Should I throw away non-vegetarian food served on my plate by mistake?

[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on February 21, 2021, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]

[Kum. Bhanu Samykhya asked: Padanamaskaram Swamiji! I recently faced a bad situation, wherein I was in a hurry and due to confusion, I accidentally served some non-vegetarian food on my plate. When I realized what I had done, I got scared and tense because that very morning, I had read Your answer to Kum. Amudha’s question. In it You had explained that killing animals for food is a sin and that one should not repeat eating non-vegetarian food after knowing this. So, out of fear of committing a sin, I could not think clearly and threw both the non-vegetarian curry and the rice from my plate and served myself fresh vegetarian food again. After this whole thing happened, I thought what I had done and realized that it too was a sin, because I ended up wasting both the rice and the non-vegetarian curry. What should I have done in such a situation? Was my action of throwing away all the food served in my plate correct or wrong? At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Bhanu Samykhya.]

Swāmi replied: What you did is not a sin at all. The food thrown by you might have been eaten by an animal and it would have pacified its hunger. Souls are not only born as human beings, but they are also born as animals, birds etc. as per the cycle of deeds. Killing them and eating them is like eating the flesh of one’s own brothers and sisters. God is the divine Father of all souls (Ahaṃ bījaḥ pradaḥ pitā…—Gītā).

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