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- Maneka Gandhi
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Having been bitten by a wasp on the nape of my neck (if this happens to you, take a raw potato slice and put it on the bite. It takes the sting out) I can understand the fear of wasps. But like anything else in life, if you choose to rise above your own prejudices, you will find a fascinating world full of drama all around you. And nothing typifies it more than the wasp.
The wasp is a truly complex being. It is precise, determined, and aspires to overcome the largest obstacles with intelligence.
Take the nests they dig out: The Bembix rostrata digs into the ground like an excited puppy, scratching the sand out continuously and throwing it backwards between its hind legs. The Cerceris tuberculata pick up bits of gravel with their mouths from the bottom of the pit and take it outside. The group of Sphex flavipennis work together rolling away gravel and if one piece is too heavy the wasps huff and puff with shrill hoo hoo like screams.
And the nests themselves. Some wasps build their homes on tree branches, others in tree holes, underground, already existing animal burrows and lofts. All of them have one thing in common: they are master craftswomen (all the workers are female). The Eumenes wasps decorate their nests with shells and pebbles.
How do they make their nests? The social wasps chew wood with their saliva till it becomes like soft paper. They make great wasp cities, combs of perfect exact hexagonal cells which architects say are the most useful and economical form of building in nature. They use them for only one season and then make another the next year.
What do they do for food for their babies? While adults subsist on pollen and nectar they hunt insects for their babies. They bring in beetles, caterpillars, spiders, crickets, all far larger than themselves and all alive and yet paralyzed. The wasps are precise and perfect in their actions. The female chooses a caterpillar more than ten times her weight. She grips him by the skin of his neck and holds tight inspire of his writhing. Deliberately, without hurrying, she puts her needle-like stinger into each segment of his body going in order from ring to ring from up to down, each one in the precise place where the caterpillar has it's nerves. She then squeezes his brain so that the caterpillar goes into a coma and then drags him to the nest. She puts the caterpillar into a chamber and lays one egg on it. The entire operation is so perfect ,exactly enough poison to keep the victim alive but immobile so that the flesh does not putrefy, that when the egg hatches, the larva can feed on fresh meat eating the live caterpillar bit by bit till the larva grows into an adult wasp. Could an untaught human be so prefect in her hunting skills? Some wasps put as many as forty spiders per larva.
Here is a story about the drama in nature. The Alcon blue butterfly layers her eggs near an ant nest. The caterpillar exudes a smell like the ant's and they carry it off to their nest as one of their own, feeding and grooming it. The ichneumon wasp wants the caterpillar for her own babies. So she enters the nest and sprays a chemical that causes the ants to fight with each other (America, are you listening. Why not just use a spray in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya). In the confusion, it finds the caterpillar and injects an egg into it. Once the ants come back to normal, they continue to feed and groom the caterpillar and in a few days what emerges from its torn body is a wasp baby
Female bee wolf digger wasps have colonies of bacteria that inhabit their antennae. When their babies turn into cocoons, the mothers inject them with these bacteria, which scientists have now found to be antibiotic. This is the first non human case of prophylactic antibiotics to fight infections found so far.
Female workers help the queen wasp in increasing the population of the nest by laying eggs but as soon as the nest fills up, the workers become sterile. If only humans could and would do that!
When wasps die, they are helpful to the end. They release a smell warning other wasps of the lurking dangers and as indicators that help is needed.
There is only one way in which the wasp is like the human. Some occasionally feed on fermented fruit, get drunk, fight and pass out. Oh yes, and they like sugar fixes.
The wasp is an important source of food for dragonflies, beetles, moths, birds, bears, badgers, bats, weasels, rat and of course the Chinese. So be kind to a species that is not just smarter than you but much more useful.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The wasp is a truly complex being. It is precise, determined, and aspires to overcome the largest obstacles with intelligence.
Take the nests they dig out: The Bembix rostrata digs into the ground like an excited puppy, scratching the sand out continuously and throwing it backwards between its hind legs. The Cerceris tuberculata pick up bits of gravel with their mouths from the bottom of the pit and take it outside. The group of Sphex flavipennis work together rolling away gravel and if one piece is too heavy the wasps huff and puff with shrill hoo hoo like screams.
And the nests themselves. Some wasps build their homes on tree branches, others in tree holes, underground, already existing animal burrows and lofts. All of them have one thing in common: they are master craftswomen (all the workers are female). The Eumenes wasps decorate their nests with shells and pebbles.
How do they make their nests? The social wasps chew wood with their saliva till it becomes like soft paper. They make great wasp cities, combs of perfect exact hexagonal cells which architects say are the most useful and economical form of building in nature. They use them for only one season and then make another the next year.
What do they do for food for their babies? While adults subsist on pollen and nectar they hunt insects for their babies. They bring in beetles, caterpillars, spiders, crickets, all far larger than themselves and all alive and yet paralyzed. The wasps are precise and perfect in their actions. The female chooses a caterpillar more than ten times her weight. She grips him by the skin of his neck and holds tight inspire of his writhing. Deliberately, without hurrying, she puts her needle-like stinger into each segment of his body going in order from ring to ring from up to down, each one in the precise place where the caterpillar has it's nerves. She then squeezes his brain so that the caterpillar goes into a coma and then drags him to the nest. She puts the caterpillar into a chamber and lays one egg on it. The entire operation is so perfect ,exactly enough poison to keep the victim alive but immobile so that the flesh does not putrefy, that when the egg hatches, the larva can feed on fresh meat eating the live caterpillar bit by bit till the larva grows into an adult wasp. Could an untaught human be so prefect in her hunting skills? Some wasps put as many as forty spiders per larva.
