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I am a Hindu who is a devotee Sain Sacho Satram Das (my Satguru) whose faith is fairly strong but has a fair amount of questions about Hinduism. I believe that I will get answers to all of them on this site. This is my first question here at Hinduism Stack Exchange and I hope that I will get knowledge that will satisfy my unresting thoughts.

I was searching this morning about blood sacrifices in Hinduism and I got a somewhat satisfying answer from this post on Hinduism Stack Exchange which has a tick mark on the answer. But then another related question rolled in my mind. The person who answered the question says that blood sacrifices for Goddess Kali are done in Hinduism for those who really can not abondon meat eating because consumption of meat is prohibited in Hinduism by a lot of saints and also in a lot of the scriptures. Blood Sacrifices are also done in Hinduism because it is good for both the animal being sacrificed as he gets immediate allowance to be born as a human in the next life because the souls have to be born as a lot of different animals before they are born as a human, and it is good for the human who is sacrificing the animal as he gets to eat meat which is sacrificed for Goddess Kali and not any other unclean meat which is sold in slaughterhouses. In brief, it is for those who can not leave meat eating. If you want to eat meat, be a devotee of Goddess Kali. But then there are thousands of Hindus who are devotees of, for example Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, Sai Baba who eat meat. Why is this? If it is said that if a Hindu wants to eat meat, he should be a follwer of Goddess Kali and if he is a follower of any other deity, he is not allowed, then why do other Hindus eat meat? And do sacrificial acts not tackle the law of Ahimsa (the rule which states that we should not violate any living being) in Hinduism as a whole?

Thank you for reading this brothers. I hope to get a fully satisfying answer. :)

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Pardeep Kumar
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  • Possible duplicate of Is the ritual of killing an animal as offering to Maa Kali correct? – Say No To Censorship Nov 02 '16 at 15:14
  • "If it is said that if a Hindu wants to eat meat, he should be a follower of Goddess Kali" - where did you hear this? from your guru? Kshatriya's (those in police, military etc.) are allowed and recommended to eat meat purely to suit their jobs but not out of desire to eat meat. Addiction to any kind of food is bad, even if it's "vegetable" biryani :P – Say No To Censorship Nov 02 '16 at 15:22
  • "Law of Ahimsa (the rule which states that we should not violate any living being)" - which law is this? – Say No To Censorship Nov 02 '16 at 15:23
  • To the first commenter: I read the statements here: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/2117/how-is-animal-or-human-sacrifice-justified

    But I understand now due to the correct answer by The Destroyer.

     – Pardeep Kumar Nov 02 '16 at 15:27
  • To the second commenter: I haven't read any Hindu scriptures yet but I've heard from a lot of people talking about Ahimsa which is stated in the Bhagvad Gita I think but don't quote me on that. – Pardeep Kumar Nov 02 '16 at 15:30
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    @Pradeep Kumar.That answer u are referring to isn't exactly the best of answers although its selected.The answer does not cite from Hindu sastras .Those words are verily personal opinions of a person whos intent is promoting hatred demeaning Gods etc, otherwise who will call Bhagawati/Parameswari(synonyms of Goddess Kali) a "demi Goddess "lolz... – Rickross Nov 03 '16 at 05:45
  • @Rickross those "narrow minded" people should read all scriptures not only the interpolated BVP. They should know their Supreme Lord is same as Divine Mother of this cosmos. They can only know benevolent nature of Parameswari from personal experinces. Anyways, this is Maya of Mother and without Her will, these things won't happen at all. This is just Her play. – The Destroyer Nov 03 '16 at 06:21
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    @TheDestroyer Yes forgot to mention that in the previous comment.Those people are not well versed in Shastras. – Rickross Nov 03 '16 at 07:20

1 Answers1

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You have many questions and let me answer each question. Actually, most of your questons are answered already on this site. As it is difficult to mark this question as exact duplicate, i am providing an answer for this.

Is Non Veg allowed in Hinduism?

Yes. It is allowed but not recommended.

You can eat meat when your life is in danger i.e, when doctor prescribes you to eat. For example, your body may badly require some protiens and you can eat meat in those cases as Human birth is aquired after lots of good virtues or Karma. It is not wise to torment your own Human body by not eating mamsa in those cases. Also, you can eat meat if you do lots of Physical work. Rama, Krishna and Pandavas as Kshatriyas ate Mamsa. They need to participate in wars as part of their Kshatriya Dharma and they need muscular body to do that.

This answer explains beautifully, why it is not recommended (not mandatory) to eat "living animals" but not "living plants". I provide some verses from that answer to justify eating meat when our life is in danger.

One can eat meat when his life is in danger. (i.e. if the condition is such that if you don't eat meat you will die.) [Manu. Smrt. - 5.27]

For the sustenance of life Prajapati created everything. So both movable and immovable are the food of prana (life force) [Manu. Smrt. - 5.28]

Actually, we should offer whatever we eat first to God or our Ista Deva. This is what Krishna Paramatma says in Bhagavadgita 3.13

yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaḿ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

So, it is clear that we can offer food to Devas or Lord first in those cases.

Also, there are three types of foods. Satvic, rajasic and Tamasic. Our Gunas or traits depend on what we eat. Generally, it is not recommended to eat Tamasic foods as we acquire Tamas guna.

Refer following questions to get more clarity. Is the ritual of killing an animal as offering to Maa Kali correct? and Should a Brahmin be vegetarian?.

Should i become Kaali Maa Bhakta to eat meat?

As said above, we can eat meat if our life is in danger or during festivals when animals are sacrificed to Kaali Mata or any form of her form (especially Grama Devata in South India).

As stated in this answer, sacrificing animals for Kali Mata or any Grama Devata will take those sacrificed animals to heaven, as mentioned in Srimad Devi Bhagavatam. But this doesn't mean you should be Kali Bhakta to eat meat. You can offer it to Devas (or your Ista Deva) and eat it (mostly recommended this only when your life is in danger).

Manumsriti says,

Irrespective of whether one has bought the meat, killed the animal himself or has received from another person, there is no fault in eating meat when it has been offered to the gods and the manes. [Manu - 5.32]

You can worship any form of Brahman (Shiva, Vishnu or Durga) or any Deva and eat meat by offering to your Ista Deva.

Please refer the question, Should we chant mantras before eating food?.

And do sacrificial acts not tackle the law of Ahimsa (the rule which states that we should not violate any living being) in Hinduism as a whole?

Ahimsa is good but not mandatory. One should decide to choose Himsa or Ahimsa based on their Profession or Varna. A soldier can't follow Ahimsa and defend the country.

All those warriors who die in battle field by following Himsa reach heaven, as they strictly followed their (Kshatriya) Dharma or duty. This is the reason, all those warriors who died in Mahabharata War reached swarga including Kaurava Army.

This is what Lord Krishna says in Bhagavadgita 3.35,

śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ
para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt
sva-dharme nidhanaḿ śreyaḥ
para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ

It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another’s duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous.

Krishna Himself supported Arjuna to participate in war as it was proper to Arjuna as Kshatriya. So, choosing Himsa or Ahimsa depends on Varna or your profession.

