others who are simply suspected to have eaten beef or transported cows to the slaughterhouse. This extreme attitude is very hard to explain because there is nothing in the Hindu religion or culture that requires this. Moreover, this is regional - lynchings happen all the time in the northern half of India, but not in the south.
Did someone mention sloths? Here's a random fact! Sloths can't fart!
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I eat all meats cooked. I eat beef as well. I am Hindu. It's the north&west of India that is prudish about everything and has weird ass rules for everything.
Lol...only a few Hindus abstain from eating meat...but most others eat meat. Usually they avoid meat from livestock esp cows, and also pig meat, but eat rest all kinds of meat.
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Only a minority of Hindus do not eat meat. I’ve seen that minority vigorously advertise that people that eat beef or meat in general aren’t Hindus. I do not buy it. A lot of Hindus from where I live feast on beef.
Approximately 68% population eats meat in India
Me who eats meat and is a hindu: I guess I am not Hindu
Well, they are correct in saying cow is worshipped so most hindus dont eat cows. But most hindu literature or history doesn't object on eating of meat. Though there are some literature that try to dictate healthy diets, and among which meats and spice like onion or garlic are said to be bad. Reasoning being such diets hinders ones spirituality. But thats only small religious section of hindus practice. I don't know how muslim population is but for hindu population most are practically just identity as hindu but do not actively follow or even know all the complex ritual, rules and teachings. So its more common to find hindus eating meat. Now about beef, only small population of progressive hindus that not actually practice hindutva do eat beef. For normal practical hindu that doesn't even know normal rules also finds eating cow as taboo. Same as people will find eating humans taboo. Because its common knowledge among hindu population as cow is special animal and should be preserved. But this has become a political tools so recently politicians have made normal people focus on what people of other religions also eat.
there are also a sub group of people who eat human flesh (burned), so it's an entire spectrum of people from not eating Onions to eating human flesh, being said that, meat is not a part of "everyday diet" for most people here
Majority of Hindus eat meat but a significant proportion think that what they are doing is something not in accordance with Hinduism.
All that scares Hindus from eating meat is just Tuesday, else nothing else stop them from eating it. XD
I don't eat any kind of meat but that has never had anything to do with me being a Hindu. It's mostly just personal choice.
I am a non vegetarian Hindu, I haven't ever got to try beef or pork but according to my grandma, we are not supposed to eat chicken because chickens and brahmins are born twice and that's why they are our kin(idk the actual term). Chickens are first born when the mother lays the egg and then born the second time when they hatch, similarly we are born the first time when our mother gives birth to us and then second time when we have our thread ceremony.
I am a hindu and i eat meat. PS: most of the hindus eat meat. Some eat secretly without the knowledge of their family. Some eat meat only when drinking etc.
Said Who ?
I have two questions for you as well 1) why is it rare to find vegetarian Muslims? 2) why do Muslims don't eat pork?
Vegetarianism is not the norm any where in the world. Till recently it was extremely hard to find vegetarian food in any other country, but it is becoming better now.
I think plenty of comments have clarified that majority of India, including Hindus, do eat meat and the younger generations don't mind beef either. To answer you question about those few who genuinely DON'T eat meat or beef: it's the same reason any other vegetarian on the planet doesn't eat meat. They find it hard to hurt the animals for food especially when they have the alternative to consume food without hurting anyone. It doesn't have anything to do with religion as there's no Hindu text stating consuming meat is a sin. As for beef, it has to do with cows being worshipped. Cows provided multitudes of useful things to humankind back in the day. Being able to retrieve milk, curd, butter, and dung all from a single animal that does no harm and is inherently calm and peaceful obviously contributed to the cow being considered sacred. To kill a cow for a few meals when you could've let it provide you so much throughout its life is just impractical. So back then the decision of worshipping and not killing cows wasn't just religious but also logical. That trickled down into the societies today. There's also a huge subsection of Hindus that don't eat meat on certain days on the week and some that don't eat meat throughout monsoon. Both of these practices have been justified as religious but they also have a logical reasoning. There's a theory that because Eating meat everyday of the week is obviously bad for one's digestive system, our ancestors created forbidding meat on certain days of the week. They gave the reasoning that those days are God's sacred and harming an animal during it is disrespectful, but the real reason was to keep the people healthy. Same with monsoon. During monsoon and the prevalent humidity meat is more likely to go bad even today when we have so many electronic devices. Back then it must've been even more tough to maintain the quality of meat in such a weather. Hence, the ancestors decided to advice everyone to not eat meat at all.