Here is a story about the drama in nature. The Alcon blue butterfly layers her eggs near an ant nest. The caterpillar exudes a smell like the ant's and they carry it off to their nest as one of their own, feeding and grooming it. The ichneumon wasp wants the caterpillar for her own babies. So she enters the nest and sprays a chemical that causes the ants to fight with each other (America, are you listening. Why not just use a spray in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya). In the confusion, it finds the caterpillar and injects an egg into it. Once the ants come back to normal, they continue to feed and groom the caterpillar and in a few days what emerges from its torn body is a wasp baby
Female bee wolf digger wasps have colonies of bacteria that inhabit their antennae. When their babies turn into cocoons, the mothers inject them with these bacteria, which scientists have now found to be antibiotic. This is the first non human case of prophylactic antibiotics to fight infections found so far.
Female workers help the queen wasp in increasing the population of the nest by laying eggs but as soon as the nest fills up, the workers become sterile. If only humans could and would do that!
When wasps die, they are helpful to the end. They release a smell warning other wasps of the lurking dangers and as indicators that help is needed.
There is only one way in which the wasp is like the human. Some occasionally feed on fermented fruit, get drunk, fight and pass out. Oh yes, and they like sugar fixes.
The wasp is an important source of food for dragonflies, beetles, moths, birds, bears, badgers, bats, weasels, rat and of course the Chinese. So be kind to a species that is not just smarter than you but much more useful.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Details
- Maneka Gandhi
- Hits: 1069
After many years I have been on holiday to a little village in France. It was so deep in rural France that it had no computer, television or even telephone connections so I spent two weeks in absolute isolation, terrifying at first and then I slowly got used to it. My hosts had a dog and two cats, lots of ducks and chickens, a fish pond and a vegetable garden with lots of berries. The weather was mildly hot, the sky was full of stars every night, not a sound except the birds, the hum of bees and the chirping of crickets. The food was wonderful, just lightly cooked vegetables, French bread, olives and salads. The vineyards stretched for miles till they met the mountains. The house was full of good movies in DVD format. I had brought books with me. I should have been happy. I was not. The human mind is such a strange thing and so absolutely out of control that even when nature gives you everything that could make you happy, it swings towards sadness.
What destroyed my chance at happiness? A little cat whom I named Clarissa.
I had been three days in the house when she turned up. She was black with a white square face and paws. She came in from the trees on the hills behind the house and she came and rubbed herself against my legs. She had a low, monotonous purr and it was obvious that she wanted to make friends. Sometimes, an animal talks to you and you can understand. I immediately understood her: it was not that she was a friendly cat by nature but she was desperate to make friends and get a home. My heart went out to her. My hosts informed me that she had obviously been abandoned by her owner. They said that many people brought their cats to the mountains here and threw them out. While they had their own two, they fed the new cat some food and she ate feverishly and disappeared back into the trees. The next evening she was back and again she was fed. By now, my hosts have started making the wrong noises: “we had an abandoned cat before and she ate some of the chickens; she'll be mean to our cats” etc. But two days later, she had not attacked the chickens and the other cats, an Orange one called Ginger and a grey striped one who looked like a cross between a mongoose and a raccoon called Foggy. She said hello to each person in the house by rubbing against their legs, purred loudly, waited politely till she was fed and then thanked everyone and let them pet her and left. She came into my kitchen, was immediately at home with everybody but held herself back with grace and dignity.
On the sixth day disaster struck. Ginger hid in a bush and leapt out at her. The point at issue was a plate of food I had kept out for Clarissa. Clarissa is a survivor and she defended her food. Ginger left the house. The next day she stayed away. My hosts went crazy with fear and we all beat the bushes and went up the hills looking for her.
Clarissa became the villain of the piece and when she appeared, she was driven off with curses and stones. Ginger came back the next morning, went straight up to the first floor of the building where my hosts lived and stayed there. She refused to come down or out. Clarissa was persona non grata and my hosts came down to inform me that since Ginger was so terrified it would be better if I did not "encourage" Clarissa and if they found her anywhere around, they would send her to the animal shelter. Animal shelters in Europe are not like those in India. They keep a homeless animal for a few days and then kill it. Cats in France are like the stray dogs of India. People throw them out, throw boiling water on them, are really mean to them. Every house has one and there are still many that are homeless. During summer, many French people go for holidays and throw their cats out while they are gone to fend for themselves. I became very tense. Suddenly the holiday became meaningless. It did not help matters that the route to my residence went past their patio and that they sat there most of the day. Clarissa was not stupid. She made a few attempts, was repulsed. The sun goes down by nine at night and so both of us waited. She mewed quietly outside my room and I fed her under the tree in front of my door. The next morning she came early before anyone had woken, leapt on my open window sill, was fed and disappeared. I ran out of food. I went to the nearby village and stocked up on cat food but had to hide it in case my hosts, who cooked for us and so were in and out of the kitchen, noticed. Once or twice Clarissa appeared while they were in and darted away as quick as lightening as soon as she saw them. Once she hid under my bed while I carried on a normal conversation with them and tried to divert them outside. When I fed her, I had to clean up immediately so that there was no smell or insects near a bowl. It rained one night and she was completely wet and came in bedraggled the next morning. I wiped her down with a towel but the towel had to be washed immediately after, in case any hair was seen on it!
Clarissa was not taking her outdoors very well. Day by day, her fur became more matted, she got thinner and her eyes became bigger and sadder. I went walking into the village and stopped at a few houses. I have a cat, I said through a mixture of hand mime and making miaou noises, would you adopt her as I don't live here. No! was the discouraging answer from all. Both the cat and I became sadder and sadder and I stopped talking to my hosts. Ginger continued her tantrums.
