Our Oneness With All

“Until he has unconditional and unbiased Love for all beings, man will not find peace.” 
-Buddha

‘We are all One.’ How many times have you heard this phrase? Probably thousands… But what does it actually mean? Who is the ‘we’? Is it just humans or is it ALL of creation? This phrase encompasses the totality of reality; We are ALL one… Plants, animals, people; basically everyone and everything. We are all part of this song of the Universe, this eternal dance of the Cosmic. We are One with the inhabitants on this entire planet and other planets… Think about THAT! Every living thing has consciousness, to varying degrees. The consciousness of a rock is not the same as the consciousness of a plant or an animal and so on, but a certain level of consciousness does exist in all things. Yes, animals are conscious, thinking, feeling beings just like us. They have a body and a brain, so they clearly possess the ability to be aware of their surroundings, aware of their feelings, thoughts and so on. They exist for their own reasons… their souls are still on the path of evolution, just like ours. Animals are not here for us to use and exploit, or to terrorize and destroy. We are the caretakers of the Earth. We have dominion over the animals and we are supposed to have compassion for them, showing them kindness and respect. The Light of consciousness within that animal body is the same Light of consciousness within your own body. Our physical bodies may appear to be different but our awareness is very much the same. Animals feel fear, sadness and pain, they can suffer, they can feel bored or lonely… Animals also feel happiness, Love and joy, they can have fun and play. How can we deny our oneness with these creatures? Don’t you feel all of these things too? Instead of focusing on the differences between us and the animals, we should be looking at all the ways that we are exactly the same… and there are so many ways! In the holy Bhagavad Gita, chapter 5 verse 18, it says,

“An enlightened person – by perceiving God in all – looks at a learned person, an outcast, even a cow, an elephant, or a dog with an equal eye.”

Upon realizing our oneness with animals as well as with each other, there is nothing else to do but have unconditional and unbiased Love for all beings. How can you capture, kill and destroy another being if he is the same as you? The only reason that we do these things is because we are mislead by the illusion of separation; The illusion that humans are stronger, smarter and more important than animals. But even in the Christian Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 verse 19, it says, “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless.” 

There truly is no separation between us and the animals, we are all pieces of the Divine, all participants on this Cosmic Journey to Oneness.