Without compassion (ਦਇਆ), there can be no true dharam (righteousness). The foundation of dharam, including the principle of not eating meat, comes from compassion. Guru Ji has described dharam in Gurbani as the “son of compassion”:

ਧੌਲੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਦਇਆ ਕਾ ਪੂਤੁ ॥
ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਥਾਪਿ ਰਖਿਆ ਜਿਨਿ ਸੂਤਿ ॥

This means that dharam exists where there is compassion, and where there is no compassion, dharam cannot exist.

Aurangzeb, for example, was very religious and followed Shariah strictly, but he lacked compassion. According to Gurmat, this means he was not truly dharmi (righteous). Similarly, if a Sikh does not have compassion, it means there is no dharam within them.

To obtain meat, one must take life mercilessly, without showing any compassion to the animal. Without killing a living being in this cruel way, meat cannot be obtained. Therefore, the requirement of compassion is clear: a Sikh should not eat meat.

Waheguru is full of compassion, which is why He is called Dayaal (the compassionate one). A Sikh asks Waheguru for compassion and makes many kinds of humble requests.

However, if a Sikh does not show compassion to other living beings and kills them to eat, they should not expect to receive compassion from Akal Purakh. The principle is that one will be treated by the Akal Purakh in the same way they treat other beings. For this reason, meat should not be eaten.

In Gurmat, there is a well-known principle that everyone must face the results of their own actions. If we do wrong to someone, wrong will also come to us.

ਜੇਹਾ ਬੀਜੈ ਸੋ ਲੁਣੈ ਕਰਮਾ ਸੰਦੜਾ ਖੇਤੁ ॥

A living being has to reap what it sows, because this world is the field of actions. Thoughtful Gursikhs should reflect on this themselves. If a person cruelly kills an animal in order to eat it, what result will that person have to face? The pain that the animal is made to suffer will also have to be experienced by the one who kills it.

The demand of justice is this: such a person will have to take birth as an animal in some future life and be slaughtered in the same way. Wise Gursikhs perform only those actions for which they will not have to feel regret later.

ਐਸਾ ਕੰਮੁ ਮੂਲੇ ਨ ਕੀਚੈ ਜਿਤੁ ਅੰਤਿ ਪਛੋਤਾਈਐ ॥

This means that one should never do any action that leads to regret in the end.