Caring for a dog makes us more spiritual, thriller writer contends, and animal-behaviour experts agree
- Award-winning author of mystery thrillers Manjiri Prabhu writes about how her dogs triggered her spiritual journey in her new book The DOGtrine of Peace
- Chimp expert Jane Goodall is among experts cited who suggest the human-animal bond triggers mutual benefits – evoking peace in our hearts, and in the world
Can animals teach us life’s lessons? Anyone who has had a companion animal is certainly nodding, “Of course, animals enrich our lives.”
Mullu, my 10-year-old cat, walked into my life when I was wrestling with a tragedy. I had lost my husband Ram to cancer. My daughter Roshini brought home this ball of white and brown fur when it was barely a month old. I was not keen on a pet then, with my mother – a chronic asthma patient – living with us. So Roshini promised to find a home for it and pleaded for us to keep it until she did.
In no time, though, the kitten mewed and pawed its way into my heart. I found comfort in my conversations with her.
Our home was fraught with tension after Ram’s death, and arguments with my children were the order of the day. But Mullu’s presence worked like magic, wiping away our anger and pain. Bending down to stroke her, I could feel my sorrow and loneliness evaporate and a sense of calm descend.
My experiences with Mullu made it easy to relate to Manjiri Prabhu’s new book, The DOGtrine of Peace. Prabhu, an award-winning author of mystery thrillers, writes about her dogs and how they triggered her spiritual journey. Departing from her usual Agatha Christie-like style, she moves from fiction to reality to advocate benevolence towards street dogs as a key step towards finding peace and enlightenment.
“When you begin caring for a dog, a special chamber of your heart is opened – like a third eye. I call it the divine chamber, which opens the divine channel. Love flows through the chamber into the channel, then through the channel into your dog,” Prabhu writes.