Just then Yamaraja, death personified, appeared on the scene for a meeting with Shiva. As he passed beneath the archway, his eyes also went to the bird, and he raised his brow in a quizzical expression—if only for a moment—and then he continued on his way.  Now, to those familiar with Yamaraja, even a slight glance by him is said to be the harbinger of death. Garuda, who’d observed Yama’s glance toward the bird, said to himself, “Yama’s looking intently at this bird can mean only one thing: the bird’s time is up. Most likely, on his way back, Yama will carry away the living entity who’s presently using the bird’s body, and provide him his next body.”

Garuda, also being in a bird-like body, was filled with pity for the helpless creature related to him in form. That the bird was oblivious of its own impending doom further agonized Garuda, and he resolved to save the bird from the clutches of death. And so he swooped it up in his mighty talons, rushed to a forest thousands of miles away, and left the bird on a rock beside a brook. Then, just as quickly, Garuda returned to Shiva’s retreat and regained his position at the entrance gate to wait for Visnu.

Shortly, Yama emerged from inside and nodded to Garuda in recognition. Garuda greeted death personified and said, “May I put a question to you? On your way in you saw a small bird, and for a moment you became pensive. Why?”  Yama answered him, “Well, when my eyes fell on the little bird, I saw that the jiva with the birdlike body was to leave his body [die] in just a few minutes. But I was puzzled, as that particular bird was to die by being swallowed by a great python some thousands of miles away from here in a forest, near a brook. And I wondered how this tiny bird would traverse the thousands of miles separating it from its destiny in such a short time. But then I ceased to think about it—but surely it must have already happened somehow.” After saying this, Yama smiled and went on his way.

From Bhagavad-gita As It Is (below)
(Translation and purports by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that for the non-existent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This is concluded by studying the nature of both.” —BG 2.16

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” —BG 2.20

“One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.” —BG 2.27

Americans love their pets. We feed them better than most humans in third world countries are fed. We dote on them with toys at Christmas, and we award them the honorary status of “children.” But do we acknowledge that all creatures are, like us, spirit souls? Do we honor them as living entities working their way slowly toward perfection, or do we just cater to their bodies — treating them like they are toys for our amusement?

The spiritual literatures studied by bhakti yogis teach that every living entity is, at its fundamental core, a spirit soul (called the atma). Every living being is a soul — individual and equal — wearing an individual body. In other words, the soul that is presently in your puppy, Fredo, is an individual living entity spending that lifetime inside the body of a dog. But look deep into Fredo’s eyes and you might sense the atma looking back at you.

Try this. Think of bodies as light bulbs. Some are 15-watt, some 30-watt, some 1,000-watt. The electric current that runs through the walls, into the lamp and to the bulb is the same. What is different is each bulb’s capacity to utilize the current. A 15-watt bulb can only funnel so much current into usable light. A 1,000-watt bulb can channel much more.

So, in the same way, different bodies are capable of expressing different amounts of consciousness. A dung beetle is concerned only with rolling or burrowing deeper into the cow patty. A dog can express happiness, anger and love. A human birth allows the greatest expression of consciousness. But even within the human birth, there are gradations of consciousness.

On the one hand, we treat our pets like they are little humans. But if asked “Is an animal a spirit soul?” most Westerners raised in a Judeo-Christian paradigm will say “No, only humans have souls.” Yet the symptom of the soul is consciousness. Even slight consciousness attests to the presence of the soul (atma) in the body. If Fredo stops breathing, you may say your dog “died.” I use quotes because in the Bhagavad-gita we learn,

“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.” —BG 2.17

THE BODY IS A VEHICLE FOR THE SOUL

You might say, “Fredo’s gone!” Nevertheless, the body looks the same, as if Fredo were sleeping. But what exactly is gone? The answer: the atma (soul). And as a result, there is no more consciousness illuminating the body (like the electricity in the bulb). The atma has left Fredo’s body and is on its way to a new body.

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from childhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” —BG 2.13

“Bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality.”—Purport to BG 2.18, by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

The next time you are on the Internet, visit YouTube and pull up the video entitled “Tara & Bella – the Odd Couple.” When you watch this video about Tara and Bella, remember that at one time in this country (not so very long ago), women and African Americans were considered property with no rights and were often treated inhumanely. Today, animals and other conscious beings, because they are not humans, suffer horrific cruelties (even with pets we often decide what’s “good” for them based on what’s convenient for us). We thoughtlessly squash a spider or ant. Some hunt animals to kill for “sport.” Yet Tara and Bella show us that we should reconsider our “dominion” over other species. Does dominion over atmas who are perhaps akin to a lower wattage bulb (in the example above) mean we have the right to kill them at will? Or does dominion mean to care for and protect all living beings? We should develop equal vision and see all living beings as spirit souls, fundamentally and qualitatively equal, though presently expressing their consciousness through a vast variety of bodies, large and small, with simple or complex consciousness.

Tara and Bella understand that their vastly different bodies should not be an impediment to friendship. Perhaps we could learn something from them.