Quote of the Day
Posted by Gurumustuk Singh on Aug 8th, 2006 in Featured Articles, Quotes, SSS Harbhajan Singh | 23 comments
"As long as you speak based on feelings and emotions, you are just serving the beast in yourself. When you speak as a human, when you speak with a higher purpose or a mission which is beyond you, you reach the hearts of other people. Your language changes, your word changes, your sound changes. And when you speak like an angel, you speak universally in totality. These are the three distinct lines of communication." – Yogi Bhajan, March 20, 1995
23 Responses to “Quote of the Day”
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very great quote from the diamond of the panth Shri Singh Sahib Harbajan Singh Ji Yogi this is a message to keep in your heart and think about all day please check out my blog http://www.gururamdass.blogspot.com
It’s soo amazing that stuff on your blog sometimes help me put things that I’m dealing with into Perspective. Thanks Bhai Sahib
I believe this fall under what your goal is…
Sikhs are to be always learning, and to have a serving attitude with love for all of the creation. What other way of expressing gratitude towards the creator than through the creation.
What did Jesus do? Well, he gave his life for the sin of another person. He died for the sins of humanity. It is human nature to sin, which I believe falls under our animal instincts. What we need to do is rise above these type of instincts and be in communion with the Lord and his Will.
That is why sikhs are given the command to recite God’s name. Then the time also comes when the reciter will become ONE with the recited.
And what greater way of communication than through the Lord’s Name?
As long as you just speak based on feelings and emotions, you are serving the beast within yourself. Wouldn’t this mean, to be a hypocrite otherwise?To succumb to the man-made laws and morals, and at the same time, lose in touch with your inner self and reject what it is trying to say to you?Do you think those so called “moral laws” are free from the ego of a person who created them?Dont you think by following those “laws of morality” we are succumbing to the herd menality slavery the person who created em had in mind?
just some points to think about, hoping to bring about healthy discussions
Hello,
Meat is not allowed in Langar because “Langar” was a tradition to unite people & to eliminate caste based discrimination within Indian society. This is the reason that meat was not allowed in langar because it may have stopped high caste Hindus to enter the Gurudwara premises who were pretty much vegetarian due to their beliefs. There is no such thing that if you eat meat you cannot reach God. It is God’s will that you are born with canine teeth. When first man came on this earth he was hunting animals for his food and agricultural ability was developed much later. Sikh Dharma never acts as your Doctor so meat allowed & not allowed should be in hands of your dietician not in your religious beliefs because you cannot define what sin is and what is not that power is in the hands of Dharamraj and he will give you final verdict when you get to his court.
So, stay with your spirituality and keep making it strong and do not get into defining others lifestyle. Eat and let others eat what they prefer to.
I could write a 10 page essay on what’s wrong with meat, but I’ll try to keep it simple. First we do not have the teeth for meat, We have a total of four pointed teeth, which are not as sharp as a meat eaters (like a cat). They are for nuts and legumes. Second the first men did not eat meat. I know the scientist who did the carbon dating on the earliest remains of a hominid discovered on this earth. He will tell you without a doubt that the first humans were strict vegetarians.
Meat begets violence, it is so simple. NO saint ever ate meat! How simple is that? The Siri Singh Sahib said it clearly ‘if you want to meet God, don’t eat meat.’ The way of the Guru or the way of ego (manmat)? Meat offers nothing but poison, disease, distress into the human body, so it is just a matter of the mind preferring tastes (manmat). There is every sceintific and healthy reason on this earth to support why humans should not be eating meat. From wars to famine to ozone depletion to deforestation to every destructive force known to man can be linked to the practice of eating meat. It’s not worth arguing, but it is false if you deny that it is a pleasure of your mind and body that causes you to eat meat. That pleasure is false and has a huge cost associated with it.
