Why is non-vegetarian food said to produce ignorance and inertia in the eater?

[Shri Anil asked: It is said in the Gītā that the qualities of a person are influenced by the food they eat. One commentary found on the internet on these verses is as follows:

Foods such as milk, fruits, rice, and vegetables are of sattva guṇa, the mode of goodness. Foods such as garlic, onions, chillies and mushrooms are of rajo guṇa, the mode of passion. Foods such as meat, fish, fowl and eggs are of tamo guṇa, the mode of ignorance.

Swami, You mentioned in Your knowledge that eating non-vegetarian food is not a sin by itself, but that the act of killing living beings for food is the sin. If one eats a naturally dead animal then it is not a sin. If that is the case, how can non-vegetarian food develop tāmasic qualities in a person. Kindly enlighten us.]

Swami replied: Looking at it from the angle of sin, eating a dead animal is certainly not a sin. But from the angle of health and medical science, it is to be analysed whether the flesh of a dead animal is good for health or bad for health. The first angle is different from the second angle. Unless these two angles are well understood, one may wrongly conclude that eating dead animals or dead human beings is good for health. The eating of meat is not to be criticized only from the point of view of sin. Sharp analysis is always essential to understand the point precisely.

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| Shri Datta Swami | Why is non-vegetarian food said to produce ignorance and inertia in the eater? | Giita Gita

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