சம்போ - கோவில் மாடு

சம்போ என்ற கோவில் மாட்டுக்கு உடல் நிலை சரியில்லாததால் கொன்றுவிட வேண்டும் என்று இங்கிலாந்து மருத்துவ அமைச்சகம் கூறுகிறது..

உடல் நிலை சரியில்லை என்றால் மருந்து கொடுப்போம். அதற்காக ஏன் கொல்ல வேண்டும் என்று இந்து கோவில் அமைப்பு கூறுகிறது.

Untouchabull!
By JANE FRYER


This is not your average cowshed.

The air is thick with incense, the walls are swathed in red and yellow sequined silks, an electric fan keeps the temperature "just so" and beside one wall is a shrine - draped in heavy gold brocade and decorated with drooping lilies, exotic spices, bowls of browning petals and pictures of sacred cows.

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Jane Fryer with Shambo the bull


No, not your average bull's pen. But then Shambo is not your average bull.

In fact, right now, the six-year-old black Friesian is probably the most famous bull in the world.

Last week, he was served with a "notification of slaughter" notice after apparently failing a routine examination for the bovine form of tuberculosis.

Since then, things have really kicked off.

According to the 26 devout Hindu monks and nuns at the Skanda Vale monastery in Carmarthen who cater for his every need, Shambo is a sacred being whose life should be protected at all costs.

But to officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) he is a disease-ridden animal and a potential threat to Britain's beleaguered cattle industry.

And so, amid talk of petitions, injunctions, a "human chain" of thousands of Hindus to prevent his slaughter and even an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons, I have come to see what all the fuss is about.

Happily, today, the huge black bull who's been staring balefully from newspapers and TV screens all week is far too busy munching through cattle nuts and hay, modelling a very fetching chrysanthemum garland and settling into his luxurious converted temple to be worrying about his fate.

Or, indeed, to appear particularly eager to rejoin the monastery's 55-strong herd of Friesians, Highland Cattle, Jerseys and water buffalo who are shivering outside as normal in the driving Welsh rain.

"He just loves it in here," says Brother Jamie, 32, who has been a monk at Skanda Vale for the past ten10 years and is in charge of Shambo.

"Ever since we bought him in, he's seemed so much happier.

"Outside, there's a pecking order and he's nowhere near the top. Here it's all about him - he's calm, relaxed and so much more affectionate than usual.

"Everyone adores him. I think he knows he's safe here."

Founded in 1973, Skanda Vale - otherwise known as the Community of the Many Names of God -is a monastic centre open to visitors from any faith with three Hindu temples, 115 acres of wet Welsh countryside and enough livestock to start a zoo.

There are llamas, peacocks, ducks, geese, fish, dogs, hens, terrapins, you name it... Oh, and a 24-year-old elephant called Valli who was a gift from the Government of Sri Lanka and lives in a special barn heated to 15C by two wood-burning stoves.

Even the 200 litres of water she drinks each day is warmed, to "take the edge off it".

Some 20 monks and nuns look after the animals, and the 90,000 pilgrims who travel here from all over the world each year to pray, meditate and sleep in small, damp caravans.

The permanent residents have all taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and express their religious devotion by living a life of Bhakti yoga and Karma yoga.

But they aren't quite as you'd imagine. Most are in their 30s and 40s - although whitehaired Sister Lily is nudging 84 - and Brother Alex doesn't appear remotely monkish in his brown moleskin trousers, crisp blue shirt, very clean hair and fashionable specs.

In the main office, he and Brother Michael are alternately glued to the phone, today's newspapers and their flat-screen computers - the screen saver is a huge, pink Save Shambo motif.

"Look, look!" exclaims Brother Michael, excitedly scrolling through the news on Google. "We've made the Indian newspapers!"

"The Canadian Press were on the phone today," adds Brother Alex, who originally hails from Gloucester but has been living here as a monk for 17 years.

"The BBC were here yesterday and a French TV crew are coming on Monday. It's been a bit mad around here lately."

Understatement of the week. It all started a week ago when the routine test for bovine TB came back positive and the "notice of slaughter" was served.

The monks, however, claim the test shows only that there is a "statistical possibility" that Shambo could develop TB and insist that, in any event, there is no possibility of his entering the human food chain (although his coming into contact with other animals would be part of official concern).

"Our own vet has declared him 'thoroughly healthy' and is very happy with the way we're looking after him," says Brother Alex, whisking a document off the printer to show me.

Since the test, they've been flat out on their Save Shambo appeal.

There's an online petition, regular updates on their website, the temple inbox is overflowing and the two phones in the office are ringing off the hook. Every day, pilgrim "regulars" turn up to pay their respects to Shambo.

