WHO IS THE REAL ANIMAL?

(- a short story by Vinay Nair published in Tapovan Prasad Nov.2010 issue)

It was a cloudy morning. The rains had been pouring all night long. I woke up and saw my companions all next to me, except for… Uncle Sam!!! He was no where to be seen. I got up and looked all over for him. Since the rope tied to my neck was barely 2 ½ feet long, I could not go very far. The kasai, as they call him, who used to take us out for grazing, never ever thought how roughly he pulled the rope tied to my neck. (But that was the plight of the other goats too.) As a result, an injury, which later turned into an infection, was caused and looked as if I was wearing a red necklace. Still I pulled my neck to the maximum extent to look for Uncle Sam. The pain of his disappearance from my vicinity had taken over the pain caused by the infection on my neck.
At the back of my mind I knew where he must of have gone, but I kept on compelling myself to think that he must be somewhere else. Suddenly I heard a cry from inside the slaughter house, “Baaa! Baaaaaaaaaaa!!”. It was a long cry. It was none other than Uncle Sam. I cried and cried on top of my voice (even though I knew it was in vain), but cry I did; until there was a big silence.
Not that everything was quiet, but I knew what had happened. My ears went deaf. I felt, my heart stopped pumping. In a few minutes, I saw parts of his body thrown out of the slaughter house and within no time some dogs pounced on it as if they did not get anything to eat since ages. The remaining parts must have been taken away by the customers. I felt like weeping, but it was as if my tears got frozen and pricked me hard from inside. He was the last relative I had and the one who was my closest too. He was a real intelligent one. Even the humans would often comment that he was a very clever goat.
Of course, it was not the first time I saw some one getting slaughtered. I still remember the fine summer day when everything was so perfect. I was running around merrily in my owner’s compound; when a man with a long beard came to our home. My mother was very scared and so was I. She took me near to her. Her body was so cold, as if she was dead. The stranger came nearer to us and took my father away. We all cried the whole day. I did not know where they were taking him and seeing my mother’s grief, did not feel like asking her about it. Later in my life, when I got closer to Uncle Sam, he told me that they had taken my father to the slaughter house to kill him. “Kill him? But why??” I asked. I was so bewildered. “Why would anyone do so?”, I asked.
He explained to me that our flesh was a delicacy to humans. I still could not understand because I had seen humans eat many other things like fruits, vegetables, etc. “If they have those things to eat”, I asked, “Why on earth do they have to eat us?” Looking at my astonished face, Uncle Sam said, “Human race is far more superior than ours, or for that matter, to any animal race. They are very powerful and intellectual. They do not lead a mechanical life like we animals.” He went on and on trying to clear my doubts.
A lot of thoughts came to my mind that night. I had seen human children troubling animals. But we ignore them, for we knew that they are children and do not know what they are doing. At the same time, I have also seen my younger brothers and sisters killed mercilessly in front of me by the humans. Now, if what Uncle Sam says is true, i.e. humans are Intellectuals and a superior form of life, they why do not they have mercy on our children? We goats never harm the humans in any way. That night, I did not sleep.
However, as time passed by, I got used to this kind of living. Whenever I was sad, Uncle Sam used to help me come out of it and say – “This is life, my boy. The earlier you accept it, the better for you.” Even though hard to digest, I somehow tried to make myself understand that philosophy.
Whenever I saw the chicken shop opposite to our shop, I felt that we were in a better situation. The chickens were kept in cages, one on top of the other. Approximately, 8-10 cages were kept one upon the other. And all the excretion of the chicken dropped on the below ones. But none of them shouted or even grinned at each other (Perhaps it was nothing to the pain that they were undergoing just like us – the pain of awaiting one’s own death).
Every morning I wake up with my pals who are half dead; with some body parts of our companions lying next to us who were killed the previous day; the smell of blood that would never go; the sight of hanging head-less dead bodies, upside down and flies infesting in it, of our beautiful children and friends with whom we lived till the other day; with hearts filled with fear; waiting for our turn to be taken for the kill.
Perhaps what happened to Uncle Sam was good in a way. He was freed from this miserable life. In fact, all of us have died a thousand deaths in this slaughterhouse and the final death is freedom. My only prayer is that it should be quick and smooth, without pain. May I be killed at the very moment the knife touches my skin. And after I die, if I get to see God, I would want to ask him this one question, “Who is THE REAL ANIMAL?”

