This Dashain, sacrifice your inner demons, not animals

Stop temples turning into slaughterhouses.

Dashain, the great harvest festival of Nepal observed by Hindus after the end of monsoon, is all
about family reunions, exchange of gifts, blessings, and feasts. Thus, is enjoyed by everyone
regardless of their age.

These are the joyous aspects of the festival while the dark side is the gruesome ritual sacrifice of
animals in the name of worshiping and pleasing Goddess Durga.

There is credence in the society that animal sacrifice pleases gods and they will fulfill all the
desires of a person. It seems a traditionally mandatory of animal sacrifice during Dashain in most
of the Hindu communities in Nepal.

In Nepal, thousands of innocent animals are sacrificed at temples every day to please god and
goddess to seek guidance, blessing, forgiveness, fertility, victory, or protection. And this trend
escalates during the Dashain festival every year with a public beheading of animals and birds.

We have always missed out the underlying message of sacrifice. Sacrifice means sacrificing
inner enemies — kama (lust or desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), mada (pride), moha
(fascination or attachment) and matsarya (jealousy).

But, we opted to sacrifice innocent animals in the name of gods. We need to sacrifice our inner
demons not animals to stop temples being turned into slaughterhouses. It’s high time that
everyone pondered.

Happy Dashain!

It is conceived that animal sacrifice is practiced in Nepali society since eternal ages in the name
of age-old tradition. Voices are frequently raised to stop violent, cruel and inhumane acts. But,
they have continued unabated in the name of tradition.

Changing people’s mindset is a long enduring process and it can’t be changed overnight.
Continues awareness not support such a cruel act is the key.
This malpractice and abuse have raised several questions over our culture and religion. On one
hand, we Hindus believe that animals and plants are not sheer objects but are the offspring of
God. But, on the other, we ruthlessly kill innocent animals by slitting their throats to ‘please’
gods.

Are gods and goddess thirsty of blood — the blood offered by killing their offspring? Can a
mother be happy witnessing a ruthless killing of her children? And, by performing such barbaric
and sinful cruelty, can we expect to be blessed with a good fortune or happiness? The gruesome
killings in the name of fulfilling personal interests can never be justified.

The question remains why such malpractice remains evident in society in the age of science and
technology. There are mainly two reasons for the inhumane and barbaric malpractice still deep-
rooted in our society. A superstition that ingrained in our minds that killing animals will please
gods and they will fulfill our desires is the main reason for the misdeed.

Nepali governments themselves have been encouraging the cruelty in the pretext of the age-old
traditions. Governments have been doling out money to sacrifice animals during different rituals
and jatras.

Consider this for instance: When the state-owned Nepal Airlines sacrificed two goats to appease
Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757
aircraft, the news made in headlines in media throughout the world.
Unfortunately, the government is sponsoring such malpractice and superstition rather than
working to abolishing them.

The government should be implementing animal protection laws within the country to outlaw the
sacrifice of animals for religious purposes ahead of the festival as they are violent, cruel and
inhumane.

Apart from regular sacrifice at goddess temples and during Dashain,

extreme cruelty is performed during the infamous Gadhimai festival that
is held every five years. Millions of animals are hijacked in the ground
with few peoples carrying blunt blades and chase them to slit and
beheaded with several attempts leading slow and hard death.
Nepal celebrates Hindu festival with animal sacrifices, goddess
worship
efe-epaKathmandu18 Oct 2018

Nepali citizens were on Thursday worshiping a Hindu goddess and sacrificing

thousands of animals as the Asian country's most anticipated annual festival celebrating
the victory of good over evil reached its peak.

During Dashain, Nepalese Hindu devotees worship the goddess Durga, a mother figure
of power and prosperity, offering up goats, buffaloes and chicken to the deity.

Cattle markets in Nepal have been packed all week long with people buying goats,
carrying them away on foot, motorbikes and even on buses, in the lead-up to "Maha
Navami," the ninth day of the festivities on which most of the sacrifices take place.

It is believed that the blood of the slaughtered animals appeases the bloodthirsty
goddess Kali.

Over 80 percent of the population is practicing Hindu, according to census data from
2011, and while most of its followers stick to a vegetarian diet it does not prevent them
from feasting on the meat of the sacrificed livestock.

According to the president of the Nepal Livestock Traders Association, Deepak Thapa,
demand for goats grows exponentially in the days leading up to the festival, and this
year some 70,000 animals were expected to change hands in Kathmandu and the
surrounding area.

About 80 percent of the goats sacrificed during the festivities are imported from cities in
northern India, while between 15,000-20,000 are brought in from China via Tibet,
according to Thapa.

Besides the sacrifices, people also hit shopping malls to buy new clothes, drink alcohol
and bet on card games over the course of the 15-day festivities.
In the Nine days of Navaratri, nine forms of the Goddess Durga are worshiped together with the help of Kanya
Puja and they are requested to keep their family members happy and come next year soon. 
Kanya Puja starts with Saptami. Girls from 2 years to 11 years of age are worshiped. Mother Durga is believed
to be pleased with the festivity and feasts of the girls and it is believed to bless their devotees with happiness
and prosperity.
 Importance of Kanya Pujan: 9 girls of 2 to 11 years old are worshiped in Kanya Pooja. In fact, two-year-old
girls are said Kanya, three-year are said Trinity, four years old are said Kalyani, five-year-old are said Rohini,
six-year-old are said girl, seven years old are called Chandika, eight-year-old called Shambhi, nine-year-old
called Durga, and daughter of ten years are called Subhadra. 
Girls are worshiped to get the fruits of all the auspicious works. By doing Kanya Pujan, one receives honor,
money, education, and prosperity. It also removes an obstruction, fear of enemies from life. According to Devi
Purana, when Indra asked Brahma Ji the method of pleasing Bhagwati, then he described Kanya Pooja as the
best method. 
Nine little daughters and a boy are duly convened in the house and after washing their feet, worshiping is done
by putting roli and kumkum on their head and feet. 
After this, they are given garments, ornaments, fruit, dish and food. Girls from 2 years to 11 years are
considered to be the mother's form.
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के देवी र देवताहरू रगतका लागि तिर्खाएका छन् ?? जनु रगत देवी र देवताहरूकै सन्तानलाइ मारेर चढाएको हुन्छ ?? के एउटी आमा आफ्ना बच्चाहरूको
निर्मम हत्याको साक्षी देखेर खश ु ी हुन सक्छिन ? र त्यस्ता पापी र कु्ररूरताहरू प्रदर्शन गरेर के हामी भाग्य वा खश
ु ीको साथ आशिष पाउने आशा गर्न सक्छौं ??
व्यक्तिगत चासो परू ा गर्ने नाममा भयावह हत्यालाई कहिले पनि उचित ठहराउन सकिदैन ।

सबैको प्रश्न रहेको छ कि, विज्ञान र टेक्नोलोजीको यगु मा समाजमा त्यस्ता खराबी किन प्रस्ट देखिन्छन् । हाम्रो समाजमा अझै पनि अमानवीय र कट्टर दर्व्य
ु वहारको
गहन जराका लागि दईु मख्ु य कारणहरू छन् । एउटा अन्धविश्वास हो कि हाम्रो दिमागमा यो बझि ु एको छ कि जनावरहरू मार्नुले देवताहरूलाई प्रसन्न पार्छ र तिनीहरूले
ु ग्यवस, सरकारले त्यस्ता खराबी र अन्धविश्वास हटाउने काम गर्नुको सट्टा प्रायोजन गरिरहेछ ।
हाम्रो चाहनाहरू परू ा गर्नेछन् यो कुकर्मको मख्ु य कारण हो । अर्को दर्भा