In the Bible, we are told that when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he heard a voice asking him to stop and, instead, sacrifice a ram which was standing at some distance.  Thus, human sacrifice, which was prevalent throughout most ancient cultures, gave way to animal sacrifice. With the advent of Christianity, an offering of bread and wine replaced the offering of flesh and blood as such, investing the concept of sacrifice with a new dimension. In Verse 37, Chapter 22 of the Holy Quran, we find the following unequivocal statement:  “Their flesh will never reach Allah, nor yet their blood—but your devotion and piety will reach Him.” In southern India, consonant with belief structures such as Jainism and Buddhism, the ritual animal sacrifice practised within the precincts of several Hindu temples gave way to the practice of breaking a hard-shelled brown coconut instead.  Thus, Brahmin priests started offering a large round plate of 'offerings' to the deity of the temple, placing the two halves of the coconut along with a piece of camphor, flowers, fruit, a lighted oil lamp, the sacred red powder and so on upon the plate.

Personally, I consider this transformation to be an all-important step in the advancement of human civilisation and spiritual growth.  In place of the blood, agony and torture of some helpless, voiceless, sentient and living non-human animal, we offer flowers, fruit and a lighted lamp to the deity.  What could be more appealing, aesthetic, worshipful, just or humane?

If we examine scriptures in the light of ethical human conduct towards animals, we shall surely come upon some tenet or other which would allow a symbolic sacrifice instead of an actual, gory spectacle of suffering which degrades and brutalises the one who kills as well as everyone who witnesses the slaughter.  We are, or should be, aware that killing animals--for whatever reason--contributes directly to irreversible environmental degradation.  From the perspective of faiths such as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, such actions also make for extremely bad 'karma'.  We live, after all, in one global environment.  We should, accordingly, espouse a contemporary interpretation of ideas and ideals promoting animal welfare and the rights of animals.

It is, therefore, of the utmost moment that all religious leaders speak up in defence of defenceless animals at the mercy of human beings.  Let us not to on killing in the name of religion.  Let us, rather, find ways and means of substituting other objects of ritual sacrifice in place of animals, which feel pain and agony just as we do.  This would be the enlightened way.