A Piggy Tail - The Spiritual Station of Pigs

In the course of conversation with Gurindam (see earlier posting about Gurindam's saintly dogs - Click Here), Ariffin asked, "So what is the true maqam (spiritual station) of the Pig?" And this was Gurindam's considered opinion. He had a few of them, including the origin of the Pig, but we will carry on from when the Pig played such a pivotal role in Noah's Ark.

"The Pig..." Began Gurindam, "...is an honoured creature. When the Ark, filled with all of the animal kingdom was for sometime afloat, an odorous and hygienic problem arose. Where to get rid of all the animal and human (there were some of them, if you recall) droppings?" My unspoken reply to Gurindam was to just dump the crap out into the waters. Gurindam responded to my silent query, "For you see, you cannot just dump it into the sea, not when God's own storm was raging outside. All hatches were shut tight. So the Pig came into the picture, and he and his spouse happily consumed (literally) the problem." One issue resolved for the long-suffering Noah.

In recognition for the invaluable service by the Pig to Noah, the Lord thereafter made Pig's flesh sacrosanct and forbidden for almost half of humanity. Yes, yes, I know... there are also hygiene and health issues which is said to be the reasons for the Jewish and Muslim prohibition of the consumption of Pigs, but that is just the technical aspect. How many times have you gazed in awe at some one's seemingly endless patience and fortitude in taking crap from people, and wished that you could reward him/her. So it is with the Lord and the Pig.

It is to my daily amusement that believers are so disgusted, even physically nauseated by the mere sight, sound, smell or even saying the word 'Pig'. I could imagine a holy consumer dropping a shoe he was browsing when he suddenly noticed the words "Pig Skin" inside the shoe, Ayieee! - worried that the ham leather would somehow stain his otherwise flawless piety and purity. Purity? Hehehehe. At least the Pig is merely doing what nature has intended it to perform. It is doing nothing more nor less. Man, with his endless cheating, lying, stealing, envying, murdering, corrupting and hypocrisy can learn a lot from the natural resilience of the Pig to take all the crap that this world yields every day.

I don't have any new illustration, but I hope you can tolerate my re-posting of the sketch below. Hehehe.

Have a nice piggy day, sunshine.

Pax Taufiqa.

Footnote - If you have absolutely nothing else to do, I have written an earlier posting about pigs entitled 'Don't eat Bacon, but love the Pig'. Click here.