Love and Respect for Animals
Be the reason someone feels loved today. Be the reason someone feels hope today. Be the reason someone feels peace today. Love All, Serve All. Do not Love only the humans; Love the Entire Creation. Love the minerals, the plants, the animals, the elements – Love anything and everything that is in this Universe. We are All connected. We are One!
In this context, about 34 dogs and 12 stray cats are being fed and provided with clean water every day. Some of these animals are old, some of them are sick but they are being taken care of, in every way. The Zekeriyaköy District in İstanbul, Turkey is close to the Belgrad Forest. Therefore, it is one of the most common areas people abandon their pets. Most of these animals do not have the slightest chance to survive if they do not get help from humans. Most of them loose trust towards humans, they lose hope towards life. The abandoned animals in this district are in need of help.
From Spring to Fall, horses also roam some of the streets of Zekeriyaköy. Lately a herd with a bunch of foals was spotted by one of the youth. Every year, apart from the dogs, cats, birds and other animals in need of help, this herd is also being helped whenever possible. These horses roam the streets searching for food and very often they end up eating dog food. Therefore, whenever possible, fresh carrots and apples are provided to them.
These animals that the devotees encounter are seen as individuals – just like humans; as sentient beings and therefore, they are treated with respect and love, just as we would treat The Divine!