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- Maneka Gandhi
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My son started dating his wife Yamini six years ago. From the beginning, she did not seem a stranger to me but as someone who had come to fill the niche that had been waiting for her. Now, that they are happily married, I am told that ,since I had them married by ancient and strict Vedic rites I should have gone to a Vedic astrologer to see if their kundalis matched for compatability. Since marriage is as an important step in one’s life , in vedic astrology there are special techniques to evaluate whether the relationship will be happy and endure. So the horoscopes are matched through the Koota System, in which physical, emotional and spiritual compatibility of both people is assessed. In this system the matching is done on the basis of the position of the moon when both children were born.
There are 8 criteria ( ashtakoot milan ) and 36 points of matching called guna. If more than 20 points match it is considered to be a good marriage. One of the 8 criteria interests me because it is based on animals. It is called the Yoni Koota
In this koota worth 4 points, the constellations or nakshatras have animal parts called yonis and the object is to discover whether the couple will be physically compatible. The best is to have the 4 points .The worst is zero which indicates enmity.
If you have a horoscope you have to see which lunar constellation ( Nakshatra) your moon was in at birth. Moon signs are related to animals and have genders. Every Nakshatra is represented by an animal that has either masculine energy or feminine energy. Masculine energy is active and dynamic while feminine energy is passive or receptive. Ideal physical compatibility is between the male and female of the same species. For example, Ashwa Male and Ashwa Female are compatible. That is, if one of partner’s birth star is Ashwini and the other’s is Shatbhisha, both would be compatible. Some animals are incompatible with each other. However there is no full agreement among Vedic astrologers as to the gender related to a Nakshatra.
These animals are considered inimical to each other:
1. Cat (Ashlesha and Punarvasu) and Rat (Magha and Purva Phalguni)
2. Cow (Uttara Phalguni and Uttra Bhadrapada) and Tiger( Vishakha and Chitra)
3. Serpent (Rohini and Mrigshira) and Mongoose( Uttara Ashadha)
4. Horse ( Ashwini and Shatabhisha) and Buffalo (Swati and Hasta)
5. Dog (Mula and Ardra) and Hare (Jyeshtha and Anuradha)
6. Monkey (Purva Ashadha and Shravani) and Sheep (Pushya and Kritika)
Here is the chart :
Nakshatra Gender Animal Incompatible Animal(s)
Ashvini Male Horse Buffalo
Bharani Female Elephant Lion
Krittika Female Sheep Monkey
Rohini Male? Serpent Mongoose
Mrigashira Female? Serpent Tiger, Dog
Ardra Female Dog Dog, Rat
Punarvasu Male Cat Monkey
Pushya Male Goat Dog, Rat
Ashlesha Female Cat Dog, Rat
Magha Female Rat Cat
Purva Phalguni Female Rat Cat
Uttara Phalguni Female Bull Tiger
Hasta Male Buffalo Horse
Chitra Female Tiger Cow
Swati Female Buffalo Horse
Vishakha Female Tiger Cow
Anuradha Male Deer Tiger, Dog
Jyeshtha Female? Deer Tiger, Dog
Mula Female? Dog Tiger, Deer
Purvashadha Female Monkey Dog, Goat
Uttarasadha Female Mongoose Serpent
Shravana Male Monkey Dog, Goat
Dhanishtha Female Lion Elephant
Shatabhisaj Female? Horse Buffalo
Purvabhadrapada Male Lion Elephant
Uttarabhadrapada Female Cow Tiger
Revati Female Elephant Lion
Here are some tips:
• If the woman's Moon occupies a female Nakshatra and the male's Moon occupies a male Nakshatra and the respective animals are compatible, both are extremely compatible.
• If both partners have their respective Moons in Nakshatras that are both female and the respective animals are compatible, you are compatible.
• If the woman's Moon occupies a male Nakshatra and the male's Moon occupies a female Nakshatras and the respective animals are compatible, there is average compatibility. However, in case both Moons occupy a male Nakshatra, there may be some problems.
Many years ago, my best friend was to be married in an arranged marriage. She came from a royal family. He was from the same caste . Both of them liked each other at once. Her parents brought in the family astrologer and he found that out of 36 points , they matched in 34. It was a match made in heaven, he declared. The only person who repeatedly asked her not to go through with the wedding was me and we did not speak for years – until her second marriage. Her first husband, the groom sent from heaven, started cheating on her almost within a month, demanded money, forged her name and took away her lands and everything she owned, made her desperately unhappy in every way and finally she ended the marriage after he became physically abusive. Either the astrologer was not efficient or perhaps he was just too eager to please.
So, perhaps it was just as well that I did not go to an astrologer. Why did I write this article ? To show you how our lives entwine with animals in every way, even astrologically.
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
There are 8 criteria ( ashtakoot milan ) and 36 points of matching called guna. If more than 20 points match it is considered to be a good marriage. One of the 8 criteria interests me because it is based on animals. It is called the Yoni Koota
In this koota worth 4 points, the constellations or nakshatras have animal parts called yonis and the object is to discover whether the couple will be physically compatible. The best is to have the 4 points .The worst is zero which indicates enmity.
If you have a horoscope you have to see which lunar constellation ( Nakshatra) your moon was in at birth. Moon signs are related to animals and have genders. Every Nakshatra is represented by an animal that has either masculine energy or feminine energy. Masculine energy is active and dynamic while feminine energy is passive or receptive. Ideal physical compatibility is between the male and female of the same species. For example, Ashwa Male and Ashwa Female are compatible. That is, if one of partner’s birth star is Ashwini and the other’s is Shatbhisha, both would be compatible. Some animals are incompatible with each other. However there is no full agreement among Vedic astrologers as to the gender related to a Nakshatra.
