1. First thing is that ‘Brihadaranyaka Upanishad’ begins about mention of hunger. Doesn’t a new born child in your home has a natural tendency to drink milk. From the birth of a child is hunger present or not?
So hunger is called as death in ‘Brihadaranyaka Upanishad’. Hunger means death. Bhagwaan Shankaracharya interpreted it as when a person feels hunger so how will be that hunger satisfied? Through food. The food will be composed of body of either movable or immobile creatures. So hunger means that it will cause an aptitude for violence. Aptitude for violence means death of other only will become the support for our life.
That’s why in Bhagavata Purana it is said that a creature only becomes the consumer of other creature. So in it a person is helpless as he has to eat when he feels hunger. If we view through a microscope even a drop of water contains innumerable creatures which are so small that are not visible to naked eyes. When someone feels hunger or thirst than we know that through consumption of other creature’s body only as ‘Jeev’ (creature) is eternal, he becomes satisfied. Even when we breathe and due to heat present in our body many organisms die.
2. So a convention has been set that immobile creatures like tree, vines etc. which are called ‘Udhbheej’ as they grow by breaking Earth surface through seeds. They are immobile organisms and their level of consciousness is low. If you live by consuming immobile creatures though they are also bodies of ‘Jeev’, as there is description of ‘Panchagni’ knowledge in ‘Chhandogya Upanishad’.
3. There are more rules in that too like, For a Sannyasi, he can not even pluck a leaf from Tulsi, not even a flower too.
Full ‘Ahimsa’ (non-violence) is applicable on him. He is not allowed to cook food or touch fire. This means that even in plants rules have been set that the fruits which have ripened should be consumed, the leaves which have matured should be consumed.
Even days are prescribed like on which day you should pluck a Tulsi leaf and when you shouldn’t. There are rules prescribed for even consuming immobile creatures. Immobile creature means the ‘Anna’ (cereal) which is vegetarian.
4. Now for mobile creatures like fish, goat, rabbit, tortoise etc in that only animals having ‘Panch Nakah Bhakshya’ (animals having five claws are only consumable). This is called ‘Parisankhya Vidhi’,
For Example: if a chain smoker smokes 40 cigarettes everyday then if someone tells him to smoke only 24 in a day then this means that 24 is also not desirable but intention is to minimize from 40. If we make a chain smoker to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes from 40 so the ultimate aim is to free him from addiction of cigarettes.
Just like that it is described in ‘Manusmriti’ that when consuming meat too, as a person is naturally inclined towards food, sleep, liquor and coitus for that ‘Parisankhya Vidhi’ is applied.
5. Which food to eat, which not to eat, when to eat, when not to eat, who should eat, who shouldn’t eat, if you cannot remain fully celibate then marry and remain limited to only their wife. If you can't remain without sleep then sleep during night only not during day, don’t sleep in Brahma Muhurta, in evening.
In this too, gradually minimization is performed. Manu Maharaj has written ‘Nivritti Mahphalah’.
‘Pravritti’ (inclinations) should lead to ‘Nivritti’ (dis-inclinations) and ‘Nivritti’ (dis-inclinations) should lead towards ‘Nirvritti’ (liberation) then only life becomes successful.
6. The motion which produces only more motion isn’t appreciated, motion is appreciated when the motion makes us reach the destination. We will not appreciate the motion which produces more motion only. So for consumption of meat too there are rules like to consume which animal and not consume so and so animal.
7. In ‘Vama Marg’ meat is consumed as offering for so and so Devi, Devata, Bhairav, Bhairavi etc. So this is like eating through a spoon like if you put your hand directly in hot milk then it will get burnt but if you use a spoon then you won’t burn.
In this too a rule has been prescribed that if someone can’t live without it then use it for conducting proper ritual worship of Devi, Devata. The result of this will be that the mobile creatures like goat who can not achieve moksha themselves so if they are sacrificed as offering towards Devi, Devata they will become free from their ‘Tamas’ body
and as they have become food for Devi, Devata they will get a divine body. This is a way for their betterment. A strange thing is that if you want to send Indian currency to your relative in America than you will have convert it into Dollar or not? Just like this the object which reaches Devi, Devata becomes their food.
For Example: ‘Indraya Swaha Idam Indraya Namah’ whether it’s a piece of sandalwood, barley, sesame and ghee, the Devi, Devata will not eat these but when they are put in fire through ‘Shastriya’ process they convert into food of Devi, Devata like currency exchange. Like this if someone’s father after dying became lion, so when he will do ‘Shradha Tarpan’ for his father then the cereal and water will reach his father who is in lion's body as lion’s food.
So those objects also achieved betterment and our tongue also gets satisfied but this is done through ‘Dravidah Pranayama’. Tongue is also restrained through this process. The result of this will be that in a person’s life desire for meat will become extinguished.
8. The King Bharat on whose name our country is called Bharat due to ‘Karma Vipaak’ became a deer right, but it is written in Bhagavata Purana that though he became a deer he used to only consume leaves that fell down themselves. Though he was in a deer’s body he didn’t used to eat leaves after plucking from tree but only those which fell on their own to ground. For Dharmavyadha it is written in Mahabharata that he was a Brahman before after coming into contact of Kshatriya he became a hunter after dying he became a huntsman. He used to earn his living through selling meat but he sold meat of only those animal who were not ill and died naturally. There he used to sell meat too and also remained aloof from violence.
9. In Puri, Fishermen don’t fish on Thursday. They belong to Andhra tradition.
There too ‘Parisankhya Vidhi’ is applied or not as they don’t fish at least on Thursday though they are fishermen, so isn’t ‘Ahinsa’ (nonviolence) present there too or not.
10. Just like this if you are listening to Bhagavata Purana and are married then you shouldn’t touch your wife on those days, eat vegetarian food and sleep on ground. Wherever we see violence there too some process is there which can lead us towards ‘Nivritti’ (disinclination).
Summary: ‘Pravritti’ (inclinations) should lead to ‘Nivritti’ (dis-inclinations) and ‘Nivritti’ (dis-inclinations) should lead towards ‘Nirvritti’ (liberation) then only life becomes successful.
