Days of the Dog

If you have been beguiled by today's  pictures of garlanded dogs in Nepal and are wondering what on earth this is all about,  two sites which might help.  Nepal Rising  explains from Kathmandu that the festival of dogs, Kukur  Tihar, goes on till Sunday, as the dog is "trustworthy sentry as well as faithful companion for man since ancient times,  worshipped once a year on this day as a  messenger of Yamaraj, the God of death.  Dog, which is said to have accompanied Dharmaraj Yudhisthir on his journey to heaven in the mythological grand epic of Mahabharat, has a close relationship with mankind."   

       It also symbolizes the co-existence of human beings in harmony with other living things, and involves similar respect for crows and cows.  Crows, however, are harder to get into the garlands and the prayer positions.

Mind you, some dogs are too. StreetdogofNepal website reports that when they rounded up some strays to give them special food and pray over them, "a few dogs seem uncomfortable with garland and trying to tear it. Perhaps these dogs are celebrating their days for the first time." Here's one who isn't at all sure about his...

Comments

[Simon Peter]

This festival celebrates the dog as "a faithful companion" of men and women.

A companion is somebody you talk to and whose company you enjoy because, amongst other reasons, it reduces the sense of loneliness and aloneness that men and women experience to a greater of lesser extent.

Being married/having a partner and social interaction all help this existential loneliness that the human subject has and often dislikes.

Owning a dog is yet another way of dealing with this problem, and hence it is a "faithful companion of man".

Jesus Christ came into the world so that men and women could be in his company by faith in him. They could talk to him, express their thoughts, fears and worries to him, and know that he hears, that he cares and that he responds to those, again, who have put their faith in what he did for them on the cross.

Instead of walking the dog, it is possible to walk with Christ and to experience his presence and his love.

Is the dog, as "a faithful companion", a substitute for the Son of God himself?

It is interesting that this festival sees a deified Dog as accompanying a greater god, the god of death, as his messenger, and that Dog was with DY on his journey to heaven.

This deification of the dog does indicate that the canine being is being used by mankind as a substitute for the one true God and Father of Jesus Christ.

If one walks around experiencing the company of Jesus Christ in one's thoughts, is there any room left for the company of a dog?

[Brien Comerford]

Thank you for this spiritually edifying column. I'm happy to learn that people in Nepal appreciate dogs, crows and cows. They are our fellow creatures and we should protect and respect their lives.

[Brien Comerford]

Dear Simon Peter:

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism conveted thousands of people to find salvation through Christ. He also loved the companionship of his faithful horses. William Booth, The Christian founder of the Salvation Army, was an animal loving vegetarian. In his last years he was comforted by Jesus Christ and his dog named "faithful Pat".

[Simon Peter]

Brien, You make a good point! However, I think I can argue that John Wesley's horses cannot fit into that degree of companionship gained from a dog.

He needed his horses for transport, and they were kept by so many people, not as companions or pets, but as conveyances.

So, the necessity of having to have a horse, which does not apply to dog-owners unless blind, meant that some people would, by default, get to know them as personable beings.

With regard to William Booth, it is good to hear that he was comforted by the companionship of a dog in his last years. I'm sure that this did not displace the companionship of Jesus Christ, whom he had known and loved for many, many years previously.

I had in mind those, who have never shown any interest in Jesus Christ as God, as Saviour and as the Lord of their life. The dog and its companionship have come in to fill an existential emptiness in their lives, which ought to be filled by faith in the living God.

To, then, deify the companionship of the dog in this feast, whilst continuing to deny the companionship of the Son of God seems to me, not only to be sin, but also to be a form of idolatry.

Neither sin nor idolatry can be applied to Wesley and Booth, who had both put their faith in Jesus Christ many years before they became fond of their horses and dog.

I hope you can see what I am saying, even if you might still not agree.

[Brien Comerford]

Dear Simon:

I have great respect for your opinion. I highly recommend you to read the General Resurrection by John Wesley. I love all animals and I'm a vegetarian because I will not kill God's creatures. The original diet of man was vegetarian (Genesis 1:29). After the fall man started eating meat and we are obvioulsy in a very fallen state these days. Isaiah envisions the restoration of Eden(paradise) and universal peace between all creatures. John Wesley detested cruelty against animals. Malcolm Muggeridge was also vegetarian for spiritual and animal welfare reasons. I'm no holy man I'm more of a penitent.