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  • Thank you brother for taking your time to help me. Most of my worries are cleared which is a big relief thanks to you :). But there is still a thought in my mind that needs to be cleared. What about those Hindus who eat meat fairly usually for pure pleasure and not when their life is in danger? Whether they are Kali Bhaktas or not? Are they committing sins? And you state state that we should offer food to our Ista Deva before eating, but what if someone is a Krishna devotee? We can not offer meat to Krishna as He accepts only Satvic yet many Krishna devotees still eat meat. What about them? – Pardeep Kumar Nov 02 '16 at 15:03
  • @PardeepKumar Those who eat meat just to satisy their taste buds aquire some amount of Aagami negative karma. There is no where mentioned that Krishna doesn't accept foods other than Satvic. However, most of the Vaishnavas follow vegeterianism. It's not mandatory for a Krishna Bhakta to follow vegeterianism. If your profession is soldier or police officer, you can't work effectively by eating only veg. So, Krishna will definitely understand you. Remember, Varna or profession decides your food. Krishna and Rama ate meat as Kshatriyas. – The Destroyer Nov 02 '16 at 15:10
  • Brother, what if someone, for example a christian asks me "your Goddess Kali likes blood sacrifice, right? How can such a horrible act be accepted by a Hindu deity if Hinduism is truly a peaceful religion?" How can I defend the respect of my religion then? – Pardeep Kumar Nov 02 '16 at 15:15
  • @PardeepKumar This is bit complex question as a Christian he/she may not believe the statement of Devi Bhagavatam or other scriptures that they reach heaven. If he doesn't believe it, then it is difficult to convince him.I think, we should also define "what is peaceful religion"? We support wars to establish Dharma as Krishna did in Mahabharata. So, it actually depends on what he meant by "truly a peaceful religion"? Dharmic Himsa is justified. But others may feel it as just Himsa. – The Destroyer Nov 02 '16 at 15:24
  • You just stated exactly what I was thinking about him not believing us. Well, God will guide us in that situation. Thank you very much brother! I feel really satisfied now. :D – Pardeep Kumar Nov 02 '16 at 15:32
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    @Pradeep Kumar you can say to the friend that Kali is thirsty of blood but that of demons not of innocent animals.What Kali actually wants from her devotees is the sacrifice of the demons that r within them.By simultaneously,sacrificing innocent animals and maintaining the bad attributes within themselves the devotees are not doing any good to anyone. – Rickross Nov 03 '16 at 05:50
  • @Rickross In this post: http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/15640/is-the-ritual-of-killing-an-animal-as-offering-to-maa-kali-correct

    You stated that a mother would never like to drink the blood of her children which is completely correct and that the tradition of offering an animal to Maa Kali as a sacrifice is just for the pleasure of the person who is sacrificing the animal. But if there is a factor in Hinduism that if we want to eat meat, we first have to sacrifice the animal for Maa Kali, then we won't gain any sins,

     – Pardeep Kumar Nov 03 '16 at 13:07
  • @Rickross then that kind of means that Maa Kali likes the blood of innocent animals too, doesn't it? Otherwise why only sacrifice the animals for Maa Kali? – Pardeep Kumar Nov 03 '16 at 13:08
  • @Pradeep Kumar u shud read my answer then .I have clarified there that the necessity for animal sacrifice arises for only those persons who eat meat..Goddess is not asking for those sacrifices.Goddess is thirsty for the the blood of the Asuras that she slain(killed) not of innocent animals.And since time immemorial animal sacrifices are practiced in Vedic Yajnas .Nothing to do with Goddess Kali in particular. – Rickross Nov 03 '16 at 14:48
  • @Rickross No but, what I'm asking is why only sacrifice animals for Goddess Kali if one wants to eat meat? Why not any other deities like Lord Shiva, etc... or is it that people with little knowledge of Hindu religion think that sacrificing animals for only Goddess Kali and eating meat is correct? When the reality is that sacrificing animals and Goddess Kali are completely unrelated. Who knows? – Pardeep Kumar Nov 03 '16 at 15:29
  • @PardeepKumar Shiva does accept meat. Kala bhairava takes meat. Bhakta Kannappa worshipped Shiva by offering meat. You should see Rickross answer where he explained 5 Ms in Shaktism and Shaivism. – The Destroyer Nov 03 '16 at 15:55
  • @PardeepKumar as regards ur question why sacrifices only for Kali and not for other Gods like Shiva etc--That's mainly because Kali is described as a fierce deity in scriptures.She loves drinking blood of the asuras .Shiva or other deities,although they killed many asuras,are not depicted likewise.Devotees bereft of knowledge of scriptures and bereft of intelligence,thought that this thirst for blood can be quenched if animals are sacrificed for hEr.But she only wants blood of the asuras. – Rickross Nov 04 '16 at 05:41
  • *There is another Goddess from the 10 Mahavidyas group,called Chinnamasta,who a is also depicted as one driniking her own blood by beheading herself.Now these are all symbolic,stupid people will think that like kali she also likes blood and ANY blood will do. – Rickross Nov 04 '16 at 05:42
  • @Rickross TheDestroyer

    Right, I understand now. Thank you very much for taking your time to help me! :)

     – Pardeep Kumar Nov 04 '16 at 12:55