stackexchange: Why do many Hindus eat meat and fish? Eating meat and fish directly violates the principle of Ahimsa

since stackexchange is becoming like reddit and wikipedia where unknown , behind the mask moderators run these sites like dictatorship, I have decided to add answers here.

The meaning of ahimsa today unfortunately has been equated to non violence due to the lack of equivalent word in english. Just like atma is not sould, ahimsa is not non violence. It is a state of being. Meta is discouraged and not forbidden in hinduism. Today unfortunately meat has been associated with health and fitness.

Let us have a look at the animals in the jungle. Elephant - biggest animal, most powerful animal, heaviest animal Rhino, hippopotamus, wild buffalo - big, powerful, heavy deer - fastest animal giraffe, camel - tallest animal tortoise - lenghty life horse - speed, vigor donkey - most hardworking

Many of these vegetarian animals (elephant, rhino, hippopotamus, wild ox, wild bull) can easily defeat any tiger, lion. In fact no lion or tiger ever dare to do a one on one with any of them.

You will notice that all meat eating animals are violent in nature, smaller in size compared to their vegetarian co habitants. These are part of nature to keep the balance. Without these predators, most vegetation will be gone in the jungle, the vegetarian animals will over multiply and over breed and run out of food.

We have 4 varnas.

scholar

knight

trader

labor.

It is the nature of knight to have the qualities of a predator and thus meat was never forbidden for knights (xatriya). There is a saying that you are what you eat. If you eat tiger's food, you will have the characters of a tiger. If you eat the food of a horse (oats, grains, jowar), you will have the characters of a horse (lean, ripped, fast).

Labor class is another one. Meat was never forbidden or discouraged to those whose work involved meat, leather, fishing (collecting perls, fish oil for medicine) etc., It would make much sense for a fishermen to eat the oyster after collectign perls than throwing it out and wasting it. Someone who does not have farming land or cattle to farm the land, it is unwise and inhuman to even advice him not to eat meat or fish.

So as you see in hinduism, historically meat was for less fortunate or poor who cannot afford to have a farm, farming animals etc., In many countries even today vegetarian meal and ingredients are rarer and costlier than meat. Only a small portion of the geography produces spices today needed for a good vegetarian course meal.

It is more difficult for a meat eater to pursue a path of spirituality, awakening or intelligence and thus 2 of the varnas (scholar/brahmin, trader/vysya) where these characteristics are very necessary, meat was forbidden for them as a form of diet.

A diet however does not include ritualistic slaughter. It is like, I do not eat sweet but I will take a piece of cake when it is the birthday of my children or siblings. It was more of a ritual than a practise.

So in short, meat was discouraged for all but allowed for 2 varnas (knights, labors). vegetarian was the prescribed & recommended diet for scholars and vysyas.