Finally it was my last night. I brought in enough food to feed three cats and put it all down, Clarissa came twice that night and finished all the bowls of food. I stroked and brushed her under the night stars and then said goodbye. I left early the next morning.
One little black and white homeless cat has dominated my thoughts since. She is probably dead by now. She had a choice of deaths. The boar hunting was to begin. The villagers take their dogs and leave them free in the mountains to hunt down and kill wild pigs. Most of the time they kill the cats abandoned there as well. She could have died of starvation because my hosts had the only house around and they refused to have her anywhere near them. She could have died of pneumonia because it would rain every few days and she was unprotected. She could have been caught by my hosts and taken to the "shelter".
Intelligent, sensitive, loving, Clarissa doesn't have a single chance to live in a human dominated world.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
What destroyed my chance at happiness? A little cat whom I named Clarissa.
I had been three days in the house when she turned up. She was black with a white square face and paws. She came in from the trees on the hills behind the house and she came and rubbed herself against my legs. She had a low, monotonous purr and it was obvious that she wanted to make friends. Sometimes, an animal talks to you and you can understand. I immediately understood her: it was not that she was a friendly cat by nature but she was desperate to make friends and get a home. My heart went out to her. My hosts informed me that she had obviously been abandoned by her owner. They said that many people brought their cats to the mountains here and threw them out. While they had their own two, they fed the new cat some food and she ate feverishly and disappeared back into the trees. The next evening she was back and again she was fed. By now, my hosts have started making the wrong noises: “we had an abandoned cat before and she ate some of the chickens; she'll be mean to our cats” etc. But two days later, she had not attacked the chickens and the other cats, an Orange one called Ginger and a grey striped one who looked like a cross between a mongoose and a raccoon called Foggy. She said hello to each person in the house by rubbing against their legs, purred loudly, waited politely till she was fed and then thanked everyone and let them pet her and left. She came into my kitchen, was immediately at home with everybody but held herself back with grace and dignity.
On the sixth day disaster struck. Ginger hid in a bush and leapt out at her. The point at issue was a plate of food I had kept out for Clarissa. Clarissa is a survivor and she defended her food. Ginger left the house. The next day she stayed away. My hosts went crazy with fear and we all beat the bushes and went up the hills looking for her.
Clarissa became the villain of the piece and when she appeared, she was driven off with curses and stones. Ginger came back the next morning, went straight up to the first floor of the building where my hosts lived and stayed there. She refused to come down or out. Clarissa was persona non grata and my hosts came down to inform me that since Ginger was so terrified it would be better if I did not "encourage" Clarissa and if they found her anywhere around, they would send her to the animal shelter. Animal shelters in Europe are not like those in India. They keep a homeless animal for a few days and then kill it. Cats in France are like the stray dogs of India. People throw them out, throw boiling water on them, are really mean to them. Every house has one and there are still many that are homeless. During summer, many French people go for holidays and throw their cats out while they are gone to fend for themselves. I became very tense. Suddenly the holiday became meaningless. It did not help matters that the route to my residence went past their patio and that they sat there most of the day. Clarissa was not stupid. She made a few attempts, was repulsed. The sun goes down by nine at night and so both of us waited. She mewed quietly outside my room and I fed her under the tree in front of my door. The next morning she came early before anyone had woken, leapt on my open window sill, was fed and disappeared. I ran out of food. I went to the nearby village and stocked up on cat food but had to hide it in case my hosts, who cooked for us and so were in and out of the kitchen, noticed. Once or twice Clarissa appeared while they were in and darted away as quick as lightening as soon as she saw them. Once she hid under my bed while I carried on a normal conversation with them and tried to divert them outside. When I fed her, I had to clean up immediately so that there was no smell or insects near a bowl. It rained one night and she was completely wet and came in bedraggled the next morning. I wiped her down with a towel but the towel had to be washed immediately after, in case any hair was seen on it!
Clarissa was not taking her outdoors very well. Day by day, her fur became more matted, she got thinner and her eyes became bigger and sadder. I went walking into the village and stopped at a few houses. I have a cat, I said through a mixture of hand mime and making miaou noises, would you adopt her as I don't live here. No! was the discouraging answer from all. Both the cat and I became sadder and sadder and I stopped talking to my hosts. Ginger continued her tantrums.
Finally it was my last night. I brought in enough food to feed three cats and put it all down, Clarissa came twice that night and finished all the bowls of food. I stroked and brushed her under the night stars and then said goodbye. I left early the next morning.
One little black and white homeless cat has dominated my thoughts since. She is probably dead by now. She had a choice of deaths. The boar hunting was to begin. The villagers take their dogs and leave them free in the mountains to hunt down and kill wild pigs. Most of the time they kill the cats abandoned there as well. She could have died of starvation because my hosts had the only house around and they refused to have her anywhere near them. She could have died of pneumonia because it would rain every few days and she was unprotected. She could have been caught by my hosts and taken to the "shelter".
Intelligent, sensitive, loving, Clarissa doesn't have a single chance to live in a human dominated world.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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- Maneka Gandhi
- Hits: 1350
Kamadhenu and her daughter Nandini are the magic cows in our lives. Many of you will not have read about them and so you have not been able to understand their importance in the turn of events. Here are their stories for your children:
Kamadhenu, also known as Surabhi, is a divine cow-goddess described in Hindu mythology as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous "cow of plenty" who provides people whatever they desire. She is shown as white with various deities within her body. She is supposed to be venerated not through temples but through venerating her children as her earthly embodiment. How was she born?
