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THE MEMOIRS OF A CAT
the love for himself. If anyone really loved his horse, couli lie practise the brutality of making the beloved animal run with the loving inaster sitting proudly on his back ? Or make him or her sun raccs, often at the risk of liinbs and life, so that the owner inay acquire the distinction of having won some coveted trophy? It may be asked, why then do the horses appear to be pleased at the cruelties and humiliation they are subjected t by their loving masters? Well, you may just as well ask th German people as to why they all enthusiastically voted for Hitler, whose cleclared object is to degrade an enlightened nation to medincval barbarism. Thc German people as well as the pampered horses would very likely give the puizzling reply: Do we, really? The one subrits no more enthusiastically to the loving cr:eltics of the master than the other goose-stops at the noisy strain of brass bands and give the Roman saluto exclaiming: Heil Hitler! In both the cases, it begins with coercion, and continucs as slavish habit which, however, ill-conceals the underlying resentment.
My point is that man domesticates animals for his selfish motive. The Hindu worships the cow with no nobler purpose. I have blundered upon a ticklish question ; so, I may just as well avail of my blundering for saying a few words about it.
The quaint customs of cow-worship has been rationalised by the modern Hindu intellectual. It
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