Question: We were thinking that only human beings have thinking ability, and thus only they can do "sadhana" (spiritual practices), but other animals could not. Is this concept false? How can animals do "sadhana"?
Answer: This is not true. All animals can also do "sadhana" (spiritual practices). If animals cannot do "sadhana", they cannot get better lives, which lead to the human life. If they cannot get a human life, then they cannot get moksha (liberation) at all at any time. This is not true, thus it is proven that animals also do "sadhana" and get better lives.
They do "sadhana" by their mental activities. We can see a lot of differences in the behaviors of various animals. In the same category of, say cat, dog or cow, we can see a lot of difference between two animals. For example some are soft, some are sensitive, some are more active, etc. This is due to their mental "sadhana". Also in children, who are not having developed thinking power, we can see many differences. We have seen a child, in Bombay, around 2 years old. While sleeping, he tightly hugs a Krishna idol. He does not drink milk without offering to Krishna. He always wants to listen to Krishna's stories. He always wants to see the puja of Krishna. This is all due to previous "samskara" (purification). Like this, animals also will have their own previous samskara and "sadhana"
All you need for animals to behave differently is a "mind" of their own. Spiritual practices are not necessary for such a behaviour.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I personally think that the concept of animals upgrading to a better life(human) which in turn upgrades to moksha is a stupid concept.