Once the gods and demons decided to churn the ocean of milk to extract heavenly nectar, amrit, which would free them from death. In the course of the churning, first poison came out which threatened to destroy everything. Lord Shiva drank the poison. After that came Surabhi the wish-fulfilling cow. Vasishta was the chief of the seven first sages (Saptarishi) born of Brahma the Creator. Kamadhenu, the divine cow and her daughter Nandini could grant any wish. They lived with Sage Vasishta and supplied him with all the essentials needed for his rituals to the gods. The Vasus were eight attendants of Indra. When they visited Vashishta's ashram with their wives, one of the wives demanded Kamadhenu. The Vasus then prepared to steal the cow from Vashishta. They were caught and cursed by Vashishta that since they had the traits of men they should be born in the world of men.
Vashishta later softened his curse on the intervention of Kamadhenu herself and pronounced that they would be liberated from their human birth as soon as they were born. The Vasus met Ganga and said Mother Ganga, we are doomed to be born as human beings. Please take human form and become our mother and liberate us. Ganga took human form and met King Shantanu who fell in love with the goddess of the river immediately.
Ganga married him on condition that he ask her no questions or interfere with her actions. She said she would leave as soon as he did. She had seven children and drowned each one as soon as he was born. All seven were the Vasus. When she was about to drown the eighth, Shantanu could not resist trying to save the baby.
Ganga went back to her celestial home after explaining to the king that she had in fact liberated the Vasus and now, because of his interference, the eighth Vasu, Prabhasa, was destined to live on earth. The baby was Bhishma and he became the main player of the epic war known as the Mahabharata.
So, the desire for the cow Kamadhenu resulted in a stream of events that Vishnu himself had to take part in as Krishna. When King Kaushika visited Vashishta's ashram with his army, the sage fed the entire army with seemingly unlimited food. Kaushika asked the sage how he could have fed an entire army since his hermitage was so bare. Vashishta replied, "O king, this feast that you have partaken with your kinsmen, has been provided by my calf Nandini, who was gifted to me by Indra. You must know that she is the daughter of Indra's cow Kamadhenu. She provides me with everything I need.
"Kaushika immediately wanted the cow. After all, he thought, feeding an army everyday was very difficult and Nandini would solve that problem. He asked Vashishta if he could buy or take the cow. Vashishta was polite, but steadfast in his refusal. He would not be tempted by the offer of wealth made by Kaushika, for after all who can set a price on a cow, which yields all the riches in the world. Kaushika attacked the ashram with his army. Nandini created warriors for Vashishta’s defence and Kaushika was defeated.
Kaushika then decided to acquire the powers of the gods through penance. After severe penances he obtained power and weapons from the God Shiva. Once again he attacked Vashishta’s ashram. Again he was repelled by Nandini’s magic. Kaushika then decided to become a rishi himself, and he renounced all his possessions and in time became Vishvamitra, one of the most venerated sages of Hinduism. He was also the father of Shakuntala who was the mother of Bharat after whom India is named. And all this goes back to Nandini King Dileepa and his wife Sudakshina of the Raghuvansha dynasty who had no children.
They visited the sage Vashishta in his ashram, and asked what they should do to have a child. Vashishta replied that they should serve the cow Nandini, daughter of Kamadhenu, and if Nandini was happy with their devotion, she would grant them with a child. Dileepa attended to Nandini for twenty-one days.
On the twenty-first day, a lion attacked Nandini. Dileepa immediately drew his bow to shoot the lion but found his arm paralysed. The lion growled “You have no chance of saving a cow from a lion, mortal, so get out of my way”. Dileepa replied by asking if the lion would let Nandini go if he offered himself in her place. The lion agreed and Dileepa sat in front of the lion with his head bowed awaiting death. But the lion disappeared. Nandini explained that the lion was just an illusion to test Dileepa. Nandini granted him a son. Dileepa’s son Bhagiratha was the king who brought the Ganges to earth with his meditation and prayers – and all because of the cow Nandini.
The Puranas state that it is forbidden to kill cows under any circumstances. Those who fail to give cows reverence and protection and choose to sell a cow for slaughter or kill her himself or permit the slaughter of cows will all rot in the darkest regions of hell for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of each cow slain.
There is no atonement for the killing of a cow. The cow is a goddess with her own personal heaven like all the other major gods. It is called Goloka. Think of that when you see the next truck at night carrying cows to slaughter. Have you done anything to stop the trade?
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Kamadhenu, also known as Surabhi, is a divine cow-goddess described in Hindu mythology as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous "cow of plenty" who provides people whatever they desire. She is shown as white with various deities within her body. She is supposed to be venerated not through temples but through venerating her children as her earthly embodiment. How was she born?
Once the gods and demons decided to churn the ocean of milk to extract heavenly nectar, amrit, which would free them from death. In the course of the churning, first poison came out which threatened to destroy everything. Lord Shiva drank the poison. After that came Surabhi the wish-fulfilling cow. Vasishta was the chief of the seven first sages (Saptarishi) born of Brahma the Creator. Kamadhenu, the divine cow and her daughter Nandini could grant any wish. They lived with Sage Vasishta and supplied him with all the essentials needed for his rituals to the gods. The Vasus were eight attendants of Indra. When they visited Vashishta's ashram with their wives, one of the wives demanded Kamadhenu. The Vasus then prepared to steal the cow from Vashishta. They were caught and cursed by Vashishta that since they had the traits of men they should be born in the world of men.
Vashishta later softened his curse on the intervention of Kamadhenu herself and pronounced that they would be liberated from their human birth as soon as they were born. The Vasus met Ganga and said Mother Ganga, we are doomed to be born as human beings. Please take human form and become our mother and liberate us. Ganga took human form and met King Shantanu who fell in love with the goddess of the river immediately.
Ganga married him on condition that he ask her no questions or interfere with her actions. She said she would leave as soon as he did. She had seven children and drowned each one as soon as he was born. All seven were the Vasus. When she was about to drown the eighth, Shantanu could not resist trying to save the baby.
Ganga went back to her celestial home after explaining to the king that she had in fact liberated the Vasus and now, because of his interference, the eighth Vasu, Prabhasa, was destined to live on earth. The baby was Bhishma and he became the main player of the epic war known as the Mahabharata.
So, the desire for the cow Kamadhenu resulted in a stream of events that Vishnu himself had to take part in as Krishna. When King Kaushika visited Vashishta's ashram with his army, the sage fed the entire army with seemingly unlimited food. Kaushika asked the sage how he could have fed an entire army since his hermitage was so bare. Vashishta replied, "O king, this feast that you have partaken with your kinsmen, has been provided by my calf Nandini, who was gifted to me by Indra. You must know that she is the daughter of Indra's cow Kamadhenu. She provides me with everything I need.
"Kaushika immediately wanted the cow. After all, he thought, feeding an army everyday was very difficult and Nandini would solve that problem. He asked Vashishta if he could buy or take the cow. Vashishta was polite, but steadfast in his refusal. He would not be tempted by the offer of wealth made by Kaushika, for after all who can set a price on a cow, which yields all the riches in the world. Kaushika attacked the ashram with his army. Nandini created warriors for Vashishta’s defence and Kaushika was defeated.
Kaushika then decided to acquire the powers of the gods through penance. After severe penances he obtained power and weapons from the God Shiva. Once again he attacked Vashishta’s ashram. Again he was repelled by Nandini’s magic. Kaushika then decided to become a rishi himself, and he renounced all his possessions and in time became Vishvamitra, one of the most venerated sages of Hinduism. He was also the father of Shakuntala who was the mother of Bharat after whom India is named. And all this goes back to Nandini King Dileepa and his wife Sudakshina of the Raghuvansha dynasty who had no children.
They visited the sage Vashishta in his ashram, and asked what they should do to have a child. Vashishta replied that they should serve the cow Nandini, daughter of Kamadhenu, and if Nandini was happy with their devotion, she would grant them with a child. Dileepa attended to Nandini for twenty-one days.
On the twenty-first day, a lion attacked Nandini. Dileepa immediately drew his bow to shoot the lion but found his arm paralysed. The lion growled “You have no chance of saving a cow from a lion, mortal, so get out of my way”. Dileepa replied by asking if the lion would let Nandini go if he offered himself in her place. The lion agreed and Dileepa sat in front of the lion with his head bowed awaiting death. But the lion disappeared. Nandini explained that the lion was just an illusion to test Dileepa. Nandini granted him a son. Dileepa’s son Bhagiratha was the king who brought the Ganges to earth with his meditation and prayers – and all because of the cow Nandini.
The Puranas state that it is forbidden to kill cows under any circumstances. Those who fail to give cows reverence and protection and choose to sell a cow for slaughter or kill her himself or permit the slaughter of cows will all rot in the darkest regions of hell for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of each cow slain.
There is no atonement for the killing of a cow. The cow is a goddess with her own personal heaven like all the other major gods. It is called Goloka. Think of that when you see the next truck at night carrying cows to slaughter. Have you done anything to stop the trade?
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Details
- Maneka Gandhi
- Hits: 1078
I am sitting in a wooden deckchair underneath an olive tree. I am in France, in tarn gorge country on the border of Spain in a small beautiful house with vineyards stretching in front of me. My hosts Philip and Ruy have a hundred year old village house made entirely of stone with fig and apricot trees. The house is at the side of the gorge and a little stream runs through it. They grow their own vegetables and everyday we break out fat red tomatoes, courgettes, lettuce and French beans and cook it with basil. They have chickens and ducks as well, rescued from butchers and we play with them, the cats and dogs all of whom get on together. We eat under the trees, feet bare on the rough moist grass with a large statue of bacchus lost in his grapes, the stars overhead, surrounded by the scent of lavender bushes. Everywhere I look I can see the hill forest stretching out. The house is named, aptly for me, AU Paradis DES Cigales
At night the moths come in when I read, beautiful brown winged creatures that surround my bed. The little swimming pool is full of boat riders, little insects that ski magically on the waters. Be careful of the horseflies, says Ruy. They watch you and when they think you are not looking they graze your arms with their bites. He points out a yellow and black winged creature and sure enough he watches us as we watch him, a Mexican standoff for now. As the sun rises, the cicadas come out and chirp till the sun goes down. Philip says that they come every year on June 15th, not a day before or after. How amazing, that in a world of changing climates, the cicadas should follow a calendar date so strictly. Where do they come from and where do they go when summer is over?
But insects are amazing. For as long as we have been here, they have shared the world with us. They eat our food, share our beds, even our bodies, surrounding us, living in our homes, but we know nothing about them. They are so varied, so elegant, so tiny and yet huge nations stretch out, colonizing the world so much more effectively than us. They run earth, pollinating, decomposing, spreading flowers and disease. Animals are dependent on us, insects are indifferent and secure in their own lives and power.
