Nov 25, 2004, 12.00am IST
J P Vaswani.
One evening, as I was taking a walk in a park in Los Angeles, I came across a man seated on a bench. By his side sat a dog. The man spoke to the dog and it seemed the dog understood. In fact, the dog actually seemed to respond. Intrigued, I stopped to talk to this man. There was nothing strange about the man's appearance; he looked like any other ordinary person. I said to him: "Brother, do you often talk to your dog?"
"I do", he answered and added: "You think of him as a dog. I think of him as my son. He lives with me and sleeps on his own bed in my room. He is a close companion and our relationship is complex". I asked him: "Does the dog respond to your talking?" Laughing, he said that he always received an answer. Sometimes, it was a unique response; at other times, it was a polite wag.
Animals, too, are spiritual beings. We have a lot to learn from them; they can bring out the best in us and also give us a lesson or two on unconditional love, acceptance, and listening to the unspoken, among other things.
Humanity today faces limitless promise — we have reached high levels of technological brilliance. Yet, most of us remain confused as to our real identity and purpose in life. An average individual's heart is stirred by a thousand fears he cannot name. His mind is agitated; he is often troubled and unsure of himself; he is given to bouts of bad temper. Overcome by cravings and desires, he is unable to get a hold on himself. What is the reason?
One of the reasons for man's discontentment is his alienation from Nature and other life forms. To renew civilisation and evolve spiritually, it is necessary for us to make friends with birds and animals, trees and flowers, streams and stars — with all that lives.
Man is a part of Nature. Unfortunately, however, he regards himself as the sovereign, and thinks he can do what he likes with those around him. We need to realise that all other forms of Creation are as much a part of Nature as we are. When we exploit Nature, it will fight back. There will be droughts and floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Imbalances created by pollution, wastage and global warming will change the very face of the planet that we call home.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that we will not have peace on earth until we have stopped all killing. No sentient creature must be killed for the simple reason that if I kill an animal for food, I will not hesitate in killing a human being whom I regard as an enemy. We need to grow in the spirit of reverence for all life. All life must be regarded as sacred.
Mahatma Gandhi said: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated...It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practise elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures.
Over the last few centuries, we have seen movements directed at achieving rights for the oppressed among human beings. It is time we recognised the rights of animals. Every animal has certain fundamental rights. And the very basic right of every animal is the right to live. For you cannot take away what you cannot give. And since you cannot give life to a dead creature, you have no right to take away the life of a living one.
(The Sadhu Vaswani Mission's Stop All Killing Association is observing today as Meatless Day and Animal Rights Day.)
No comments:
Post a Comment