There are three qualities in food; सत्व, रजस् & तमस्। In our body too there are these three qualities & powers. Lets see what does these qualities do,
1. सत्व ( the quality of goodness):
The food which are good in quality comes under सत्व.
It is stated in the Bhagavad Geeta that,
आयु:सत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धना: ।
रस्या: स्निग्धा: स्थिरा हृद्या आहारा: सात्त्विकप्रिया: ॥१७.८॥
Meaning: Person who are सात्त्विक by nature likes foods that promote longetivity, vitality, energy, health, happiness & cheerfulness, as also those that are juicy, soft, nourishing & agreeable.
So eating pure veg foods will increase more & more सात्त्विक energy & that energy will take you more closer to the God.
2. रजस् (the quality of passion): The food which have mediocre quality comes under रजस्. It is stated in Bhagavad Geeta that,
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिन: ।
आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दु:खशोकामयप्रदा: ॥१७.९॥
Meaning: Person who are राजस् by nature likes foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively heating, pungent, burning & thirst-producing as also what brings on uneasiness, depression & disease.
So non-veg eaters comes under this राजस् nature because, they have to over cook non-veg things before they eat it & of course there is a pungent smell in all non-veg foods.
3.तमस् (quality of ignorance): The food which have worst quality comes under this तमस्. It is stated in Bhagavad Geeta that,
यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् ।
उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ॥ १० ॥
Meaning: Persons who are तामस् by nature likes foods that are stale, tasteless, putrid, decayed and unclean, and constitute the leavings of others.
So some other non-veg foods & alcoholic drinks comes under तामस् food like wine, beer, rum, etc. This is the reason Hindus don’t eat non-vegetarian food & don’t drink alcoholic drinks. And this is the reason we Hindus don’t eat the food which we have made yesterday because when someone does that, the तामस् energy gets more powerful inside us, which is not a good sign.
so you see, We are what we eat. When you see the whole picture from the ‘Gunas’ perspective it will start making sense altogether. Why we can’t eat certain types of foods, why we do not use some types of food in our Pujas (rituals or worship).
As non-veg foods are राजस् & तामस् in nature we don’t consume it & we also don’t offer it to Gods & Goddesses. If you eat non-veg food, you share the karma of killing an innocent animal. Someone will ask, Plants are also living beings. Eating them should also be equally bad. Yes, that’s why you should only eat food offered to God, so the Karma on it is removed. Now again someone will ask, why can’t I just offer animal flesh to Gods & Goddesses & then eat it?
The reason behind we do not offer animal flesh to God is stated in Bhagavad Geeta itself that,
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: ॥९.२६॥
Meaning: Whoever makes an offering to Me with devotion, be it of leaf (literally means plants), flower, fruit or water – that devout offering made by a pure-hearted man, I accept it with joy.
Here God is telling you what to offer Him. He didn’t stated anywhere to offer Him animal flesh. And of course when He is teaching us to eat सात्त्विक food then why will He ask for animal flesh?
Eating movable things are not allowed to eat. Its is given in Manusmruti that, what is स्थावर (immovable i.e. vegetables, plants, fruits, etc.) is the food of जंगम (movable i.e. humans & animals). Now again someone will question then why some animals eat flesh of another animal? Main reason is its the law of nature & there is no question of sin on their part. But if a man eats or kills animal & eat it then there is a sin. There are five types of people who gets equal share of sin in killing an animal. 1. Person who kills it. 2. Person who sells it. 3. Person who carries it at home. 4. Person who cooks it. & 5. Person who eats it.
Science based benefits of vegetarian diet:
1. Vegetarian diet is richer in nutrition.
2. It helps loosing excessive weight.
3. Lower risk of diabetes.
4. It have high fiber content.
5. Helps in maintaining blood pressure. & improves kidney functions.
6. Promotes skin health.
7. Improves mood.
8. Vegetarians have lower cholesterol.
9. Reduces risk of cardiovascular diseases.
& There are many more scientific reasons to adopt vegetarian diet.
Harmful effects of Non-vegetarian diet:
1. Non-vegetarian diet is unnatural. It creates obstacles in the digestive ability.
2. Non-vegetarian diet causes blockage in circulation and respiration. Non-vegetarians are likely to suffer from heart ailments, chest and stomach cancer or other diseases.
3. Non-vegetarian diet increases the तमस् component. Therefore, an individual becomes तामसिक् (Tama-predominant) or demoniacal in nature. Non-vegetarian diet is the diet of demons.
4. Non-vegetarian diet takes an individual away from God.
5. Non-vegetarian diet helps negative energies enter easily into the body and create their own centres.
& there are many more scientific reasons to avoid non-vegetarian diet.
अस्तु।
