You listed Vivekananda as an advocate of vegetarianism, but in fact i0ve found in his works that he actually was advocating meet eating to Indians saying that as now they are too week an so need more rajas etc and that he himself was eating meet before becoming a sannyasin (when that is prohibited). Not an example for vegetarianism (as well as Ramakrishna or other major disciple Swami Brahmananda (Rakhal) who used to go fishing all his life I think.. )

It’s a start.

There was a Thai restaurant, and this is back in the bad ol’ eighties before the Internet, that I went to for almost three years until I discovered that they had fish sauce in even the veggie food (and I don’t eat fish). Might sound familiar to some.

for the canadians among us who subscribe to the walrus – the latest issue – has a photoessay on what we eat around the world – the family patkar from india is profiled and their budget runs to $45 or so it seems to be heavy on grain and veggies.

I was just flipping through the photoessay once again and thought I’d share this. Read on.

Page 80 – Top panel

Gatineau Canada – The Finken Family: Kirk 43, Danielle 50, Anna 11 and Coco Simone 16. The Finkens try to eat locally produced organic fruit and vegetables … The children are particularly fond of Indian food – anna lists her favourite food as matar paneer, and Coco, who recently became a vegetarian, likes spiced lentils and chapatis: Weekly expenditure: $158

Page 80 – Bottom panel

Ujjain India – the Patkar Family: Neha 19, Akshay 15, Jayant 48, and Sangeeta 42. Like most devout Hindus, the Patkars are vegetarians. .. Sangeeta notes that the Patkars are more flexible about their vegetarianism than her family was when she was growing up. Akshay, for one, says that he has eaten chicken and likes it. Weekly expenditure: $45.

Animal sacrifice is fairly common in a lot of places, not just the east or northeast. It is not just related to shakthi worship alone although that is more widespread. Sacrifice is a concept that is still very prevalent in Indian traditions and for those with an agrarian background (~60% of India) sacrifice involves making offerings of their wealth and food, which is produce and goat and chicken and some cases liquor. Whatever it is that one consumes, one can offer it symbolically and ritually to the various dieties before consuming. So for example most villages in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and most likely Andhra and Karnataka have village gods that accept goat and chicken as offerings. Especially Mariamman temples and various other versions of Ammans. The priests are not Brahmins usually and they get a part of the goat or chicken, while the rest is consumed by the worshiping family as a feast. It may be uncommon in some parts of urban India, but is most definitely NOT disappearing! All you have to do is visit any Mariamman temple in Tamil Nadu, Sri Lamka, Malaysia or Singapore. I myself have often seen this rituals during great festivities in my ancestral village. A few examples from the internet follow.

Muthappan temple

When gods accept whisky

Temple overflows with liquor on Ashthami

Among the numerous temples in Goa, one of the most sacred is the Vodgeshwar temple. It is very unique because the God accepts every kind of offering including fish, meat and pheni (liquor made by the fruit of cashew nut, which grows there in abundance). According to the priest of the Temple, this is so because the God feels that whatever business a person does is sacred to him/her as long as the offering is made with a pure heart, it doesnÂ’t matter what the offering is.

From: http://www.bolokids.com/2006/0297.htm

Should we ban animal sacrifice in temples?

Sacrifice Lost and Found–Colonial India and Postcolonial Lanka

Just google for more.

Gujaratis and Marwaris are vegetarian due to Jain influences on the Vaishnavism they traditionally follow. Swaminarayan devotees didn’t really become prevalent till very recently.

Animal sacrifice was more of a shakti worship thing probably most prevalent in the North East (Kalighat).

The Vedas trumps all other scriptures in hinduism. It is Sruthi. You will find animal and even human sacrifices sanctioned in the Vedas. Many hindus still sacrifice animals. It took the British to outlaw human sacrifice and widow burning in India. How do you reconcile these facts with “Ahinsã paramo dharma”?

There are not that many vedic literalists around. Most hindu reformists sects including Vivekananda’s Santana Dharma claim to be ‘rooted’ in the Vedas not directly based on them. Then there are nastik sects that reject the Vedas completely.

Secondly very few Hindus sacrifice animals, most of these are regional tribal traditions that are rapidly disappering due to mainstream Hindu and Christian evangalization.

Ok so you agree that the primary Hindu scriptures advocate ahinsa. People are always misled and taken advantage of by those who misinterpret the scriptures for their own advantages. Even before the british got to gujarat in the 18th century the practices of animal scarifices and widow burning were being abolished by Bhagwan Swaminarayan. The british acknowledged the fact that their job was easier because of the influence of Bhagwan Swaminarayan over the people of gujarat, especially the likes of the notorious kathis. That work is being continued by Pramukh Swami Maharaj. THis is the reason you see gujarat with most vegetarians.

Also, for all the vegetarians out there who condemn the killing of animals, do you all wear or buy leather products? silk? where do you draw the line? If you are concerned about the treatment of the animals, especially here in America, shouldn’t you become vegan?

As far as I can tell no one in this thread has taken an evangelising role in promoting vegetarianism. Food habits and lifestyles are personal choices colored by the environment one grew in and it is a continuum. Different people draw the line at different places. Modern society has drawn the line at cannibalism. Most people draw the line on some kinds of meat as OK and not others. Eg: For Americans cows are OK but not dogs, cats and horses. For the French the horses are just fine. For Koreans and Chinese the dogs are fine as well. For many vegetarians not eating anything involving killing is the norm. Some have extended it to excldue milk and any other animal products. As you said it is hard to go against societal norms, so it is upto the individual to draw the line wherever they are willing and able.