These animals are considered inimical to each other:
1. Cat (Ashlesha and Punarvasu) and Rat (Magha and Purva Phalguni)
2. Cow (Uttara Phalguni and Uttra Bhadrapada) and Tiger( Vishakha and Chitra)
3. Serpent (Rohini and Mrigshira) and Mongoose( Uttara Ashadha)
4. Horse ( Ashwini and Shatabhisha) and Buffalo (Swati and Hasta)
5. Dog (Mula and Ardra) and Hare (Jyeshtha and Anuradha)
6. Monkey (Purva Ashadha and Shravani) and Sheep (Pushya and Kritika)
Here is the chart :
Nakshatra Gender Animal Incompatible Animal(s)
Ashvini Male Horse Buffalo
Bharani Female Elephant Lion
Krittika Female Sheep Monkey
Rohini Male? Serpent Mongoose
Mrigashira Female? Serpent Tiger, Dog
Ardra Female Dog Dog, Rat
Punarvasu Male Cat Monkey
Pushya Male Goat Dog, Rat
Ashlesha Female Cat Dog, Rat
Magha Female Rat Cat
Purva Phalguni Female Rat Cat
Uttara Phalguni Female Bull Tiger
Hasta Male Buffalo Horse
Chitra Female Tiger Cow
Swati Female Buffalo Horse
Vishakha Female Tiger Cow
Anuradha Male Deer Tiger, Dog
Jyeshtha Female? Deer Tiger, Dog
Mula Female? Dog Tiger, Deer
Purvashadha Female Monkey Dog, Goat
Uttarasadha Female Mongoose Serpent
Shravana Male Monkey Dog, Goat
Dhanishtha Female Lion Elephant
Shatabhisaj Female? Horse Buffalo
Purvabhadrapada Male Lion Elephant
Uttarabhadrapada Female Cow Tiger
Revati Female Elephant Lion
Here are some tips:
• If the woman's Moon occupies a female Nakshatra and the male's Moon occupies a male Nakshatra and the respective animals are compatible, both are extremely compatible.
• If both partners have their respective Moons in Nakshatras that are both female and the respective animals are compatible, you are compatible.
• If the woman's Moon occupies a male Nakshatra and the male's Moon occupies a female Nakshatras and the respective animals are compatible, there is average compatibility. However, in case both Moons occupy a male Nakshatra, there may be some problems.
Many years ago, my best friend was to be married in an arranged marriage. She came from a royal family. He was from the same caste . Both of them liked each other at once. Her parents brought in the family astrologer and he found that out of 36 points , they matched in 34. It was a match made in heaven, he declared. The only person who repeatedly asked her not to go through with the wedding was me and we did not speak for years – until her second marriage. Her first husband, the groom sent from heaven, started cheating on her almost within a month, demanded money, forged her name and took away her lands and everything she owned, made her desperately unhappy in every way and finally she ended the marriage after he became physically abusive. Either the astrologer was not efficient or perhaps he was just too eager to please.
So, perhaps it was just as well that I did not go to an astrologer. Why did I write this article ? To show you how our lives entwine with animals in every way, even astrologically.
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: 812
Yesterday a tiny, scrawny lice infested kitten died in my arms. She had not had food or water for two days. I could see that she wanted to live even though her body had given up on her and her breathing was intermittent and very difficult: I sponged her down, fed her drops of cat milk and glucose , took her lice off , keep her close to my chest, gently rubbed her heart to make her breathe better. I whispered into her ears that she was loved. The doctor gave her instant energy injections. She took a long time to die.
I wish I had some magical healing power. Or even the ability to let her die immediately and peacefully. Perhaps I should learn Reiki.
Reiki started in the early 1900′s invented by Mikao Usui whose teachings involved the use of palms to transfer healing energies from one being to the other . Students are taught different techniques for pressure as well as the pressure points of the body. Reiki is considered a way of channelling healing energy from the universe through the practitioner into the patient. Originally used only on humans it is now commonly used on animals as well.
Giving a Reiki treatment involves the practitioner putting his or her hands lightly on or near the animal’s body. Different hand positions are used, depending on the condition being treated. This energy flow can be administered either in a “hands-on” way for animals that are used to being touched or it can use a “distance healing” approach to an animal who is not usually touched, such as fish or wild animals. Both approaches work equally well;
Animals, I am told, respond well to Reiki, specially with regard to muscular aches, pains, back problems and strains. It can reduce stress, anxiety, nervousness and skin or coat problems and is used to Often the animal will enter a state of deep relaxation or sleep. It also helps with behaviour problems or stress due to abandonment or ill-treatment.
Lots of people in India do Reiki. Any Reiki Master can give Reiki to animals. Abroad , many animal lovers who work as animal handlers or in veterinarian's offices are taking Reiki training so they can use Reiki in their work.
Learn Reiki so you can help animals. Adapt the techniques used for humans to animals. As is the case for humans, Reiki healing sometimes leads to a curing of an animal's illness, but it may also lead to a peaceful death. For a person who has a pet or volunteers at a shelter, Reiki is a healing tool to be able to offer to your animal friends.
So many dogs come to our shelter that have been abused and thrown out. Shelters abroad get Reiki people to come in once a week who treat the physical and mental conditions of the animals that need it the most.
Here is one case written by a Reiki Master working in an animal shelter “Trooper had been treated so badly that he walked in a crouch afraid to raise his head in case he was hit. He was frightened of everything. I brought him to a room where I gave treatments. The whole way to the office, his body crouched no more than an inch or two off the ground. Every few steps he would stop suddenly in fear, as if he wasn't going to survive the short trip. I began the treatment by introducing myself to Trooper and letting him know that I was there to offer him Reiki, which would help him heal. I let him know that receiving the treatment was his choice. At first, he nervously wandered around the office. But after a few moments, he began to relax, choosing to lay down right under my hands, taking a deep sigh, resting his head on the floor. The whole atmosphere of the office became quiet, relaxed, and incredibly peaceful.
After about an hour, Trooper woke up, turned around to face me, and gave me the familiar look that many of the dogs I treat give: "Thanks. I'm done now." I thanked Trooper for his openness to healing and took him back to his kennel. Incredibly, he was walking normally, his body no longer slinking along the ground.
