A few weeks ago there was a virtual all day celebration of an Islamic religious celebration on a particular radio station.
This in itself is not new to the radio industry as the celebrations of most religious festivals are not uncommon. At least on the surface it will appear in that light. The festival in discussion is called ‘Eid-ul-Adha’, or the Festival of Sacrifice. This celebration is an important religious observance to the Islamic community. Eid-ul-Adha is the celebration of sacrifice, and it is important to Muslims for two reasons. First, during Eid-ul-Adha Muslims remember the spirit of Ibrahim and how he was willing to sacrifice his son — the person he loved the most. Second, Eid-ul-Adha ends the period of Hajj. Celebrating Eid-ul-Adha is similar to that of Eid-ul-Fitr. Many people celebrate by sacrificing animals normally goats or lambs but especially cows.
One radio Indian formatted radio station decided to virtually suspend its normal programming for the entire day to observe this festival. The ironic part was that the radio station supposedly inspired by a Hindu concept and owned by an organisation that promotes itself as a Hindu based group essentially celebrated the slaughter of cows and other animals. It is important that Hindus be reminded what this un-Hindu radio station and group are exploiting. Hindus must be reminded that Shakti is synonymous with the great Devi, or the Great Goddess of Hinduism. As such, she is omnipresent in Hindu society via her many forms. She is propitiated by all segments of Hindu society, especially by women. Shakti has always been a living force throughout the long history of Hinduism.
The importance of goddesses is evident throughout the various sects and schools of thought of Hinduism. In the Rig Veda, for example, at least 40 goddesses are mentioned. Shakti is also seen in the later Itihasas, or Epics of India. She is found in the Ramayana, where “…she is called Devi, and is respected by all”. The various manifestations of the goddess are ubiquitous throughout the Puranas. Indeed, the Devi Bhagavata Purana is entirely dedicated to her. Hindus must also be reminded that Hindus believe that cows were created on the same day as Brahma, the creator of the material world. Killing a cow is considered brahminicide, a major sin. In the Mahabharata (a great Hindu epic), the killing of a cow is the greatest of all crimes: ‘All that kill, eat and permit the slaughter of cows rot in hell for as many years as there are hairs on the body of the cows’ (J. R. Hinnells, E. J. Sharpe, Hinduism).
Hindus believe that the cow is able to act as a pathfinder in the world beyond the grave. It is highly auspicious for a Hindu to die clutching a cow’s tail so that it might lead them to heaven. Hindus maintain that they will attain a higher state in life by worshipping cows. So important and sacred the cow is that recently the Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayee stated he would rather “die” than eat beef. Prime Minister Vajpayee in the election campaign in Himachal Pradesh, which has so far been focussed on issues of corruption and development infused this Hindu concept.
Launching the campaign for the keenly-contested assembly polls, Vajpayee asserted that the BJP was interested in building the temple at Ayodhya and dared the Congress to take a stand on the temple issue. “Yes, we want to build a temple in Ayodhya. But what is the Congress stand? They should make it clear,” he quipped, while addressing his first election rally in the bastion of Haryana Vikas Congress supremo Sukh Ram. Vajpayee also challenged the Congress to come out openly with its viewpoint on a total ban on cow slaughter. “We say we are against cow slaughter and ask them what is their view. They don’t say what they want. They can’t even say they are against a ban on cow slaughter.”
Referring to allegations of beef eating levelled against him by Congress in Madhya Pradesh, he said in an emotional tone: “I would prefer death to eating beef.” [Mandi, Feb 20] While the Prime Minister of India prefers death to eating beef here in Trinidad a so-called Hindu organisation and radio station is celebrating cow slaughter. Hindus must also be reminded that there are other religious reasons for not eating beef or otherwise. The Dharmic Law Reason :- Ahimsaa, the law of noninjury, is the Hindu’s first duty in fulfilling religious obligations to God and God’s creation as defined by Vedic scripture.
The Karmic Consequences Reason :- All of our actions, including our choice of food, have Karmic consequences. By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death, even indirectly by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused. Food is the source of the body’s chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of the butchered creatures. For these reasons, vegetarians live in higher consciousness and meat-eaters abide in lower consciousness. Hindus must be reminded of these religious injunctions against cow slaughter, meat eating, and the concept of Shakti and indeed that of Hinduism. Hindus must be wary of those who have been exploiting Hindu iconography and the name Hindu as merely a means to tap into the material wealth of the Hindu and Indian community.
