Why worship the cows?
To answer this question we have to state a principle. We worship someone due their nature and actions. Even God is worshiped because of nature and actions. Across all religions, God is described as very merciful, benevolent, kind etc. This is his nature. He is always acting for the benefit of all, he guides us through difficult times and misery, He provides protection and provides for everyone’s welfare. These are his actions.
Cows are pure by nature. They are completely satvik. How is this? We know that cow’s urine and dung are disinfectants. This is scientifically proven. If the excreta are so purifying, what to speak of the other products – milk, butter, ghee? Secondly, cows are very simple and never harm any body. They provide milk for entire mankind. These are some simple examples.
Then there is a deeper meaning. In Sanskrit, cows are called “GO”. In Vedic culture all knowledge begins with the word “Ga”. Guru and Gayatri are the beginnings of all knowledge. All auspiciousness activities also start with the cows. No sacrifice can be done without Ghee; sacrifices are considered auspicious and ghee is required. The “Ga” signifies cows, this is a secret meaning.
For Vaishnavs (people worshiping Lord Krishna in his personal form) there is a still deeper meaning. The meaning is within the words – Govinda, Gopi, Govardhana, Goloka Vrindavan. It is clear these are the greatest. Govinda is Lord Krishna, the protector of cows, Gopis are the highest devotees, Govardhana is the best servant, and Goloka Vrindavan (“go loka - the abode of the cows ”) is the highest destination . The meaning is obvious. There is nothing without the cows. They all serve cows. Cows are the dearest to Lord Krishna, they are His deities. This is the highest form of worship of Lord Krishna and available to only a very select few devotees. Even this knowledge is very rare – most people don’t understand the exalted position of cows, they see cows as animals. People who serve Krishna ’s cows are the most fortunate and achieve all results. This is the ultimate and simplest. Its how 'goloka vrindavan' is achieved while in the material world, in the material body.
Hare Krsna.
bbdasa@yahoo.com
To answer this question we have to state a principle. We worship someone due their nature and actions. Even God is worshiped because of nature and actions. Across all religions, God is described as very merciful, benevolent, kind etc. This is his nature. He is always acting for the benefit of all, he guides us through difficult times and misery, He provides protection and provides for everyone’s welfare. These are his actions.
Cows are pure by nature. They are completely satvik. How is this? We know that cow’s urine and dung are disinfectants. This is scientifically proven. If the excreta are so purifying, what to speak of the other products – milk, butter, ghee? Secondly, cows are very simple and never harm any body. They provide milk for entire mankind. These are some simple examples.
Then there is a deeper meaning. In Sanskrit, cows are called “GO”. In Vedic culture all knowledge begins with the word “Ga”. Guru and Gayatri are the beginnings of all knowledge. All auspiciousness activities also start with the cows. No sacrifice can be done without Ghee; sacrifices are considered auspicious and ghee is required. The “Ga” signifies cows, this is a secret meaning.
For Vaishnavs (people worshiping Lord Krishna in his personal form) there is a still deeper meaning. The meaning is within the words – Govinda, Gopi, Govardhana, Goloka Vrindavan. It is clear these are the greatest. Govinda is Lord Krishna, the protector of cows, Gopis are the highest devotees, Govardhana is the best servant, and Goloka Vrindavan (“go loka - the abode of the cows ”) is the highest destination . The meaning is obvious. There is nothing without the cows. They all serve cows. Cows are the dearest to Lord Krishna, they are His deities. This is the highest form of worship of Lord Krishna and available to only a very select few devotees. Even this knowledge is very rare – most people don’t understand the exalted position of cows, they see cows as animals. People who serve Krishna ’s cows are the most fortunate and achieve all results. This is the ultimate and simplest. Its how 'goloka vrindavan' is achieved while in the material world, in the material body.
Hare Krsna.
bbdasa@yahoo.com
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Re: Why Vaishnavs Worship Cows?
Mon, July 2, 2007 - 3:37 AMWhat is Cow Protection?
by Madhava Priya dasi
Hearing the term "Cow Protection," people typically have one of two reactions. Some think protection is for endangered species, and since there are lots of cows, it's better to concentrate on whales. Others think it may be some pagan worship of animals - the "sacred cow" image.
THE ACTUAL PHILOSOPHICAL REASON FOR COW PROTECTION IS VERY SIMPLE: First of all, all living entities should be protected from slaughter and other violence at the hands of humans. Not only cows, but animals have SOULS the same as we do. All are children of God, all are dear to Him.
With this view in mind, it can be seen that slaughter is a form of MURDER.
The cow, however, is our MOTHER. Vedic philosophy teaches there are 7 mothers: 1) the birth mother, 2) the nurse, 3) the wife of the father (if she is not the birth mother), 4) the wife of the king, 5) the wife of the spiritual master, 6) the earth, and 7) the cow. You may wonder why the cow is considered one of the 7 mothers. Well, it is because she gives her milk to nourish us.
All mothers should hold a position of respect, and since one does not kill and eat one's mother, the cow should not be killed and eaten. Likewise, the bull is our father because he can plow the earth to produce food grains. One does not kill and eat one's father and mother - not even when they are old and less economically useful.
5000 years ago, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared on earth to protect His devotees and to demonstrate His pastimes. Among those pastimes was his childhood role as a cowherd boy. The cows were very dear to Him because of their affectionate and gentle nature as well as their contributions to human society, and He was kind to them in return and protected them. We should follow His example.
In practice the first principle of cow protection, surprisingly, is OX EMPLOYMENT.
A mistake is made when only the cow is considered because typically her main usefulness is seen as milk production, and she won't give milk unless she first has a calf. Since half of all calves are bulls, the result will be a lot of excess bovine population. The expense of feeding them will be a deficit to the farmer. Unless employed as oxen, their only economic usefulness will be in their slaughter to produce meat.
The modern system of agriculture sees no other economically viable means of management. And most people, accustomed to this viewpoint and seeing no alternative, will throw up their hands and agree, even if they'd prefer a less violent solution. But that is only because they don't have the facts. They don't know that the overall value of the ox is greater when he is utilized for work than when he's slaughtered for meat.
The present system is full of ironies and very wasteful. Everyone laments the loss of the small family farm. But economic forces today require quantity control - which is dependent on expensive tractors, polluting fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers, and heavy mortgages - and the small farmer is driven out of business.
Yet, beef production is subsidized in countries like USA and India. To produce beef there is a disproportionate expenditure of the Earth's resources. In a world with increasing population and mass starvation, producing one calorie of flesh (beef, pork, or chicken) requires 11-17 calories of feed. 78 calories of fossil fuel are needed to produce 1 calorie of protein from beef. Two-thirds of Central America's rainforest have been destroyed to supply beef. *
A BETTER SYSTEM would be rearranging the components. First, breed cows not to provide milk with calves as the by-product, but to provide a team of oxen for every family farm with milk as the by-product. There will be neither excess milk nor excess calves. The oxen will be out in the pastures eating simply, and naturally fertilizing the soil, saving the farmer the cost of the tractor, fuel, and fertilizer. The oxen will be quite content to use their big muscles in such wholesome work, and the humans can become healthy vegetarians. As for the government, if it wants to subsidize something, why not the small family farm instead of the beef industry? The beef industry may have a powerful lobby, but who wants all that heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, not to mention all that bad karma from killing innocent animals!
Don't we all hanker for a simpler, cleaner, more wholesome, less violent Earth?
THE OX IS THE BACKBONE OF THE FARM,
NOT THE SOUPBONE
