Animal Rights: God of All Things

God of All Things

All creatures, big and small, are beautiful creations of God. Very often, however, we tend to either ignore the "small" or exploit them for selfish reasons. This is where religion and spirituality can help - to restore to us a holistic perspective so that all of God's creations are given due respect.

Religious thought and spirituality serve a larger purpose only when they find positive expression in action. Theory without implementation is of no use. I fear that the concepts of religion and spirituality are being hijacked by humans for their own selfish purposes, leaving out all the other, equally if not more valid forms of life.

When we say "all", it should include all forms of life. All animals are created by God. But only one self-styled animal, the human being, has arrogated to itself the right to pray to the Creator. Is this true spirituality?

All animals enjoy the right to maintain a relation with their Maker, for all life forms are created by the Almighty with the same five principal ingredients, popularly referred to in Indian tradition as the panchbhoot. Any kind of social ostracism towards animals is an insult to the Creator. Yet, even places of worship are being tainted with the blood of "lesser" life forms. In many instances, animals are admitted into the inner precincts of a place of worship only in order to be sacrificed at the altar. It is unfair for one animal to sacrifice another to propitiate the gods, when all are God's creations.

The Buddhist principle of ahimsa or non-violence which was an integral part of our culture began to be forgotten with the decline of the Pala dynasty of Bengal. Mahatma Gandhi's efforts to inculcate in people respect for all forms of life did make a difference, but only for some time.

Superstition encourages disrespect for animals - sacrifice, pelting stones and other forms of violent treatment being meted out to them are all justified in the name of ritualistic religion. The natural rights of animals are being replaced by the Ônaturalised' right of the human being who excludes other species from human made roads and places of worship.

We make no qualms about pronouncing generalisations when it comes to animal behaviour. If a few dogs are infected with rabies, all dogs are viewed with suspicion. An encounter with one ferocious dog makes us brand all dogs as being ferocious. But we don't do this to humans, do we? If a few men commit murder, are all men branded as murderers and punished?

True spirituality should inculcate love of all life forms in humans. There are several tales in Hindu mythology which talk of the combined effort of humans and other animals to attain a designated goal. The Ramayana narrates the ceaseless effort of the monkey king to restore peace. Most Hindu dei-ties are associ-ated with various animals. The Indus Valley deity, pashupati, remains a historical fact. In the verse, Ma Nishada, Valmiki curses the hunter who killed one of a pair of love birds. All existence is complementary; we all co-exist on the planet. All life forms share available resources. We should not misuse the "survival of the fittest" theory to marginalise and oppress other life forms. As human beings, we need to be mindful of the welfare of other animals, too.

No religion would condone cruelty to animals. No spiritually evolved person would encourage the killing of old, unproductive or infirm animals. Indeed, we need to act in compassion and love when relating with one another - but the same attitude should be extended to animals as well.

The author is chairperson, Circle of Animal Lovers, for more infromation please visit the website: circleofanimallovers.org)