COW PROTECTION (go-raksha)

Go-Raksha

From Bhagvad Gita & Bhagwad Puran

In Bhagavad-gita Krsna instructs that the economic basis for a spiritual society should be ‘krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam’ -- farming, cow protection, and trade are the primary functions of Vaishyas. We are all creatures of material nature. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the Lord Himself is the seed-giving father and material nature is the mother of all living beings in all shapes. Thus mother material nature has enough foodstuffs both for animals and for men, by the grace of the Father Almighty, Sri Krsna. The human being is the elder brother of all other living beings. He is endowed with intelligence more powerful than animals for realizing the course of nature and the indications of the Almighty Father. Human civilizations should depend on the production of material nature without artificially attempting economic development to turn the world into a chaos of artificial greed and power only for the purpose of artificial luxuries and sense gratification. This is but the life of dogs and hogs.

In Bhagwad Puran Maharaja Pariksit, grandson of Maharaja Yudhisthira, while touring his vast kingdom, saw a man attempting to kill a cow. The King at once arrested the butcher and chastised him sufficiently. Should not a king or executive head protect the lives of the poor animals that are unable to defend themselves? Is this humanity? Are not the animals of country citizens also? Then why are they allowed to be butchered in organized slaughterhouses? Are these the signs of equality, fraternity and nonviolence? Moreover is it democracy? In ancient times king was supposed to protect the ‘praja’ which included animals also. (“Due to their fatty milk bags and cheerful attitude, the cows used to moisten the grazing ground with milk” Srimad Bhagavatam 1.10.4 describes a grazing ground).

The Cow is Our Mother

The Vedic Scriptures refer to the cow as our mother. When we stop taking milk from our mother the cow gladly takes over the role of supplying milk. For this reason the cow is our mother. It is nature’s special arrangement that the cow provides milk to give nourishment to civilized people. We are now killing millions of our mothers every year in such a brutal way in enormous Slaughter houses. Over 150 million animals are killed for food around the world every day—just on land. That comes out to 56 billion land animals killed per year.

Karma and Consciousness

The law of karma describes the universe as an interconnected network in which every action causes a reaction to occur in the future. Material scientists understand the gross manifestation of this law in the form of physics; however, they have no idea of the workings of the same law on a more subtle platform.  This cow-killing is the most sinful activity and we are suffering in many ways as a result of the enormous burden of bad karma it generates.

The barbarians take blood by cutting the throat of a poor innocent animal, while civilised people drink milk which contains all of the nutritious qualities of meat without the necessity of violence

Milk is the Nectar of Immortality

In modern civilisation milk is not thought of as being important, therefore people are not living very long. Although in this age anyone can live up to one hundred years, the duration of life is reduced because people do not drink large quantities of milk. Instead of drinking milk, they prefer to slaughter an animal and eat it’s flesh. The cow should be protected, milk should be drawn from the cows, and this milk should be prepared in various ways. One should take ample milk, and thus one can prolong one’s life and develop the finer tissues of the brain

The Misery of Cow-Killing

Ample food grains can be produced through agricultural enterprises, profuse milk, yogurt and ghee can be arranged through cow protection and abundant honey can be obtained if the forests are protected. Instead of a simple lifestyle modern civilisation is busy killing the cows that are the source of yogurt, milk and ghee; they are cutting down all the trees that supply honey and they are opening factories to manufacture nuts, bolts, automobiles and wine instead of engaging in agriculture. This is creating so many problems in the world. How can the people be happy? They must suffer from all the misery of materialism.

“Their bodies become wrinkled and gradually deteriorate until they become almost like dwarfs, and a bad odour emanates from them because of unclean perspiration resulting from eating all kinds of nasty things. This is not human civilisation.” Srimad Bhagavatam

Social Capital

 Vegetarianism and Cow Protection: People are generally unaware of the importance of cows. Cows produce, in large quantities, the miracle food, milk. Milk is produced from the blood of the cow; however she is happy to give her blood transformed in a peaceful, non-violent way in the form of milk.

Plain Living and High Thinking: It is possible to live a comfortable, simple life in harmony with nature. All that is required is some land, cows and food grains. With these three necessities we can obtain everything required for a simple life.

The Varnasrama Social System: There is a natural system of social organization which can bring about a peaceful society where everyone is happy. This system is described in the timeless Vedic literature of India and it is called Varnasrama dharma.

Team Work: When you work with the animals, you can see that they are much happier with discipline and intelligent guidelines.  Also, you feel very proud and happy once your team is trained to work.

Living Cows are an Economic Asset

It is quite clear that a living cow yields to the society more food than a dead one - in the form of    continuing supply of milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and other high-protein foods. 

In 1971 Stewart Odend’hal of the University of Missouri conducted a detailed study of cows in Bengal and found that far from depriving humans of food, they ate only inedible remains of harvested crops (rice hulls,tops of sugarcane, etc.) and grass. 

“Basically”, he said, “the cattle convert items of little direct human value into products of immediate utility.” This should put to rest the myth that people are starving in India because they will not kill their cows. Interestingly enough, India seems to have surmounted her food problems, which have always had more to do with occasional severe drought or political upheaval than with sacred cows. 

A panel of experts at the Agency for international Development, in a statement cited in the United States Congressional Record for December 2nd, l980, concluded “India produces enough to feed all its people.” If allowed to live, cows produce High quality, protein rich foods in amounts that stagger the imagination. It is abundantly clear that cows (living ones) are one of mankind’s, most valuable food resources. 

Movements to save seals, dolphins and whales from slaughter are flourishing – so why shouldn’t there be a movement to save the cows?