Hello Prabhu Singh
I do not wish to start meat discussion because there are plenty of websites where you can find debates on this topic. But as you have responded to my post now it becomes my responsibility to share in depth debate on this topic which is recorded in video format. Please go through this discussion and you will find all answers. I do not believe in forcing my views on others and that’s what I expect from fellow Sikhs. I believe that everyone has reasoning power in our brain and everyone has the freedom to select what they prefer to eat. It should not be based on religious beliefs simple as that at least for Sikhs.
Please watch following videos on this issue. Thanks for your time.
Zakir Naik – Is Non Vegetarian Food Permitted or Prohibited 1 of 2 (debate)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3775022861563813322&q
Zakir Naik – Is Non Vegetarian Food Permitted or Prohibited 2 of 2 (debate)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1719204291514655475&q
There are hunderds of quotes in Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee Maharaaj that shun the eating of meat no matter what kind it is. A few are cited below.
Jee Badhoh So Dharam Kar ThaapohAdharam Kaho Kat Bhai. Aapas Ko Munwar Kar Thaapoh, Kaa Ko Kaho Kasaaee.
You kill animals and call it religion (Rahit); then what indeed is irreligion (Kurahit)? Even then you consider yourself as a sage of sages; then whom to call a butcher?
Bed Kateb Kaho Mat Jhoothhay, Jhoothhaa Jo Na Bichaarey. Jo Sabh Meh Ek Khudal Kahat Ho,To Kio Murghi Maarey.
Do not call various religious texts false. False is one who gives no thought to their contents. If you consider God is in all, then why you slaughter the chicken (i.e., life?)
Rojaa Dharey, Manaavey Mlah, Svaadat Jee Sanghaarey. Aapaa Dekh Avar Nahin Dekhey,Kaahey Kow Jhakh Maarey.
You keep fasts (i.e., religious acts) to appease God. At the same time you slay life for your relish. This utter selfishness is nothing but empty or nonsensical talk.
Kabir Jee Jo Maareh Jor Kar,Kaahtey Heh Ju Halaal. Daftar Daee Jab Kaadh Hal, Hoegaa Kaun Havaal
Whosoever slays life by force and call it sanctified; What will be his fate when he will be called to account for it in His Court? (answer to Dharamraj’s court verdict)
Kabir Bhaang, Machhli Surapaan Jo Jo Praanee Khahey. Tirath, Barat, Nem Kiaye Te Sabhay Rasaatal Jahey.
Whosoever eats flesh, fish, etc. and takes wine and hemp, all his religious acts will go to waste.
Kabir Khoob Khaana Khichri, Ja Meh Amrit Lon. Heraa Rotee Kaamey Galaa Kataavey Kon
Blessed is the simple food of rice mixed with salt; Who would risk his head to be slain hereafter, for the meat one eats here?
However, there is one quote that kinda a lil towards eating of meat, but it is how one interpret the meaning of it.
Maas Maas Kar Moorakh Jhaghrrey. Gian dhian Nahin Jaaney. Kaun Maas Kaun Saag Kahaavey. Kis Mah Paap Samaaney.
Only the fool quarrels over the question of eating or not eating of the meat. He does not have the True Wisdom. Without True Wisdom or Meditation, he harps on which is flesh and which is not flesh and which food is sinful and which is not.
It is addressing a Vaishnav Pandit who believes that he can achieve his spiritual goal only by avoiding meat as food and not trying to obtain the true wisdom through meditation. He has stressed that only avoiding meat will not lead one to the achievement of Spiritual Bliss if one does not do Naam-Simran. This equally applies to all, including non-meat-eating Sikhs.
I dont know from where this logic of Meat not included in Langar came from. If one cant differentiate between a “sin” and a good deed, then the quotes above from Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee Maharaaj might help a lil…. No one is stopping anyone from eating anything… Its a free world, eat what ever one likes….
I really admire your contribution to this discussion. Let me put it this way, No if, no buts only AKAL Thakhat.
