It is a disturbing thought that many Sikhs today believe that to attain spiritual enlightenment one can continue to tuck into a juicy steak, that the pain and suffering of the animal is separate to the succulent roast chicken on the table, that the cutting of the animals life force will not have a direct and adverse effect on their own 'karmic account '.

According to the maryada booklet , Kutha the meat prepared by the Muslim ritual killing is prohibited for a Sikh. Regarding eating other meat, it is still silent. Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (SGGS) makes various references to not eating meat but since it does this in a subtle way this has been ignored by many and has been taken as a green light to consume flesh. For most Sikhs this is very convenient as it is easier to eat meat then not to. As it stands most Sikhs are of the opinion that meat is open to Sikhs and they produce copious amount of information and 'evidence' to support this

Learned and wise Sikhs say that man has evolved as a meat eating hunter gatherer and that meat is an essential part of our diet. It is true that man has evolved over millions of years, but if he was a 'monkey' once does he still have to follow primative urges ? Is this now what seperates us from the rest of the animal kingdom ? Only we have the capacity to evolve spriritually, and to do this we must have dicipline and fortitude. As for meat being an essential part of our diet, there are millions of vegiertians and vegans who would disagree.

One 'evidence' the pro-meat lobby will site is that Guru Hargobind Sahib ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji were accomplished hunters, they bring the Guru's down to their level, they cannot see beyond the physical, "if they hunted meat then they must have consumed it, right ?" - Wrong.

In a book called Sikh & Sikhism the author states :

This is a case of authors making things up as they go along, pure conjecture. Again we cannot see past the physical world. The Guru's were pure souls, at One with the Almighty. Guru Gobind Singh Ji in his glorious autobiography Bachittar Natak writes that after many eons of tapasia (meditation) the two (Guru Ji and God) became One. There is no doubt that Guru Sahib Ji had merged with the Almighty. If a glass of water is poured into the ocean who is to say which part is now the water from the glass and which is not, it becomes one, in the same way the Guru's were at One with God. Where ever they went they granted mukhti (salvation) to all who were ready to take it. Guru Nanak Dev Ji on his udasis's (journeys) saved such people like Suggen Thug - who would invite people to his house and then in the dead of night strangle them, Kaudda Rakhsh, who indulged in cannibal activites and Walli Quandhari the mean fakir who would not let anyone use his well. So, from the very begining the Guru's have been blessing and granting mukhti to those souls whose karmic circle needed breaking, and who can do this ? Only the True Guru.

In the same way Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji and Guru Gobind Sahib Ji went hunting, not for pleasure - for the Guru's were way above the pleaseures of this world - or the need to satisfy their taste buds, they were above this , it was to instill a sense of pride and self confidence in the downtrodden people of India who for centuries had grovelled to any invader who happen to come their way, and in the process to settle long overdue 'accounts', to release the souls of the poor unfortunate animals who may have wronged in the past, to grant them Mukti (salvation).

There is a story of Guru Gobind Singh Ji who sent out his falcon to hunt an animal, once caught Guru Ji watched as the baaj tore into the animals flesh. Asked by one of his Sikhs what was the reasoning behind this Guru Ji stated that in a previous life the animal had borrowed some money from the baaj and swore on Akal Purkhs name that he would pay it back, he never did, now it was pay back time. There are many instances like this which illustrate that the Gurus were not hunting for meat but to save these souls from the continuous cycle of birth and death. In two Hukamnamas of Sri Guru Har Gobind Sahib Ji there are clear cut instructions prohibiting the eating of meat, fish etc.

Dr Gopal Singh in his History of the Sikh People.

When has money stopped Sikhs from doing anything. An appeal at any local Gurudwara for funds for a project or disaster will yield hundreds of pounds donated by the sangat on the spot. A flesh eater will go to any lengths to get his fill, so this 'expensive' argument just does not hold.

Giani Sher Singh in his Philosophy of Sikhism.

Does the author go on to expand on this , does he give any evidence for this, no he does not, again pure conjecture and speculation. One should step back and think for a moment what is being said here. The Gurus were pure souls, Sikhs believe them to have merged with Akal Purkh are we then led to believe that they would tear into a chicken leg at meal time, piayrio don't even go there. Eating meat is a very primitive act and the Gurus taught us to be above this, to control our emotions and urges if we were to develop spiritually.

H.S Singha in his Mini Encyclopedia of Sikhism.

Why cannot it be evidence of vegetarianism ? If we look at the lives of the Gurus we should try to emulate as much of them as possible because we regard their lives as ideal living, then this should be part of it.

Mohsin Fani (1615-70), the well known historian and a contemporary of Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib, rites in his work DABISTAN-E-MAZAHIB as follows: