How does animal violence and human killing occur?

A living being, which emerges from nigod (the lowest form of life which is not yet in worldly nomenclature) and enters the state of a one-sensed organism and after undergoing development over millions and billions of lifetimes, finally manifests as a five-sensed being which includes four-footed animals and human beings. To harm such beings carries a much greater karmic fault. Let us understand this with an everyday example. Suppose a structure made of just five bricks and cement is broken, how much damage is there? Not much. But if a five-story building has been constructed, complete with interior work, and it is demolished, how great is the loss? Many times more! In the same way, just as destroying a five-storey building is a far greater offense than breaking five bricks, harming a five-sensed being carries a far greater karmic fault than harming a one-sensed being. Such is the graveness of animal violence as well as human killing.

In a one-sensed being, only a small portion of the avaran (veils of ignorance over the Self) has broken. In a five-sensed being, that veil has broken much more, and additionally, the mind has developed. In human beings, development goes even further to the mind, intellect, chit (inner faculty of knowledge and vision), and ego have all evolved. Therefore, killing a being at the early stage of development carries less danger, whereas killing a being that is more highly developed brings far greater karmic risk.

If we understand the fault of animal violence and human violence in relative terms, the harm caused in eating foods like lentils, rice, vegetables, bread, or salad is minimal. Compared to that, killing and eating a chicken causes a thousand times more harm, and engaging in quarrels or conflict with a human being causes harm many times greater than even that.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says that in practicing non-violence, we must first protect higher beings. He explains, “You should first take care of human beings. Yes, learn to stay within the boundary of not hurting human beings through the mind, speech, and body even in the slightest extent. Then come the five-sensed living beings; the cows, buffaloes, chickens, goats, all those animals. You do not have to worry about these as much as you should about humans, nevertheless, you should take care of them. You should take care of them in a way that they do not feel hurt. So you should take care up to this extent, take care of the five-sensed living beings other than human beings, but that is in the secondary stage. And what comes in the third stage? You should take care of two or more sensed living beings.”

Homicide (Killing)

Killing any living being is a very grave offense. It creates intense vengeance and leads one to lower life-forms to suffer punishment. Among all forms of killing, human killing is the greatest crime in the world.

When we cause suffering to any living being, that being forms vengeance toward us. The result of such vengeance can be terrifying; the same being may return in another life to inflict suffering upon us, or even to kill us. There can be many reasons for vengeance to arise. Vengeance primarily arises due to wealth, sensual indulgence, and ego. For example, during debt collection, if the borrower refuses to repay and even says, “Do whatever you want! What can you do anyways if I don’t give you the money?”, then the person collecting the debt becomes enraged and says, “If you don’t repay, I’ll kill you!” In this way, vengeance is created because of wealth. In a future life, such vengeance can become the very circumstance through which one ends up killing the other. Similarly, when someone has an improper, immoral relationship with another person’s husband or wife, the affected spouse may form the inner intent, “I will kill them!” This sows the seed of killing the other person.

If one person has previously held the intent, “People who commit such crimes should be killed,” and another person actually commits such a crime, then the karmic accounts of both align and this alignment becomes the very cause of the killing. If we hold the intent to kill someone, then that person may, in turn, form the intent to kill us — in this way too, we become bound in karmic accounts with each other. In truth, the reasons behind a killing are far more numerous than what we can outwardly see or understand. Even so, human killing is the result of extremely grave karma.

In reality, the Soul is immortal; it can neither be pierced nor destroyed. The body is merely a puppet; it cannot truly kill anyone. But behind the actions of the body stands the ego. It is the ego that commits the killing and it is the ego that is ultimately killed. When we experience suffering, the ego begins to desire retaliation, “I will straighten him out,” “I’ll finish him,” “I won’t spare you.” Such intense feelings of hatred arise from the ego. Through this hatred, both the one who will later commit the killing and the one who will become the victim are drawn together in a karmic account. As the atoms of hatred accumulate, extremely grave karma is bound. When that karma comes into effect, it will torment with the same intensity; it will not let go until its full result is delivered.

Abortion (Foeticide)

To have an abortion performed is equivalent to human killing. It results in an extremely grave karmic offense.

Medical science has advanced, and through ultrasound, one can see the condition of the baby in the womb. Often, when parents see that the child has some physical disability, or simply because it is a daughter, they kill the baby while it is still in the womb, which is called abortion. Many young men and women engage in physical relations before marriage, and if a mistake occurs, the girl becomes pregnant. Then, because they are not of marriageable age, or out of fear of social disgrace, they have the pregnancy terminated. Their pleasure becomes another living being’s suffering and this carries a very grave karmic fault.

In such cases, the greatest karmic fault falls upon the mother who chooses to have the abortion. Next, the father who gives approval or consent to the abortion incurs liability. After that, the doctor who performs the abortion also becomes responsible. Often, even if the doctor does not directly perform the abortion, they may prescribe medication that induces abortion, and this too carries the same karmic fault. Therefore, whether one is a mother, a father, or a doctor, if one performs, arranges, or supports the act of abortion, all three incur inevitable karmic danger.

When the baby reaches five months in the womb, it begins to move. Because of this, many people believe that life enters the baby in the fifth month, and therefore, it is acceptable to kill the baby before that. But this belief is completely wrong. The living being is present from the very moment the pregnancy begins, life exists in the child from conception itself. The principle is that growth occurs only when the Soul is present; without the Soul, growth cannot take place. For example, wood cut from a tree does not grow, but in the womb, the living being grows continuously from the moment of conception. After fourteen to eighteen weeks of pregnancy, when the foetus is seen through sonography, all its organs appear in early stages of development, and even the heartbeat can be heard.

We give birth to a child and lovingly raise it. We bathe it, feed it, give it water, educate it, get it married, and fulfil all its needs. Now that very same child, in its smaller form is the foetus, it is not something separate. How can one kill it? If one has already given birth to a child, how can one kill that child’s own brother or sister while it is still in the womb? A living being that has the potential to become God, to attain Self-realization and reach liberation, how terrible must be the karmic fault of such human killing?

In abortion, the sin is equal to killing a living human being. As a result, that Soul will not remain without taking vengeance. This demerit karma can lead to a birth in the realm of hell, where one may have to endure severe torment for at least ten thousand years. Thus, for a momentary pleasure, committing violence against the living being in the womb is an extremely grave act, and it carries a terrifying karmic consequence.

Violence toward Animals

Animal violence is violence against five-sensed beings, and therefore, its karmic fault is very great. The intention behind the violence also determines the extent of the karmic liability. Some people, without any real reason, hunt animals such as deer merely for pleasure, and then even feel proud, saying, “Look at the big hunt I accomplished!” To harm mute animals for one’s own pleasure or to show off carries a very heavy karmic fault, and its result is a descent into the realms of hell. Some people hunt out of compulsion; when there is nothing to eat at home and the wife and children are suffering from hunger, they may hunt a deer or rabbit to feed their family. But internally they feel deep regret and sorrow, thinking, “What I have done is wrong.” Even if violence toward animals occurs due to circumstances and one sincerely repents within, the karmic punishment is still the birth of a lower life-form (animal life). The act of hunting is the same in both cases, and both receive punishment. However, because one person hunts for pleasure while the other hunts out of helplessness, the results they face differ accordingly. There are also noble individuals who, even when everyone at home is suffering from hunger, firmly decide, “I will not satisfy my hunger by killing any living being.” Such a person becomes worthy of remaining in human life-form.

Whether animals are killed for meat, whether one stones a rat, cat, or dog out of hatred, or whether one kills an animal or bird in a fit of anger or slaughters mute creatures as a part of religious rituals, in all such cases, animal violence binds demerit karma, and its results must inevitably be suffered.

Moreover in India, cows are regarded as sacred and are revered as mothers. Therefore, one should act in every way possible to prevent harm to cows. Even Lord Shri Krishna, in His time, made efforts to stop violence against cows. During that era, the irreligious practice of killing cows and eating their meat had begun. To prevent this, He established the tradition of go-vardhan, meaning the protection and nurturing of cows. Lord Shri Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountain on His little finger is a symbolic representation of this noble mission. Through goraksha (protection of cows), He stopped violence against cows, and through govardhan (nurturing of cows), He initiated efforts to increase their population. Under the leadership of Shri Krishna, cowsheds were established in many places for the purpose of govardhan, where thousands of cows were cared for and nourished. As govardhan and goraksha spread, the production of milk and ghee increased in many regions, providing livelihood to countless families. Even today, one must strive to ensure that cows are not harmed and that they receive proper protection.