His transformation was even noticed by the staff, who exclaimed, "He looks so much calmer than before!" This almost immediate response is very common for the dogs that are treated with Reiki. No matter how stressed out they may initially be, Reiki can help them become calm and relaxed. It is a wonderful feeling to watch the change in their behaviour, the emergence of a peaceful look in their eyes.”
Here is a short guide to Reiki with animals which I read on the Net:
It is important to do Reiki animal healing on your pets as soon as you sense any changes in behaviour habits; temperament, eating, elimination and energy levels.
When applying Reiki animal healing, lay your hands very gently on the area in question; Do not force the animal to sit still, while you do your work; rather raise your hands just off the surface of the body. Reiki will flow equally even if the hands are up to 4 inches above the skin. Spend extra time on sensitive areas, but remember to treat the animals entire body—other parts reacting to the initial injury can be energized and brought into balance. Continue to treat, until the animal is back to its normal routine without any symptoms.
When treating domestic animals start the treatment by laying hands at the base of the ears near the neck. This seems to calm down animals. Then the animal can be treated systematically . When working on small animals (mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, frogs, and birds), cup your hands gently around their bodies, without pressure. You may experience a rapid heartbeat, but not to worry, the animal will relax. If the case of caged wild birds or fish in a tank, place your hands around the cage or tank and allow the energy to flow between your hands for 20 to 30 minutes so the creatures have time to absorb the energy they need.
Keep a journal of your treatment experiences on animals, and in time you will build a file on how best to treat animals. Get anatomy charts of animals that you will be working on regularly, so that you can treat them specifically. Or instance if you are treating a cat for "feline leukaemia", you cover the neck area and under the jaws where their lymph nodes are located. Work on the chest where the thymus gland sits and on the belly about 2 inches up from the hind legs on the cats left side . This is effective in building up immunity to the leukaemia. If your cat has a bladder infection, place your hands over the pelvic area on top near the spine. If an animal has a spinal injury, it is effectively treated by placing the heel of one hand at the base of the tail, with fingers pointed toward the head, and the heel of the other hand at the base of the neck, with fingers pointed toward the base of the spine.
Reiki does not replace medical treatments so do not attempt to a cure for a fracture or a skin disease through sheer touch. It is simply an auxiliary which, I am told, increases the blood circulation and helps muscles to relax, which in turn encourages healing.
Learn Reiki and then come to my shelter.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I wish I had some magical healing power. Or even the ability to let her die immediately and peacefully. Perhaps I should learn Reiki.
Reiki started in the early 1900′s invented by Mikao Usui whose teachings involved the use of palms to transfer healing energies from one being to the other . Students are taught different techniques for pressure as well as the pressure points of the body. Reiki is considered a way of channelling healing energy from the universe through the practitioner into the patient. Originally used only on humans it is now commonly used on animals as well.
Giving a Reiki treatment involves the practitioner putting his or her hands lightly on or near the animal’s body. Different hand positions are used, depending on the condition being treated. This energy flow can be administered either in a “hands-on” way for animals that are used to being touched or it can use a “distance healing” approach to an animal who is not usually touched, such as fish or wild animals. Both approaches work equally well;
Animals, I am told, respond well to Reiki, specially with regard to muscular aches, pains, back problems and strains. It can reduce stress, anxiety, nervousness and skin or coat problems and is used to Often the animal will enter a state of deep relaxation or sleep. It also helps with behaviour problems or stress due to abandonment or ill-treatment.
Lots of people in India do Reiki. Any Reiki Master can give Reiki to animals. Abroad , many animal lovers who work as animal handlers or in veterinarian's offices are taking Reiki training so they can use Reiki in their work.
Learn Reiki so you can help animals. Adapt the techniques used for humans to animals. As is the case for humans, Reiki healing sometimes leads to a curing of an animal's illness, but it may also lead to a peaceful death. For a person who has a pet or volunteers at a shelter, Reiki is a healing tool to be able to offer to your animal friends.
So many dogs come to our shelter that have been abused and thrown out. Shelters abroad get Reiki people to come in once a week who treat the physical and mental conditions of the animals that need it the most.
Here is one case written by a Reiki Master working in an animal shelter “Trooper had been treated so badly that he walked in a crouch afraid to raise his head in case he was hit. He was frightened of everything. I brought him to a room where I gave treatments. The whole way to the office, his body crouched no more than an inch or two off the ground. Every few steps he would stop suddenly in fear, as if he wasn't going to survive the short trip. I began the treatment by introducing myself to Trooper and letting him know that I was there to offer him Reiki, which would help him heal. I let him know that receiving the treatment was his choice. At first, he nervously wandered around the office. But after a few moments, he began to relax, choosing to lay down right under my hands, taking a deep sigh, resting his head on the floor. The whole atmosphere of the office became quiet, relaxed, and incredibly peaceful.
After about an hour, Trooper woke up, turned around to face me, and gave me the familiar look that many of the dogs I treat give: "Thanks. I'm done now." I thanked Trooper for his openness to healing and took him back to his kennel. Incredibly, he was walking normally, his body no longer slinking along the ground.
His transformation was even noticed by the staff, who exclaimed, "He looks so much calmer than before!" This almost immediate response is very common for the dogs that are treated with Reiki. No matter how stressed out they may initially be, Reiki can help them become calm and relaxed. It is a wonderful feeling to watch the change in their behaviour, the emergence of a peaceful look in their eyes.”
Here is a short guide to Reiki with animals which I read on the Net:
It is important to do Reiki animal healing on your pets as soon as you sense any changes in behaviour habits; temperament, eating, elimination and energy levels.
When applying Reiki animal healing, lay your hands very gently on the area in question; Do not force the animal to sit still, while you do your work; rather raise your hands just off the surface of the body. Reiki will flow equally even if the hands are up to 4 inches above the skin. Spend extra time on sensitive areas, but remember to treat the animals entire body—other parts reacting to the initial injury can be energized and brought into balance. Continue to treat, until the animal is back to its normal routine without any symptoms.
When treating domestic animals start the treatment by laying hands at the base of the ears near the neck. This seems to calm down animals. Then the animal can be treated systematically . When working on small animals (mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, frogs, and birds), cup your hands gently around their bodies, without pressure. You may experience a rapid heartbeat, but not to worry, the animal will relax. If the case of caged wild birds or fish in a tank, place your hands around the cage or tank and allow the energy to flow between your hands for 20 to 30 minutes so the creatures have time to absorb the energy they need.
Keep a journal of your treatment experiences on animals, and in time you will build a file on how best to treat animals. Get anatomy charts of animals that you will be working on regularly, so that you can treat them specifically. Or instance if you are treating a cat for "feline leukaemia", you cover the neck area and under the jaws where their lymph nodes are located. Work on the chest where the thymus gland sits and on the belly about 2 inches up from the hind legs on the cats left side . This is effective in building up immunity to the leukaemia. If your cat has a bladder infection, place your hands over the pelvic area on top near the spine. If an animal has a spinal injury, it is effectively treated by placing the heel of one hand at the base of the tail, with fingers pointed toward the head, and the heel of the other hand at the base of the neck, with fingers pointed toward the base of the spine.
Reiki does not replace medical treatments so do not attempt to a cure for a fracture or a skin disease through sheer touch. It is simply an auxiliary which, I am told, increases the blood circulation and helps muscles to relax, which in turn encourages healing.
Learn Reiki and then come to my shelter.
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: 931
In 2012 battery cages for chickens will be formally outlawed in the Europe Union . Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Norway have already banned battery hen cages. This decision comes as a result of the sustained campaigns by millions of Europeans.
Unfortunately in India , the animal welfare groups have not yet taken up the cause of animals raised for food. Fifteen years ago, I went to court to protest the working of Idgah, the main slaughterhouse of Delhi . The Supreme Court shut it down. Fifteen years later an even worse one has come up. But now no one complains because the butchers have learnt their lesson and become partners with their MP and the state government. Consequently no one is allowed to enter it, film anything or look at the records which are been faked everyday to show one tenth of the animals that are actually being killed.
The Supreme Court passed a direction three years ago ordering the Animal Welfare Board of India to inspect all the slaughterhouses. A man on the Board took on the duty to inspect the ones in Kerala. He traveled in a car owned by the butchers. He stayed at posh hotels and he never saw the inside of a single slaughterhouse before he filed his report that “All Izz Well”. He was caught by animal welfare activists when filing fake bills. He is no longer on the Board. But not a single inspection has taken place since.
There are two areas where the animal welfare movement needs to turn its attention to : the cruelty in professional poultries and the traffic and killing of cattle.
While there are thousands of things wrong with the way chickens are reared, one cruelty which can be removed easily if we all get together and campaign is the battery cage for chickens. India 's factory farms confine 140 to 200 million hens in battery cages and there is little "cage-free rearing of chickens." Last month the the Dalai Lama has condemned battery hen farming and is urging consumers to switch to buying eggs from chickens kept outside of cages. "Turning these defenseless animals into egg-producing machines with no consideration for their welfare whatsoever is a degradation of our own humanity," the Buddhist spiritual leader said "Switching to cage-free eggs would reduce the suffering of these animals."
Most caged birds have less than the size of an A4 sheet of paper to move on. They cannot even raise their wings or turn around. Their suffering turns into anger and they try to bite the bird next to them. But they cannot because, anticipating this, the poultry owner has cut off their beaks and their toes with hot knives and no anesthesia. They live and die in agony
"The abuse we inflict on hens has always been particularly disturbing to me and I have always been particularly concerned toward how these animals are treated in industrial food production," says the Dalai Lama.
I came across a beautiful letter written by an Australian. I thought you should read it:
“I heard a person arguing with another. She said: You want all the dogs to be tied up all the time. Fine. But since we know that dogs feel and behave as humans, as an experiment, let's try replacing the word “dog” with the word “uncle”. Would you feel the same way ?
It got me thinking. What if we followed the logic consistently?
For example:
Replace the word "calf" with "daughter". Would we still crush her rib cage and kill her?
Replace the word "Sheep" with "sister". Would we still terrify, traumatize and send her to be stabbed to death?
Replace the word "Chicken" with "child". Would we cage her so she couldn't move, burn off her lips, and kill her as soon as we had forcibly fattened her beyond recognition?
Replace the word "cow" with "mother". Would we still drag her screaming on a chain to the kill floor and hack her body into bits, while her friends watched in horror?
Replace the word "food" with "friend". Would we still torture and kill TWO BILLION of our friends every week?
Think of them as humans in another form . That doesn’t mean you get silly and dress up your dogs. It doesn’t mean beds with linen, hundred-dollar dresses, obesity-inducing diets, nail polish spas, handmade soap and doggie mascara. It means you start thinking of chickens, pigs, cows, buffaloes, goats who are crammed into small spaces, fed rubbish and then killed after breaking all their limbs in overloaded trucks. Frightened babies are torn from their distraught mothers. Chickens have their beaks cut off; cows have their horns pulled from their heads; pigs are castrated—all without painkillers. Then they are herded into filthy, slippery transport trucks and taken to slaughterhouses where they are strung up by their legs and their throats are slit.
Even if you are vegetarian, what are you doing against these horrifying crimes? What will your answer be?
The first thing we need to demand is that the Indian Ministry for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry put down the law to order all poultries to keep only cage free birds.
Cage-free does not always mean "cruelty-free" but cage-free hens generally have 250 percent to 300 percent more space per bird and are able to act more naturally than caged hens. If Europe can do it so can we.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Unfortunately in India , the animal welfare groups have not yet taken up the cause of animals raised for food. Fifteen years ago, I went to court to protest the working of Idgah, the main slaughterhouse of Delhi . The Supreme Court shut it down. Fifteen years later an even worse one has come up. But now no one complains because the butchers have learnt their lesson and become partners with their MP and the state government. Consequently no one is allowed to enter it, film anything or look at the records which are been faked everyday to show one tenth of the animals that are actually being killed.
The Supreme Court passed a direction three years ago ordering the Animal Welfare Board of India to inspect all the slaughterhouses. A man on the Board took on the duty to inspect the ones in Kerala. He traveled in a car owned by the butchers. He stayed at posh hotels and he never saw the inside of a single slaughterhouse before he filed his report that “All Izz Well”. He was caught by animal welfare activists when filing fake bills. He is no longer on the Board. But not a single inspection has taken place since.
There are two areas where the animal welfare movement needs to turn its attention to : the cruelty in professional poultries and the traffic and killing of cattle.
While there are thousands of things wrong with the way chickens are reared, one cruelty which can be removed easily if we all get together and campaign is the battery cage for chickens. India 's factory farms confine 140 to 200 million hens in battery cages and there is little "cage-free rearing of chickens." Last month the the Dalai Lama has condemned battery hen farming and is urging consumers to switch to buying eggs from chickens kept outside of cages. "Turning these defenseless animals into egg-producing machines with no consideration for their welfare whatsoever is a degradation of our own humanity," the Buddhist spiritual leader said "Switching to cage-free eggs would reduce the suffering of these animals."
Most caged birds have less than the size of an A4 sheet of paper to move on. They cannot even raise their wings or turn around. Their suffering turns into anger and they try to bite the bird next to them. But they cannot because, anticipating this, the poultry owner has cut off their beaks and their toes with hot knives and no anesthesia. They live and die in agony
"The abuse we inflict on hens has always been particularly disturbing to me and I have always been particularly concerned toward how these animals are treated in industrial food production," says the Dalai Lama.
I came across a beautiful letter written by an Australian. I thought you should read it:
“I heard a person arguing with another. She said: You want all the dogs to be tied up all the time. Fine. But since we know that dogs feel and behave as humans, as an experiment, let's try replacing the word “dog” with the word “uncle”. Would you feel the same way ?
It got me thinking. What if we followed the logic consistently?
For example:
Replace the word "calf" with "daughter". Would we still crush her rib cage and kill her?
Replace the word "Sheep" with "sister". Would we still terrify, traumatize and send her to be stabbed to death?
Replace the word "Chicken" with "child". Would we cage her so she couldn't move, burn off her lips, and kill her as soon as we had forcibly fattened her beyond recognition?
Replace the word "cow" with "mother". Would we still drag her screaming on a chain to the kill floor and hack her body into bits, while her friends watched in horror?
Replace the word "food" with "friend". Would we still torture and kill TWO BILLION of our friends every week?
Think of them as humans in another form . That doesn’t mean you get silly and dress up your dogs. It doesn’t mean beds with linen, hundred-dollar dresses, obesity-inducing diets, nail polish spas, handmade soap and doggie mascara. It means you start thinking of chickens, pigs, cows, buffaloes, goats who are crammed into small spaces, fed rubbish and then killed after breaking all their limbs in overloaded trucks. Frightened babies are torn from their distraught mothers. Chickens have their beaks cut off; cows have their horns pulled from their heads; pigs are castrated—all without painkillers. Then they are herded into filthy, slippery transport trucks and taken to slaughterhouses where they are strung up by their legs and their throats are slit.
Even if you are vegetarian, what are you doing against these horrifying crimes? What will your answer be?
The first thing we need to demand is that the Indian Ministry for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry put down the law to order all poultries to keep only cage free birds.
Cage-free does not always mean "cruelty-free" but cage-free hens generally have 250 percent to 300 percent more space per bird and are able to act more naturally than caged hens. If Europe can do it so can we.
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: 1105
To the ever-increasing list of ailments linked to meat like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, colon, breast and ovarian cancer, add one more -- severe loss of calcium with all its attendant ills. Consider this, an average 65 year-old non vegetarian woman suffers 35% bone loss; in a similarly aged vegetarian the bone loss at 18% is half of that!
Naturally then, meat eaters at greater risk for fractures than vegetarians. The question is how does meat consumption cause calcium loss?
The answer lies in blood pH levels.
"pH" is a measure of acidity or alkalinity and indicates the hydrogen ion concentration in a fluid. A pH of 1 indicates the highest acidity. At the other end of the scale is a pH of 14 indicating the highest alkalinity. A pH of 7 is neutral.
Human blood is slightly alkaline, and the body makes every effort to keep the pH level of the blood constant within a very narrow band between pH 7.35 and 7.45.
The level is regulated through the urine and the breath. The urine flushes out either increased levels of alkali or acid to maintain normal blood pH levels. Similarly, rapid breathing expels carbon dioxide making the blood more alkaline, while slower breathing increases carbon dioxide in the blood making it more acidic. The balance between carbon dioxide and sodium bicarbonate in the blood determines its pH level.
If the metabolism is efficient, then the pH balance depends mainly on the acidity or alkalinity of the diet. Ideally, we should eat approximately four times the weight of alkaline-forming food compared to acid-forming food, or 80% alkalizing to 20% acidifying food.
Let us look at acid and alkaline foods. Most of our foods supply minerals. The minerals in a particular food are both acid and alkaline. The acid group called Anion is chloride or phosphate, and the alkaline group called Cation is sodium, calcium or potassium. If one of these groups is stronger than the other then the food is either acid or alkaline .
In plants, strong alkalines combine with weak acids The acids may make the food taste acid, as in fruits. However, in the body these organic acids are oxidized and leave an alkaline residue. Therefore, we say vegetables and fruits are alkalizing or alkaline-forming. Alkaline-forming foods are grass juice, sprouted seeds, vegetables, fruits, almonds, most legumes, the outer parts of potatoes, bananas, millet, buckwheat and brown rice. Fresh green vegetable juices and vegetable broths, especially the broth of boiled potato peelings. are the strongest alkalizing foods.