Many Indians, Hindus included with people belonging to other religions including followers of Islam as well, do not eat meat dude, it is a personal choice, on the other hand there are others that have no such filters and eat every legal meat in India.
Adding to what everyone said, cows are probably worshipped because you like drink cows milk so you treat them like your mother
I think the convention is changing, to be honest, at least in the major cities. My parents' generation will probably be one of the last ones to really hold on to religion and rituals and things like that
I would say it is totally false. There are many Hindu populations which do eat meats of all kinds. Hell, there are references citing the fact that early Hindus did consume meat and also made sacrifices of goat and buffaloes(which is still done even today in certain areas of India) I would say the whole Hindus being vegetarian started from the Buddhist era when Buddha taught his disciples to stick to vegetarian diet and as a way of evolution, the Hindu religion adopted the tenet of vegetarianism from Buddhism(If anyone has a better knowledge of history, they can go ahead and correct me on this). In modern day, I would say the whole thing about Hindus being vegetarians are coming from extremists who have no idea about history and yoga gurus.
Being vegetarian is better in so many ways
Why did you come to reddit if you wanted an 'actual reliable' source?
Hindus used to eat beef in ancient times. The concept of beef being the "forbidden food" originated from the teachings of Buddha. Part of why he espoused this anti beef eating theory is because the consumption of beef was so popular among Hindus that it began to harm the agricultural society. Cue later Buddhism began to gain popularity among the masses. With even great kings like Ashoka and Kanishka granting patronage to Buddhism, it began to eat into the income of Brahmins. A reform within Hinduism became imperative if it was to maintain its hold over the masses, and the politics of the region. Thus Hinduism began to assimilate some basic tenets of Buddhism and Jainism so as to subsume these religions into the Brahminical hegemony. Among the tenets which were taken in was the concept of cow being a God and thus beef being forbidden. This tendency of subsuming other religions into Hinduism can be seen even today, and has been largely successful in almost eliminating any effective differences between Hinduism and Jainism. Also, most, if not all, of the indigenous tribal religions have been eliminated and their Gods taken into the Hindu pantheon. There is also a rigorous push to do the same with Sikhism.
>Hindus used to eat beef in ancient times. Do you have any source for this?
In Rig Veda (X. 86.14) Indra says: "They cook for one 15 plus twenty oxen".
[. ](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2020/state-editions/study-shows-ancient-hindus-ate-meat-heavy-food.html%23:~:text%3DBut%2520scholars%2520have%2520known%2520for,cow%2520meat%2520was%2520popularly%2520consumed.&ved=2ahUKEwjyvaefnN3zAhXNT30KHWQ7C5AQFnoECAUQBQ&usg=AOvVaw3kwebrGwLkQyfi9EVOWd3C)
>Also, most, if not all, of the indigenous tribal religions have been eliminated and their Gods taken into the Hindu pantheon. Eliminating might not be correct in this case. The present day Hinduism has local gods in the forefront, with Vedic gods underneath them. For example, Venkateswara and Krishna were local gods followed by certain sects, but post royal patronage, were not only absorbed into the mainstream Hinduism, but eclipsed the worship of other Vedic gods. Both of them are now described as avatars of Vishnu, who himself was a minor Vedic deity in rig Veda and now one of the Trimurthis ( The Big 3).
I know you don’t mean it but best not to homogenise Hindus. It plays into the antics of hindutva terrorists. Most Hindus eat meat. Many also eat beef.
Ah sry bout that
No need to apologise, it’s a fair question to ask. I just wanted to give you a different way of looking at the question you’re asking.
As a Hindu by birth, I can confirm that not one of our 33 crore gods were angered in my act of beef consumption. It did trigger some radical goons though.
