Sadhguru, the Indian spiritual leader whose teachings reach millions, has spoken about food, animal life and dairy in ways that raise questions about how his views have evolved. Although his more recent advocacy of plant-based diets may appear to represent a turn towards veganism, his published statements reveal a more complicated picture.
In an older interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, Sadhguru argued against eating animals on the basis of their emotional complexity. He described cows as deeply sensitive creatures and compared killing them to murder or cannibalism. However, his argument was not consistently extended to dairy consumption. Instead, he defended the cultural and nutritional importance of milk, describing cows as “a surrogate mother” because of their historical role in feeding human communities. [1]
This defence of dairy was particularly evident in his discussions of traditional Indian agriculture. In a 2021 article about preserving indigenous cattle breeds, Sadhguru praised cow’s milk for its supposed health benefits and emphasised the importance of cattle to farming and soil fertility. In this worldview, cows were not simply sources of food but integral parts of a traditional agricultural system. [2]
Yet dairy consumption presents an ethical contradiction: if cows are emotionally sensitive animals deserving of protection, what does that mean for the industrial systems that produce milk? Animal-rights advocates have challenged Sadhguru’s defence of dairy on precisely these grounds. A 2020 discussion of his comments on milk consumption illustrates the controversy surrounding his position. [3]
More recently, Sadhguru’s official platform has increasingly promoted plant-based eating. In its 2022 guide to eating well, Inner Engineering quoted him advocating a transition towards vegetarian diets, identifying reducing meat consumption as a major long-term challenge. His 2023 article on plant-based diets similarly emphasised consuming food with sensitivity and avoiding the unnecessary taking of animal life for pleasure. [4][5]
Nevertheless, these statements do not establish that Sadhguru has become vegan or adopted a blanket anti-dairy position. His published arguments continue to distinguish between dietary choices, traditional agriculture and the treatment of animals. Nor do the sources examined here establish a definitive reversal of his earlier dairy advocacy.
The more defensible conclusion is that Sadhguru’s public messaging has increasingly emphasised plant-based eating and conscious consumption, while the extent of any change in his views on dairy remains unclear. His position therefore raises an important question: can one consistently advocate compassion towards animals while defending the systems that use them for human consumption?
Sources
- Sadhguru, Barkha Dutt in Conversation with Sadhguru, Isha Foundation
- Sadhguru, Why We Need Our Indigenous Cattle, 2021
- Milk Consumption & Related Animal Cruelty: So Many Points to Ponder On, Inspirituality, 2020
- A Yogi’s Guide to Eating Well, Inner Engineering, 2022
- Sadhguru, A Plant-Based Diet and Its Benefits, 2023