In 1926, a small six seat plane took off from Tallulah, Louisiana in America. It was the first time that humans were going to map , how far above , in the sky, could insects be found and map their migration patterns. For 5 years more than 1300 plane sorties were made. The plane could go unto 15000 feet only and the researchers found millions and millions of insects in the sky , 700 different species, floating and. Flying in hordes to their own destinations. They estimated that one square mile contain 25-36 million of them rising in columns from 20 feet to 15,000 at any given time. They found ladybirds at 6000 feet, cucumber beetles at 3000 feet, fruit flies, gnats, scorpion flies... They found wingless ants at 4000 feet and wasps at 5000. At 15000 they found baby spiders riding on the air currents. The researchers recorded that spiders were addicted to this mode of travel. Babies climbed unto the heads of flowers or twigs, raised their abdomens, threw out silk filaments, and caught the air currents, launching themselves into exciting journeys in the sky, their legs spread eagled like human parachutists, controlling their ascents and descents.
The researchers saw lines of silver moths flying steadily alongside migrating birds. Thousands of butterflies passed the plane by, neatly dodging the wings. Bees, beetles, aphids, dragonflies, cicadas, all on mysterious journeys across the globe, all hidden from the average human eye.
Look up at the sky. Can you see them tumbling through the heavens, soaring and gliding, hovering and flying. Their takeoffs are as calculated as ours, based on the wind and light, they fly with as much skill. Hordes of butterflies and locusts suddenly change their flying level at one swoop to catch a favourable current. They adjust direction and altitude. They land at locations favourable for their lives and take off when they want to without landing strips and night lights, even the wingless ones. When it rains, I am sure the tiniest ones find their way around the raindrops.
What a wonderful world we are destroying, even before we have been able to enjoy all the amazing forms of life it has. When you look up at the sky imagine the sunlight reflect off the gleaming wings of millions and millions of insects, all almost invisible to the naked eye which is so limited that all it can see are a few birds and the endless white chemical fumes of airplanes crisscrossing the sky.
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
At night the moths come in when I read, beautiful brown winged creatures that surround my bed. The little swimming pool is full of boat riders, little insects that ski magically on the waters. Be careful of the horseflies, says Ruy. They watch you and when they think you are not looking they graze your arms with their bites. He points out a yellow and black winged creature and sure enough he watches us as we watch him, a Mexican standoff for now. As the sun rises, the cicadas come out and chirp till the sun goes down. Philip says that they come every year on June 15th, not a day before or after. How amazing, that in a world of changing climates, the cicadas should follow a calendar date so strictly. Where do they come from and where do they go when summer is over?
But insects are amazing. For as long as we have been here, they have shared the world with us. They eat our food, share our beds, even our bodies, surrounding us, living in our homes, but we know nothing about them. They are so varied, so elegant, so tiny and yet huge nations stretch out, colonizing the world so much more effectively than us. They run earth, pollinating, decomposing, spreading flowers and disease. Animals are dependent on us, insects are indifferent and secure in their own lives and power.
In 1926, a small six seat plane took off from Tallulah, Louisiana in America. It was the first time that humans were going to map , how far above , in the sky, could insects be found and map their migration patterns. For 5 years more than 1300 plane sorties were made. The plane could go unto 15000 feet only and the researchers found millions and millions of insects in the sky , 700 different species, floating and. Flying in hordes to their own destinations. They estimated that one square mile contain 25-36 million of them rising in columns from 20 feet to 15,000 at any given time. They found ladybirds at 6000 feet, cucumber beetles at 3000 feet, fruit flies, gnats, scorpion flies... They found wingless ants at 4000 feet and wasps at 5000. At 15000 they found baby spiders riding on the air currents. The researchers recorded that spiders were addicted to this mode of travel. Babies climbed unto the heads of flowers or twigs, raised their abdomens, threw out silk filaments, and caught the air currents, launching themselves into exciting journeys in the sky, their legs spread eagled like human parachutists, controlling their ascents and descents.
The researchers saw lines of silver moths flying steadily alongside migrating birds. Thousands of butterflies passed the plane by, neatly dodging the wings. Bees, beetles, aphids, dragonflies, cicadas, all on mysterious journeys across the globe, all hidden from the average human eye.
Look up at the sky. Can you see them tumbling through the heavens, soaring and gliding, hovering and flying. Their takeoffs are as calculated as ours, based on the wind and light, they fly with as much skill. Hordes of butterflies and locusts suddenly change their flying level at one swoop to catch a favourable current. They adjust direction and altitude. They land at locations favourable for their lives and take off when they want to without landing strips and night lights, even the wingless ones. When it rains, I am sure the tiniest ones find their way around the raindrops.
What a wonderful world we are destroying, even before we have been able to enjoy all the amazing forms of life it has. When you look up at the sky imagine the sunlight reflect off the gleaming wings of millions and millions of insects, all almost invisible to the naked eye which is so limited that all it can see are a few birds and the endless white chemical fumes of airplanes crisscrossing the sky.
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Details
- Maneka Gandhi
- Hits: 766
I was born a Sikh but have always felt a Jain. It takes a million rebirths, to be lucky enough to be born a Jain. That is why I feel upset when I see a Jain eating meat, running a leather, mining, bone china or gelatin industry, buying silk, drinking milk or buying Tirathankar statues on auction so that he/she can put their name in a Jain temple
More than any other religion, Jainism believes implicitly in the law of karma. As you do, so shall you be done by. The lack of knowledge about one’s actions – a child stamping on an ant, for instance- does not absolve you. Positive, beneficial actions reap their own benefits. Negative hurt and pain causing ones have their own reactions. One does not cancel out the other, each has an impact on what will happen to you. The worst karmic defilement of the soul takes place when one causes hurt to any other creature. Mahavir's words—you are that which you intend to hit, injure, insult, torment, persecute, torture, enslave or kill."
