Diet in Sikhism - The Sikh Code of Conduct On The Sikh Diet

The Sikh Code of Conduct On The Sikh Diet

Leading Sikh intellectuals ruled on this issue in the 1920s—as some Sikh sects attempted to get all Sikhs to be vegetarian—and came up with the following rule or code of conduct for baptised Sikhs with regards to meat and vegetarianism:

Sikh Rehat Maryada — In the Rehat Maryada, section six, it states:

The undermentioned four transgressions (tabooed practices) must be avoided:

  1. Dishonouring the hair
  2. Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Muslim way (Kutha)
  3. Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse
  4. Using tobacco.

The Rehat Maryada states that Sikhs are bound to avoid meat that is killed in a ritualistic manner e.g. Halal, Kosher, etc.

The Akhand Kirtani Jatha dispute the meaning of the word "kutha", claiming it means all meat, however, in mainstream Sikhism this word has been accepted to mean, as that which is sacrificed.

Read more about this topic:  Diet In Sikhism

Famous quotes containing the words code, conduct and/or diet:

    Wise Draco comes, deep in the midnight roll
    Of black artillery; he comes, though late;
    In code corroborating Calvin’s creed
    And cynic tyrannies of honest kings;
    He comes, nor parlies; and the Town, redeemed,
    Gives thanks devout; nor, being thankful, heeds
    The grimy slur on the Republic’s faith implied,
    Which holds that Man is naturally good,
    And—more—is Nature’s Roman, never to be
    scourged.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    The mere fact of leaving ultimate social control in the hands of the people has not guaranteed that men will be able to conduct their lives as free men. Those societies where men know they are free are often democracies, but sometimes they have strong chiefs and kings. ... they have, however, one common characteristic: they are all alike in making certain freedoms common to all citizens, and inalienable.
    Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)

    I learned from my two years’ experience that it would cost incredibly little trouble to obtain one’s necessary food, even in this latitude; that a man may use as simple a diet as the animals, and yet retain health and strength.... Yet men have come to such a pass that they frequently starve, not for want of necessaries, but for want of luxuries.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)