India - the Mother

October 11, 1969

Oh, a few days ago I was told a frightful story—what depths humanity has sunk to ... it's unbelievable. Have you heard this story of the slaughter of baby seals?

When seals are born (a certain species of seals), they're all white, and they remain so for a few weeks, then they lose their hair and turn grey—grey or yellowish, like their fathers and mothers. And as it's the fashion to wear all-white fur coats, some people ... It's organized by some trader or other: seals gather at the time of giving birth, there's a place there, in the North, on an island, where they gather in their thousands, and each mother gives birth to a single child. So those people go there in boats, fully equipped, and when the seals are born, they kill them—thousands of them at one go. It takes ten or fifteen skins to make a coat. And they slaughter them. But then, for the carnage to be cheap (you understand, it shouldn't cost too much), they club the animals on their heads, then with big butchers' knives they skin them on the spot—skin them while they're still alive....

That is to say ... it seems they shriek, you know, they aren't dumb.... It seems the mothers (they've just given birth, you see, they're suckling the pups) try to defend them—so to prevent them from seeing what goes on, they put out their eyes.... Well, when I was told that, I saw a humanity sinking into .. an abyss of ignominy.

... Why, why? And those women who wear that ... all those animals' suffering, all those animals' horror, their terror—they wear all that on their backs. And it doesn't give them nightmares! ... Unbelievable.

It seems the fashion is to go dancing wearing a stole made of two or three skins of those poor beasts....

People are getting insane!

It's only ONE example, one sort of epitome. But this IGNOBLE consciousness is everywhere on earth.... I saw it like that. But it's one thing that has as if crystallized to awaken the reaction.

Oh, those little ones ...

Seals are highly evolved animals, they aren't among the unconscious ones. There was one on the cover, with eyes staring at you like that, it was delightful!

It's not so much for those poor little ones, because they have a special protection (all that's conscious in them is like that, cherished). It's the ignominy of humans : they must become conscious of their ignominy—they find it quite natural.

This world is revolting from one end to the other. There's nothing—I would keep nothing of this world, nothing.

(Mother laughs) No, this isn't revolting (Mother lays her hand on a bouquet of roses near her). This is ... a really and truly beautiful adoration.

Yes, without humans, it's quite fine.

Oh, it's the humans, because even animals aren't so disgusting.

Not at all.

A beast like a tiger or a lion kills only when it's hungry. But to make money—this is to make money.... With the women, it's unconsciousness; I am sure the vast majority of those who wear that, if they were told, "You're wearing on you the skin torn from a living and shrieking animal," it would give them nightmares—the vast majority. Very few would say, "Why should I care!" Very few.

But the brutes are the ones who're getting rich.

Mother's Agenda: October 11, 1969