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Both plants and animals have the same soul, emotion and feelings. I know that meat is tamasic and is not suggestible for spiritual aspirants. Other than that, is there any exact logical reasoning for calling it a sin to eat meat but not plants? How is it a lesser sin to kill plants for food than to kill an animal for food?

Santhosh
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    Animals are more conscious than plants. They have emotions and can feel things like fear of death, pain when dying, etc., whereas plants cannot feel all these. So, when you eat meat, you are causing more suffering than when you eat plants. – Ikshvaku Jan 18 '21 at 17:32
  • Namaskaram. Your answer is not satisfactory. Please provide reasoning. Even plants have emotions. Proved by various experiments. – Santhosh Jan 18 '21 at 17:33
  • Animals do not feel pain and emotions like fear. There is no scientific proof for it either. – Ikshvaku Jan 18 '21 at 17:34
  • Just search the Question online. You'll find various ultrasonic experiments about how they scream when cut. – Santhosh Jan 18 '21 at 17:35
  • Ok I found the article: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/plants-emit-ultrasonic-distress-screams-when-stressed/article30306754.ece | Yes, this makes sense because Vedas say plants have some consciousness too. But the level of suffering is smaller than an animal's. – Ikshvaku Jan 18 '21 at 17:40
  • But that doesn't mean I can kill a fish instead of a lamb. Right? – Santhosh Jan 18 '21 at 17:42
  • It is less sinful to kill a fish than a goat. Likewise, it is less sinful to kill insects than animals, and less sinful to kill plants than insects. We have to consume other living organisms for our sustenance, so the Vedas allow us to do so by eating plants. – Ikshvaku Jan 18 '21 at 17:47
  • This is what I don't get. By the above reasoning, people can defend themselves by going on to kill cows for meat instead of a giraffe or an elephant. Don't get me wrong. I always feel that sanathan is all about logical reasoning. I'm searching for a logical reason behind not eating meat. – Santhosh Jan 18 '21 at 17:51
  • @Santhosh All rules in Hinduism are based on the Vedic injunctions. There is an injunction in the Veda which says, "ahimsyAt sarvabhUtAni" (one should not harm all creatures). This is a general rule that has exceptions such as, "one should sustain oneself by eating", "one should sacrifice an animal", and other things like war, self-defense, killing to protect dharma, etc. Now one has to eat to live, as enjoined by scripture, but in order to be consistent with the general injunction of non-violence, he has to minimize the suffering caused. In this way, both injunctions are followed. – Ikshvaku Jan 18 '21 at 23:49
  • @Santhosh And as a matter of fact, in a vegetarian diet we don't actually kill and eat plants; we eat their vegetables they produce. Fruits, legumes, rice, etc are produced by plants, and we eat those. Root vegetables on the other hand like tomatoes and potatoes are prohibited because you are pulling the plant out of the ground and that hurts it. – Ikshvaku Jan 18 '21 at 23:51
  • https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/32675/why-are-hindus-vegetarian-what-is-the-real-meaning-of-the-word-mamsah-%e0%a4%ae%e0%a4%be%e0%a4%82%e0%a4%b8%e0%a4%83 – ram Jan 19 '21 at 09:19

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