Karma, Thy Name is Darwin
147 people spontaneously reincarnated today in a beautiful Hindu ceremonial ritual involving crowds of people running around, screaming, and stepping on one another.
From Reuters here:
At least 147 people died in a stampede at a temple in the Indian desert state of Rajasthan as Hindus gathered to begin one of the most important religious festivals of the year.
A handful of people fell while climbing a steep slope toward the Chamunda temple, sited inside a hilltop fort near the city of Jodhpur, triggering the crush.
“People were falling over one another. Many ran but were trampled under the feet of thousands,” a witness said. Other witnesses said too many people were trying to pass through a narrow part of the climb at the same time. Many suffocated after they fell.
The crowds were especially large Tuesday, as pilgrims gathered for the start of the nine-day Navratri festival.
In India, stampedes are relatively common at temples, where thousands of people gather to pray during festivals and police fail to control the surging worshippers.
Last month, a similar crush outside a Hindu temple in the mountains of northern India killed at least 145 pilgrims. In January 2005, at least 265 Hindu pilgrims, including several women and children, were killed in a stampede near a remote temple in Maharashtra state.
According to Hindu traditions of Karma, these guys had it coming for something bad they did, maybe in a former life as a squirrel who hoarded too many nuts. But for religious stampedes, nothing beats the Hajj.