Akal Thakhat has given clear instruction in Code of Conducts for the Sikhs. An Amritdhari Sikh must not eat Halal Meat (which is considered 1 of the 4 kurehits) and rest is your choice. You want to be vegetarian please feel free to do so and if you want to eat meat then feel free to do so. Sikh gurus were not our dietitian but spiritual teachers. All this politics of being vegetarian is “betta” than non vegetarian is influence of certain emotions all human beings hold in their mind. There is no need to debate it. It is clear and Sikh scholars have given clean chit that Sri Raagmala & meat both are matter of choice. Also, all of your quotes are out of context. Please consult someone who teaches grammar of Gurbani and they will tell you how to quote Gurbani quotes in order to properly serve their purpose.
I used to have friend who quoted Bhagat Kabir Ji’s quote from Gurbani in which he mentions that keeping long hair doesn’t hold any spiritual significance which I knew he was quoting out of context. So, it is must we learn how to quote from Gurbani.
Here is that quote:
This Shabad is by Bhagat Kabeer Ji in Salok Kabeer Jee on Pannaa 1365
kabeer preeth eik sio keeeae aan dhubidhhaa jaae ||
bhaavai laa(n)bae kaes kar bhaavai gharar muddaae ||25||
Kabeer, when you are in love with the One Lord, duality and alienation depart.
You may have long hair, or you may shave your head bald. ||25||
Veer Gurumustuk and Sifar,
Thanks for sharing with us.
Gur Fateh…
For me being the best Sikh I can be is causing the least suffering possible. I try to eat simply. I compost all organic waste and recycle most other waste. I use little power (comparitively) and little water and try to be conscious of my impact to humans, animals, and the precious earth. Eating meat doesn’t have to do simply with your diet, or the poison you put into your body.
All the hormones and toxins associated with fear and stress and are present in an animal’s body when it sees it’s impending doom. Most animals killed for meat see their death coming and go through extreme traumas throughout their lives and upon their death. All this fear and stress and violence is then taken into the human body. The intestines become a graveyard and the bloodstream celebrates death, violence, fear, and destruction. As the hormones and toxins associated with these feelings travel through the body. The individual consciousness of the meat eater becomes that of fear, violence, death, etc. This adds to the collective consciousness. With Americans constantly afraid of terrorists, they’re more easily controlled and less willing to stand up to those who claim to protect them. You may not see the correlation but it is there. Most people are not even in tune with their conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds and could not tell you anything about macro consciousness (collective consciousness).
Even despite the individual destruction (and thus macro destruction) of consciousness, there are other harmful effects of meat. It takes 5 pounds of human consumable vegetable proteins to create 1 pound of meat. Instead the (gluttonous) human could have eaten 1 pound of vegetable protein and sent the other 4 pounds to Africa or to their needy neighbor. Instead of cutting down the rain forest for grazing lands the whole earth could benefit greater by not grazing unnecessary livestock. Instead of wasting precious fresh water for the consumption of unnecessary livestock we could conserve the precious water. Instead of having unnecessary livestock whose gas is the second leading cause of ozone depletion, we could have cleaner air and a stronger ozone layer (something that can’t be replenished).
Any sort of religious debate is futile. A strict vegetarian debating with somebody who is set on eating meat is also futile. My point in this discussion is that you should have full consciousness of what you are doing when eating meat. Violence, fear, poison, death, destruction, and most other maladies can be linked easily and clearly to meat. Many normal activities can also be linked to such attributes, but meat is clearly one of the very harmful and costly activities that people participate in.
Regardless of Akal Takht directives, a Sikh should be compassionate and conscious. Ideally we’d all participate in organic farming (collectively), give up the use of fosil fuels, compost our own waste (rather than pollute groundwater), conserve energy, conserve water, recycle, reduce, reuse. These are qualities of a high caliber person, a person of consciouness, consideration, and respect for the what God has given. Any Sikh blessed enough to embody such high ideals is a model Sikh.
On the other (off) topic: to me it does not matter if 5 people who call themselves Khalsa stand in the Akal Takht under duress and give a directive. Guru Har Rai, the friend of all, known to have such a soft heart, disowned his own son for chaning 1 word of Gurbani. If that is a criminal act, changing or denying any part of Gurbani is equivalent. If anything I said here upsets people, sorry, what I believe should not have a bearing on your beliefs or emotions.
Jagvinder Singh Ji,
I appreciate that you have awareness when making your decision to eat meat. I did want to point out though that you are making a mistake in believing that meat makes you strong. It does just the opposite. The human body cannot digest full proteins which are in meat and dairy. With protein from natural sources, the body only has to do one step of building a complete protein from amino acids. With meat the body has to do two extra steps which are very taxing on the body which makes the body much weaker and less potent. With full proteins the body has to break down the protein into amino acids, eliminate the excess and then it can build a protein for use in building the body (muscles). There are two unecessary steps the body has to go through. The elimination step often times isn't even complete with meat rotting in people's colons for years. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of (natural) death in the US, after heart disease, which are both caused by eating meat with cholesterol and trying to eliminate toxins and proteins which the body has a hard time doing and may give up trying.
The human body can only eat maximum 24 grams of protein in one meal/snack. This is really not a lot. If you eat more than this, which most meat eaters do, you are just wasting what's going into your body. It's better to let the food go to waste outside your body than inside. If you have difficulty with a vegetarian diet talk to people who've done it successfully. I've been a vegetarian my whole life and when I was into weight lifting I was in the top 1% of my weight division. Unlike most people I met in the gym who ate meat, when I would gain weight my body fat would still be very little. I've never worried about cholesterol and probably never will in my whole life.
When you are doing strength training or strenuous exercise it's good to have a fair amount of protein and it's good to have the 'good fats.' Whereas carbohydrates and proteins have 4 calories per gram, fats have 9 calories per gram, so fat has a lot more energy per gram, which can be burned up in exercise. You would do yourself and the world a big favor to try and learn a balanced vegetarian diet. You could save yourself from a lot of excess 'processing' which makes your body weaker. Remember 24 grams, if you want to have a lot of protein eat frequent small meals or snacks with high protein. Your body will thank you if you get proteins from nature and not full proteins from animal byproducts. You will assimilate the proteins much faster without the draining effects of break down and elimination. Things like avocados or flax seeds have a lot of the 'good' fats in them and can help in a high energy diet.
Also sprouting foods such as nuts and legumes can help your body assimilate them much faster. Natural proteins in the right amount from sprouted beans, nuts, and seeds, can give you so much for so little.
Good luck.
here we are seeing a turning point in sikhism with the western perspective being applied to it. it just might save us from the trouble we are in, because, it has a more liberal, more daring approach, like stepping out of the circle of herd mentality which we are al slaves of. thank you prabhu singh ji, you are a constant inspiration.
i don’t see any difference in halal or “chatka” meat. the subject still suffers, still dies, be it for a second or a minute.I still do consume meat though,it has been a few weeks, and have no excuse for my actions.I felt weak with a vegetarian diet, as I do intense physical workouts in preparation for my National Service. I only give the logical reason of consuming it, secondarily for its protein, primarily, i confess, for the pleasure. I am aware that the animal suffers, but, i try to look for logic here. I will be serving my national service in a month, which will go on for two years. honestly, in those extreme situations which require a lot of force,strength, having jungle trainings for a week on end,I will be consuming meat for survival, especially for strength and energy.I am clear about this, and i wont give any of that chatka excuses.Man is on the top of the food chain. For all you know, that hahal bujjer kurehit, might not even be authentic, so Im going ahead with my instinct.
In this age when corrupt politicians of akal takht issue verdicts,The halal bujjer kurehit might just be our excuse to discredit the muslims and to give us, a lil hate in our hearts for them, without us knowing.
