4.
A Mother’s Heart
There is a French story about motherly love. A rich boy falls in love with a girl of questionable character. His concerned mother tries to talk him out of this love affair but the boy is madly in love and eventually proposes to her.
The girl is also madly in love, but with his riches and sees his mother as an impediment. She tells him that their union is not possible as long as his mother is living. And then she puts the condition - the mother has to die.
Shocked but blinded by cupid’s arrows, the boy agrees. She then asks him to bring her heart as the proof of her death.
The boy goes home, kills and dismembers his mother and rushes back to her with the blood-soaked heart in his hand. While rushing he stumbles and falls over. As he tries to getup, the mother’s heart, lying on the curb cries out, “did you hurt yourself Sonny?”
This is mother’s love, steadfast and unfaltering, found in all life forms. All living things protect and care for their young.
Every living being is in fact a spirit soul encaged in a particular body. Loving exchange is a function of soul which is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, God. Therefore this tendency to love is manifest in all types of bodies due to presence of the spirit soul. Even in an ant’s body, the soul displays loving tendency when the ant is rushing about with the eggs in its mouth to safer places.
The girl is also madly in love, but with his riches and sees his mother as an impediment. She tells him that their union is not possible as long as his mother is living. And then she puts the condition - the mother has to die.
Shocked but blinded by cupid’s arrows, the boy agrees. She then asks him to bring her heart as the proof of her death.
The boy goes home, kills and dismembers his mother and rushes back to her with the blood-soaked heart in his hand. While rushing he stumbles and falls over. As he tries to getup, the mother’s heart, lying on the curb cries out, “did you hurt yourself Sonny?”
This is mother’s love, steadfast and unfaltering, found in all life forms. All living things protect and care for their young.
Every living being is in fact a spirit soul encaged in a particular body. Loving exchange is a function of soul which is part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, God. Therefore this tendency to love is manifest in all types of bodies due to presence of the spirit soul. Even in an ant’s body, the soul displays loving tendency when the ant is rushing about with the eggs in its mouth to safer places.
Examples To Understand Soul - Body Relationship
How the soul lives in a body can be understood clearly from the following analogies.
Driver In The Car
Bhagavad gita declares the body to be like a car and the soul within the body to be like a driver. “bhramayan sarva-bhutani yantrarudhani mayaya”. Because of the driver, car moves or becomes functional. Similarly because of the soul, body is functioning. A car without a driver and a body without the soul are useless. Simply by taking care of the car like washing, polishing, filling gas etc. the driver can not be satisfied. Similarly the spirit soul is the active principle behind the functioning of this body and no amount of bodily comfort can satisfy the spirit soul. Spirit soul can only be satisfied by the process of spiritual communion with the Supreme Spirit.
Tenant In The House
In this example, body can be compared to a house and the spirit soul with a resident in that house. As according to one’s paying capacity, one stays in a cheaper or more expensive house, similarly according to one’s karma (actions) in the past, one gets superior (human or above) or inferior bodies (below human). Death is like leaving one house to enter another house. The resident (soul) is not destroyed. Simply the house is changed.
Person In The Dress
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. (Bhagavadgita 2.22)
In this example, Body has been compared to a garment. So a person simply washing and ironing his dress can not be happy. Dress requires to be taken care of undoubtedly, but the person inside the dress is more important. Similarly the soul deserves our more attention compared to the body.
We wear two types of outfits - inner and outer. Similarly soul is covered in two bodies - subtle and gross. Subtle body consists of mind, intelligence and ego. Gross body is composed of earth, water, air, fire and ether.
In this example, Body has been compared to a garment. So a person simply washing and ironing his dress can not be happy. Dress requires to be taken care of undoubtedly, but the person inside the dress is more important. Similarly the soul deserves our more attention compared to the body.
We wear two types of outfits - inner and outer. Similarly soul is covered in two bodies - subtle and gross. Subtle body consists of mind, intelligence and ego. Gross body is composed of earth, water, air, fire and ether.
