Is Being Vegetarian Good Or Bad?

6638 views | 05 Apr 2010

Q: The vegetarians say and eating animal flesh is not the right thing to do, we should not god's creations. Whereas the non-vegetarians say God has created those animals for us to feed. Is the habit of non-vegetarianism a bad karma? Although good, 'bad' are relative words, still I would like to have an overall view regarding this. Gurumaa: See, good & bad as you have already said are relative words and what is good for you might be bad for me. What is good for me might be bad for you. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to eat fish, he enjoyed his macho role & Sri Ramana Maharshi wont even touch garlic and both of them were great masters. You can not say that Sri Ramana Maharshi was greater than Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and more over the arguments are just like prostitutes, you pay a prostitute and she or he goes with you. Similarly, argument doesnt hold a ground. You can use it, mould it and can be used as for or against. I think its just matter of the personnel choice. What is good for you, you will have all the documents & arguments to support that; and what you might considered is bad, well again you will have all the arguments to prove your point. More over, mind is very egoistic; every human being has that great ego; whatever I do is right and whatever others believe might not be right. Eating vegetarian or non-vegetarian - choice should be based upon not just good or bad or sin or anything related to that. These days, there is lot of talk happening that if people would stop eating meat then the water reservoirs will work for a longer time and the amount of water which is used to rare one animal, that water is sufficient to grow crops for at least 500 people; whereas with that one animal, you may feed only 20 people. The scarcity of the natural resources these days is giving us a pointer to conserve the water, to conserve the plantations and that ways may be again - an argument for vegetarianism - I would say. But I think so - it is all to do with the aesthetics. Aesthetically, if your heart doesnt go then dont do it. And as such, for & against, you can have thousands & millions of arguments to prove a point or to disapprove of a point. But I think so, at end of the day, it is you who have to decide what you want to do.