Animal tissue, on the other hand, contains a high percentage of strongly acidic phosphoric acid . When it reacts with oxygen in the body a strong acid residue remains. Acid-forming foods are meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk,. Other foods, which often form mucus and acids are refined starches and wheat products.
Overacidity or acidosis has a serious effect on the body. It causes a continual loss of minerals needed to neutralize excess acid. In mineral deficient bodies, sugars, which are chemically neutral and even fruits, which are chemically alkaline, become highly acid forming. The body becomes hypersensitive to pain and the whole metabolism becomes more and more inefficient. Acidity releases histamine which greatly increases inflammations and allergies and renders the skin very irritable. The body becomes oversensitive to pain especially in cases of arthritis and rheumatism, as well as to allergens such as insect stings. In addition, mucus production increases, providing a breeding ground for germs. Tumours too find fertile ground among surrounding tissue that is too acid.
But perhaps, the most alarming and largely overlooked effect of overacidic blood is calcium loss. If the blood pH is acidic, then calcium and phosphorus will leech out of the bones to neutralize acid and increase the pH. This is necessary for survival.. The blood needs pH in a very specific range in order to transport oxygen and function efficiently. Therefore, anything that causes low blood pH will lead to calcium loss from the bones. As more and more calcium is leached from the bones, they become brittle and the tissues and joints calcify. As we age, this calcium taken from our bones to neutralize the acid in our blood, accumulates in our soft tissues – where it does not belong- instead of in our bones. Doctors call this "extra-skeletal calcification.". The condition can manifest itself in many ways: heart disease, cancer, wrinkled skin, acute arthritis, kidney stones, osteoporosis, gum disease like caries, gingivitis and pyorrhea, red rimmed eyes, bone spurs, senility, cataracts, headaches and nausea.
While being prone to allergies and having advanced cancer will cause adidosis due to overproduction of lactic acid, the main reason why people develop overacidity is eating a lot of animal based food and strenuous muscle activity. Switching to a vegetarian diet can prevent or reverse this condition.
Strangely enough , heavy meat eating can also lead to an over-alkaline condition and potassium deficiency, that can cause calcium deposits like kidney stones and bone deformations. The main reason for this condition is a weak liver in combination with a high meat diet.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein (meat). Normally the liver would convert these amino acids into urea and excrete it. But this process requires additional energy as well as specific enzymes, both of which are in short supply in a weak liver. So instead, an increasing amount of ammonium salts are formed. To dispose of these, the body uses up its store of acid minerals, its phosphates and chlorides. An active lifestyle would produce enough metabolic acids like lactic acid to neutralise the excess ammonia, but a sedentary lifestyle means insufficient production of metabolic acids, so the body compensates with acid ions, leaving the body too alkaline. Patients with cardiovascular and other degenerative diseases are often affected in this way. The amino acids in meat also cause ammonium salts to be formed in the kidneys which requires more acid ions for neutralization.
Alkalosis shows up as a lack of gastric acid resulting in poor protein digestion and mineral absorption. Bacterial overgrowth may extend into the stomach, causing belching, foul breath and gastric complaints. The inflammation response is suppressed making the skin and body insensitive. When the body is too alkaline, have plenty of acid fruits, ascorbic acid (possibly cider vinegar), and vegetarian meals!
Here’s a simple home test to determine your pH level. Dissolve a teaspoon of turmeric (haldi) powder in half a litre of methylated spirits or rubbing alcohol, shake and let it settle to produce a yellow solution. Pour some of the yellow solution into a test tube or a small drinking glass. Add a few drops of urine or saliva, if it turns red then what was added had a pH greater than 6.8 (alkaline), if it stays yellow then the pH is still acid and less than 6.8.
Maneka Gandhi
Naturally then, meat eaters at greater risk for fractures than vegetarians. The question is how does meat consumption cause calcium loss?
The answer lies in blood pH levels.
"pH" is a measure of acidity or alkalinity and indicates the hydrogen ion concentration in a fluid. A pH of 1 indicates the highest acidity. At the other end of the scale is a pH of 14 indicating the highest alkalinity. A pH of 7 is neutral.
Human blood is slightly alkaline, and the body makes every effort to keep the pH level of the blood constant within a very narrow band between pH 7.35 and 7.45.
The level is regulated through the urine and the breath. The urine flushes out either increased levels of alkali or acid to maintain normal blood pH levels. Similarly, rapid breathing expels carbon dioxide making the blood more alkaline, while slower breathing increases carbon dioxide in the blood making it more acidic. The balance between carbon dioxide and sodium bicarbonate in the blood determines its pH level.
If the metabolism is efficient, then the pH balance depends mainly on the acidity or alkalinity of the diet. Ideally, we should eat approximately four times the weight of alkaline-forming food compared to acid-forming food, or 80% alkalizing to 20% acidifying food.
Let us look at acid and alkaline foods. Most of our foods supply minerals. The minerals in a particular food are both acid and alkaline. The acid group called Anion is chloride or phosphate, and the alkaline group called Cation is sodium, calcium or potassium. If one of these groups is stronger than the other then the food is either acid or alkaline .
In plants, strong alkalines combine with weak acids The acids may make the food taste acid, as in fruits. However, in the body these organic acids are oxidized and leave an alkaline residue. Therefore, we say vegetables and fruits are alkalizing or alkaline-forming. Alkaline-forming foods are grass juice, sprouted seeds, vegetables, fruits, almonds, most legumes, the outer parts of potatoes, bananas, millet, buckwheat and brown rice. Fresh green vegetable juices and vegetable broths, especially the broth of boiled potato peelings. are the strongest alkalizing foods.
Animal tissue, on the other hand, contains a high percentage of strongly acidic phosphoric acid . When it reacts with oxygen in the body a strong acid residue remains. Acid-forming foods are meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk,. Other foods, which often form mucus and acids are refined starches and wheat products.
Overacidity or acidosis has a serious effect on the body. It causes a continual loss of minerals needed to neutralize excess acid. In mineral deficient bodies, sugars, which are chemically neutral and even fruits, which are chemically alkaline, become highly acid forming. The body becomes hypersensitive to pain and the whole metabolism becomes more and more inefficient. Acidity releases histamine which greatly increases inflammations and allergies and renders the skin very irritable. The body becomes oversensitive to pain especially in cases of arthritis and rheumatism, as well as to allergens such as insect stings. In addition, mucus production increases, providing a breeding ground for germs. Tumours too find fertile ground among surrounding tissue that is too acid.
But perhaps, the most alarming and largely overlooked effect of overacidic blood is calcium loss. If the blood pH is acidic, then calcium and phosphorus will leech out of the bones to neutralize acid and increase the pH. This is necessary for survival.. The blood needs pH in a very specific range in order to transport oxygen and function efficiently. Therefore, anything that causes low blood pH will lead to calcium loss from the bones. As more and more calcium is leached from the bones, they become brittle and the tissues and joints calcify. As we age, this calcium taken from our bones to neutralize the acid in our blood, accumulates in our soft tissues – where it does not belong- instead of in our bones. Doctors call this "extra-skeletal calcification.". The condition can manifest itself in many ways: heart disease, cancer, wrinkled skin, acute arthritis, kidney stones, osteoporosis, gum disease like caries, gingivitis and pyorrhea, red rimmed eyes, bone spurs, senility, cataracts, headaches and nausea.
While being prone to allergies and having advanced cancer will cause adidosis due to overproduction of lactic acid, the main reason why people develop overacidity is eating a lot of animal based food and strenuous muscle activity. Switching to a vegetarian diet can prevent or reverse this condition.
Strangely enough , heavy meat eating can also lead to an over-alkaline condition and potassium deficiency, that can cause calcium deposits like kidney stones and bone deformations. The main reason for this condition is a weak liver in combination with a high meat diet.
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein (meat). Normally the liver would convert these amino acids into urea and excrete it. But this process requires additional energy as well as specific enzymes, both of which are in short supply in a weak liver. So instead, an increasing amount of ammonium salts are formed. To dispose of these, the body uses up its store of acid minerals, its phosphates and chlorides. An active lifestyle would produce enough metabolic acids like lactic acid to neutralise the excess ammonia, but a sedentary lifestyle means insufficient production of metabolic acids, so the body compensates with acid ions, leaving the body too alkaline. Patients with cardiovascular and other degenerative diseases are often affected in this way. The amino acids in meat also cause ammonium salts to be formed in the kidneys which requires more acid ions for neutralization.
Alkalosis shows up as a lack of gastric acid resulting in poor protein digestion and mineral absorption. Bacterial overgrowth may extend into the stomach, causing belching, foul breath and gastric complaints. The inflammation response is suppressed making the skin and body insensitive. When the body is too alkaline, have plenty of acid fruits, ascorbic acid (possibly cider vinegar), and vegetarian meals!
Here’s a simple home test to determine your pH level. Dissolve a teaspoon of turmeric (haldi) powder in half a litre of methylated spirits or rubbing alcohol, shake and let it settle to produce a yellow solution. Pour some of the yellow solution into a test tube or a small drinking glass. Add a few drops of urine or saliva, if it turns red then what was added had a pH greater than 6.8 (alkaline), if it stays yellow then the pH is still acid and less than 6.8.
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
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Cultures all over the world view animals in different ways. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, two great Indian Epics, are an excellent example of how animal characters are portrayed positively in ancient India. In fact there is no Ramayana without animals. What inspired Valmiki to become a great poet? The experience of seeing a bird in love shot dead by a hunter. In shock and sadness he cries, "You will find no rest for the long years of Eternity, for you killed a bird in love and unsuspecting!" For days he cannot get these lines out of his head and repeats them over and over. Lord Brahma understands the inspiration that Valmiki has come across and instructs him to retell the life of Rama in a poem.
The Ramayana is the most glorious celebration of animals. There is no distinction between human beings and other life forms and the same qualities and emotions are felt irrespective of the species. Both sides have animals – and while the humans can be bad , the animals are not . Ravana’s palace was guarded by four and three tusked elephants , horses and strange animals but there is no report of them taking part in the war. The author Valmiki's comment. "All living beings, including those which are born in animal wombs are eager to do good to Rama, even by sacrificing their lives."
When Ravana abducts Sita, it is the vulture Jatayu and his brother Sampati, sons of the charioteer to the Sun, who fight with him and dying, inform Rama of the kidnapping.
When Rama sets out to find Sita he is informed by a wise old woman that the monkey Hanuman can help him. Who is Hanuman ? The son of Vayu, the Wind God, and Anjana the monkey. Which clearly sends out the message that even animals are of divine descent. Rama helps Hanuman’s friend Sugriva of Kishkindha kill his elder brother Vali – but in this slaying , no attempt is made to make Vali the “bad guy”. In fact it is written in an almost disapproving style indicating that Rama is flawed. Sugriva becomes the king of the tribe and calls all the tribes to search for Sita. Their strength is increased by the bears led by their king Jambavan. They come to the edge of India and Hanuman volunteers to jump across to Sri Lanka to see if Sita is there.
Hanuman jumps across the sea, turns himself into a cat , explores the kingdom and finds Sita in a grove. He sees Ravana come to woo Sita who refuses him. Hanuman reveals himself to Sita and takes back a message from her asking Rama to come and rescue her. Before Hanuman returns he begins to destroy Lanka in a fit of rage but Sita stops him by asking him to leave some for Rama to finish off !!
