Gomati-vidya by Parasurama says:
“Wherever the thirsty cow drinks water from, that body of water is as good as the Ganga, Yamuna, Sindhu, or Sarasvati. In the body of the cows, all holy places and rivers are present. Lakshmidevi resides in cow dung. Simply by the cow’s touch and sight, she purifies all living entities. Among all purified objects, she is most pure, and among all auspicious objects, she is the most auspicious.”
According to the injunctions in the Vedic Literature, each one of us have seven mothers – the real mother , the wife of a teacher/spiritual master, the wife of a king, the wife of a Brahmana, the cow, the nurse and mother earth. That is why the cow is often referred to as ‘Gomata’ in the Vedic society.
The Vedic lexicon ‘Nighantu’ offers nine synonyms for “cow” three of which – aghnya or ahi (both meaning not to be killed) and aditi (not to be cut) specifically forbid slaughter.
In Mahabharata ( shanti parva 262.47) it is stated that “The very name of the cows is aghnya, indicating that they should never be slaughtered. Who then could slay them ? Surely, one who kills the cow or a bull, commits the most heinous crime.”
The Rig Veda (8.101.15) echoes the same : “ The mother of the cosmic powers , the daughter of the beings of light, the sister of the sun gods, the navel center of truth . I speak to those who are aware: do not harm the cow,for, in so doing , you harm the earth and all of humanity.”
Such hymns glorifying the sacred cow and emphasizing its protection, can be found throughout the Vedic literature. In fact,the Vedic literature state that all the cows of this world, are descendants , of Kamdhenu (or Surabhi) , who is the mother of all the cows. Kamdhenu is a miraculous cow of plenty, who resides in heaven and provides her owner whatever he desires. Puranas contain, that this celestial cow was produced by the demigods at the churning of the cosmic ocean. It was presented to the seven sages by the demigods, and in course of time came into the possession of Sage Vasishta.
Even today if one visits a village in India, one cannot help but notice the parental love and affection with which a villager treats his cows and bulls. The ancient traditions of Sanatan Dharma, are still preserved in the dealings of Rural India.
Not only are they treated as part of family, but even the weddings of these cows and bulls are performed with great pomp and show. The bull is considered the father of the society , as he helps in farming and producing grains while the cow is regarded as the mother, as she produces milk which nourishes the family.
The injunction for protecting cows also find its reference in the Bhagavad Gita (18.44) wherein it is mentioned :
kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ
vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam
– Farming, cow protection & trade are the qualities of work for the vaisyas.
Here, the word ‘go’ means cow and ‘raksya’ means protection.
Here, it is clearly mentioned that cow protection is an integral duty of the vaisya (businessman) community.
According to Ayurveda, the urine of a cow has antiseptic properties, which has been recently confirmed by modern science and it is now being widely used in medicines as well. The excreta of a cow, the cow dung, is a cost-effective fertilizer which can even transform desert soils into fertile humus rich soils that would retain moisture and support vegetation even with scarce rainfall. And the milk of a cow contains every nutrient that is required for the growth of a human being; a complete food. It slows down the aging process and increases intelligence and strength; it regulates and increases the duration of life.
Keeping the above in mind, Swami Prabhupada mentions in Srimad Bhagavatam :
“The bull and cow are symbols of the most offenseless living beings because even the stool and urine of these animals are utilized in human society.” (SB 1.17.13, purport)
David Frawley, Director of the American Institute of Vedic studies writes “The outer care of the cow reflects the inner care of the self : the cultivation of divine awareness, which yields the milk of truth and pure perception”. This is ofcourse paraphrasing Mahatma Gandhi who said , “To me , the cow is the embodiment of the whole infra-human world; she enables the believer to grasp his unity with all that lives…To protect her is to protect all the creatures of God’s creation”.
When God is a cowherd boy
Lord Krishna, the supreme personality of godhead, took birth about 5000 years ago, as a cow-herder, in the Indian village of Vrindavan. Krishna’s love for cows are well known and well demonstrated in the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam. Infact, Krishna is popularly known as Govinda (one who pleases the cows) and Gopala (protector of cows).
