Is cutting vegetables sin according to Sanatana dharma?

Question

Is cutting vegetables treated as sin according to Sanatana dharma?
If so, how can one purify oneself of the sin?
Is there some sort of prayer or respect one needs to offer the vegetables before we cut them?
Similarly, is there some sort of prayer or respect one needs to offer food before we consume food in general?

Related Why can we eat 'living' plants but not 'living' animals?. — Kedarnath, Commented Dec 4, 2014 at 4:54
Only thing Hinduism care about is "Universal Entropy", which, as the discipline of Thermodynamics claim, is bound to either remain constt. (Dharma) or rise ("Sin"). So "Sin" of Hinduism are deeds that increases this "Entropy". And that constitute, not just "bad jobs", but also some "good & innocent" ones too. So, one may infer that the 'Scavenging' on fruits, vegetable, grains, should be an Akarma, which doesn't gets accumulated in our "Karma-account". Now, the effects of any (minor) deviation from this may be mitigated by offering it to Lord, and after that eating it as Prasad. — Hindu, Commented Dec 4, 2014 at 8:01
is cutting vegetables sin? what is sin? as @Hindu has beautifully said, sin is nothing but bad karma. Sin is not like a 'reserved punishment' which we must be 'pardoned' for. It is more like a 'negative reaction due to a negative action'. So instead of worrying in life about 'which sin have we committed and how are we going to purify myself' one can be benefitted by focus on the present, just remember that 'what we do NOW will come back to us later' and 'focus on realizing our True Self'. :) Once the focus goes to God, everything else naturally falls in place Sir!! — Sai, Commented Dec 4, 2014 at 17:18

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 08:59:28Z

6

No, cutting vegetables is not a sin as eating them is allowed in the primary Hindu book of law:

What is sthavara (immovable i.e. vegetables, plants, etc.) is the food of jangama (movable i.e. animals) [Manu Smruti - 5.29]
Because it is not a sin, there are no prescribed purifications present for it in the scriptures as far as I know.
But because it is a karma nevertheless, one can mentally show some respect to the vegetable and ask for forgiveness if one would like as done by saints and sadhus.
There are no fixed prayers for it, but food is mentally offered to the God you like. When I was a child I was told to use a mantra to chant before taking food and later on I found that verse to be present in Gita:

brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma-karma-samādhinā [BG - 4.24]

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answered Dec 4, 2014 at 5:31

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One translation of the above mantra that I have come across: Brahma is the ladle; Brahma the food offering; By Brahma it is given into the Brahma fire; Brahma is that which is to be attained by complete absorption (samadhi) in Brahma action (or similar). One source: goo.gl/PYwt2P
– A.S
Commented Mar 12, 2015 at 19:40

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Say No To Censorship · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-21 07:39:41Z

Yes, taking life of any lifeform is a sin, but in order to live we must eat something. As Krishna says in the Gita:

BG 3. 14-15: From food all creatures are born... and

BG 6. 31: ...worships Me dwelling in all beings...

BG 13. 28: Because he sees the Lord present alike everywhere, he does not injure Self by self... and

BG 18. 48: ...for all undertakings are beset with imperfections, as fire with smoke.

It is a very minor sin compared to the sin of destroying the health of a human body which has the greatest manifestation of the atman of any living creature. Better to live on the flesh of swine and chant the name of the Lord than to be a vegetarian and a rogue.
If the only karma you are accountable for in this life is cutting vegetables, you are a great saint. Even Ramakrishna Parmahamsa would kill lice he found in his bedding.
See everything as God. See the Gita quotes in 1 above.
Different sects have different prayers. See the food as prasad from God. One good prayer to say beforehand is Gita 4.24:

brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir

brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam

brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ

brahma-karma-samādhinā

2 Answers 2