Jain Dharma sees the whole universe as a great cosmic mechanism and humans as part of that mechanism must conduct ourselves in harmony and rhythm with it. Anything said or done in this world is echoed back with the same intensity. One could even say that the global ecological crisis that is threatening the entire human race is the consequence of echoing back our own negative thoughts, words and actions.
Each being is a vital thread in another's life tapestry and our lives are woven together for a reason -- to survive and be happy. Everything works according to its nature. But humans live out of sync with the mechanism when we go against our qualities of love, kindness and friendship for all living beings. When we forget how so many invisible lives have made our single day livable and comfortable then we imperil our own lives
If we make the right choices we will get the right consequences. Lord Mahavir says:
"One who neglects or disregards the existence Of earth, water, fire, air, vegetation and all other lives Disregards his own existence Which is entwined with them."
The best way to see that negative actions are kept to a minimum is to think through your actions and see if they are necessary to your existence. If you understand that each shoe, wallet , steak or diamond will cost you several more rebirths in very difficult conditions, would you do it ?
Ahimsa means non-injury. Jains consider nonviolence to be the most essential duty for everyone (ahins? paramo dharma?,). It is an indispensable condition for liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, the ultimate goal of Jainism. According to Jainism every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is violence (himsa), which creates harmful karma. The aim of ahimsa is to prevent the accumulation of such karma. Jains share this goal with Hindus and Buddhists, but their approach is particularly comprehensive. Their scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities and food shapes their lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity.
The perfect Jain goes out of his way so as not to hurt even small insects and other tiny animals, because harm caused by carelessness is as reprehensible as harm caused by deliberate action.
Jain vegetarianism is the best way to lessen evil. It is not just a matter of not eating meat. It is eating less, eating your last meal before sunset , eating while sharing, eating that which is in season and local. This discipline and thoughtfulness about food should extend to all areas of one’s life. To me it means the training of the body and mind to appreciate everything – want nothing.
An ideal Jain would live on fruit and those vegetables that are taken from a plant without killing it – peas, tomatoes for instance or vegetables that come only for a short season. Rice and wheat are both fruit that come at the end of the plant’s cycle. In the instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants, are injunctions against root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, because tiny life forms are injured when the plant is pulled up and because the bulb is seen as a living being, as it is able to sprout . Honey is forbidden, as its collection is violence against bees. Cooking or eating at night is discouraged because insects are attracted to the lamps or fire at night.
Jains believe that animals, plants, human beings contain living souls. Each soul is of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion.
To injure any living being in one's thought, speech, or action constitutes violence, or Hinsa. The monk is enjoined not to commit violence against any living being, including those with one sense (Ekendiryas) and that are immobile (Sthavar), such as plants or those organisms that have earth, water, fire, or air as bodies. Lay Jains are forbidden from Himsa against all mobile beings (Trasa), whether they have two (Dwindriya), three (Trindriya), four (Chaturindriya), or five (Panchendriya) senses ( all mammals, birds, and fish). That is why Jains who drink milk are unacceptable as Jains. The production of mlk demands major violence on cows. None of them “ give” milk to you. You put her in a stall to stand for 24 hours, impregnate her forcibly , and then take the milk away from her baby. Those Jains who buy milk from the market are even worse – because they take part in a system that involves killing of the baby for leather, injecting the cow with painful hormones and then killing her after her milk dries up. Any attempt to rationalize the drinking of milk is impossible. The government itself says that the largest export of anything in the country is cow leather – 27,000 crores worth. There is an inextricable relationship between the meat industry and dairy with as much suffering and death in a glass of milk as in a pound of steak. And the same goes for eggs.Even the person who keeps only one cow must keep that cow pregnant in order to get milk and this means a steady stream of calves. Whenever a calf is separated from its mother, there is tremendous suffering. Similarly, the shearing of sheep for their wool involves unspeakable violence. The animals are frightened and their bodies often cut and injured. Then they are slaughtered. Silk is produced by boiling silk worms alive. Some Jains argue that the use of animal products is traditional. But tradition cannot define human conduct. Jainism’s ethical principles are a matter of rational thought and careful consideration and cannot be lulled into complacency by tradition.There are Jains who say that we cannot live a perfect life so compromises must be made. Jainism recognizes that we cannot avoid all violence, which is why laypersons are not required to eschew violence to immobile, one-sense organisms. But if inability to avoid all Himsa means that dairy or wool can be used, which involves injury and death on five-sensed beings, then it must mean that flesh can be eaten as well.Some Jains claim that it is not certain that it is wrong to consume dairy or use wool. If we accept this reasoning, then we can be used to say that there are no absolute moral truths - including the basic truth of Ahimsa and the prohibition against eating flesh. Some argue that it is inconvenient to be vegan. Then why be Jain? Considerations of convenience negate the religion itself. Both Svetambara and Digambara are clear and in agreement that suffering and death imposed on mobile beings is unacceptable. Jainism takes Ahimsa very seriously. Abstinence from killing other animals must be observed by thought, word and deed - Mana, Vachana and Kaya. The discipline imposed is purity of thought, word and deed. It is not enough if one abstains from inflicting pain on other beings; If you approve of such conduct in others, that approval makes you responsible for the cruelty of killing practiced by others. Do not kill nor kill through an agent nor approve the evil deed. Since Jains are basically business people, look at the industry you run and evaluate the suffering it causes. Is it worth another thousand lives?
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
More than any other religion, Jainism believes implicitly in the law of karma. As you do, so shall you be done by. The lack of knowledge about one’s actions – a child stamping on an ant, for instance- does not absolve you. Positive, beneficial actions reap their own benefits. Negative hurt and pain causing ones have their own reactions. One does not cancel out the other, each has an impact on what will happen to you. The worst karmic defilement of the soul takes place when one causes hurt to any other creature. Mahavir's words—you are that which you intend to hit, injure, insult, torment, persecute, torture, enslave or kill."
