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ਸਿੱਖਬਾਣੀ · SikhBani

What does Gurbani say about eating meat?

Answered from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib · 2026-08-25
Ang 1289 STTM ↗ Guru NanakRaag Malaar ✓ verified
ਮਾਸੁ ਮਾਸੁ ਕਰਿ ਮੂਰਖੁ ਝਗੜੇ ਗਿਆਨੁ ਧਿਆਨੁ ਨਹੀ ਜਾਣੈ ॥
maas maas kar moorakh jhagaRe giaan dhiaan nahee jaanai ||
The fools argue about flesh and meat, but they know nothing about meditation and spiritual wisdom.
Ang 1289 STTM ↗ Guru NanakRaag Malaar ✓ verified
ਕਉਣੁ ਮਾਸੁ ਕਉਣੁ ਸਾਗੁ ਕਹਾਵੈ ਕਿਸੁ ਮਹਿ ਪਾਪ ਸਮਾਣੇ ॥
kaun maas kaun saag kahaavai kis mahi paap samaane ||
What is called meat, and what is called green vegetables? What leads to sin?
Ang 1290 STTM ↗ Guru NanakRaag Malaar ✓ verified
ਇਸਤ੍ਰੀ ਪੁਰਖ ਨਿਪਜਹਿ ਮਾਸਹੁ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹ ਸੁਲਤਾਨਾਂ ॥
isatree purakh nipajahi maasahu paatisaah sulataanaa(n) ||
Women, men, kings and emperors originate from meat.
Ang 1103 STTM ↗ Bhagat KabirRaag Maaroo ✓ verified
ਜੀਅ ਬਧਹੁ ਸੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਕਰਿ ਥਾਪਹੁ ਅਧਰਮੁ ਕਹਹੁ ਕਤ ਭਾਈ ॥
jee badhahu s dharam kar thaapahu adharam kahahu kat bhaaee ||
You kill living beings, and call it a righteous action. Tell me, brother, what would you call an unrighteous action?
AI study commentary — not Gurbani
The selected lines present distinct angles rather than a single dietary ruling. Guru Nanak in Raag Malaar on Ang 1289 criticizes quarrelling over meat as spiritually uninformed and asks what truly distinguishes meat from vegetables and where sin lies. On Ang 1290, he further unsettles ideas of bodily purity by observing that human beings themselves originate from flesh. Bhagat Kabir in Raag Maaroo on Ang 1103 emphasizes another side: killing living beings cannot simply be declared righteous. Taken together, these lines reframe the question around empty argument, inconsistent purity categories, spiritual wisdom, and the ethics of killing. They are relevant themes, but they do not by themselves prescribe a simple universal rule about what every person must eat.
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