We Belong to God and to Him We Will Return

There was a time when wild animals emerging from wildlife sanctuaries in search of food made it to the news papers. It gave the activists, animal lovers, and journalists an opportunity to appear in the news as persons having concern for the livelihood of the starving animals. The frequency of such incidents has increased, while public outbursts have nearly disappeared. People must have realised that their own stomachs are more important to them. As far as the stomachs of the hungry wild animals are concerned, they will fend for themselves. Further, it is widely assumed that the one who created them will also feed them.

Every morning, monkeys hop from house to house, shop to shop, and tree to tree for food. They have been facing two major problems these days: shelter and food. The habitable jungles for monkeys are shrinking, and so are the fruits growing in the wild. They now shuttle between their habitats and the places where people live for food. Because of some of the advantages they still have, they are somehow surviving. One of them is that they amuse us every day for free. Once we don't need them to amuse us, they will outlive their utility.

"My ambitions grew like the family of the recluse," is a famous statement made by M. K. Gandhi. He wrote this while describing his condition, which arose out of his obsession with imitating an English gentleman. This helped us figure out when and why the recluse needed to add a cat to his family. The need to keep a milking cow is over, and so are the cats. Cats are now going door to door for food, but they are fleeing for fear of being tortured, let alone getting food.

What do the stray cows, our mothers, roaming in towns and cities eat to fill their stomachs? Our cow-centered politics are providing us with mountains of money and demonic power. While the sons are living luxurious lives, the mothers are surviving on garbage.

The worst sufferers of the food crisis are dogs. Leaving a few aside, the vast majority are a threat to their existence. I have been noticing a major shift in the perception of people towards dogs. I became distressed when I discovered people denying dogs even their wasted food. Then they adopted other methods for dealing with dogs: beating them to death or poisoning. Now people want dogs off the roads.

To me, dogs are beautiful and amiable animals. They are our centuries-old friends. We owe them gratitude for being friends with our forefathers and helping them in times of need. That we despise them is known to every dog. But where will they go? They just want to live nearby; they want our wasted food for subsistence, and they want a space somewhere in the vicinity to rest.

People say the one who created them will also feed them. God created all species but gave superiority to mankind. According to all sacred books, God obligates mankind to assist other living things in need. I don't think that people are fulfilling their obligations.

God should therefore intervene and make provisions for food for the hungry animals. He must have understood our mentality by now. Just to further test our faith, may He not leave the hapless animals to suffer more. If the sacred verses of the holy books are correct, every violator will face severe punishment after death. May God himself take care of the inferiors.?