This entire creation has been made by God. Every living creature whether mammal or insect is part of His handiwork. Although the lives of the tiniest forms of creation seem insignificant to us, there is a definite divine purpose for every form of life.
Each life form is animated by a soul. Every being in creation is travelling on a journey back to God, the source from where it came. In this voyage, souls are moving from one life to another, aspiring to receive the human form.
The human body is considered the highest in all creation. It is the only one which has the faculty to rise above this physical world and return to God. We are most fortunate that we have received a human birth. It is our golden opportunity to realize God. If we miss this chance to realize the Lord in this lifetime, who knows when we will receive the human birth again. We will again have to pass through the cycle known as the wheel of transmigration, or the wheel of 8.4 million species of life.
While endowed with the human body we have two responsibilities. One is to our own self. We should take advantage of this priceless gift and utilise our life for knowing our self and realising God. Second, we should also be of service to God’s creation.
We need to realise that the souls embodied in the various species are all passing through tremendous suffering. The lower species of life reside in bodies in which their only concern is survival. The purpose of their lives is to eat, protect themselves, and reproduce. They lack the faculty to know themselves and to realise God.
We need to have compassion for all forms of life. They have enough suffering already; we do not need to add any more pain. We should try to extend to all humanity and all creation the same feelings of love that we have for our near and dear ones. We should realize that within each beating heart is a soul, and that soul is no different from ours. All souls are a part of God.
All souls are connected by a deep bond. The soul in us is the same soul that is in all other forms of life. We should see that no injury is done to any soul, for when a part is damaged, the entire system is affected. If we can cultivate nonviolence in our daily lives we will find that God is pleased with us and sheds more and more of His grace.
We will become an abode of peace and tranquillity for those around us. We will be helping God by becoming a conscious co-worker in His divine plan. We will be helping him relieve the sufferings of His children. Our progress will be accelerated and all other virtues will be added unto us.
