If kshatriyas were allowed to eat meat, why is meat-eating considered wrong for everyone?

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Yes, go on. I’m deviating, it’s okay. Okay.
So, is it that eating meat gives karma, but not sin? Well, I don’t really know whether you can really differentiate between karma and sin like that. Basically, you could say that there is good karma and there is bad karma. And bad karma itself is called as sin.
So, now, you know… Okay, I’ll come to that point. See, प्रवृत्तिरेशबूर्थानाम् यूडृतिस्तुमहाप्थानाम् So, this is also in the Bhagavatam. And this is also there in the Manu Samhita.
The point over there is that, that, say, meat eating, intoxication, and to some extent, promiscuity. Unrestricted sexuality. These are the ways of general human beings.
प्रवृत्तिरेशबूर्थानाम् But, यूडृतिस्तुमहाप्थानाम् If one gives this up, then one can get a great result. So, the idea is, that instead of seeking the Bhagavatam, or generally the broad dharmic texts, don’t give dharma as one circle. You are doing this, you are dharmic.
You are doing all this, you are not dharmic. Give dharma as a set of expanding concentric circles. So, it’s like, imagine a pyramid.
So, the top of the pyramid is one small point. As you keep going downward, downward, downward, it becomes much bigger in the perimeter, in the circumference. So, like that, we could say, there are dharmas for different levels of people.
And, what is the point of having dharmas for different levels of people? That, if you cannot fit here, then you fit here. If you cannot fit here, you fit here. So, the idea is, it’s not 1-0.
If you are doing this, you are going back to God. If you are not doing this, you want to go back to death. Now, we can say that for Kshatriyas, meat-eating was allowed, which is true.
Now, there are practical reasons for this. Kshatriyas have to do a lot of physical work, fighting. And, Kshatriyas are going in the forest.
Grains don’t grow naturally. And, traditionally, for Kshatriya courts, you are not meant to plunder. Even if there are some farms, you are not meant to plunder them, just like that.
So, then, if they are going through forest areas, and the sages of the forest can live on on herbs and fruits and vegetables. But, Kshatriyas have to do heavy physical work. They, at the least, need grains.
And, if grains are not available, then, then, meat can be eaten. So, Kshatriyas could eat meat. But, you have to see that Kshatriyas, what else they did? Kshatriyas were ready to give up their life when their citizens were in danger.
Kshatriya protects them from Kshatriyas. Protects others from injury, from hurt. They are Kshatriyas.
So, some people want to say that, I am a Kshatriya, so I will eat meat. But, OK, are you doing the other dharma of a Kshatriya? If dharma has to be protected, are you ready to fight against all odds? Most people are not ready to do that. So, we cannot take, oh, this was allowed, and it was allowed.
So, the point I am making here is that, yes, you could say that for Prabhupada, broadly, the four agenda principles which he has given, it is a Brahminical way of life. Prabhupada has not just given us Vedic dharma, he has given us the best of Vedic dharma. So, Vedic dharma can be multilevel.
There can be only concentric circles. Now, if somebody may say that, OK, I want to be at the level where I eat meat. And that’s what Kshatriyas are doing.
OK, that’s OK, but Kshatriyas are doing many other things. If you are not doing those other things, then, I will say, I am a Kshatriya, so I eat meat. OK, then Kshatriyas would do something, many things to do than punya.
And, within that particular lifestyle, this was an accommodation. So, in every level of dharma, there is, you could say, a recommendation and there is a concession. So, now, concessions should not be made as recommendations.
If you go to a doctor and the doctor says, OK, what diabetes? So, then, the doctor says, OK, you take this medicine, morning, afternoon, evening. And, he says, no. And, don’t take any sweets.
No, doctor, I can’t live without sweets. OK, take sweets only once a week. No, not once a week, I can’t do that.
OK, twice a week. No, not twice a week. No, nothing more than twice a week.
Now, the doctor says, OK, twice a week. And this person comes back and tells his family and everyone else, my doctor told me to take sweets twice a week. And the person doesn’t take the medicine.
So, now, yes, take sweets twice a week. That’s also what the doctor told him. But that’s not the recommendation.
That’s the concession. Recommendation is what I want you to do. Concession is what you want to do and I allow it.
So, the positive activities of Kshatriyas, respecting the sages, protecting the sages, protecting the citizens, protecting dharma, those are like the recommendations. And eating meat is like a concession. So, the important thing is that, say, for a diabetic patient, if they are going to eat sugar, that is going to have consequences.
But if they are also taking food properly, they are overall having a healthy lifestyle, then that may not have that much consequences. Similarly, if one is living an overall dharmic life of a Kshatriya, and within that they are eating meat, the other consequences might be offset by that. Within that whole life, that’s okay.
sarvārambhāhi-doṣeṇa-numena agnevāvṛtaḥ Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, that all endeavors are covered by fire, just as fire is covered by smoke. Okay? So, we have to consider not just the recommendations, not just concessions, but also family recommendations.