This creation of Lord Almighty is truly vast and wonderful. Man has been given the responsibility of maintaining balance in this universe. Whether we perceive in terms of science or spirituality, it has to be accepted that man has been bestowed with special abilities that have not been given to any other species. Be it the incredible capabilities of the human body or the extraordinary abilities of the human brain or his amazing talent in developing science, technology, and culture – man has been given immense abilities and special powers.
The impartial God must certainly not have had any special disposition towards a human being when he gifted these special abilities. Because along with abilities come responsibilities. God must have chosen man to collaborate with Him in maintaining harmony and balance in this vast universe. To accomplish this, God has given a man with a special quality known as ‘Samvedana’ – emotional empathy. It is the presence of these emotions that marks the progress of a human being in the truest sense. If a person does not possess altruism and emotional empathy, then he is as good as a dead person. If a human being is devoid of humanity, then would it be appropriate to call him a human being?
Humanity is not just about being empathetic to fellow human beings, it encompasses a much wider spectrum. One needs to harbor compassionate emotions for all forms of life in this vast creation. Today, when we hear the innumerable incidents of cruelty towards animals and other creatures, you are left to wonder if man has forgotten his humaneness. Is he not aware of his responsibilities as a human being and those bestowed by God towards other constituents of this universe?
When we think of an incident that occurred in Bengaluru, our mind goes into a spin. A woman thrashed a dog for giving birth to its puppies in front of her house, so much so that neighbors had to intervene. The fault of the dog was merely that it gave birth to its babies at that doorstep. The woman was so livened with rage that she dashed each of the newborn puppies on the road with so much force that all the 15 of them were killed instantly.
This ghastly act was done by a woman, who is looked upon as an epitome of motherly love. Such incidents make us wonder if they have a heart at all. These people remind of the asuras and rakshasas as described in our puranas and itihasas. Some similar behavior was exhibited by students of a medical college where two students threw an innocent dog from the top of a building merely for their amusement and to capture an interesting video to post on their social media. They were neither ashamed nor apologetic for this inhuman act. One can only wonder what kind of medical professionals and doctors these students will become, being devoid of the basic quality of humanity!
Survey statistics in the recent past has shown a steady increase in incidents of cruelty towards animals. These have become everyday news. Dogs, cats, horses and other domestic animals become the first targets for abuse and cruelty. Statistics show that among the cruelty on animals, 70% are dogs, 21% are cats and the rest of them being other domestic animals. There are many other ways in which animals and birds are being harmed by humans.
40-50 million animals are slaughtered for manufacture of Fur clothes in the western countries. Animals like Fox, Raccoon, Rabbit, Chinchilla, Mink are included in this list. China even has barbarous methods for killing these animals like – breaking their necks, passing toxic gas for mass killing and giving them electric shock with high voltage current. How can we forget about the bags and belts made out of crocodile and snake skin? We forget while using these products that several animals have been killed for no reason so that you may use that bag or coat!
Japan government and the poachers kill thousands of whales every year. In the name of medical research and medicine preparation, more than 500 million to 1 billion mammals are killed in the laboratories. There are many such examples to show that the cruelty against animals has reached its peak in this century. More than 1400 billion animals are slaughtered to feed the non-vegetarians in the world.
Just in England that has a human population of 6 crores, 2.5 billion animals were slaughtered to be plated up in the year 2009. Among this 60 crores were chicken and other poultry, 30 crore cows and bulls for beef, goats for mutton and pigs for pork are included. 1 billion seafood includes fish, octopus, oyster, prawns and other creatures. We cannot protect the life of any of these creatures in the universe, but still we are killing them to satiate our hunger, what kind of humanity is this?
Eating other creatures for food; killing other animals for the sake of our comforts and treatment; troubling them for our entertainment – all these are throwing challenges at our fundamental human nature. The way we treat animals and birds in circuses and zoos will surely put humanity to shame.
In England, it is legal to hunt for foxes. Be it that or the trophy hunting in Africa, or cock fighting in England or bull fighting in Europe – 250 million animals are killed in the name of entertainment in America alone. Such instances have become quite common during movie making. All these statistics goes to show the despicable mindset of man.
Don’t be led to believe that there is dearth of laws and rules in this regard. When you look at our own Indian constitution, it clearly proclaims that each citizen must be compassionate towards other creatures. Killing animals has been announced to be a crime in the purview of law. There is a fine of Rs.25000 and jail time of 7 years for those being cruel to animals. But more often than not, only poachers or those who kill animals for their hide and skin normally get punished in this category. Those who misbehave and are cruel to animals in different walks of life are somehow ignored by the law. It could be that even people have become indifferent to such incidents and their conscience and humane qualities are asleep.
It is not about police and government arresting these people and punishing them. It is about the steep decline in our empathy and compassion towards other beings. Family planning can be enforced as rule but brahmacharya cannot be developed in people with that. Emotional steps need to be taken to clear the emotional pollution that is rampant in people. We need to question our inner self – how can you see the torture of these innocent animals? If we love and respect the omnipresent God, then how can we tolerate the cruelty that has befallen on a part of His existence?
Param Pujya Gurudev had this exactly in his mind when he kept reconstruction of emotional well-being (bhavanatmak navnirman) as one of the goals of Gayatri Parivar. If the emotions of a person develop in the righteous and progressive manner, then his personality get molded in a manner that others would want to emulate and follow. A person has high thinking when each and every moment of his life is spent on actions that target at the refinement of his character, actions and temperament so that he contribute to the welfare of humanity. Compassion and love for all beings in the universe is the central aspect for achieving this.
Emotional empathy is the most important quality to possess if we want to transform the era. And it also becomes our responsibility to awaken this emotion in the hearts of others around us. If the emotionally elevated people of Gayatri Parivar do not take the responsibility of showing the right path to those who oppress and harass animals, who else will? Our parijans established Goshalas all over the nation to protect cows and conserve the native breeds from extinction. We have to make similar massive and compassionate efforts to protect the lives of innocent animals.
Wherever Goshalas are being managed by Gayatri Parivar parijans, if we can allocate some place for saving and rehabilitating animals from distress and cruelty, we would have set a wonderful example that humanity is still not wiped out from the phase of the planet. Others could be inspired by our efforts. Each and every karyakarta of Gayatri Parivar is capable of setting such an example. We can rescue animals that are on the receiving end of harsh and cruel behavior from people and protect them by simple methods.
It is said that
Pratyaham pratyaveksheta nirashcharitamatmanaha |
Kim nu me pashubhistulyam kim nu satpurushairiva ||
Meaning: We have introspected ourselves and decide if our actions are like that of animals or like that of noble human beings.
All those people who have been misbehaving with animals, causing them pain and misery should do this self-introspection and judge their actions. The hide of animals is put into use after they die, but the crown jewel of this creation – man is bent upon skinning the animals while alive. This is surely a situation where the pillars of righteousness are crumbling. People have gone astray from their fundamental human nature and have to be brought back on the path. Who other than Gayatri Parivar parijans can better accomplish this task! Let us all step forward and raise our voice to protect these voiceless animals. If we cannot become their voice, who else can?
Source: Akhand Jyoti Magazine