Hello Jagvinder Singh,
I think we all get emotional with politics and want to blame everything on recent changes in Akal Thakhts administration. Akal Thakhat will always hold great place in Sikhs heart and it will never diminish. We all know that administration need to reform which is must because it is controlled by politicians like Prakash Singh Badal. But this is the same throne where Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji and great Jathedars of Sikhs were once sitting and resolved matters for the Sikh community. This is the same throne where Akali Phoola Singh issued verdict for King Ranjit Singh and served his punishment and Ranjit Singh accepted that punishment, while keeping his head bowed. This place has great significant role in Sikh history and it is must that we educate ourselves about that Sikh history.
First of All, Sikh code of Conducts were not developed by consulting 5 spiritual Sikhs but all code of conducts were well researched and great scholars and Sikhs who were role model were chosen to prepare it. The reason Sikhs were stopped to eat “Halal” has history. Sikh Gurus taught us to never bend in front of injustice. Muslim Empire or let’s say Moghul empire restricted anyone besides Muslims to ride horses, wear royal clothes etc or eat meat other than Halal.
The Halal meat was the only meat allowed for everyone if one wanted to eat meat and it was imposed not a matter of choice. The Jathka meat was kind of challenge to Moghul empire to show them that injustice or oppression will not be tolerated. This tradition of doing chatka was originally a Rajput tradition where they will read Chandi Mantras and serve Goddess with Goat meat. Guru Gobind Singh lived like a king just to show his sovereignty. He wore royal clothes and had “Kalgi” on his turban also rode horse and kept his sovereignty. If Sikhs were given choice in eating meat that purely to respect that tradition. This is the reason that Sikh scholars gave choice to Sikhs on certain issues.
You can read more on who were involved in making draft on Sikh code of conduct so you can have idea why Sikh world accpeted it.
http://www.sgpc.net/sikhism/introduction.html
Prabhu Singh Ji,
Thank you so much for the information. I was also listening to Sri Singh Sahib’s lectures on eating meat, and i guess it kinda made sense for me. I will be issuing a personal challenge to myself then, to go through national service,with a vegetarian diet,and try getting into one of the respected vocations.thanks for the nutritional information…. i shall put it into practise.
I think I should rely on techanical chat now so here is more information just for the learning purpose.
http://www.acu-cell.com/veg.html
Being a vegatarian doesn’t work for everybody. There is an interesting book called eat right for your type by Dr. Adamo which discusess why vegetarian diets may be better for some blood types than others.
http://www.4yourtype.com
An intelligent Doctor Dr. Andrew Weil from Arizona wrote:
4. Do I have to be vegetarian to practice yoga? (and I add Sikhism)
The first principle of yoga philosophy is ahimsa, which means nonharming to self and others. Some people interpret this to include not eating animal products. There is debate about this in the yoga community – I believe that it is a personal decision that everyone has to make for themselves. If you are considering becoming a vegetarian, be sure to take into account your personal health issues as well how your choices will affect those with whom you live. Being a vegetarian should not be something that you impose on others – that kind of aggressive action in itself is not an expression of ahimsa.
More you can read at http://www.drweil.com/u/Article/M135/
So, aggressive approach of imposing vegetarianism is against Ahimsa which “Yoga” sutra requires…:) I will take Dr. Weil’s advice because he is professional and knows better. :-)
Thanks for sharing this excellent information Prabhu Singh and no hard feelings. All Sikhs should discuss issues as we are from the same religious community so hold brothers/sisters relationship. I hope you do not take my approach as an anti-vegetarian because that was not the purpose my discussion. I just want people to understand and be in a less criticism environment. Thanks! for your wonderful & informative post.
Ekoankar Singh ji,
I didnt blame the Akal Takht for anything.I have immense love for it.I have read its history too.My problem is with the current people installed in it for panthic matters, thats all.Everyone knows the guy who issues akal takht verdicts is on badal’s payroll.
