http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/hinduism-forum/405364-there-animal-gods-too.html
Dear Friends,
For those who have had pets you all know how communicative animals can be.
Animals are today widely used in healing, from dolphins to reassure
expecting mothers to trained cats and dogs helping the disabled and
traumatised. Recently I saw in the Discovery channel a giant whale being
freed from the nets of a fishing trawler. The five men worked in great awe
and fear as the huge being remained motionless, the eyes watching every
move. After the whale was free it swam around and playfully nudged all the
five in its own way of saying thanks. What a great event, like finding an
alien in outer space !!
My parents tell me of a toddler pursuing a cobra with a stick. The snake
protested by occasionally standing tall but did not chase, hiss or bite.
Similarly I have seen a small child find itself right in front of a huge
galloping cow. Even as the mother screamed in terror, the cow stopped and
playfully toyed with the child by placing it inbetween its huge horns before
sauntering away. My uncle had a pet poodle which seemed to understand every
word of what we said. When we commented it was listening it would sheepishly
slink away.
In India animals have religious significance. Near a temple devoted to Lord
Shiva you would find bulls and snakes, the official animals of the Lord.
Near places where Lord Rama or Hanuman is worshipped you would find monkeys
in plenty. There is a temple devoted to rats in northern India. People offer
food to the millions of teeming rats and eat the leftovers. Despite the rat
population the area has never seen a plague. In southern India is a spot
called Pakshiteertha, meaning religious place of the birds. Every evening
two pigeons hone in on the temple, stay awhile and then fly away. This has
been happening for centuries. Near temples of Goddesses where tantra is
performed you would invariably notice dogs.
In Puri, the abode of Lord Jagannath, was a majestic bull which refused to
accept any food that was not offered to the Lord. I myself, like all other
devotees, use to touch the forehead of the bull as a mark of respect and it
used to nod sagely in return. After the bull passed away, the
locals cremated it as they would a devotee. In my own town lives a bull
which attends religious discourses. At first the people used to shoo it away
but later they realised the bull meant no harm and only wished to listen to
the name of the Lord. Now discourses in the area do not begin until the bull
appears.
Again in the temple of Lord Jagannath, a secret tantric ritual is performed
where fish is offered to the Goddess Vimala. The fish is then disposed off
outside the temple. A fierce black dog then appears out of nowhere to eat
the fish preparation. No other dog dares to challenge it. This too has been
happening for centuries. In the nearby town of Jajpur used to live a monkey
which used to bathe in the temple tank every morning and sit in front of the
deity. It was offered fruits by the devotees which it used to keep aside. It
used to eat only after the deity was offered food. Needless to say, this
monkey too received a decent cremation.
Snakes appearing during temple inauguration ceremonies and staying the whole
period are not rare in this part of the world. Nearby a pigeon appeared
during the inauguration of a Jagannath temple by an Iskcon devotee which
stayed in the sanctum sanctorum the full night.
In Cuttack there is a Vaishnav ashram. The monk in charge used to treat a
dog like an inmate. It was the last birth of a sinful person in a past life,
he used to say. When the dog died, he arranged for the funeral and then
invited the brahmins in the customary 12th day feast. The brahmins were
furious and felt insulted. None came. But the feast went ahead regardless
and hundreds of dogs attended. After the feast they just melted away. This
incident is inscribed in all vaishnav temples as a miracle.
It is said that domesticated animals are rewarded with a human birth in its
next life. It is also said that there are highly intelligent Godly animals
who lead the animal world. We all know the various animal births of the
Buddha.
In Ramakrishna circles the animals Swami Vivekananda loved and spent his
last days with and the dog Kalia, a favourite of Swami Sivananda are legion.
If you have visited the bael tree where Sri Ramakrishna practiced tantric
rites under the watchful eyes of Bhairavi Brahmani, you cannot but notice
the mongrels sitting around. Try fondling them, they will not shy away or
snarl. You will notice devotees offering them biscuits.
In Joyrambati we have the rolly polly cats, favourites of the Holy Mother.
They will sit up and yawn when you finish your food, and after the pranam
mantra will calmly and majestically walk towards the plates to finish the
leftovers. You should also see the dogs as they come running when the monks
call for them by name, food in hand. I wonder what happened to the fish
which pecked at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna during a flood and which he
rescued and set free. And what about the horses which pulled his carriage
when he decided to meet the devotees?
So the next time you meet an animal, treat it with respect.
***DIL SE DESI GROUP***
You can join the group by clicking the below link or by copying and pasting it in the browser bar and then pressing 'Enter'.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dilsedesigroup/join/
OWNER : rajeshkainth003@gmail.com (Rajesh Kainth}
MODERATOR : sunil_ki_mail-dilsedesi@yahoo.co.in (Sunil Sharma)
MODERATOR : dollyricky@gmail.com (Dolly Shah)
MODERATOR : boyforindia@gmail.com (Mr. Gupta)
To modify your list subscription, please send a blank email to:
SUBSCRIBE : dilsedesigroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
UNSUBSCRIBE : dilsedesigroup-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
INDIVIDUAL MAILS : dilsedesigroup-normal@yahoogroups.com
DAILY DIGEST : dilsedesigroup-digest@yahoogroups.com
VACATION HOLD : dilsedesigroup-nomail@yahoogroups.com
FOR POSTING MESSAGES : dilsedesigroup@yahoogroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment