Therefore, particularly in India, the cow is simply not considered a food animal this is similar to how many countries do not consider certain pets, who provide humans with joy, to be food animals. As a result, many Hindus who eat meat, such as chicken or goat, will not eat any meat derived from a cow. Some Hindus who do eat meat will only do so if the animal has been slaughtered by jhatka , a slaughtering technique in which the animal is killed with a single blow to the back of neck.
This method is considered in Hinduism to be the least painful for the animal, and thus cause the least trauma and stress. Some Hindu religious texts advise that animals killed through jhatka are thus permissible for Hindus to eat, though most Hindus will still say that it is not the ideal food for a person trying to follow a specifically specialized spiritual path.
Today, whether or not a Hindu will eat meat is also partly a question of location and culture. Many Hindus who grow up in communities where it is very common for people to be vegetarian, such as the south of India, will not eat meat. For Hindus who do not eat meat, their meals will usually consist of grains, such as rice, and a variety of vegetables, stews, and spices. For Hindus who grow up in the U. Learn more about Hindu beliefs and practices here. Patheos Answers. Most Popular. Haitian kidnappings: Dark side of US missionary group The government data shows that vegetarian households have higher income and consumption - are more affluent than meat-eating households.
The lower castes, Dalits formerly known as untouchables and tribes-people are mainly meat eaters. Average incidence of vegetarianism. Source: National Family Health Survey. On the other hand, Dr Natrajan and Dr Jacob find the extent of beef eating is much higher than claims and stereotypes suggest.
But there is evidence to show that some of the official data is "considerably" under-reported because beef is "caught in cultural political and group identity struggles in India". Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist BJP promotes vegetarianism and believes that the cow should be protected, because the country's majority Hindu population considers them holy. More than a dozen states have already banned the slaughter of cattle. And during Mr Modi's rule, vigilante cow protection groups, operating with impunity, have killed people transporting cattle.
The truth is millions of Indians, including Dalits, Muslims and Christians, consume beef. Some 70 communities in Kerala, for example, prefer beef to the more expensive goat meat. Delhi, where only a third of residents are thought to be vegetarian, may well deserve its reputation for being India's butter chicken capital.
But, the stereotype of Chennai as the hub of India's "south Indian vegetarian meal" is completely misplaced. Many continue to believe that Punjab is "chicken loving" country. So how has the myth that India is a largely vegetarian country been spread so successfully? For one, Dr Natrajan and Dr Jacob told me, in a "highly diverse society with food habits and cuisines changing every few kilometres and within social groups, any generalisation about large segments of the population is a function of who speaks for the group".
Also, they say, "the food of the powerful comes to stand in for the food of the people". Hinduism is one of those religions that people have a lot of confusion about. Do Hindus Eat Meat?
However, Hindus who do eat mean distinguish all other meat from beef, which they avoid. The biggest misconception is that all Hindus are Vegetarians, which is not the case. In Hindu families, cows are treated as a motherly, giving animal and many times considered to be another member of the family. Contrary to popular belief, Hindus do not consider cows to be gods and they do not worship them. However, they do consider the cow to be a sacred symbol of life that should be protected and revered.
In the oldest of the Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, the cow is associated with Aditi, the mother of all gods. There is a holiday that is particular to sacred nature of the cow call Gopastami when all cows, even those who wander the streets and villages, are washed and dressed with the flowers. To harm or kill a cow- especially for food- is considered taboo by a majority of Hindus. Hindus are said to see the cow as a particularly generous and docile creature that gives much more to humans than she takes.
Cows produce milk, cheese, butter, ghee, urine and dung. The first three are eaten and used in the worship of the Hindu gods, while the last two can be used in religious devotion, in penance, or burned for fuel.
The cow is the most revered animal in the Hindu culture. In ancient India, cattle and oxen were sacrificed to the gods and the meat was eaten. However, even during those times, cows that produced milk were not allowed to be used. This is because milk was such a precious commodity to the people. With the rise of other religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, however, Hindus had to stop eating the meat. Many became vegetarians due to the newfound philosophies.
Cows became associated with the highest caste system, or the Brahmans, by the first century AD. At that time, to kill a cow was the same as killing a Brahman, and punishable by death.
During these times, Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu- one of the three main Hindu gods- was often depicted as cavorting with cows either in literature or in art. For centuries it has been know that the ancient Indians ate beef. Even after the rise of vegetarianism in India, many continued.
Like most cattle-breeding cultures, this included eating castrated steers- but they would eat a cow during times of rituals or when welcoming guests or those with higher status. Ancient texts dating back to BC stated that a bull or cow should be killed and eaten when a guest arrives. These texts stated that the cow is food and did not include the beef-free restrictions.
The Earth assumed the form of a cow and begged him to spare her life; she then allowed him to milk her for all that the people needed. The myth shows a transition from hunting wild cattle to preserving their lives, domesticating them and breeding them for their milk.
This transition being to agriculture and a pastoral life. It shows the cow as the paradigmatic animal that is able to yield food without being killed for it. This also allowed the Hindus to see cows in a more holy light, holding them in higher regard than their predecessors. Some Hindus who did eat meat made a special exception and did not eat the meat of a cow. Some have equated this to an exception based on status.
That means the higher the caste, the greater the food restrictions. Various religious sanctions were used to impose the restriction on eating beef, but only among the upper castes. The arguments against eating cows specifically became a combination of a symbolic argument about purity and docility of women and a religious argument about the sanctity of the Brahmins. This was also a way for castes to rise in social ranking. By the 19 th Century, the cow-protection movement had risen with one object of the movements being the oppression of Muslims in particular.
0コメント