“The Lord is the protector of the cow and the Brahminical culture. A society which is devoid of cow protection and Brahminical culture, is not under the direct protection of the Lord.” [Srimad Bhagavatam 1.14.34 Purport]

When I begin to think of Mother Cow, all that comes to my mind is purity, serenity, peace, sacrifice and unending motherly love. The cow naturally has affection for everyone and is potent at giving unending compassion to all who approach her.

I remember the days when I used to visit India and find people with folded palms before the Cow, worshiping her as Mother. Gradually, this site is disappearing even in places of pilgrimage. As Kali-yuga is progressing, we can see the cow being merely termed as a commodity that can produce certain amounts of milk products, blood, bones, flesh & leather which can generate revenue for the nation and people. Cow is slaughtered for its hide to make vanity bags and belts, bone-meal for tooth paste & cosmetics, blood for vitamin tablets and intestines (especially of calves) for making gold and silver wafers to stick on sweets. For this, she is mercilessly tortured, inflicted unending pain and ultimately killed. An interesting fact is that all kinds of animals when taken to slaughter revolt back to save their lives, but the big heart of Mother Cow gives her life with least revolt.

Seeing through the eyes of scriptures and recent studies, the glories of Mother Cow are insurmountable and one who sees things as they are can comprehend these facts.

Interesting facts about Mother Cow:

• The Vedic scripture states that all the demigods and demigoddesses reside in the body of a cow. This explains why the body of a cow is divine and holy. All Vedic sacrifices will not be complete without the use of Ghee which is provided from the milk of Mother Cow.

• In the Manu-Samhita, chapter 4, verse 162 we find: “A guru, a teacher, a father, a mother, a Brahmana, a cow and a yogi all should never be killed.”

• Cow’s urine can treat each and every disease if used in proper proportion. According to scientists, Cows urine can be used against sleeplessness, piles, teeth diseases, asthma, eye diseases, acidity, indigestion & heart diseases. Cow’s urine is also a natural pesticide. Cattle in ancient India had ensured that Indian civilization did not need any artificial pesticides or artificial fertilizers, both of which are extremely harmful for the farm soil and degrade soil quality over time. Also, cow’s manure is a natural fertilizer.

• Italian scientist, G E Begede has discovered that cow’s dung can treat malaria. American scientist, James Martin has proved that if cow dung along with seawater is sprinkled on barren land, then the land becomes fruitful. Cow dung can absorb pollutants in water caused by steamers.

• In a 2000 publication of “Scientific America” there was a report on “Cow Human Genome Comparison” – “Among the 768 genes on the cattle RH map, 687 genes or 89.5% had putative human orthologs. Among the 687 mapped genes, 548 genes had human GB4 RH mapping information. 22 were mapped exclusively on the G3 panel and 68 had human cytogenetic assignments exclusively. All cow chromosomes with the possible exception of BTA9 and BTA23 have centromere repositioning relative to human chromosomes. Four cattle chromosomes show complete conservation of synergy with their human homologs. The four are: BTA12 and HSA13, BTA19 and HSA17, BTA24 and HSA18, BTAX and HSAX. For all of these chromosomes multiple rearrangements were observed. BTA3 was the only cow chromosome that showed no internal rearrangements when compared with the homologous segment on HSA1. Fifteen cattle chromosomes are seen to be comprised of genes found on only one human chromosome.  Also, the DNA of the cow was specifically constructed to be harmonious with mammalian human DNA.”

Confusing? To make it easier, the conclusion of this scientific mumbo-jumbo is that - Cow milk is the most compatible with human mother’s milk than the milk of any other species in the entire existence. The cow DNA was designed so humans could benefit from cows products being milk, cheese, butter, cream and yoghurt. What the west is concluding now, our scriptures have declared a long time ago.

• “It is described in the Brahma Samhita (surabhi apbipalayantam), Lord Krishna on His planet, Goloka Vrindavan, engages in tending the surabhi cows. These cows are the Lord’s pet animals.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 8.8.2 purport).

• The Srimad-Bhagavatam describes in detail how the cows are most dear to Lord Krishna. The Lord takes the cows and calves every morning to graze on the pastures of Govardhana Hill. There are hundreds of thousands of cows at the palace of Nanda Maharaja (Lord Krishna’s father), an each cow has her own name. Whenever Lord Krishna plays His flute and calls the cows by name, the cows, intelligent and affectionate, come running toward Him.

• “Cow killers and cow eaters are condemned to rot in hell for as many thousands of years as there are for each hair on the body of every cow they eat from.” (Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi Lila, Chapter 17, verse 166)

• There is also a prayer in the Vedic literature that states:
  namo brahmaṇya-devāya
  go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
  jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya
  govindāya namo namaḥ
  "My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brāhmaṇas, and you are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world." (Vishnu Purāṇa 1.19.65)

The purport is that special mention is given in that prayer for the protection of the cows and the brāhmaṇas. Brāhmaṇas are the symbol of spiritual education, and cows are the symbol of the most valuable food; these two living creatures, the brāhmaṇas and the cows, must be given all protection—that is real advancement of civilization. (Bhagavad-Gita----14:16----purport).