Sita Rescued...The Boy's Voice Got Restored!

Author: Sri S. Ramani Anna (in Tamil)
Source: Sakthi Vikatan issue dated Mar 18, 2007


An evening time many years ago. A large crowd in Kanchi Sri Sankara MaTham
to have darshan of Maha SwamigaL. Coming out of his room, SwamigaL stood
for a while looking keenly at the devotees crowd and then sat down leaning
against a wall. The devotees came in a line one at a time, prostrated to the
sage, spoke about their problems, received remedial advice and moved away. A
middle-aged man was standing in the queue holding tightly to a boy's hand.
Tears flooded his eyes and poured out in a stream. The boy stood motionless,
looking bewildered.

When he moved to stand before PeriyavaaL, he did a shASTaaN^ga
namaskaram (prostrated with eight limbs touching the ground). The boy also
prostrated.

Maha SwamigaL looked at him with narrowed eyes and inquired comfortingly,
"Endaappaa! Aren't you the Mylapore Auditor SankaraNarayanan? Why do you
stand with such soggy eyes? What is your problem?"

His grief swell with Periyavaa's words of comfort. He began to sob and said,
"Yes Periyavaa! An unbearable misery has fallen on me now. Don't know what
to do. You are my God, somehow only you should remedy it for me. There is
no other go!" He prostrated to the sage once again.

Understanding the situation, Periyavaa said with vAtsalyam (affection),
"Sankara, don't get worked up! You sit there for sometime. I shall call you
after these people have spoken to me and gone!" The sage pointed to a place
opposite him.

"As per your orders Periyaa... I shall do it." The Auditor sat opposite the
sage, at a distance. Within a half hour, the devotees had their darshan of
AcharyaaL and left. There were none there except SwamigaL's two assistants.
SwamigaL gestured to Auditor SankaraNarayanan to come to him. The Auditor
came and prostrated. Looking at him affectionately, AcharyaaL said,
"Sankara, is the practice going on (well)? You are the 'leading' auditor, so
what to speak about the practice? Alright, your father Panchapakesa Aiyer is
in Thajavaur (right)? He is well (I hope)?" Wiping away his tears, the Auditor said, "The practice is going on well, Periyavaa. My father and mother had gone to stay with my younger brother in Bombay. It's two months now. Only for me a duHkham (distress) has happened Periyavaa! I can't bear it... only you should get it rectified Periyavaa!" Saying this, he hugged the boy nearby and started sobbing.
That walking God understood instantly that something related to the boy had
affected the Auditor Sankaranarayan's mind very much.

SwamigaL told him, "Shouldn't cry Sankara... Whatever it is, puruSa (men)
shouldn't let their eyes get soggy! Alright, who is this puLLaiyAndAn (boy),
your putra (child)?"

"Yes, Periyavaa! This is my son. Name Chandramouli. It was only for him
Periyavaa, suddenly..." SankaraNarayanan was unable to speak further, grief
choking his throat.

With a worried face, AcharyaaL asked him, "Sankara! What happened to him
suddenly? Chandramouli is studying in school?" and said comfortingly, "Why
don't you tell me in detail, without getting upset?"

Wiping his eyes SankaraNarayanan said, "Periyavaa, the boy Chandramouli is
studying in his seventh standard in the P.S. High School, Mylapore. He is
eleven now. Very shrewd in his studies. Stands first in the class. Twenty days
ago, suddenly his speech was gone, Periyavaa! When asked, he gestures that
he cannot talk. He has not gone to the school from that day. Takes his meals
and tiffin as usual, sleeps well, those things are alright Periyavaa, but then he
is not able to talk, what can I do? Only you should show mercy and make him
talk!" Tears rolled down his eyes as he prayed to the sage.