Bird In The Cage
Here body is compared to a cage and the spirit soul to a bird encaged within. Cleansing and washing of cage is required, but to feed the bird is more important. Modern civilization is simply busy polishing the cage (body) without any information of the starving bird (soul) trapped therein. No matter how much we paint and shine the cage, the bird inside will starve and die. Similarly, no matter how much we take care of material body, the soul will starve and we can not be happy and peaceful. This is the reason we find that many people in the developed countries lead a very miserable life.
Heart of A Mother - Duck Seeks Help for Her Children
So often we hear of so-called animal lovers speaking of how much they love animals, while at the same time they will be eating a hamburger or munching on a piece of fried chicken. There is an inconsistency in our mental attitude toward animals, and because of this we consider them to be inferior beings to us.
The following article, which appeared in the Canadian Press, Friday, July 13, 2001, gives us an example of how wrong we are:
VANCOUVER -- A civilian member of the Vancouver police has a new take on the term "bird brains" after a duck pestered him until he helped rescue her eight ducklings trapped in a storm sewer.
Ray Petersen was walking directly under the Granville Bridge on Wednesday when the duck grabbed him by the pant leg.
Then it waddled around him, quacking.
"I thought it was a bit goofy, so I shoved it away,"
But the duck wouldn't give up. Making sure it still had Mr. Petersen's eye, it waddled up the road about 20 meters and lay on a storm-sewer grate. Mr. Petersen watched and thought nothing of it. "But when I started walking again, she did the same thing. She ran around and grabbed me again."
So when it waddled off to the sewer grate a second time, Mr. Petersen followed.
"I went up to where the duck was lying and saw eight little babies in the water below. They had fallen down between the grates."
The following article, which appeared in the Canadian Press, Friday, July 13, 2001, gives us an example of how wrong we are:
VANCOUVER -- A civilian member of the Vancouver police has a new take on the term "bird brains" after a duck pestered him until he helped rescue her eight ducklings trapped in a storm sewer.
Ray Petersen was walking directly under the Granville Bridge on Wednesday when the duck grabbed him by the pant leg.
Then it waddled around him, quacking.
"I thought it was a bit goofy, so I shoved it away,"
But the duck wouldn't give up. Making sure it still had Mr. Petersen's eye, it waddled up the road about 20 meters and lay on a storm-sewer grate. Mr. Petersen watched and thought nothing of it. "But when I started walking again, she did the same thing. She ran around and grabbed me again."
So when it waddled off to the sewer grate a second time, Mr. Petersen followed.
"I went up to where the duck was lying and saw eight little babies in the water below. They had fallen down between the grates."
Mr. Petersen phoned police Sergeant Randy Kellens, who brought in two constables. "When they came down, the duck ran around them as well, quacking," Mr. Petersen said. "Then she lay down on the grate."
While Sgt. Kellens looked into the grate, the duck sat on the curb and watched. The two constables marshalled a tow truck that lifted the grate out, allowing the ducklings to be picked up, one by one, with a vegetable strainer.
"While we were doing this, the mother duck just lay there and watched," Mr. Petersen said.
While Sgt. Kellens looked into the grate, the duck sat on the curb and watched. The two constables marshalled a tow truck that lifted the grate out, allowing the ducklings to be picked up, one by one, with a vegetable strainer.
"While we were doing this, the mother duck just lay there and watched," Mr. Petersen said.
Once they were safe, however, she marched down to False Creek, where they jumped in.
This mother duck put her life on the line to save her eight children. Humans can not be trusted. Despite this, Mother Duck sought out human help to save her children, for she had no other option. This duck had the intelligence to understand and reason out her options and risks. She made an intelligent choice.
This mother duck put her life on the line to save her eight children. Humans can not be trusted. Despite this, Mother Duck sought out human help to save her children, for she had no other option. This duck had the intelligence to understand and reason out her options and risks. She made an intelligent choice.
Rat Raised by Love Birds
A rat by the name Rottie thinks he is a bird... But it comes as no surprise when one realizes that two lovebirds are raising this rodent.