Giving up cattle meat and adopting Vegetarianism – the healthy alternative

It is scientifically proven that animal killing and simple living cannot go hand in hand. The livestock business is among the most damaging sectors to the earth’s increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to water pollution, eutrophication and the degeneration of coral reefs. The major polluting agents are animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray feed crops. Going vegetarian is the easiest and quickest way to lower the carbon footprint, reduce pollution, and save energy and water. That's because meat production requires staggering amounts of land, water, and energy, compared to plant foods.

Time Magazine agrees, saying, "It's true that giving up that average 176 lb. of meat a year is one of the greenest lifestyle changes you can make as an individual." Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior author of the report: “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.” “People may not realize that changing what's on their plate could have an even bigger effect.” says Joyce D'Silva from Compassion in World Farming.” Also, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says “So I want to highlight the fact that among options for mitigating climate change, changing diets is something one should consider.”

Let’s briefly read what John Robbins, writer of the “Food Revolution” have to say on this:

• Livestock production requires enormous amounts of energy. We put far more energy into animals per unit of food than we do for any plant crop. The main reason is that cattle consume 16 times more grain than they produce as meat, so right there we have 16 times as much energy just to grow those crops, just so we can waste them on livestock.

• A pound of potatoes takes 99.6% less water to produce than a pound of beef, and 97% less than a pound of chicken.

• It takes 16 pounds of grain to make one pound of beef. That's 94% more land. And 94% more pesticides. All told, livestock eat 70% of all the grain we produce.

Our responsibility as being devotees of Lord Krishna

The idea that one should not eat meat, although the main concept of Hindu philosophy, is only a secondary theme. To a large extent, it amounts only to common sense and sensitivity. It is from the basis of sensitivity, an indicator of healthy consciousness, that higher spiritual principles can be appreciated, understood and applied. The Vedas describe that man has dominion over animals but not in a way that animals can be slaughtered for food. The dominion over cows is like that of a father or elder brother. Animals are compared to innocent little children who need our protection; can we think of slaughtering our own children who are helpless and dependent on us? We cannot tolerate even the slight abuse of our dog.

Seeing the bigger picture, we are not competent enough to protect the cows, on the contrary, it’s Mother Cow who is protecting us and nourishing our body, mind & soul. In the reign of the great saintly kings like the Pandavas & King Parikshit, we hear descriptions of them giving protection not only to the humans but also to the animals who were considered citizens and responsibility of the King to take care of. Now on the contrary, the rulers of the nation promote slaughtering of cows & bulls to raise the economic trade and revenue for the country. They provide subsidies to farmers for opening up slaughterhouses. In such a dreadful scenario, the idea of world peace will remain a distant dream.

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport to Srimad bhagavatam 3.5.7, “The cow is the most important animal for developing the human body to perfection. The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff, but cow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. A civilized man is expected to live on foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows.”

Srila Prabhupada here brings out that the cows give so much practical help to the human society that the humans can have more time for spiritual pursuits. However, although modern technology promises to make life simpler, yet the underlying fact remains that it actually complicates one’s life more & more and distracts one’s attention from the prime goal of existence - simple living with a higher purpose.

In this situation, I take lots of inspiration from exalted devotees in our community towards protection of cows. Here in Melbourne where I currently reside, cows are protected and cared for at the Hare Krishna Valley. We also had a Go-Puja for the cows in October 2014 at the Farm. Back in India, my spiritual guides have set a wonderful example by protecting cows and living a self-sufficient lifestyle at their sacred farm space “Panchavati” in Karmandurai, Salem.

[The links for these two are given below in the inspiration section]

[Cows at Hare Krishna Valley, Melbourne, Australia]

[Cows at Panchavati, The Vedic Lifestyle, Salem]

I conclude with the fact that living in a nice furnished apartment in Melbourne, I’m enjoying all the comforts of city living. Little can I do in this setting for the protection of Mother Cow; yet speaking about the glories of Mother Cow is purifying & auspicious and probably this little attempt to spread awareness can bring a slight change in my heart and many others.

Hare Krishna!

References:

Indigenous & Exotic Cows (HG Vrindavanlila Devi Dasi)

Food Revolution (John Robbins)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7600005.stm

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/environment.html

Inspiration:

1) http://harekrishnavalley.com.au/

2) http://www.iskconvarnasrama.com/home/panchavati-project/ or https://www.facebook.com/Panchavati.Karumandurai

About Author:

Yamuna Sundari Devi dasi is a disciple of HH Radhanath Swami and currently resides with her husband in Melbourne, Australia. She is a teacher of Kirtan & Vedic musical instruments.