SwamigaL kept silent for sometime. Then he asked the Auditor, "You have the
custom of going to temples with the boy? Chandramouli has bhakti (devotion)
towards God?"

"He has it in plenty, Periyavaa. He would start for the school daily only after
he takes bath and recites the Kanda Shasti Kavacham and the shlokas on
Anjaneya and Rama. There is a large portrait of KothandaRamar in our house
Periyavaa; a Thanjavur portrait from my grandfather's days. This boy would
daily prostrate to it morninig and evening and would touch the feet of Sita and
Rama several times and then dab his eyes (with the fingers that touched the
feet). He would often say, 'I like Sita and Rama very much.' Two or three
days in a week he would go with his mother to Kapaliswara, Mundaka Kanni
Amman and Luz Anjaneya temples and have darshan. For such a good child,
this has come about Periyavaa..." Unable to control his grief,
SankaraNarayanan started sobbing again.

AcharyaaL pacified him and asked, after contemplating for sometime: "You
have the custom of taking him to the upanyAsas that take place in Mylapore?"
"I do Periyavaa! Sometimes I would take him personally. Even the previous day
before his speech had stopped, I had taken him for a Ramayana upanyAsa at
Rasika Ranjana Sabha. He listened to it with shraddhA (eagerness and trust).
And this happened on the next day!"
AcharyaaL laughed and said, "You mean to tell me that this happened due to
his listening to Ramayana?"

The Auditor patted his cheeks loudly. "Rama, Rama! Not that way Periyavaa! I
just wanted to tell you that it was from the next day (that he couldn't talk)."
"Aright. Whoever did the upanyAsa?"

"Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma, Periyavaa."

"Besh, besh. Somadeva Sarma's son; a good lineage; well read. Let it go,
Sankara. Did you show him to a doctor?"
"I did, Periyavaa."
"Who was the doctor?"
"Doctor Sanjivi."
"What does he say?"
"He did all the tests and said, 'Two nerves in his larynx are affected. He may
be alright with an operation.'"
"Did he not say that the boy would surely be alright (after the operation)?"
"He did not give that assurance, Periyavaa. Somehow, only you should make
him to regain his speech. Only you should save us!"
AcharyaaL talked after keeping silent for sometime. "You do one thing,
Sankara. You take the boy and visit all the temples in this city, have darshan
and pray. Take food in the MaTham and stay here for the night. You meet me
at ten in the morning, finishing your bath and any anuSTAnam (religious
routine) that you might have."
AcharyaaL's words were very comforting. Prostrating to Periyavaa, both of
them went away for temple darshans.
It was ten o' clock on the next morning. The walking God had come earlier and
was sitting. There was not much crowd, only five or six people were waiting.
Everyone of them had darshan and left. Prostrating to AcharyaaL,
SankaraNarayanan stood before him with hands folded on his chest. SwamigaL
looked at him penetratingly for a while and said: "Sankara, do one thing. Take
the boy to Mylapore Sri Kapaliswara temple, do a pUrNAbhiSekam (an
elaborate ablution) to Swami and AmbaaL and make the boy have darshan of
them. Thereafter what you do, keep looking for the news of the same
Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma holding a complete discourse on Srimad Ramayana.
If he holds the discourse in a temple or in a sabha (auditorium), do one thing,
from the Sundara Kaandam until Sri SitaRama PattaabhiSeka vaibhava (glory),
take Chandramouli and make him do shravaNa (listening)! What you do on the
day of completion with Sri SitaRama PattaabhiSeka, buy some good hill-grown
banana fruits, hand them over to paurANika (discourser), and both of you do
shASTaaN^ga namaskaram to him. You pray within your mind to that
PattaabhiSeka Sri SitaRama and the paurANika. That Pattabiraman will save
you... do not at all worry... good bye!" The Parabrahmam bade them farewell
with this advice.

