We are a family

By: Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji

When their dog Yamuna gobbled a bowl of dumplings in the kitchen and looked up at Bayaja Ma and her son Tatya Patil with an innocent expression, she was not behaving simply like a biological eating machine. She was acting like a shrewd and endearing little Sai devotee she was, writes Kaka Saheb Dixit in his Memoirs at Shirdi in a separate Chapter titled ‘The Inner Life of Animals,’ illustrating Sai Maharaj’s clarion call that animals can display what were once thought to be exclusively human emotions. If they can experience emotions like us, should they not be treated the same way? Like ourselves? Sai Maharaj’s concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ proposes exactly that – treat all living beings, not just humans, as your family.’

“Everyone has a song to sing in the symphony of life. As human beings, it is part of our responsibility to help all people and all creatures to sing their song,” says Das Ganu Maharaj in his kirtans on Sai Maharaj.

Booty Saheb constructed shelters exclusively meant for pet dogs at Shirdi and what it feels like to stay in them. Even now, we can see devotees offering bread and milk to dogs near Samadhi Mandir and Dwarkamai Masjid at Shirdi. Some devotees offer all creature comforts and belly rubs, warm baths and cool face masks, deodorized ambiance, and a storytelling session for canine cutie pie before lights out.

When out and about in the wild, left to their own devices, animals go after comfort. Officials of Shirdi Sansthan tell us that to beat winter cold and stay safe, squirrels in the Baugh build dreys out of twigs and line the interiors with soft moss, which helps conserve heat and provides a comfortable place to sleep. Squirrels, too, don’t like twigs poking into their backs any more than we would.

Sai Maharaj has pointed out that high levels of intelligence exist in animal and bird kingdoms. Shrimad Bhagavatam talks about Dattatreya, who had attained enlightenment by learning from 24 Gurus, several of them non-humans – pigeons, a python, a honeybee, an elephant, a deer, a fish, squirrel, a hawk, a snake, a spider, and a wasp. “So, besides helping all creatures and humans reach their potential, we need to be humble enough to see what we can learn from them because Sai Maharaj’s wisdom is present throughout Creation,” says Das Ganu Maharaj.

Egotism means separating oneself from others and being self-centered. Speciesism is an expression of ego. It is redundant in the realm of adhyatama, spirituality, which calls upon us to see unity in all things.
Spiritual evolution is a matter of consciousness of awareness. It is different from intelligence. Evolution is about including a greater spectrum of life in our own identity. At the lower stages of human evolution, there is no awareness of the existence of other people. It’s all about ‘me’. But as we evolve, we begin to include recognition of others, concern for them, their well-being, service, and so forth. So, the law of physics, that the universe is constantly expanding is a symbol of human consciousness that is always growing. But the expansion is in self-identity. Do I identify with my physical body? With my work? With the needs of others? Needs of the planet’s environment? This is part and parcel of evolution.

So, for our spiritual progress, it is fundamental to be kind to animals and keep company with them. Caring for pets could be just one way of showing that we care for them and ourselves.