(The Seated Lord surrounded by animals - Pashupati Seal) (Pashupatinath)

Lord of animals or individualized souls; name forShiva. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

Ignorance is the characteristic of the Pashu (animal). What is a Pashu? ‘Pashyati iti pashuh,’ ‘That which sees is the Pashu.’ That is to say, that which has the outward vision and accepts what the external vision conveys is the Pashu. The inward vision will lead a person to Pashupati, the Lord of all living beings, master of Pasus. He who has not mastered the senses is the Pashu. The Pashu has harmful qualities born along with it. However hard one may try to eliminate them, they cannot be transformed soon. The Pashu cannot get free from them. It has no capacity to understand the meaning of the advice given. For example, we may bring up a tiger cub with affectionate care and train it to be gentle and obedient. But when it is hungry, it will relish only raw meat; it will not eat puri and potato! But man can be educated into better ways. Hence, the statement in scriptures ‘For all animal beings, birth as man is a rare achievement’. Man is indeed the most fortunate and the most holy among animals, for his inborn qualities can be sublimated. He who is born as a Pashu can elevate himself through self-effort and training into Pashupati. The beast is born ‘cruel’ and dies ‘cruel.

A life lived without mastering one’s senses does not deserve the name. Man has been endowed with many capabilities and if, with them, he does not control his senses and direct them properly the years he spends alive are wasted. Vidya or valid education helps man to achieve success in this process of mastery. Vidya confers vinaya. Education promotes humility. Through humility, one acquires the right to engage in professions. That authority confers prosperity. A prosperous person has the capacity for charity and right living. Right living can confer happiness here and hereafter. (V Vahini, pp. 19-20)