The past couple days were especially dark days on our tiny planet. In southern Nepal a huge Hindu celebration took place, in which half a million animals were ritually slaughtered to appease the goddess Gadhimai.
People and organizations from all over the world tried in vain to stop the Gadhimai sacrifice, known as the largest animal sacrifice in the world. They begged and petitioned the Nepalese government to intervene. They suggested alternatives to the slaughter, like offering flowers, incense or even food. Anything but innocent lives. Not wanting to interfere with religious practices, the government allowed the sacrifice to proceed.
Though this enormous sacrifice occurs every 5 years, many are wondering why it never received such press before. It's doubtful that it will ever fall into anonymity again.
A Nepalese man named Jagdish Aarohi wrote this appeal in a Republica Op-ed piece :
Twenty years ago, I first visited Gadhimai Jatra, a festival that is held every five years in my native Bara district. I was interested in photography and wanted to take some good pictures of Nepal’s indigenous culture. I did not fulfill my mission. Instead, I became a tireless campaigner for the abolishment of animal sacrifice.Some of you might know that Jetsunma is now on Twitter. As we learned about the sacrifice, she began a string of Tweets inviting everyone to join us in prayers and commenting on the utter cruelty of such a festival. Her last few Tweets about it yesterday :
I was not born a campaigner. I was born in Kalaiya, headquarters of Bara, in a vegetarian, quiet, middle-class farming family. I mainly worked as a farmer but enjoyed doing a little bit of social work in my free time. I never thought I would be the one to carry placards and distribute leaflet to devotees at the world’s largest killing fields of sacrificial beasts.
The first thing I witnessed at Gadhimai was the killing of five different kinds of animals as in panchabali: Buffaloes, goats, pigs, roosters and rats. The animals’ throats are slit with a knife. It is not done quickly. The animals die a slow and extremely cruel, violent death while the priests sprinkle the blood across the image of the deity and its surroundings. Legend has it that the longer it takes for the animal to die, the happier the goddess will be.
The whole affair stunned and nauseated me. I never knew that such kind of cruelty existed. But the worst was yet to come. Right after the completion of panchabali sacrifice comes the buffaloes’ turn. Drunken slaughterers—they are made to drink as a sane person cannot do such a task—enter the fenced yard where around 20,000 buffaloes are kept. Wielding swords, axe and khukuris, the men start randomly hacking the buffaloes’ necks.
The sword-bearers cannot chop off the buffaloes´ heads at one go because of the thick size of its necks. To make their task easier, the hackers first cut the buffaloes’ hind legs after which the animal falls on the ground. They then start hacking the neck until the head is separated from the body. It takes 20 to 25 swing of the sword to annihilate a big buffalo. The suffering the animals go through is unimaginable.
After witnessing the Gadhimai carnage, I started having terrible nightmares. I would see blood wherever I turned to look.
After I regained my senses, I vowed to campaign against such killings at all cost. Come what may, I would not give up. True to my vow, I have been campaigning and voluntarily working to improve the conditions of animals for the past 15 years.
If the Gadhimai organizers have their way, one can encounter the horrendous scenes on November 24 and 25. This time, the organizers want to set a world record by killing half a million animals. The unfortunate animals will include 20,000 buffaloes, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks and pigeons as well as mice and rats. According to the rules of the Gadhimai festival, all creatures that are brought here must be killed within two days.
The last Gadhimai festival held in 2004 saw 20,000 buffaloes sacrificed. Interestingly, the Gadhimai committee keeps the record of the number of sacrificial buffaloes because the devotees have to pay to get their animals beheaded. This year, the committee expects this number to cross the 25,000 mark. The committee, however, does not keep records of other animals or birds because of the sheer overwhelming numbers.
No sane person can endure such barbaric killings. But that is not all. Three to four days after the massacre, people start fleeing the Gadhimai venue because of the nauseating smell that starts to emit. Cars, rickshaws and cyclist start taking alternative routes. It is the people living in nearby localities who suffer the most. While the temple area turns into a breeding ground for disease, many fall sick. It takes months for the smell to go away.
I think there is hardly any other country that can be compared with Nepal when it comes to gruesome killings and bloodshed of animals. The extreme cruelty has been going on unabated. There are many other smaller-scale festivals like Gadhimai where panchabali and mass sacrifice is practiced. These are not even reported in the media....
...Why is the civil society keeping mum about the issue? Where are the role models who stop animal sacrifice in their own family, clan or neighborhood? Should we let our leaders get away by letting them say: ‘Gadhimai is too sensitive an issue to address’?
Animals cannot speak for themselves. Until now, it has been the priests speaking for them: Bring more, kill more animals. Few seem to realize that the Gadhimai organizers plan to raise millions through tenders and beheading fees. Animal sacrifice is a big business. For how long will we remain mute and let this inhuman killings in the name of religion continue?
Now that all the thousands of animals have been murdered in Nepal, do the people feel better? Happier? Blessed? What ever happened to Karma?As Buddhists, we pray for all involved. Certainly the animals have suffered unimaginable pain and terror. We also consider the horrific karma created by the people involved--those who did the killing, those who encouraged or permitted it, those who used the killings to raise money, those who offered their animals, those who did not rise in opposition, those who enjoyed themselves, those who felt satisfaction. We consider the children who were permanently scarred by witnessing such atrocities.
What about the terrible suffering of 500,000 animals! Does their suffering make anyone a better person? Will the people and the land benefit?
How can purposefully causing suffering help anyone? Here in US we have horrific animal suffering too. Neglected, abused;such suffering!
A reasonable or compassionate person of ANY faith must be appalled! I think the skies WEEP for sorrow at the sight of horror inflicted!
Karma is exacting. To whatever degree they participated, they have created the karma to experience the same exact suffering as they inflicted. It may not be in this lifetime. And that is the biggest obstacle. For if any of us immediately experienced the karma we created, atrocities like this would never, ever take place. Ultimately this 2-day celebration will result in eons of suffering--- in the perpetuation of the karmic interplay between killer and victim. Just as war cannot bring about peace, neither can slaughter bring about blessings.
May all such karmic cycles end for all beings.
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