It is important to note that Krishna, being God, could have chosen a family of intellectuals (Brahmins) or political leaders (kshatriyas) in which to enact His childhood pastimes, but He did not. He instead chose to be born in a family of simple cowherds (Vaishyas) and to spend His youthful pastimes in a bucolic setting.
Here He lovingly tended cows in the association of His close friends. There Krishna would hug these docile creatures and play with them.Ancient Vaishnava scriptures explain how Krishna and His cows used to communicate by mooing, but the real language was one of love, which is how Krishna ultimately communicates with all living entities. Naturally, His life as a cow herder includes cows,calves,milk and stories of nature’s wonders. The implicit statement is that life in goodness, close to nature and cows, is preferable for those pursuing spiritual realization.
There is a very famous prayer mentioned in the Vishnu Purana which indicates the merciful inclination of the Lord to do good towards the cows :
namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca
jagad-dhitaya krishnaya govindaya namo namah
“My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and the world.” (Vishnu Purana 1.19.65)
The purport of this prayer is that the Lord specifically protects the brāhmaṇas and the cows, and then He protects all other members of society (jagad-dhitāya). It is His will that universal welfare work depends on the protection of cows and brāhmaṇas; thus brahminical culture and cow protection are the basic principles for human civilization. Kṣatriyas are especially meant to protect the brāhmaṇas and cows, as is the supreme will of the Lord: go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca.
For protecting the cows and brahminical culture, the Lord, who is very kind to the cows and the brāhmaṇas (go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya), will be pleased with us and will bestow upon us real peace.
Here it is worthwhile mentioning that who is actually a Brahmana. Although many Hindus subscribe to the belief that one is born into a certain caste, this belief is not supported by their scriptures. The caste system in India has degenerated into a system falsely recognizing men born in Brahmin families as Brahmins, even though they don’t exhibit the qualities of Brahmins.
These divisions are made on the basis of the qualities of a person and his tendency to take up a particular work (guna-karma-vibhaga) as stated by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, “According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me.”
So one becomes a brahmana not by birth but by his qualities alone.
The symptoms of a brahmana are control of the mind, control of the senses, austerity and penance, cleanliness, satisfaction, forgiveness, simplicity, knowledge, mercy, truthfulness, and complete surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (SB 7.11.21)
Timeless Glories of Gomata
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.21.18, Govardhan Hill is glorified as the best devotee because of supplying water, soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers, and vegetables to Krsna, Balarama, the cowherd boys, and the cows.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.16.10, Krsna Himself states, “The brahmanas, the cows, and the defenseless creatures are My own body.”
Again in Srimad Bhagavatam it is mentioned :
“Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the prime protector of brahminical culture and the cow. Without respecting these two, one cannot realize the science of God, and without this knowledge, welfare activities or humanitarian propaganda cannot be successful.” (SB 4.21.38)
Parasurama said in the Gomati-vidya from Vishnu-dharmottara:
“Only by the combination of brahmanas and the cows, is the performance of sacrifice for the pleasure of Visnu complete.”
In the Brihat Parasara-smriti, it is written:
“Simply by eating grass, the cows give us milk. From milk, ghee is produced by which demigods become satisfied. So how can one neglect the cow ? Simply by her association, a person becomes purified. By serving her, one achieves unlimited wealth, and by donating cows, one can transfer himself to heaven. There is no wealth superior to the cow. All the demigods reside in different parts of her body. By serving the cow with devotion, Lord Hari becomes pleased. Her milk nourishes human beings. How can such a cow not be worshipable.”
According to the Gavopanisad:
“One should see, offer obeisances to, and circumambulate the cow. By doing so, one is supposed to have circumambulated the entire earth with its seven islands. The cow is the mother of all. She gives happiness to everyone. People who desire prosperity should daily circumambulate the cow.”