Talking about meat…. im really confused. haha. but yeah, being vegetarian makes sense, at least for the spiritual aspect… cos i know, its not the same when you do sadhna.BUT…. like what i said, meat provided me with strength. Im not sure if this is some psychological concept which has been embedded in my brain since my bodybuilding days.See i used to swallow down protien like nobody’s business. chickens,tuna,eggs, hell even cheeseburgers..protein shakes…. used to be crazy.made me feel strong and i used to hit the weights hard in the gym. reading flex and musclemag magazines only used to fuel that.
I left that phase of my life 3 years ago.Now its like… i need strength and stamina back… so Im resorting to what i did then.Humans are creatures of habit.BUT.Prabhu singh ji has given some good examples of protein loaded vegetarian stuff… i only used to hit tofu… but now ive got different foods to experiment with.so yeah…. these 3 weeks building up to my national service will be more of an experiment of a vegetarian diet in regards to strength and fitness.(but i love my sadhna too… so yeah)
Prabhu ji, i would like to also know your views on milk and milk related products like cheese and butter.Gurmustuk ji, im sorry if this is turning into a discussion forum… but just this one last question, thank you.
Jagvinder Singh Ji
The Guru’s held milk and milk products in high regards, but they certainly taught moderation (in all aspects). At some level all human bodies are lactose intolerant and have a hard time with milk. Milk, unfortunately like meat, has full proteins which means the body has to break down and eliminate excess amino acids. As a vegetarian I eat a moderate amount of dairy products and so this process is not as taxing in my body as if I also ate meat and had to break down and eliminate with meat.
I personally don’t drink milk any more and haven’t for more than a year. It just doesn’t go well with me. With too much milk I would get mucous and other things. On a spiritual level if you can get organic milk you can be pretty sure that the cows were treated fairly well. Although milk has full proteins, organic milk doesn’t have excess hormones and toxins and is not the carcas of a once living creature. Although ghee has a lot of fat, it can also have a lot of prana. Unlike meat which is prepared by taking the prana (life force) from an animal, ghee can be prepared while reading banis or just giving good energy while preparing the ghee. Butter has a lot of cholesterol and is not very healthy, ghee is a little different and quite different if prepared with bani, etc.
An excess of dairy is also not healthy and so dairy should be taken in moderation. It’s really a waste to eat more than 24 grams of proteins in one sitting. If people tell you your whole life that meat makes you strong, you are going to believe that it is true. However in reality how can eating protein of any kind make you feel strong? Our energy levels come from burning calories. Carbs and proteins have the same calories per gram, burning (body) fat can really give some serious energy when exercising. Also muscle doesn’t grow in the gym, it grows when we are resting. A more complete rest will be when your body isn’t doing extra break down and elimination of proteins and attempting to eliminate toxins from meat.
It’s also good to check how much we eat in general. Many people with more resources eat more than they need. It can take 30 minutes for your body to tell your brain that it feels full, so you could potentially over eat for 30 minutes. It’s good to notice how much of what we eat is actually used in a positive way. I used to eat whenever I was hungry and eat a lot. Later I started to eat a little less and felt the same. I realized I was unecessarily processing more food in my body than I needed. I was glad to not eat excess and just let it go to waste (inside my body).
Sorry if this reply is incoherent, I fell asleep several times while writing this reply :-)
Thanks for the prompt reply prabhu singh ji! Thank you for sharing all this.
Waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh!
I guess I said at the end of my comment, “No one is stopping anyone from eating anything… Its a free world, eat what ever one likes….” So I dont know why my comments were taken so personally by my friend.
This is another huge problem that people are selective in following the teachings of the Guru. They agree with certain teachings of the Guru that go with their life style.. and the other teachings are ignored coz those teachings contradict the life style….
