Those Hindus who do eat meat raise the animals without cruelty and take their lives painlessly. Even the preparation and eating of food expresses this principle. For this reason Hindus refrain from talking during a meal. Therefore eating and drinking is carried out in moderation, with certain days set aside as fast days, while sex is held in esteem only for procreation. Therefore the performance of their religious and social duty is uttermost in their mind.
Religious duty is extremely involved and varies between caste and subcaste.
A good Hindu's home will have a separate room for a temple with a shrine containing pictures and statues of the personalized form of Brahman that the family worships. On rising in the morning each member of the family performs ritual washing, offers prayers inside and outside of the household temple, and eats breakfast separately. Lunch is usually vegetarian. After prayers there is the sharing of fire, and then the evening meal. A Hindu is not bound to visit a public temple or holy place and only does so on special occasions and pilgrimages.