Vegetarianism & Hinduism
Many people think that Hindus can’t eat because their “religion” prohibits them. Often the question is asked, “so you can’t eat meat?” or “he can’t eat meat”. No, it’s not that I can’t, but I don’t.
For me as well as most Hindus it is a conscious decision (as opposed to blindly following some religious doctrine), for there are no religious injunctions in any of the Hindu faiths that I know of. If at all there are any religious injunctions, it is that of ahimsa (non-violence). That is, to do no harm to any living being. That is you take that injunction “to do no harm” and try to apply it and extend it as much as you can in your life.
I’d say it is even more fundamental, and that fundamental note is that of the quest for the highest Truth. This quest, to know and to understand, includes meditation and thinking on ones actions and the consequences of those actions. With knowledge comes awareness, and with awareness comes understanding and empathy, and with understanding comes compassion. This is why over 40% of Hindus are predominantly vegetarian, not by any religious injunction, but by conscious choice to be a vegetarian.
Note that you don’t have to be an ascetic to do this sort of meditation or thinking. Everyone is capable of reflection and reasoning. Some people are capable, others just choose not to accept the truth, even in the face of logic, being overwhelmed by their desire to enjoy the taste of meat.
In the end, it becomes a conscious choice – out of compassion, morals, or the ethics of eating meat. Any Hindu vegetarian will tell you he will not eat meat not out of fear of breaking some religious injunction (for there is none), but out of the thought of killing another sentient being for no other lowly reason than gratification of ones taste buds. One of the things that make man different from other animals is that he can feel that compassion or sense of ethics and he can make that choice.
Hindu culture as a whole, recognizes the role of a vegetarian diet as essential for spiritual progress and healthy life – in mind, body, and spirit. But how you do it or if you do it is up to you.
See also the case for vegetarianism in general.