This is a story from Florida. Owner of the lovebirds, Connie Viljoen one day realized the birds were carrying on as if they were breeding but there were no eggs. That's when she discovered the small pink rat in a nest. The birds apparently found him lying some where and brought him to their nest.
At that stage he was still very young and helpless - but the two lovebirds took over, with great enthusiasm.
The birds initially fed him bird food but they soon realized his favourite food was spinach. When the rat got bigger, the birds taught him to eat from the bowls at the bottom of the cage. But the lazy rat doesn't do this often. He spends most of his time in the nest and the birds feed him.
This is a story from Florida. Owner of the lovebirds, Connie Viljoen one day realized the birds were carrying on as if they were breeding but there were no eggs. That's when she discovered the small pink rat in a nest. The birds apparently found him lying some where and brought him to their nest.
At that stage he was still very young and helpless - but the two lovebirds took over, with great enthusiasm.
The birds initially fed him bird food but they soon realized his favourite food was spinach. When the rat got bigger, the birds taught him to eat from the bowls at the bottom of the cage. But the lazy rat doesn't do this often. He spends most of his time in the nest and the birds feed him.
The birds are so taken with the newcomer that they clean his nest every day. They literally take everything out and then pack everything back neatly.
The rat meanwhile believes he is all bird. When he does leave his nest, he sits on a narrow wooden perch -imitating his foster parents. The owner Connie meanwhile set up a video camera in the nest so she can keep an eye on what's happening.
Once Rottie the rat is all grown up, the owner hopes to find another baby rat for the lovebirds to raise. She would really like to see exactly how the birds raise such an animal. Of course Rottie the rat is assured of a home the owner has no plans to get rid of her "rat bird".
The rat meanwhile believes he is all bird. When he does leave his nest, he sits on a narrow wooden perch -imitating his foster parents. The owner Connie meanwhile set up a video camera in the nest so she can keep an eye on what's happening.
Once Rottie the rat is all grown up, the owner hopes to find another baby rat for the lovebirds to raise. She would really like to see exactly how the birds raise such an animal. Of course Rottie the rat is assured of a home the owner has no plans to get rid of her "rat bird".
A Mother's Grief : Heartbroken Gorilla Cradles Her Dead Baby
This is the story of a female gorilla named Gana in the zoo in Munster, northern Germany.
One morning in August 2008, a tragedy struck her when she suddenly lost her 3 months old son.
Holding the lifeless body of her dead child like a rag doll, this female gorilla stared at the corpse in shock and bewilderment, unable to accept that her baby was dead.
It was a picture of pure grief. Inconsolable, hers was the raw pain of any mother who had lost a child.
While nature may indeed be red in tooth and claw, this moving image of Gana and her dead son Claudio seemed to show that members of the animal kingdom can feel the pain of loss just as deeply as we humans.
The baby had suddenly died when the gorilla mother was holding him in her arms in her compound at the zoo.
Initially puzzled, Gana stared at the body, bewildered by its lifelessness. For hours the distraught mother gently shook and stroked the child, vainly seeking to restore movement to his lolling head and limp arms. Visitors to the zoo openly wept as they witnessed her actions.
One morning in August 2008, a tragedy struck her when she suddenly lost her 3 months old son.
Holding the lifeless body of her dead child like a rag doll, this female gorilla stared at the corpse in shock and bewilderment, unable to accept that her baby was dead.
It was a picture of pure grief. Inconsolable, hers was the raw pain of any mother who had lost a child.
While nature may indeed be red in tooth and claw, this moving image of Gana and her dead son Claudio seemed to show that members of the animal kingdom can feel the pain of loss just as deeply as we humans.
The baby had suddenly died when the gorilla mother was holding him in her arms in her compound at the zoo.
Initially puzzled, Gana stared at the body, bewildered by its lifelessness. For hours the distraught mother gently shook and stroked the child, vainly seeking to restore movement to his lolling head and limp arms. Visitors to the zoo openly wept as they witnessed her actions.
