Cruelty-Free Service Life

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata—Worldwide, 11 October 2020, part 4

Question: Why are there animals in this world that suffer so much and die because of humans? Is it due to their karma that they must suffer in that animal form or is it due to the bad mentality and actions of people? What should be our attitude to the things happening in the world?

You can learn from this.

We have had a pig's body, a dog's body, a cat's body too, but after that we have got this human body. If we live like animals (if we only eat, sleep, dance and enjoy), then we will again get an animal body. You have got this human body to serve the Lord, but if you do not dedicate yourself to the service of the Lord, if you do not surrender to your Guru and the Lord, if you do not take advantage of the opportunity that you have got now in this human body, then you will again degrade according to your karma. As you sow, so you reap. You will get the result according to your actions (karma). So, if you do not utilise your human body for the service of the Lord, then you will again go down, you will again go back to another pig's body, cow's body, etc. You must learn something from this.

You can see how much street dogs suffer, how much cats, cows, buffaloes, etc. suffer. You can see how much pigs suffer—they eat stool! You can observe it and learn something from their example. You should utilise every element, every part and parcel of your body for the service of the Lord.

Srimad Bhagavatam says that you have got this human body having traversed 8,400,000 species of life. So, we have got this human body after 8,400,000 births, but our bad fortune and our problem is that we still cannot understand it. We have met a bona fide sadhu, he has taught us everything, he has told us everything, but we still cannot hear it. Sometimes, some people do not even get that kind of great fortune, great luck to meet a sadhu. Such is our bad fortune. And even if we do meet a good sadhu, we still avoid that sadhu, avoid his advice—we always do our own karma, we always enjoy. All this enjoyment is temporary. You can do it one day, two days, but sooner or later you will get tired of it. However, if you serve the Lord, that becomes your deposit (it does not pass or disappear). Just as you deposit money in a bank, your service is also like a deposit in your spiritual bank.

You are also asking what should be our attitude to the birds and beasts' suffering. We must give love and affection to everybody. "Krishna is present in every jiva soul—sarva-jive Krishna-adhisthan (সর্ব্ব-জীবে কৃষ্ণ-অধিষ্ঠান)." There is a soul existing in the body of every bird, beast or any other living entity, and therefore Krishna is also present there. If you take care of a dog, you must not treat it bad. We do not behave cruel towards any living entity. This is our Vaishnavism, or sanatan-dharma (Vaishnav religion); this is Mahaprabhu's conception. We do not eat any animals—we do not eat fish, meat, etc. We do not kill even ants.

Devotee: You have also protested against a slaughterhouse in Nabadwip and had to face so much difficulty because of that...

I am OK with it. This is the will of Krishna, and it is ultimately good. If I had spent more time in Nabadwip, I would not have been able to take it. When I stayed there, I always face so many court cases, so many problems and dangers, I was getting sick and crazy. Krishna has taken me out of there, and it is good for me. I do not have any problem with that. I always stay where devotees stay. A math, a mandir, a temple is only building. If you paint a house nicely, if you marble the floors, put nice tiles, etc., but people do not live there, how can you call this place a house? How can you call such a place a math? I was passing Sri Chiatanya Saraswat Math yesterday and I saw that there are big, big buildings there, but I did not see even a dog living there. Even birds and beasts do not live there any more. There are big, big buildings there, but these buildings have no life—like a dead body...

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