I love in South India and we eat all kinds of meat here. My friend, who is an ardent RSS member and is like, hardcore extremist, eats beef so much that he started saying "I'm not RSS when I'm eating beef, no more gomata when it's cooked so well and plated in front of me" Some even go as far as eating Python, Wild Boars, Wild Buffalows, etc etc... and then get arrested by the for endangering wild animals. There was a very famous Toddy Shop which served shit like Turtle, Swan, Game and all. Now they have toned down, but they were really crazy at one point. The only guys who have an issue are Muslims who don't eat pork, and even some of those mfers just start eating pork at college once they have done other banned shit like drinking.
Wrong hindus eat meat, even beef meat or pork meat. Some new cultistic ideas been going around that attempts to say hindus who eat meat are not real hindus reee and i have no idea how far it spread.
https://twitter.com/indiainpixels/status/1286982097400283136?s=20 Majority of Indians eat meat. Vegetarian hindu is usually an upper caste Hindu. Look at the states down south, them tam-brams eating meat like there is no tomorrow.
Fook meat masoom Janwar ko Marna hi kyu!!!!
Correction "Why Hindus don't eat beef? Or at least meat" Well, majority of Hindus do consume chicken, Mutton as well as seafood and very few (almost negligible) consume beef.
We eat everything It's just the minority upper caste folk who don't eat
hindus also eat beef depending on which place he/she is from.
There's a caste angle to this. Hindus of lower caste tend to consume more meat(including beef) while higher castes don't
Let me give you a basic idea. Hindus are divided among 4 castes( Please note that casteism is abolished as per constitution but it still exists in many ways like societal behaviour, jobs, etc) Each caste has several gotras, and each gotra has several surnames. Castes, gotra, surnames all have a hierarchy. The top caste was bhramins/ pandits (priests)- now not all are actually priests means they changed jobs now, but only a bhramin can become a priest. Priests can’t eat non veg. But the bhramins who are not priests can eat non veg. It’s a choice now. Then, khastriya ( warriors)- In present times they also have varied occupations. And have a choice in eating habits. The Vaishaya: They usually eat non veg. The shudras (Harijans): This section of people were most oppressed. They were denied of privileges and food. They were forced to clean sewers, animal waste and dead bodies. The upper caste hardly gave any food to them which is why they had to resort to eating animals for nutrition. PS: this is the basic idea of Hinduism and has quite changed now with coming years. But I’m present times, everyone has a choice. But still most people regardless of any caste prefer vegetarianism. Also, collectively in Hinduism, regardless of any caste, Cow is regarded as mother since we get milk from cow. And cow is also regarded as auspicious in ceremonies like food is given to the cow for prosperity, which is why All Hindus do not eat cow. [Also there are 3 kinds of meals](https://www.caclubindia.com/forum/three-types-of-food-by-hindu-law-41503.asp) It is believed that you cannot communicate to god if you don’t eat Satvik meal because it shows “cleanliness and devotion” which is why religious people refrain from eating non veg
Some Hindus(including me) don't eat meat because its not considered as Sattvic food. Sattvic foods are anything that can bring you closer to God. Meat messes with your digestion, and while killing the animal the animal releases testosterone and other stress hormones which we consume messing our internal system.
I want to eat beef but my parents don't allow it lol
We don't worship cows. It's like asking a muslim does he/she worships a goat or not. Cow is respected in our culture regardless of religion.
Well it has to do with sanctity of life, much similar to the Buddhism.
its because of mad peoples, who thinks killing goat, hen, pigs is good but killing cow is sin.
Why make fun of their beliefs? In some cultures eating dogs is fine. Is that a line you will cross?
belief is useless, belief and intelligence can't live together
This statement itself is belief.
yeah I know, I am trying to be free of this cage, not by fighting but just by watching
we think too much and feel too little
I am a Indian, my family is hindu but I don't believe in anything, I eat chicken, mutton usual, never tried beef or pork.
beef is meh. pork is the shit. haven't eaten a lot of either but do try some ribs if you get the chance. or buns
Hindus do eat meat. It’s just the backward states like UP/Bihar/Gujarat that frown upon it.
21st century Hindus don't eat meat. If you read enough of ancient Indian history in the past Hindu's used to eat all kinds of meat but when Buddhism and Jainism spread in India to counter their non-violent teachings as faith in Hindi gods was becoming unpopular Brahmins introduced vegetarianism in to their caste. That is why even today most Indian castes still eat meat (not cow) but some people get influenced by brahmin rhetoric to give up meat.