Baba
Namaskar,
Human
beings undergo the burning of their samskaras through the psychic
pleasure and pain that they feel. Essentially, we experience those
reactions in the mind, and those psychic feelings may or may not be
accompanied by some type of physical event as well.
How animals are like inmates
The
question then arises: Do animals also burn samskaras by the pain /
pleasure they feel in their mind? Here is that pointwise response.
#1:
Animals are not mentally developed; they are not even aware that they
exist. And they have no such quality to plan anything or reflect on
their condition or existence.
#2:
So no one can say that this or that animal is depressed or sad and is
therefore burning some type of samskara. Without the power or capacity
of self-reflection, i.e. the ability to consider the state of their own
life, they do not burn any samskaras psychically.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
#3:
Rather, the burning of their samskara is expressed by being born as an
animal. Nothing more is needed. It is just like someone who committed a
crime and was sent to jail. Being incarcerated is itself the reaction;
those inmates need not be whipped to ensure their jail time is proper or
sufficiently difficult. Just being held in that jail cell is enough.
And that same is the case for those who are reborn as animals.
Animals feel physical pain
#4:
Animals certainly undergo pain in their life, but that pain is purely
physical. For instance, if any animal is shivering in the cold, facing a
torrential storm, getting bit by a predator, or being physically abused
by a human, in all such circumstances those animals feel physical pain.
And, as far as possible, we should aim to relieve them of those
physical difficulties. So the work those animal rights groups are doing
is meaningful. But again, the pain those animals are facing is limited
to the physical sphere - not the mental realm.
#5:
One related point to note is that there are many animals who have never
been in human form. That’s to say, they were not humans in the past who
were reborn as animals in this life; rather, they have reached animal
form by rising up from lower beings. In that case, they have yet to
create any samskaras.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Instinctual
#6:
In the case of a mother cat and her kittens, when anyone tries to take
or attack one of her kittens, the mother has an instinctual urge to
protect that kitten. This is nature’s way of ensuring a species
survives. Yet when that kitten grows and if that now grown cat tries to
take that mama cat’s food, the mama cat will forcefully attack her grown
offspring. This demonstrates that the mother’s care for the kitten is
purely instinctual.
Conclusion
#7:
The overall conclusion is that being reborn as an animal is itself the
reaction of one’s past actions, if in fact that animal was a human in
their previous life. There is no need for that animal to undergo any
further torment or pain than the basic rigours of animal existence.
In Him,
Satyadeva
Rhino fable in AM
Along
these lines, there is a famous story that is often grossly
misunderstood. The basic telling of the story is that one rhino came up
to Baba with a tear in its eye as that rhino recognized Baba as his
childhood friend from its previous life, and that now that rhino was so
happy to again see Baba that it had a tear in its eye. This type of
account is wholly fallacious. Rhinos, and verily all animals, have no
such power of reflection or understanding. They are completely unaware
of their plight.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
The
only thing we can say is that Baba showered His grace, and the rhino
enjoyed being near Baba. The rhino had no knowledge or understanding
beyond that. It is just like how a mother expresses great love for her
baby so that baby always wants to be near its mother. The baby has no
greater understanding of who the mother is and what the mother’s life is
about. Just that baby wants its mother’s affection. That is all.
Likewise, that rhino had no idea about Baba’s stature etc, only the
rhino wanted to be in Baba’s proximity. That is all.
So
then how did this misunderstanding about the rhino story come to be?
Generally, humans have the tendency to project their own feelings onto
lesser beings. They project their feelings onto infants, dogs, cats, and
even rhinos. Those less developed beings are just behaving according to
their own instincts. They have no greater logic, reasoning, or plan
beyond their own instinctual impulses. Yet, humans project all kinds of
feelings and ideas unto those beings. And that is how this rhino fable
became so legendary.
Further reading
Ananda
Marga ideology states, "Due to the lack of manifestation of
consciousness and intellectual development animals cannot act
independently either to progress or regress. So it is through the
centripetal action of introvertive Prakrti (Pará-Prakrti) that they
develop gradually without any possibility of regression. But those
beasts in human form neglect their inherent higher endowments and are
thus lower than beasts, for those who abuse what they possess are even
lower than those who do not even possess it." (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Ideology & Way of Life - 5, Matter and Spirit
The below section is an entirely different topic, unrelated to the above material.
It stands on its own merit as a point of interest and ideological awareness.
* * *
Guru's teaching is always concise and pointed. What was needed to tell, He has beautifully presented in a clear manner.
Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, “After urination, wash the urinary organ with water.” (1)
Baba has given point #1 of Sixteen Points wherein we are to wash the urinary organ with water after urination. And by this way anyone can understand that included in this is the idea of washing the backside after passing stool also. Unfortunately, in most of the so-called advanced societies the general people are only using toilet paper or blotting paper as a means to "clean" themselves after defecation. But this is not proper.
Reference
1. Caryacarya - II, Sixteen Points, Point #1
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