While some people might think it daft to kick up quite such a fuss about a huge hairy bull, respect for cows has been a central theme of Hindu beliefs for more than 3,000 years.

The scriptures refer to the cow as the "mother of all civilisation", with its milk nurturing the population and, significantly, Lord Krishna, one of the faith's most important figures, was said to have appeared as a cowherd.

And even Mahatma Gandhi once wrote: "If someone were to ask me what the most important outward manifestation of Hinduism was, I would suggest it was the idea of cow protection."

Most of the world's billion-plus Hindus do not eat beef. Killing or injuring a cow is a criminal offence in most Indian states.

As Ramesh Kallidal, of the Hindu Forum of Great Britain which represents the 700,000 Hindus in this country, said: "To have a sacred bull slaughtered ... strikes at the very core of our beliefs."

Certainly, at Skanda Vale, they take their animals' welfare very seriously. It is cow heaven.

Put it this way - in commercial dairy farms, cows live six years at most, bull calves average just 18 months before being carted off to the abattoir.

Whereas here, Bhakti, the oldest bull, is 21 years old.

"We believe in the sanctity of all life, not just human beings.

"We have said that we will care for Shambo until he dies of old age and that is what we intend to do."

After Shambo's test result came through, the monks and nuns transformed one of the shrines, the Murugan temple, into a suitable stable overnight - it was chosen over the Maha Shakti and Ranganatha temples for its location near the office.

First they lined it with yards of polythene sheeting, a new plywood floor, sacks of sawdust and dozens of straw bales. Then they set to work on the shrine. Security is paramount.

"Every night, one of us sleeps in the stable with him," explains a rather tired-looking Brother Andy, 58, who left a life as a biology teacher in London to become a monk last year.

"I hope it's not my turn again tonight - I got the short straw on Tuesday."

Short straw or not, by this time next week, Shambo (the name means "bringer of joy") will have his own webcam, so people all around the world can watch him lounge about in his converted temple.

"It's more for his own safety than anything," says Brother Alex, darkly.

"The local police force have offered a guard for overnight." Time, however, is marching on.

Officials are due to return to weigh and value Shambo on Monday and, barring any last-minute reprieves, by law he must be slaughtered by May 21.

"It's not going to happen," says Brother Alex. "It can't. The sacred life of a temple bull cannot be desecrated.

"It is totally impossible and totally unacceptable in terms of our religious beliefs. We have been left with no choice."

Or what? "We intend to use all the legal avenues to save him.

"We are just a small monastery but, if all else fails, we have been assured that we will have immense support, and many thousands of people will come here to form a human chain as a peaceful protest to prevent the slaughter."

"People will come from all over the world if the Government refuses to respect the core values of the Hindu religion."

Which is all very well, but what of the argument that by granting Shambo special dispensation it could jeopardise the livelihoods of British cattle farmers who have already had to weather the nightmare of BSE and Foot And Mouth?

Couldn't a reprieve for poor old Shambo be seen as the thin end of the wedge?

Brother Alex is having none of it. "Our vet says he is healthy," he repeats.

"There are no clinical signs of illness. In any event, DEFRA need to see that killing is not a solution to the problem.

"Not only is it contrary to the laws of our faith and the natural law, but it isn't working. The disease is on the increase."

And that's part of the problem for poor old Shambo. Bovine TB is becoming increasingly common among Britain's cattle and is regarded as the most alarming animal health problem facing the country.

As a spokeswoman for the Welsh Assembly said: "It is a disease that is transmittable to humans and mammals, which means it has serious implications beyond the health of cattle.

"Wales, in common with many other countries, implements a control policy, based on testing and the slaughter of animals believed to be infected, in order to protect both human and animal health."

Meanwhile, back in the Murugan temple among the lilies and silk scarves, Brother Jamie is busy mucking out, grooming and sneaking Shambo more cattle nuts than must be good for him.

"They've got it wrong. Does he look poorly to you?" he asks.

To my untrained eye, he looks fabulous - three metres long and more than half a ton in weight, gleaming, muscular and handsome.

As he poses for the camera - he's an old hand by now - he treats me to a blast of hot, noisy, very smelly breath and sticks out his huge grey tongue.

But even if he does end up cheating death, isn't there a risk that he could get a bit fed up?

Nice though it is with its jolly yellow curtains, spot lighting and round-the-clock visitors, his converted temple isn't really home.

"Oh, no, he won't get fed up," says Brother Jamie. "He has more visitors and cattle nuts than you could imagine. He's adapting to his new lifestyle as an international celebrity.

"We've had calls from as far away as Canada. He knows he's a star and he loves it. If only we could stop him eating all his sacred garlands. . ."