Hello Steemians! Hope you are doing good. Just for a change, I have been writing articles on diversified topics. Today some random topic came to my mind and I thought of sharing it with you all in steemit. Few days before, when I was returning from my office with my friend we got a chance to discuss various topics. When the conversation was going interesting, he stopped the bike in front of a shop to get some biscuits and fruits. He was also buying lots of bananas and it did not look like he was buying all these for himself. I asked him why he was buying lots of bananas and biscuit packets. He explained me about his habit of feeding street dogs and cows. I was really impressed by his explanation. I will share few fragments from the discussion that we had.
First of all, he told me that feeding other being is an important thing in our culture. I completely agree with that fact as we have seen many traditional and cultural events where we give importance to other living beings and feed them. He mentioned that it is the responsibility of every human being to feed 5 important living beings. Read further to know more details.
Birds
Birds are an important contributor to the vegetation of our ecosystem. Their contributions are in different ways. If we get an opportunity to feed birds, we have to make it a practice and do it regularly. Feeding crows is a day to day activity defined in the Hindu tradition. People following Hindu religion will not have their daily food without offering to crows. It has been a practice for ages. Though there are several explanations given for this activity, the most convincing thing we see is that crows and other small living being get their food every day. Feeding birds have been a practice in many places around the world. There was a video that went viral few years back. A person popularly called as bird man feeds nearly 4,000 parakeets a day. This is really amazing. You can see a short documentary video about this person below:
Insects
Ants are the most auspicious insects responsible for various things. Ants and bees are the most mysterious insects. We still don't have answers to the questions we have about their work culture, colonies, their residential structures, their help to the ecosystem etc. Bees work their ass off during peak summer season to collect pollen and nectar from flowers. They even work 18 hours per day during peak summer. They do all these things just to keep human beings and the ecosystem healthy.
It is the duty of every individual to feel these little insects. Though we will not be able to feed bees and ants directly, we can help them in indirect ways. Indirect ways include increasing the number of flowering plants in our locality for the bees and other insects to get enough nectar. They are responsible for pollination and they help us get tasty fruits. There is a tradition in Hindu culture to draw patterns in front of the house using Rice flour. These patterns are called Kolams or Rangoli. The main reason why Rice flour is used for drawing such structures is to feed ants and small insects.
Cows
In Hindu, tradition Cows are given great importance. We do all the hospitality to cows during several occasions. When we build a new house and do house warming function, the first person to enter the house officially will be the cows. We give that much importance to cows and bulls. We consider cows and bulls as one of the members of the family. So coming to the topic, it is the duty of every individual to feed this important animal every day. It is a way of reciprocating the help rendered by cows and bulls to our day to day activities.
Dogs
Dogs are the protectors and a good companion for both individuals and for the house. In most of the villages, almost every house in the village will have a pet dog. The family members feed them regularly. Dogs are not the only pet animals but they will also be having cows and goats. Dogs not only protect the house from threats but it will also protect other living beings of the house from snakes and other harmful beings. If you feed a dog just once, the dog will remember you throughout the lifetime and will be a good companion for you.
Plants
Plants are the most fundamental beings. Ayurveda says that a person should be living in a locality with enough trees and there are also some specific trees which should mandatorily be in the living ecosystem. As part of the culture, an individual should also do their offering to plants as well. The contribution can either be in the form of nurturing the plants or by pouring water to them regularly. Plants and trees are the major contributors for us to breathe good air. They not only help in providing food in the form of fruits and other products, but they also help in calling the clouds to pour us some rain. They also help us fight the Sun during hot summer.
Feeding the above 5 living beings are also interrelated. For example, if you grow enough flowering plants, you are obviously helping bees gather nectar from those plants. If the insect numbers are good, it becomes a food for the birds when they need. For birds to breed and grow trees are required. Trees again produce fruits that are actually an outcome of the pollination done by the insects. So, all the above mentioned 5 living being are dependent on each other with additional help from humans as well.
Hope you had an interesting read. Please share your views in the comments section.