I am ready to learn the grammer, but the quotes still stand the same meaning as quoted and are are no way out of context… Just because someone say so, dont make the quotes out of context…
No offence, If one wish to eat meat and create a cemetary inside one’s belly, as said by my friend, it is personal choice….
here are guur nanak ji words from guru granth sahib ji about meat. so stop discussing and just do simran. if u like eating meat u can if u dont u can stop eating meat. don’t argue with other or not compel anyone to eat or avoid meat. its your personal choice.
|| 1 || FIRST MEHL: The fools argue about flesh and meat, but they know nothing about meditation and spiritual wisdom. What is called meat, and what is called green vegetables? What leads to sin? It was the habit of the gods to kill the rhinoceros, and make a feast of the burnt offering. Those who renounce meat, and hold their noses when sitting near it, devour men at night. They practice hypocrisy, and make a show before other people, but they do not understand anything about meditation or spiritual wisdom. O Nanak, what can be said to the blind people? They cannot answer, or even understand what is said. They alone are blind, who act blindly. They have no eyes in their hearts. They are produced from the blood of their mothers and fathers, but they do not eat fish or meat.
Page 1290
But when men and women meet in the night, they come together in the flesh. In the flesh we are conceived, and in the flesh we are born; we are vessels of flesh. You know nothing of spiritual wisdom and meditation, even though you call yourself clever, O religious scholar. O master, you believe that flesh on the outside is bad, but the flesh of those in your own home is good. All beings and creatures are flesh; the soul has taken up its home in the flesh. They eat the uneatable; they reject and abandon what they could eat. They have a teacher who is blind. In the flesh we are conceived, and in the flesh we are born; we are vessels of flesh. You know nothing of spiritual wisdom and meditation, even though you call yourself clever, O religious scholar. Meat is allowed in the Puraanas, meat is allowed in the Bible and the Koran. Throughout the four ages, meat has been used. It is featured in sacred feasts and marriage festivities; meat is used in them. Women, men, kings and emperors originate from meat. If you see them going to hell, then do not accept charitable gifts from them. The giver goes to hell, while the receiver goes to heaven – look at this injustice. You do not understand your own self, but you preach to other people. O Pandit, you are very wise indeed. O Pandit, you do not know where meat originated. Corn, sugar cane and cotton are produced from water. The three worlds came from water. Water says, “I am good in many ways.” But water takes many forms. Forsaking these delicacies, one becomes a true Sannyaasee, a detached hermit. Nanak reflects and speaks.
————————————————–
This topic of halal and meat diet in general is perhaps one of the most annoying things about the misconceptions that arise becuase Sikhs today clearly do not have a clear grasp on their scriptures (religious or historical) and armed with the little knowledge they have acquired from their parents, friends and eldars (including numerous articles written by pseudo scholars with no training in actually looking at texts) combine this with modern concepts and views concerning animal welfare against a backdrop of Udasi and Nirmala influenced modern century groups (from 3HO to AKJ to Sant Samaj) fall foul of this non issue.
There is ample proof that Sikhs have always consisted of vegetarians and non-vegetarians and both have happily co-existed.
Why this is made into an endless issue of no-end with useless discussions on what ‘halal’ means, when it is VERY VERY clear from the original context, I fail to see…unfortunately it is a sad reality that for most people today Sikhi is about little more than ticking boxes on a ‘super rehit checklist’ which usually centres around what they wear and eat…wow guys! well done! keep up the good work!!!
These are the same people who then go on to complain about the lack of unity in the Panth…well try sweeping under your beds for a moment and think a little outside of the box you have created for yourselves!
I am very sorry to see that we are still stuck in the physical domain, where Gurbani takes us to to the higher level.. the core message of Gurbani is " kev sachara hoey, kev koore tute paal", the only width between us and the truth is our false EGO (identiy is part of it).. then Guru ji gives the simple answer to this "HUKUM RAJAI CHALNA NANAK LIKHIYA NAAL", and explain all the Hukams. If you read the Hukums and implement those in our lives.. then where is this debate comes from.. eat mean, not eat mean.. this and that.. We are fighting for our ego.. which is the core part of our width with the truth. Most of the time, we don't read and understand Gurbani in whole (complete Shabad), but read one or two independent lines to prove our point and to put others down. All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything. However, I am really thankful and proud of all of you for debating and sharing this information and still respecting each others and their views.. this is a progress …