When Lakshman and Rama dither at the thought of attacking Lanka it is Jambavan who urges them to have courage. Rama resolves to fight. He leads all of the animals to the ocean shore where they are confronted with the problem of crossing. Nala the monkey becomes the architect of the bridge Ramasetu that presumably stands till today. I do not think a human could have built that bridge thousands of years ago with stone, wood, grass and sand 100 leagues long and 10 leagues wide. Every animal helps in making it. Monkeys of all sizes, shapes and hues scramble to collect branches, stones and large boulders and drag them to the shore, piling them on top of the other in the sea. In four days the task was almost complete. When Nala and his monkeys put the large rocks , they find the water pushing through the crevices of the rocks and gradually dislodging them. Five little squirrels come and asked to fill in the gaps. Rama agrees (and it is said that he rubbed his fingers down their backs leaving three beautiful colored stripes.)Within minutes, hundreds of thousands of little squirrels come running out of the forest. They roll on the sand and then roll on top of the crevices closing up all the leaks until the bridge was strong enough for Rama's army to cross.
The animals cross the bridge and thousands die in each battle. But they refuse to give in and little by little Ravana is pushed back. Indrajit, his son, takes over the attack and millions of animals die. Indrajit is invisible and when he throws his huge axe , it flies through the air heading straight for Rama. Sugriva is suddenly afraid for Rama's ability to knock down the flying weapon. He jumps up and throws his body in front of Rama. The axe hits Sugriva square in the heart and he dies instantly.
Lakshman is mortally wounded. It is Hanuman who fetches the mountain with the herbs that cure him. Indrajit and Ravana are killed and the army of surviving animals returns to the mainland and to their own families.
What are the qualities that make a human: intelligence, sensitivity, compassion, mercy, patience, courage, farsightedness and empathy. In the Ramayana all the animals have these qualities. The devotion and love that shines through these animals is the ultimate form of divinity.
The Ramayana has had a great impact on the culture of India. It gave form to the values of our society and giving role models of correct behaviour. There is increasing evidence that the kingdoms existed and that the battles took place in the years between 1200 and 1000 BC. If you say that, all the animal roles are mythological – then you must also say the same about Ram and Sita and stop revering them. But if they are/were real and are forms of the divine, so must the animals be.
Maneka Gandhi
The Ramayana is the most glorious celebration of animals. There is no distinction between human beings and other life forms and the same qualities and emotions are felt irrespective of the species. Both sides have animals – and while the humans can be bad , the animals are not . Ravana’s palace was guarded by four and three tusked elephants , horses and strange animals but there is no report of them taking part in the war. The author Valmiki's comment. "All living beings, including those which are born in animal wombs are eager to do good to Rama, even by sacrificing their lives."
When Ravana abducts Sita, it is the vulture Jatayu and his brother Sampati, sons of the charioteer to the Sun, who fight with him and dying, inform Rama of the kidnapping.
When Rama sets out to find Sita he is informed by a wise old woman that the monkey Hanuman can help him. Who is Hanuman ? The son of Vayu, the Wind God, and Anjana the monkey. Which clearly sends out the message that even animals are of divine descent. Rama helps Hanuman’s friend Sugriva of Kishkindha kill his elder brother Vali – but in this slaying , no attempt is made to make Vali the “bad guy”. In fact it is written in an almost disapproving style indicating that Rama is flawed. Sugriva becomes the king of the tribe and calls all the tribes to search for Sita. Their strength is increased by the bears led by their king Jambavan. They come to the edge of India and Hanuman volunteers to jump across to Sri Lanka to see if Sita is there.
Hanuman jumps across the sea, turns himself into a cat , explores the kingdom and finds Sita in a grove. He sees Ravana come to woo Sita who refuses him. Hanuman reveals himself to Sita and takes back a message from her asking Rama to come and rescue her. Before Hanuman returns he begins to destroy Lanka in a fit of rage but Sita stops him by asking him to leave some for Rama to finish off !!
When Lakshman and Rama dither at the thought of attacking Lanka it is Jambavan who urges them to have courage. Rama resolves to fight. He leads all of the animals to the ocean shore where they are confronted with the problem of crossing. Nala the monkey becomes the architect of the bridge Ramasetu that presumably stands till today. I do not think a human could have built that bridge thousands of years ago with stone, wood, grass and sand 100 leagues long and 10 leagues wide. Every animal helps in making it. Monkeys of all sizes, shapes and hues scramble to collect branches, stones and large boulders and drag them to the shore, piling them on top of the other in the sea. In four days the task was almost complete. When Nala and his monkeys put the large rocks , they find the water pushing through the crevices of the rocks and gradually dislodging them. Five little squirrels come and asked to fill in the gaps. Rama agrees (and it is said that he rubbed his fingers down their backs leaving three beautiful colored stripes.)Within minutes, hundreds of thousands of little squirrels come running out of the forest. They roll on the sand and then roll on top of the crevices closing up all the leaks until the bridge was strong enough for Rama's army to cross.
The animals cross the bridge and thousands die in each battle. But they refuse to give in and little by little Ravana is pushed back. Indrajit, his son, takes over the attack and millions of animals die. Indrajit is invisible and when he throws his huge axe , it flies through the air heading straight for Rama. Sugriva is suddenly afraid for Rama's ability to knock down the flying weapon. He jumps up and throws his body in front of Rama. The axe hits Sugriva square in the heart and he dies instantly.
Lakshman is mortally wounded. It is Hanuman who fetches the mountain with the herbs that cure him. Indrajit and Ravana are killed and the army of surviving animals returns to the mainland and to their own families.
What are the qualities that make a human: intelligence, sensitivity, compassion, mercy, patience, courage, farsightedness and empathy. In the Ramayana all the animals have these qualities. The devotion and love that shines through these animals is the ultimate form of divinity.
The Ramayana has had a great impact on the culture of India. It gave form to the values of our society and giving role models of correct behaviour. There is increasing evidence that the kingdoms existed and that the battles took place in the years between 1200 and 1000 BC. If you say that, all the animal roles are mythological – then you must also say the same about Ram and Sita and stop revering them. But if they are/were real and are forms of the divine, so must the animals be.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.