In the Mahabharata it is mentioned:
“Oh Bharata, nothing is rare for a devotee of the cow. Whatever such devotees desire, they achieve. A lady who is devoted to the cow can have her desires fulfilled by the cow’s mercy. One who desires a son or a daughter, who desires wealth, one who desires piety, or knowledge — all can get their desires fulfilled by the mercy of the cow.”
In Conclusion…
The Universal message of Cow protection is resonated even among the scholars of other faiths. The Iranian scholar Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111 AD) was one of the most brilliant philosophers of Islam. He has stated that besides pieces of bread whatever we eat is simply to satisfy our urges. At the age of 28, he headed the Institute of Islam in Baghdad. His main book, Ihya Ulum ul-Din —The Revival of Religious Sciences is highly respected. In this book (part 2, page 23, lines 17-19) the detrimental effects of beef and the virtues of clarified butter and milk from a cow are stated as follows:”The meat of cow is marz (disease), its milk is safa (health) and its clarified butter is dava (medicine).”
We find in Isaiah where Jesus scorns the slaughter and bloodshed of humans and animals. He declares (1.15) that God does not hear the prayers of animal killers: “But your iniquities have separated you and your God. And your sins have hid His face from you, so that He does not hear. For your hands are stained with blood. . . Their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed innocent blood. . . they know not the ways of peace.” Isaiah also laments that he saw, “Joy and merrymaking, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine, as you thought, ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’” (22.13)
It is also established in the Bible (Isaiah 66.3), “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.” In this regard St. Basil (320-379 A.D.) taught, “The steam of meat darkens the light of the spirit. One can hardly have virtue if one enjoys meat meals and feasts.”
When the perfect king, Maharaja Parikshit, was touring the earth, he witnessed a man dressed as a king mercilessly hurting a cow. The saintly king of the world had never even imagined that anyone would think of harming mother cow. A king’s duty is to protect all citizens especially the brahmanas, the cows, the elderly, women and children. The criminal was Kali, sin personified. At that time, it was the beginning of Kali-yuga, which is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy.
“The principal sign of Kali-yuga is that lower class sudras, or men without brahminical culture and spiritual initiation will be dressed like administrators or kings and the main business of such rulers will be to kill the innocent animals—especially the cows and bulls who shall be unprotected by the bona fide vaisyas.” (SB 1.17.1, purport)
Maharaj Parikshit immediately chastised the miscreant Kali, and banished him from his kingdom. On Kali’s request to grant him a place of stay, Maharaj Parikshit allowed him to reside in only those places where there will be intoxication, gambling, illicit sex and animal slaughter.
Hence, by abstaining from these above four vices, we can transcend Kali’s influence. It is not surprising to devotees of the Lord that these ancient words of wisdom have indeed come to pass.
Vrindavan is also known as Gokula. Go means cow and Kula means congregation. Hence Gokula refers to the place where the cows are protected and are safe. Cows are a gift from God who provide us milk for nourishment without expecting anything else in return except grass and grains. As philosopher Jeremy Rifkin writes ,”Our relationship to the cow has been both sacred and secular, spiritual and utilitarian”. If all of us agree to the common cause of protecting and respecting Gomata and returning back her lost glory, then perhaps the whole world will become Vrindavan one day.
For those who still disregard the Shastric injunctions and indulge in cow flesh, Lord Gauranga describes the horrific future of such living entities to Chand Kazi .I leave you with the concerned verse from Chaitanya Charitamrta:
go-aṅge yata loma, tata sahasra vatsara
go-vadhī raurava-madhye pace nirantara
“Cow killers and cow eaters are condemned to rot in a hellish condition of life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of each cow they eat.” (Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila, Chapter 17, Verse 166)
References :
1. Holy Cow: The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism and Animal Rights- By Steven Rosen
2. Chaitanya Charitamrta
3. Srimad Bhagavatam – HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanata Swami Prabhupada
4. http://nitaaiveda.com/
http://www.iskcondesiretree.