Two things that trouble me

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Pyaree sadh sangat jio, daas is very troubled two thoughts stuck in the mind. As amritdharis we must not eat meat or anything containing animal products, however my first problem is that what about the fertilizers used on wheat and vegetables. I am not a scientist I don't know much about these things, but I read that fertilizers contain things from animals, I have been trying to search on the internet and it doesn't look like one can easily find (if at all) where vegetables can be bought which haven't used any such fertilizers. If we gave up vegetables we would be left with nothing... are such foods ok to eat as they themselves are not meat? does anyone know if there are any chemicals left on the foods?
Secondly, majority of soaps use animal derived glycerine, are such products ok? Say one is washing one's face with soap and it goes inside the mouth, is this a cause for concern? Same with other products such as shampoo (which I think also contains some sort of chemical alcohol).
Please help me sangat jio.

Regarding the use of fertilizers, I am not sure if they are derived from animal sources but given the ground realities, I think vegetables and fruits are still fine to consume. I don't think we need to look this deep. None of the products we ear are without damage but eating Vegetarian food is least damaging. On top of vegetarian food, we are allowed to consume other products from animal sources e.g. honey and dairy products etc. Since these foods are acceptable from Guru Sahib's times, there is no need to have double thoughts about consuming them.

Regarding soaps, all Gursikhs I know in India and abroad, use them without hesitation. So it must be fine. If you want to be extra-cautious, then use soaps that are strictly vegan.

Kulbir Singh

Regarding fertlizers, I have some information. Bone meal or blood from slaughter houses can be possibly, used as source of some minerals (Calcium, phosphorus, potassium or Iron etc.) needed for plants nutrition. But this is not a major source of fertlizer industry. No major chemical fertilizer is derived from animal dead parts. Decayed and decomposed dead animal body parts, used as source of plant fertilizer requirement, should not be an etheical issue. Every living being has ultimately to decompose on our earth and those nutrients are to be taken up by plants and the cycle is going on since the life began on earth. But if an animal is killed solely for those desired nutrients for plants; this could turn up into an ethical issue. Gurbani says that dead animals serve many purposes.

ਨਰੂ ਮਰੈ ਨਰੁ ਕਾਮਿ ਨ ਆਵੈ ॥
naroo marai nar kaam n aavai ||
When a man dies, he is of no use to anyone.
ਪਸੂ ਮਰੈ ਦਸ ਕਾਜ ਸਵਾਰੈ ॥੧॥
pasoo marai dhas kaaj savaarai ||1||
But when an animal dies, it is used in ten ways. ||1||

Please also note what Guru Sahib tells us about MITTI MUSLMAN KI. We do use pots and bricks, the source of the clay used by the potter, is from the grave yard.

ਮਿਟੀ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ਕੀ ਪੇੜੈ ਪਈ ਕੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਿਆਰ ॥
mittee musalamaan kee paerrai pee kumihaaar ||
The clay of the Muslim's grave becomes clay for the potter's wheel.
ਘੜਿ ਭਾਂਡੇ ਇਟਾ ਕੀਆ ਜਲਦੀ ਕਰੇ ਪੁਕਾਰ ॥
gharr bhaanddae eittaa keeaa jaladhee karae pukaar ||
Pots and bricks are fashioned from it, and it cries out as it burns.

if the fertilizer has animal waste in it (usually manure or bones leftover from slaughterhouses), it will not enter the vegetable, and a good washing should remove any trace of it.

there are quite a few vegan soaps out there... some are major brands. there's a small list here:

[porksoap.instantnetworks.net]

most of the organic and specialty soaps and shampoos are vegan. oh, and Dr. Bronner's magic soap can be used as both soap and shampoo, it's awesome, i love it.

also, i just found "Nanak" brand lip moisturizer and hand cream. it's fantastic and of course i had to buy it because of the name.

wahegurujikakhalsawahegurujikifateh!!!

Take a piece of anything, meat, bone, wood and start dividing it into two. Now keep on doing this until you come to the smallest piece you can get. But as long as there is a piece of that thing left know that you can still divide it further into two.
The amazing thing is that that process will go on forever, that is how Amazing Akal Purukh is, without no end or beginning. Ultimately everything that we see, touch , feel, taste, hear and smell and all else around us collectively makes up The universe, which in turn is Waheguru. Even that which is Not Reality is Waheguru since He created it All.

Now to my point, bearing in mind that everything has been created by Akal Purukh and that everything has a reason for it's existence, there is a way that this Physical Reality which is Not Reality as it is merely just an Illusion can merge with the Ultimate Reality which is Truth and Only Truth.

The way to merge with this Truth is to live according to the Shabad (Word) of Gurbani. In due process one has to abide with the Rules and Regulations of the Shabad one of which is to be aware consciously of what we eat, since those little pieces that make us up work in different ways when they combine in different methods and volumes. Since all these Little pieces have an energy field around them, some energy is negative to us humans and can affect the way we do our simran/bhagti. I would like to call this negative energy negative Naam and I will explain why. The whole Universe is Waheguru and Waheguru is Naam, Naam is what we merge ourselves into and from Naam the Universe is created.

Even this 'negative Naam' is positive eg. a lion has to eat meat to survive, not vegetables.

It is inevitable that when we breathe we take in plenty of germs/ organisms, but all this happens subconciously according to Nature (Waheguru). When we start consuming meat by consciously deciding using our own mind this becomes manmat and this is totally opposite of Gurmat.

I urge you to stay within the contraints of Gurmat and not get embroiled in the nitty gritty otherwise there will be no end to what we can consume or not consume.

Thank you all Gursikhs for your posts, it is very reassuring to hear the views of other gursikhs. I will remove this worry from my mind now
Might look into the veggie soaps though.