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Ramakrishna Paramahamsa known as a very well Shakta mystic and yogi. Most of his followers consider him as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. However, Lord Vishnu is known to be a vegetarian. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is said to have taken fish. So why would he take fish if he was Vishnu avatara?

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  • Lord Rama who was a Vishnu avatara ate meat. So?
    – Rickross
    Jun 15, 2017 at 16:33
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    @SuryaKantaBoseChowdhury Ok but i was replying to another user there and not you.
    – Rickross
    Jun 16, 2017 at 5:43
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    Ramakrishna was a Vishnu avatara? Only the followers of Vivekananda believe it. This belief is only limited to few number of people. Many view him as a great yogi.
    – Sarvabhouma
    Jun 16, 2017 at 6:04
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    Ramakrishna is reputed to have done vamachara practices. Matsya (fish) is one of the 5 M's in vamachara.
    – user1195
    Mar 16, 2018 at 14:48
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    @moonstar ....if I may. I have read Ramakrishna's life and that too around 4 or 5 renditions. In English as well as Bengali. Despite being a devoted seeker of spiritualism, Ramakrishna did not follow the two activities (wine and sexual intercourse) described in "Vamachara" practice. Although Ramakrishna considered "Vamachara" as a way of achieving spiritual nirvana, he did not advocate to anybody. He thought it as an arduous means and can often cause downfall of the aspirant. 5 M's literally represent Madya (wine), Mansa (meat), Matsya (fish), Mudra (money) and Maithuna (sexual intercourse).
    – user9072
    May 6, 2018 at 7:02

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Avatarahood has nothing to with eating habits or vegetarianism.

There are various rituals which involve partaking small quantities of meat. We can find description of these in rituals related to yajnas as well as in the grhya and shrauta sutras. So meat eating is not something alien to hinduisn.

One of the famous avatar was Sri Rama. There are plenty of references in the Ramayana about his meat consumption.

suraaghaTasahasreNa maamsabhuutodanena cha | yakshye tvaam prayataa devi puriim punarupaagataa || 2-52-89

devii= “Oh, goddess! Upaagata= After reaching; puriim= the city (Ayodhya); punaH= again; yakshhye= I shall worship (you); suraaghata sahasreNa= with thousand pots of spirituous liquor; maamsa bhuutodanena cha = and jellied meat with cooked rice; prayataa= well-prepared for the solemn rite.”

“Oh, goddess! After reaching back the city of Ayodhya, I shall worship you with thousand pots of spirituous liquor and jellied meat with cooked rice well prepared for the solemn rite.”

samaashvasa muhuurtam tu shakyam vastum iha tvayaa || 3-47-22 aagamiSyati me bhartaa vanyam aadaaya puSkalam | ruruun godhaan varaahaan ca hatvaa aadaaya amiSaan bahu || 3-47-23

22b, 23. muhuurtam samaashvasa= for a moment, be comfortable; tvayaa iha vastum shakyam= by you, here, to take rest, possible; me bhartaa= my, husband; ruruun= stag with black stripes; godhaan= mongooses like [civet-like mammals of the family Viverridae, esp. of the genus Herpestes, Marathi manguus]; varaahaan ca= wild-boars, also; hatvaa= on killing; bahu amiSaan aadaaya= aplenty, meat, on taking; puSkalam vanyam aadaaya= plentiful, forest produce, on taking; aagamiSyati= will be coming [soon.]

“Be comfortable for a moment, here it is possible for you to make a sojourn, and soon my husband will be coming on taking plentiful forest produce, and on killing stags, mongooses, wild boars he fetches meat, aplenty. [3-47-22b, 23]

तां तदा दर्शयित्वा तु मैथिली गिरिनिम्नगाम् ।निषसाद गिरिप्रस्थे सीतां मांसेन छन्दयन् ।। इदं मध्यमिदं स्वादु निष्टप्तमिद मग्निना ।एवमास्ते स धर्मात्मा सीतया सह राघवः ।। (वाल्मीकि रामायण, अयोध्या काण्ड, 96, 1 व 2)

Having shown to Sita the mountain-river Mandakini and gratifying her with meat, Rama sat on the mountain slope. Righteous Rama was seated in Sita's company and remarked saying "This meat is sacred. This is savoury roasted in fire". (Valmiki Ramayan, Ayodha Kand 96:1-2)

Hence, there are no rules that an avatar should not eat meat or should have a particular diet. Avatar is beyond all these aspects.

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  • Exactly. Moreover, Sri Ramakrishna took birth in bengal where eating fish is very very common.
    – user17294
    Jan 20, 2019 at 12:10
  • These days the so called avatars have started eating fishes. They can consume wine also and still people will believe them as spiritual practitioners.
    – Sridhar Jammalamadaka
    Dec 28, 2019 at 2:12
  • @SridharJammalamadaka which path you follow?
    – Rakesh Joshi
    Dec 28, 2019 at 3:24
  • I follow Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana means eternal. Dharma means religion or duty. The constitutional position of a soul is to serve God with loving devotional service, before liberation and after liberation too.
    – Sridhar Jammalamadaka
    Dec 28, 2019 at 4:32
  • @SridharJammalamadaka there is provision of animal sacrifice in many traditions. Better not raise questions based on eating
    – Rakesh Joshi
    Dec 29, 2019 at 2:37

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