Hours passed, during which Gana continually prodded and caressed the dead child, to no effect. Baby Claudio is believed to have had a heart defect.
But still she refused to give up hope. Gently placing it on her back and slowly walking around the compound, she stopped every few paces to look back and see if her much-loved son had returned to life.
The day before the boy didn't seem well. He wasn't eating or drinking and was growing weaker. The zoo authorities were keeping a close eye on him but suddenly the next morning, he died.
For days, zookeepers were unable to get to the body of Claudio, so fiercely was Gana guarding him. In the wild, a gorilla mother can keep hold of a dead baby for weeks.
Gorillas usually have a strong attachment to their own kind. Like other apes with a well-developed social structure, gorillas mourn the death of loved ones.
They exhibit both care for the dead and sadness at their passing - even keeping the body close until it begins decomposing.
But still she refused to give up hope. Gently placing it on her back and slowly walking around the compound, she stopped every few paces to look back and see if her much-loved son had returned to life.
The day before the boy didn't seem well. He wasn't eating or drinking and was growing weaker. The zoo authorities were keeping a close eye on him but suddenly the next morning, he died.
For days, zookeepers were unable to get to the body of Claudio, so fiercely was Gana guarding him. In the wild, a gorilla mother can keep hold of a dead baby for weeks.
Gorillas usually have a strong attachment to their own kind. Like other apes with a well-developed social structure, gorillas mourn the death of loved ones.
They exhibit both care for the dead and sadness at their passing - even keeping the body close until it begins decomposing.
antar dehesu bhutanam |
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On occasion, gorillas have also been known to 'bury' their dead, by covering the body with leaves.
But gorillas are not the only animals who mourn their dead.
All animals are known to become 'depressed' by the death of their relatives, and dolphins have been known to spend weeks mourning the loss of a loved one.
A few years ago in a facility in the U.S., two out of the centre's nine dolphins died within six months of each other. On both occasions, the other dolphins refused to eat for a period, would not play and would make distressed sounds, as if in mourning.
The animal most profoundly affected by the death of their own is the elephant. They become highly agitated when they see other dead elephants and seem to demonstrate near ritual-like behaviour by swinging their trunk and prodding the bodies with their feet.
But gorillas are not the only animals who mourn their dead.
All animals are known to become 'depressed' by the death of their relatives, and dolphins have been known to spend weeks mourning the loss of a loved one.
A few years ago in a facility in the U.S., two out of the centre's nine dolphins died within six months of each other. On both occasions, the other dolphins refused to eat for a period, would not play and would make distressed sounds, as if in mourning.
The animal most profoundly affected by the death of their own is the elephant. They become highly agitated when they see other dead elephants and seem to demonstrate near ritual-like behaviour by swinging their trunk and prodding the bodies with their feet.
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We are all living beings. We are in different dresses. Just like you are European; you have got a different dress. I am an Indian; I have got a different dress. But dress is not consideration. You are a human being; I am a human being. Similarly, all the living entities, they are dressed in 8,400,000’s of dresses. But they are living being. And all the living beings are part and parcel of God. |
And even when confronted by the bones of long-dead elephants, other elephants will pay a form of homage by gently touching the tusks and skulls with their trunks and feet.
While such behaviour was once considered uniquely human, examples such as these and Gana's show that the gap between us and the animal world is not as wide as many believe.
Munster zoo director, Joerg Adler said, Many of the visitors were terribly shocked. Gana lost a child, but I think in that loss, she taught people here so much. The whole of Germany is mourning with Gana. She is so sad right now."
This, perhaps, is one of the greatest gifts that a zoo can bestow - to show "animals" are very much like ourselves, and feel elation and pain.
But unfortunately, the cash registers at the Mcdonald’s and other fastfood chains are ringing as ever before.
While such behaviour was once considered uniquely human, examples such as these and Gana's show that the gap between us and the animal world is not as wide as many believe.
Munster zoo director, Joerg Adler said, Many of the visitors were terribly shocked. Gana lost a child, but I think in that loss, she taught people here so much. The whole of Germany is mourning with Gana. She is so sad right now."
