Now, to get to the heart of the matter, we are talking about killing another living being , cutting its flesh and muscles which that animal relied upon for its existence and consuming it, primarily for the taste. It has been said that we are designed to eat meat and that we evolved to eat meat. There are many things that we can do but that does not make them right, we as gursikhs need to overcome these primal urges, we need to rise above them. We can exist quite happily without meat so why do many people feel the urge to consume it, taste plays a large part of it. Can we in our hearts believe that the Gurus advocated this?

Question : Are beings born on this earth and have living bodies just to be a convenience food ?
Or are beings born into a life with a body so that they can develop and eventually evolve away from karma and into Dharma ?

This 'body' is given to all in order to meet Akal Purkh and the Guru says that there is no other way to meet him. We are so fortunate that in Gods wisdom he has blessed us with a human body, for it is only a human who can meditate upon His Name and gain salvation, no other animal has this ability. By killing a healthy animal for consumption interrupts its life experience and its evolution towards meeting God. Animals can sense impending doom especially if they can hear the death throws of their colleagues. This can evoke a very powerful glandular response in the animal, pumping hormones around its body. When you eat that flesh you take on those hormones, and you take on its karma. This has a great effect on your Atma (soul) , for the Atma feels pain. Why do you think we are always restless and only catch brief moments of inner peace ? This is beacuse the atma is seperated from its maker, it longs to be reunited with it, but adding the karma of another soul to yours you are 'weighing' yourself down even more with paap, you are also interfering with your own desire to meet Akal Pukh. If you have not cleared away your own karma why would you want to create the karma of killing and consuming the flesh of another being ?

Sikhs do not eat or take into their bodies anything which is harmful or have an ill effect upon the body or mind. Meat is a stimulant of the gross passions of the mind and body. Meat is harmful on a physical, mental and spiritual level. You are killing a soul who is in the process of evolving towards God this is not going to help you in any way on your journey towards God. Meat stimulates your 'lower nature' making it impossible to achieve a meditative spiritual mind set, try sitting down and clearing your mind to meditate after comsuming meat, it cannot be done. If you want constant confusion and irritation then chew on a piece of flesh, if you want to feed your lower passions then carry on as you are. Make no mistake, when the noose of death is around your neck and the jaal (net) of maya (illusion) is finally lifted then all will become clear, but my friend, it will all be too late. If on the other hand you want to evolve spiritually , open up the capacity for meditative comprehension of higher truths, gain inner peace of which you have never known before, then the karmic and polluting nature of meat cannot be ignored.

It is said by many that plants also have life so why do we not abstain from eating plants ?
It is very true that plants do have life, Guru Nanak dev Ji has said "patti toray maalni, patti patti geeo" (The gardner plucks leaves from the plant, (but she does not know that) there is life in each leaf) but the karmic energy and consequences of eating plants do not compare to those of an animal which has feeling, possible thoughts, parental instincts towards its offspring, also plants (lentils, maize , spinach etc) are not harmful on a mental, spiritual level but are in fact good for the digestion.

Much has been made of the Nihang Singh sect eating Maha Parshad, but the Nihangs also drink a concoction of Marihuana and opium called Suckha, are we all to start taking drugs because of this?

This shabad does not say "eat meat" anywhere. Guru Sahib says, Vaishnavs who make their whole religion a rejection of maas/meat or Jains who despise meat are blind. They don't have the wisdom of the Guru and so they don't know what to eat and what not to eat. If someone cheats and steals, the food purchased with that money is the same as meat even if it is saag. People like the Jains eat things that are inedible like rotten grain but won't eat things like onion, ginger, etc. This is because they have no spiritual knowledge because they don't have knowledge from Satguru.

These pandits make a big show of rejecting meat and hold their nose but they have no shame in looting and cheating.
The pandit has so much pride over his rejection of meat but even in the Hindu faith there have been sacrifices and there are many references in the Hindu scriptures as well, not to mention the Semitic ones.

Having such a hatred of meat that they are afraid to be near it or even touch it is foolish. We ourselves are made of meat. Inside us is meat just like the meat we see for sale in the markets. Our families are made of meat and all our acquaintances. The flesh of the mother's womb wherein the human body is born, the flesh of the mother's breasts which feed the infant, the flesh of the tongue, ears, mouth, etc., used for perception of various senses of the body, the flesh in the form of wife and off-springs referred to in the Shabad, is flesh no doubt and one cannot escape it, but is it the flesh to be eaten as food by the humans?

If meat is so bad, then why do you associate with them? Why do the Pandits take money and make their living from Royalty? They too are made of meat.

What is meat and flesh made of? It is not some dirty substance. It is made from grain and water that we eat. So why do you hate it so much?

Only when you gets wisdom from the true Guru and are able to overcome the lure of these physical "ras" will you be able to become a real Sanyasi.

The gist of this shabad is a condemnation of the pakhand Pandits do when they run away from even the sight of meat and can't even fathom touching it. It says that without Satguru, there is no knowledge.

Nowhere in this shabad is there any indication that we should eat meat. Just that we shouldn't hate it because WE are made of meat and we shouldn't think that by giving it up we are spiritual. There is no indication in this shabad that says "meat eating is ok". In fact this shabad indicates to us that we are meat and we should recognize that just as the thought of eating a dead body is revolting, the thought of eating meat should be as well. Because that’s precisely what it is: a dead body, and the same stuff our body is made of.

Here's the ultimate question: If there was an animal even higher in the food chain than us, would you appreciate it eating your Mother, Dad, brother or sister? No, didn't really think so. So what makes us think that animals do?

Now about the little cells or little organisms, any living thing which disturbs your life, may be it is human, animal or some little organisms, you will have to kill them or get them away from your life otherwise you can't survive.

A final thought, the Sants and Mahapursh of the present day all warn us of the evils of eating meat. They all urge us to take Paol/Amrit and to give up maas, alcohol and tobacco. Not one Sant has ever said otherwise.

Do we eat to live, or do we live to eat ?