The Auditor started checking daily for any news about Srivatsa Jayarama
Sarma's Ramayana pravacana (discourse) in Chennai. One day, he saw the
happy news that Sri Srivatsa Jayarama Sarma's Srimad Ramayana upanyAsa
will take place as navAham (for nine days) at Mylai Sri Shirdi Sai Baba
temple.

That was the day of starting the Sundara Kandam. SankaraNarayanan went to
Sri Sai Baba temple with Chandramouli. It was a moving upanyAsa and
Chandramouli listened to it forgetting all about himself. Sometimes tears
started issuing from his eyes. At those times, SankaraNarayanan caressed his
back and comforted him.

It was the day of completion of Srimad Ramayana upanyAsa. A 'good' crowd
in Mylai Sai Baba temple. At 10:30 hours in the night, Srivatsa Jayarama
Sarma finished the Sri SitaRama PattaabhiSeka narration and ended his
discourse telling the audience about the fruits of listening to a Ramayana
discourse. One by one, the people from the audience prostrated to him and
moved away. After both of them prostrated to him, SankaraNarayanan gave
the bunch of a dozen hill-grown banana fruits to Chandramouli, asking him to
submit them to the discourser and prostrate to him again. He did as his
father told him. The discourser took the banana bunch happily and gestured
them as arpaNa (offering) to the holy portraits of Sri Rama PattaabhiSekam
and Sri Shirdi Sai Baba behind him. Then he plucked two fruits from the
bunch, gave them to Chandramouli and said, "Kozhandhe! (my child!) You will
remain in prosperity. You eat both these fruits," and blessed him. As they
came out of the temple, Chandramouli ate the two bananas.
A miracle took place on the next morning. After he brushed his teeth in the
bath room and came to the hall, Chandramouli gave voice loudly to his mother,
"Amma, is the coffee ready?" Astonished, his father who was reading the
newspaper and his mother who was in the kitchen came running to the hall.
Chandramouli was standing there smiling.

"Was it you who gave the voice inquiring about the coffee, Chandramouli!" His
mother hugged and kissed him, happiness overwhelming her. SankaraNarayanan took the boy on his shoulders and danced! Chandramouli started talking fluently as before. All the familiar people came over and were happy witnessing this change. It was 5:30 hours in the evening on the same day. Maha SwamigaL was sitting in ekAnta (alone). There was not much crowd. Auditor SankaraNarayanan came in a van with ten to fifteen people.

The Auditor prostrated to the sage with Chandramouli and got up.
AcharyaaL's first question was, "Chandramouli, you are able to talk now
fluently? Besh, besh! It is all the grace of that SitaRama!"
Chandramouli immediately chanted loudly, "Hara hara Sankara... Jaya jaya
Sankara." Everyone stood in ecstasy.

That Parabrahmam talked after sometime. "Sankara, I shall tell you now,
listen! There was no other reason for this sudden happening to Chandramouli.
By nature he had abundant priya and bhakti (love and devotion) towards Sita
Devi and Sri Rama. He could not withstand if they came to any distress.

When he first listened to the upanyAsa, Jayarama Sarma should have been
narrating about the part where Ravana abducted Sita Praatti. Am I right,
Sankara?"

The Auditor who stood amazed opened his mouth to affirm. "The same thing
Periyavaa, the same thing! On that day, he talked very movingly only about
that part."

SwamigaL continued: "The moment he heard that a rAkSasa (demon) was
abducting Sita Mata, towards whom he had abundant love and devotion, he
suffered from a condition of mental pressure inwardly that resulted in
helplessness and stoppage of the faculty of speech. It was nothing else. What
was the only remedy, way out for this? It occurred to me that if heard with
his own ears from the same paurANika's words that Mother Sita had been
rescued without any distress to her, that would ease the pressure in his mind
and speech. It was for that reason that I asked you to do what I advised
you. Now everything has concluded well with the grace of SitaRama.
Chandramouli, you will remain parama kSema (in complete prosperity)!"
Everyone who heard the words of that walking God, stood transfixed!