This, perhaps, is one of the greatest gifts that a zoo can bestow - to show "animals" are very much like ourselves, and feel elation and pain.
But unfortunately, the cash registers at the Mcdonald’s and other fastfood chains are ringing as ever before.
Scarlett - The Brave Cat
Scarlett was a former feral cat from Brooklyn, New York, whose efforts to save her kittens from a fire, attracted worldwide media attention and has been related in a number of non-fiction books. She has also become one of the animals featured by the shelter which treated her and her kittens, the North Shore Animal League, in its fund-raising and public relations efforts. On October 15, 2008, the League announced that Scarlett had died.
She was probably born in June or July 1995. Female domestic cats are fertile from six months of age; their gestation period is about two months. As a stray cat, Scarlett probably had her first litter at about eight months old. If the kittens were her first litter, she was probably about nine months old, the equivalent of the early teens, when she became a heroine.
She was probably born in June or July 1995. Female domestic cats are fertile from six months of age; their gestation period is about two months. As a stray cat, Scarlett probably had her first litter at about eight months old. If the kittens were her first litter, she was probably about nine months old, the equivalent of the early teens, when she became a heroine.
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“Perhaps the time has come to formulate a moral code which would govern our relations with the great creatures of the sea as well as those on dry land. That this will come to pass is our dearest wish.” |
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The Fire
On March 30, 1996, Scarlett was in an abandoned garage allegedly used as a crack house in Brooklyn, with her five kittens when a fire started for undetermined reasons. The fire department responded to a call about the fire and quickly extinguished it. When the fire was under control, one of the firefighters on the scene, David Giannelli, noticed Scarlett carrying her kittens away from the garage one by one. Scarlett herself had been severely burned in the process of pulling her kittens from the fire. Her eyes were blistered shut, her ears and paws burned and her coat highly singed. The majority of facial hair was found to be burnt away. After saving the kittens, she was seen to touch each of her kittens with her nose to ensure they were all there and alive, as the blisters on her eyes kept her from being able to see them, and then collapsed unconscious.
Recovery
Firemen took the entire family to a veterinary clinic at the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, New York, where Scarlett and her kittens were treated. After three months of treatment and recovery, Scarlett and her surviving kittens were well enough to be adopted.
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sarva-bhutesu yenaikam |
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International media
The story of this feline mother's heroic efforts to save her kittens attracted international media attention, and the clinic received approximately 7,000 letters offering to adopt Scarlett and her kittens.
The Scarlett Award
Scarlett died on October 11, 2008, while with her adoptive family in Brooklyn. She required ongoing care as a result of her injuries. She eventually died of multiple illnesses.
The North Shore Animal League has formed an award named the Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism, in Scarlett's honor. This award is presented to animals that have engaged in heroic acts to benefit others, whether humans or animals
The North Shore Animal League has formed an award named the Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism, in Scarlett's honor. This award is presented to animals that have engaged in heroic acts to benefit others, whether humans or animals
Lessons Not Learnt
America kills over 10 billion animals every year (1.14 million every hour) who are just like Scarlett in every way. They all have feelings and they all love their children just as much. We hope people learn some lesson from this example. Its not just cats and dogs that have feelings, all creatures do that, including trees and plants.
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To be nonviolent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of the poor animals is Satan’s philosophy. In this age there is enmity toward poor animals, and therefore the poor creatures are always anxious. The reaction of the poor animals is being forced on human society, and therefore there is always the strain of cold or hot war between men, individually, collectively or nationally. |
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I am the voice of the voiceless;
Through me the dumb shall speak,
Till the deaf world’s ears be made to hear
The wrongs of the wordless weak.
And I am my brother’s keeper,
And I will fight his fight;
And speak the word for beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right.
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Through me the dumb shall speak,
Till the deaf world’s ears be made to hear
The wrongs of the wordless weak.
And I am my brother’s keeper,
And I will fight his fight;
And speak the word for beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right.
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox
