Embracing Universal Collective Prayer-By Walking the Shoes of the Other!

You all know how much I cried a few days back about the animal sacrifices...but I'm always looking for the positive to highlight when I see it although I believe I need to speak out against injustices when I see them too...especially for the wordless like 'my fellow little ones' as defined in this post.

I know the cynical way of looking at this might be to say the Muslims in India are just afraid of Hindu fundamentalist rage but I think even if that is the case their actions here are in the end good and should be highlighted. Perhaps next year it will be repeated not out of fear but out of the true desire to be in Universal Collective Prayer with the Hindus. And really I don't know if some persons are truly doing this out of their heart too not out of fear but out of genuine compassion and the love of peace and universal understanding. I mean I am in no position to judge of course! And perhaps the next year it won't just be the cows who are spared but all the animals...all 'the little ones'. For as you will also know from my last post one of my fav quotes from the Gita sees cows on equal footing as 'other little ones' too.

I repeat it here:

'The Humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge,see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahman, a cow, an elephant, a dog, a dog-eater (an outcaste)'-The Gita Chapter 5 verse 18.

However I am thankful for at least the cows spared and appreciative of the overall camaraderie shown by the Muslims in India towards the Hindus there this Eid-Ul-Adah in wake of the recent Mumbai Terror Attacks.

Check out what I'm talking about here in this Washington Post article by Emily Wax-In India, Muslims Mark a Somber Eid Celebrations Subdued After Mumbai Siege Special correspondent Pragya Krishna in New Delhi also contributed to this report.

I have quoted below some points in the article that to me show the goodness and reflects the values of Universal Collective Prayer the most:

'Muslim groups in Mumbai, meanwhile, have brought tea and cookies to many of the victims still recuperating at the city's hospitals.'

'Muslims around the world usually celebrate Eid by slaughtering sheep, goats and cows to commemorate the prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God's command. This year, Muslim leaders asked that no cows be killed out of respect for the Hindu belief that cattle are sacred. Muslim leaders have also refused to allow the bodies of the nine fighters killed in the attacks to be buried in Islamic cemeteries. In sermons and in street demonstrations, Muslims have said they, too, want tougher laws and a stepped-up fight against terrorist attacks.'

'Near an Islamic prayer cap store and in front of a popular mosque in Mumbai, friends gathered in a narrow alleyway after prayers to console Mohammed Rafique, 45, who had been at the landmark Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel, the scene of much of the carnage. "We all have felt the horror," said Rafique, a driver, who was inside the hotel to help organize a wedding party. "I just hope my Hindu brethren don't blame us. We have suffered greatly, too." '

Always glad to see Universal Collective Prayer being embraced even if in a subtle way! And there you have it others very different to me in some ways are also walking in my shoes if even for a little bit!