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World Hindu Council America (Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America - VHPA) Expresses dismay at the mass slaughter at the Gadhimail Temple in Nepal.
On behalf of Hindus in USA, the VHPA expresses its deep dismay and disappointment at the slaughter of over 250,000 innocent animals at the Gadhimail Temple in Nepal in the last week of November. It is abhorrent that this barbaric practice was carried out in the name of Hindu dharma, religion and culture.
Yagna and Homa refer to two important ancient Hindu practices. These practices acknowledge the divine presence of light in the form of fire (Agni) in material and spiritual life. Hindus believe that the spirit is hidden in all material things the way fire is latent in wood. The fire of Homa and Yagna are therefore our most convenient symbol of Divine and our aspiration towards it. In the Homa ceremony Hindus offer their thoughts and emotions to the Divine. The cultural practices of Homa and Yagna intertwined with the sacrifice of animals in distant past. However, the uniqueness of Hindu dharma manifests itself in multiplicity of thoughts and its evolutionary nature. For thousands of years, the prevailing philosophy of Hindu dharma has been compassion and protection of life in all its forms. Hindus are therefore, the most vociferous protectors of animal rights and vegetarianism. It is in this spirit that we call on Hindus around the world to impress up on our brothers and sisters in Nepal to stop this hideous practice and instead adopt the contemporary Hindu practice of offering ghee (clarified butter), grains, and various other non-meat offerings for Homa and Yagna.
We also take this opportunity to express our compassion towards the slaughter of billions of animals around the world in the name of religious and cultural practice. The slaughter of goats, sheep and cows in the name of Islam or the slaughter of turkeys to celebrate Thanksgiving is equally despicable and we call on the followers of these practices to scrap these practices and find alternate ways to celebrate.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) of America (VHPA), founded in 1970 and incorporated in the state of New York in 1974, is an independent, nonprofit, tax- exempt and volunteer-based charitable organization serving the needs of Hindu community in USA. It aims to build a dynamic and vibrant Hindu society rooted in the eternal values of Dharma and inspired by the lofty ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, i.e. the entire creation is one family.
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