Hello everyone,
As a member of TamBrahm community, I'm guided by certain rules and regulations especially the food habits,among which 'consumption of meat' one of the highest taboo. I'm really curious to find out the purpose and the reason for this practice. I did a little research before posting the question here but couldn't find a satisfactory answer.
One of the reason I found out was , a brahmin's kitchen should be free from the blood of animals but then what about milk? Isn't it just blood in another form?
The other reasons being the categorization of foods into sattvic,rajasic and tamasic. Meat not being saatvic is thus prohibited for Brahmins. There is validity in this statement but I'm not fully convinced as how can occasional eating of meat bring about a huge change in temperament of a person. (Indians consume meat lesser than most of the other countries).
Daya or compassion to animals seems to be a valid reason but why was it restricted to just brahmins or am i wrong in assuming meat eating was prohibited to brahmins alone? And when you look at the sastras especially smritis there is always a mention tat a brahmin is not supposed to eat meat. I read a book called Hinduism by K.M.Sen (Grand father of Amartya Sen) where he is of the opinion that the early Aryans were indeed meat eaters and Vegetarianism as a concept was primarily borrowed from Buddhism and Jainism. In a way when you look at it from the perspectives of Sastras if meat eating was prohibited and condemned for Brahmins could it be because such a practice did exist? I mean Brahmins consumed meat and in the later stages it was prohibited.
I could be totally wrong but still I'm really curious. Why Don't Brahmins consume meat? Is it just because it has been laid down in Sastras?
I'm not here to ridicule our Sastras nor am I going to consume meat.Just want to know the reason and purpose of this practice because my elders couldn't give a valid reply and I don't blame them but I want to make sure my children know the truth and the rationality behind our customs and practices.
Regards
Anand
As a member of TamBrahm community, I'm guided by certain rules and regulations especially the food habits,among which 'consumption of meat' one of the highest taboo. I'm really curious to find out the purpose and the reason for this practice. I did a little research before posting the question here but couldn't find a satisfactory answer.
One of the reason I found out was , a brahmin's kitchen should be free from the blood of animals but then what about milk? Isn't it just blood in another form?
The other reasons being the categorization of foods into sattvic,rajasic and tamasic. Meat not being saatvic is thus prohibited for Brahmins. There is validity in this statement but I'm not fully convinced as how can occasional eating of meat bring about a huge change in temperament of a person. (Indians consume meat lesser than most of the other countries).
Daya or compassion to animals seems to be a valid reason but why was it restricted to just brahmins or am i wrong in assuming meat eating was prohibited to brahmins alone? And when you look at the sastras especially smritis there is always a mention tat a brahmin is not supposed to eat meat. I read a book called Hinduism by K.M.Sen (Grand father of Amartya Sen) where he is of the opinion that the early Aryans were indeed meat eaters and Vegetarianism as a concept was primarily borrowed from Buddhism and Jainism. In a way when you look at it from the perspectives of Sastras if meat eating was prohibited and condemned for Brahmins could it be because such a practice did exist? I mean Brahmins consumed meat and in the later stages it was prohibited.
I could be totally wrong but still I'm really curious. Why Don't Brahmins consume meat? Is it just because it has been laid down in Sastras?
I'm not here to ridicule our Sastras nor am I going to consume meat.Just want to know the reason and purpose of this practice because my elders couldn't give a valid reply and I don't blame them but I want to make sure my children know the truth and the rationality behind our customs and practices.
Regards
Anand