Where's the Beef?

Inspired by a friend's post, I felt that I needed to add to the story on how and why beef is not a part of the Indian-Hindu culture. A lot of my non-Desi friends have always been curious to ask about this cultural "phenomenon". However there is this misconception that all Hindus do not eat beef or are simply vegetarians. It's the stereotypical nonsense we always hear.

For me while growing up, I had parents who were both on the opposite spectrums of non-vegetarianism. My mom, more of a vegetarian, hates the idea of beef and sticks with seafood and chicken. She isn't so fond of red meat and will have it only in rare circumstances. My dad however was totally different. He loved meat.

He was a fan of "all of the above", if there is such a category to explain all the options of non-veg food. He even used to tell us about the frog leg samosas (fried turnovers) that he once had (trust me, it seemed as if he was still salivating about that experience when he would describe it to us). And of course the one other important thing he liked was beef. If we ever went out to a place where steak was the main entree, you knew what he was going to order. He once even went as far as tricking my mom, who was new to this country, into eating a hamburger by telling her it was "ham". And not so surprisingly, like any other immigrant Indian, he never had beef back home.

But over time, his beef eating curtailed. I guess it had to do with my mother's influence, especially due to one incident. My dad had brought home some steak when I was about 6 years old or so. Under the protest of my mother, he cooked it anyway. I didn't have whatever he made, but somehow the next day I fell severely ill. I was sick for a while. And as superstitions tend to influence ideas, my mother's words of warning were realized, thus effectively bringing in a ban of cooking beef in the house. In fact it still exists to this very day.

However, the ban didn't extend to my diet. My father's thought was that since in America vegetarian food is hard to find (as it was during the 70's/80's), I should be able to eat anything. Not a bad idea. Oddly enough, my mother relented. So having beef for me wasn't so special. Going out to restaurants, I had it, but at home never.

Funny enough though, at school, a friend once said to me, "You're a Hindu! You just ate a hamburger! You have sinned!!!", to which I laughed and replied, "What's even bad, I'm a Brahmin, so my sin is a lot worse!!!"

But the truth is, Brahmins and the rest of the Indian social strata did eat meat including beef, before it became a "sin".

Traditionally a puja (veneration) is offered by Hindus to the Gods and at the end a prasad (offerings) is given (sort of like the wine and wafer given by Catholics at communion, signifying Jesus' blood and body). These offerings were usually animals used as sacrifice. These animals, then in turn would be made into some edible offering to be given to the devotees as well as the priests (Brahmins). Some of these animals included cows.

This activity continued, until certain influences came into Indian society.

One of the first influences was due to Lord Krishna. The philosophical hero of the Bhaghavad Gita was from the cow herder class, and was known to be a lover of dairy products, especially milk and butter. The love of Krishna by many people prompted them to deify the cow, as it related to his love for the animal.

The other influence was due to the impact of Buddhism and Jainism. Both added elements of "ahimsa" or non-violence. Those teachings made vegetarianism popular. Sacrifices to the Gods dwindled. In essence a lot of Hindus became vegetarians, especially the Brahmin class.

But looking at these reasons on why the cow has been deified in Hindu/Indian society it does call to the fact that it is more of an agricultural impact, rather than just religious. In Hinduism, the cow is looked upon as a 'mother' who gives. This giving of course is essential for the child's growth with milk (with the exception of lactose intolerant people), and also helping man in tilling the land. And knowing that since ancient times India was a culture heavily dependent on its agriculture, the cow's deification isn't so surprising. The agricultural economy spoke for itself. The philosophy was only a part of it.

But nowhere in the religion does it state that we as Hindus cannot eat beef or any other non-vegetarian food.

So why do many Hindus still not eat beef (or are vegetarians for that matter)? Most likely by choice, and possibly due to religious ideals that have become the cultural norm.

Actually for me, beef eating has changed considerably. My intake of it has declined over the past 10 years. I rather prefer things like chicken and seafood (kind of like my mother), instead of beef. The last time I had steak, I genuinely felt sick after having it. And it was well done, something those steak eating aficionados would laugh at me for. I do still crave a hamburger every once in a while, but seriously I rather eat something healthier.

It kind of brings me back to the statement my school buddy had made of me being a sinner. As a kid, I once had gone to McD's with my Pakistani-American friend who I grew up with.

We were en route to a soccer game we were to play and stopped for some breakfast with the rest of the team. He promptly ordered an Egg McMuffin. I expected him to order it without the Canadian Bacon, but he didn't. I reminded him that he was about to eat ham and might be committing a sin according to Islam, to which he answered, "So what? I love Egg McMuffins with the bacon!".

Well a few years ago I met up with him in the Windy City, and jokingly asked him if he still frequented McD's in the morning for his Egg McMuffin. He laughed, wondering how I still remembered that. But his next answer summed it all up with a great big smile, "No man, I don't have Egg McMuffins anymore. Remember, I'm a Muslim!".

I guess personal convictions finally seem to take over.