Jain Dharma sees the whole universe as a great cosmic mechanism and humans as part of that mechanism must conduct ourselves in harmony and rhythm with it. Anything said or done in this world is echoed back with the same intensity. One could even say that the global ecological crisis that is threatening the entire human race is the consequence of echoing back our own negative thoughts, words and actions.
Each being is a vital thread in another's life tapestry and our lives are woven together for a reason -- to survive and be happy. Everything works according to its nature. But humans live out of sync with the mechanism when we go against our qualities of love, kindness and friendship for all living beings. When we forget how so many invisible lives have made our single day livable and comfortable then we imperil our own lives
If we make the right choices we will get the right consequences. Lord Mahavir says:
"One who neglects or disregards the existence Of earth, water, fire, air, vegetation and all other lives Disregards his own existence Which is entwined with them."
The best way to see that negative actions are kept to a minimum is to think through your actions and see if they are necessary to your existence. If you understand that each shoe, wallet , steak or diamond will cost you several more rebirths in very difficult conditions, would you do it ?
Ahimsa means non-injury. Jains consider nonviolence to be the most essential duty for everyone (ahins? paramo dharma?,). It is an indispensable condition for liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, the ultimate goal of Jainism. According to Jainism every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is violence (himsa), which creates harmful karma. The aim of ahimsa is to prevent the accumulation of such karma. Jains share this goal with Hindus and Buddhists, but their approach is particularly comprehensive. Their scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities and food shapes their lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity.
The perfect Jain goes out of his way so as not to hurt even small insects and other tiny animals, because harm caused by carelessness is as reprehensible as harm caused by deliberate action.
Jain vegetarianism is the best way to lessen evil. It is not just a matter of not eating meat. It is eating less, eating your last meal before sunset , eating while sharing, eating that which is in season and local. This discipline and thoughtfulness about food should extend to all areas of one’s life. To me it means the training of the body and mind to appreciate everything – want nothing.
An ideal Jain would live on fruit and those vegetables that are taken from a plant without killing it – peas, tomatoes for instance or vegetables that come only for a short season. Rice and wheat are both fruit that come at the end of the plant’s cycle. In the instructions for preventing unnecessary violence against plants, are injunctions against root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, because tiny life forms are injured when the plant is pulled up and because the bulb is seen as a living being, as it is able to sprout . Honey is forbidden, as its collection is violence against bees. Cooking or eating at night is discouraged because insects are attracted to the lamps or fire at night.
Jains believe that animals, plants, human beings contain living souls. Each soul is of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion.
To injure any living being in one's thought, speech, or action constitutes violence, or Hinsa. The monk is enjoined not to commit violence against any living being, including those with one sense (Ekendiryas) and that are immobile (Sthavar), such as plants or those organisms that have earth, water, fire, or air as bodies. Lay Jains are forbidden from Himsa against all mobile beings (Trasa), whether they have two (Dwindriya), three (Trindriya), four (Chaturindriya), or five (Panchendriya) senses ( all mammals, birds, and fish). That is why Jains who drink milk are unacceptable as Jains. The production of mlk demands major violence on cows. None of them “ give” milk to you. You put her in a stall to stand for 24 hours, impregnate her forcibly , and then take the milk away from her baby. Those Jains who buy milk from the market are even worse – because they take part in a system that involves killing of the baby for leather, injecting the cow with painful hormones and then killing her after her milk dries up. Any attempt to rationalize the drinking of milk is impossible. The government itself says that the largest export of anything in the country is cow leather – 27,000 crores worth. There is an inextricable relationship between the meat industry and dairy with as much suffering and death in a glass of milk as in a pound of steak. And the same goes for eggs.Even the person who keeps only one cow must keep that cow pregnant in order to get milk and this means a steady stream of calves. Whenever a calf is separated from its mother, there is tremendous suffering. Similarly, the shearing of sheep for their wool involves unspeakable violence. The animals are frightened and their bodies often cut and injured. Then they are slaughtered. Silk is produced by boiling silk worms alive. Some Jains argue that the use of animal products is traditional. But tradition cannot define human conduct. Jainism’s ethical principles are a matter of rational thought and careful consideration and cannot be lulled into complacency by tradition.There are Jains who say that we cannot live a perfect life so compromises must be made. Jainism recognizes that we cannot avoid all violence, which is why laypersons are not required to eschew violence to immobile, one-sense organisms. But if inability to avoid all Himsa means that dairy or wool can be used, which involves injury and death on five-sensed beings, then it must mean that flesh can be eaten as well.Some Jains claim that it is not certain that it is wrong to consume dairy or use wool. If we accept this reasoning, then we can be used to say that there are no absolute moral truths - including the basic truth of Ahimsa and the prohibition against eating flesh. Some argue that it is inconvenient to be vegan. Then why be Jain? Considerations of convenience negate the religion itself. Both Svetambara and Digambara are clear and in agreement that suffering and death imposed on mobile beings is unacceptable. Jainism takes Ahimsa very seriously. Abstinence from killing other animals must be observed by thought, word and deed - Mana, Vachana and Kaya. The discipline imposed is purity of thought, word and deed. It is not enough if one abstains from inflicting pain on other beings; If you approve of such conduct in others, that approval makes you responsible for the cruelty of killing practiced by others. Do not kill nor kill through an agent nor approve the evil deed. Since Jains are basically business people, look at the industry you run and evaluate the suffering it causes. Is it worth another thousand lives?
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.