Why I buy pets
People may say that I am wasting my time and money when I buy animals and birds. But pets help people to bring forward their own affection. Every time I look at my birds, my chinchillas, my monkeys or my dogs, they bring forward extra love, affection and concern from me.When I pour affection into a bird, this affection flows into the Universal Consciousness. Anything that I offer in the form of love, affection and concern, the whole universe receives.
So even though I go below the human level with my affection, it also touches the human level. Then it enters into my spiritual children. In this way, if I can spread more affection, I feel more fulfilled.
Also, when I buy a bird, I see so many things. The bird in the cage reminds me of how the soul is encaged in this human body. I see how my soul suffers, how your souls suffer; I see how our souls want to fly in the divine consciousness-sky.
23 December 1981
Sri Chinmoy, Friendship with the animal kingdom, Agni Press, 2010