Acharya Prashant addresses the question of whether a non-vegetarian can be spiritual by stating that anyone can claim to be anything, but that doesn't make it true. He identifies an underlying desire in the questioner: to both "chew bones" (a metaphor for eating meat) and simultaneously declare oneself as highly spiritual. He illustrates this with metaphors like wringing an animal's neck with one hand while turning a rosary with the other, or having an animal's blood on one hand while applying a sacred mark (tilak) with the other. He emphasizes that truth has very little to do with our claims and statements. The speaker explains that the core of spirituality is compassion—compassion for oneself and for the entire world. Spirituality is the science of going beyond one's own suffering, which manifests as sorrow, tension, irritation, and worry. A spiritual person is one who has so much compassion and love for themselves that they are willing to do whatever it takes to heal their own unbearable inner condition. This process of internal healing is spirituality. It requires a deep examination of one's own inner state, much like a doctor examines a patient. Through this self-examination, a spiritual person realizes that they are not different from other beings. The pain is the same for everyone. He quotes Kabir Saheb, "The pain of all is the same, be it a chicken, a deer, or a cow." When this oneness is realized, one cannot inflict pain on others, let alone kill and eat them. Therefore, it is impossible for a person to be spiritual while eating meat. He concludes that anyone who believes they can be spiritual while consuming meat is under a delusion and does not possess even the first letter of spirituality. The desire to have both the taste of meat and the badge of spirituality cannot be fulfilled simultaneously.
