God of All Things

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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 ‘naturalised’ 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 writer is chairperson, Circle of Animal Lovers.Tel: 011-6511569, website:

info@ circleofanimallovers.org)

Arun Reddy Nukala

+44-7946-595063

+44-2085-695116

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