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Good morning. The former Smiths’ frontman, Morrissey, has upset a few folk this week. It’s been reported he said: "I see no difference between eating animals and paedophilia. They are both rape, violence, murder.” Now, despite my own dedication to a vegetarian lifestyle, I believe it’s wrong to equate the killing of animals with atrocious crimes against fellow humans. But, whilst I disagree with Morrisey’s claims, I think his sentiment does raise the question: just what makes human life special? The Hindu tradition extols the oneness and sanctity of all life. It doesn’t regard humans as a unique act of creation; nor suggests that humans have a soul but other species don’t. And, nor does it consider humans to be the pinnacle of existence. The Vedas assume that life – both less and more advanced - is dotted throughout the universe. Vedic philosophy asserts that the atma - or individual life force - that activates the bodies of every living being is equal. But, being in a human body, I mistakenly tend to look on other creatures – my daughter’s little dog asleep on the sofa; or, the sheep & cows in the fields around me - as different, distinct…lesser. The French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said: We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. The Vedas take it a step further: as spiritual beings undergoing the process of reincarnation we’ve also had a string of animal experiences. And, apparently, those experiences are not as different as we might have thought. A new study from the University of Vienna, has shown that chimpanzees make best friends and prefer to hang out with those chimps most like themselves. Even so, the Vedas do claim that human life is inherently special. In other species, the state of consciousness of the atma is more restricted and conditioned by the particular body it lives in. It’s only when we eventually get our chance of the human experience that we have the first opportunity to address the big questions: Where do we come from? Why do we exist? This is our moment to finally understand we are not this body – we are a spiritual being – and can capitalize on that realisation. Because it’s such a rare and valuable opportunity, we should treasure and protect human life above all others. Therefore, any hurt or offence to another human is absolutely abhorrent. And, it’s precisely because we value the awakened consciousness of human life, that we should extend the respect and care we give to humans to all other living creatures. Being special as a human doesn’t allow us to be arrogant or to disregard other species; rather, it calls on us to express the greatest extent of enlightenment, compassion and benevolence that is the hallmark of our kind.