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The official events of the conference were held at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kanhaiya Temple of Devotion & Understanding (TODU) in Penang on 6 October 2018, and on the following day at the Sri Jagannatha Mandir in Kuala Lumpur. Before the conference started in Penang, a Go Puja was conducted at a small goshala in Nibong Tebal, Penang. His Holiness RP Bhakti Raghava Swami, the main speaker at the conference, together with a group of devotees, offered prayers and prasadam to a gomata who had a week-old calf with her. The goshala is run by a devotee named Krishna Baladeva Das, with support from TODU.
Apart from Bhakti Raghava Maharaja, the national Minister for the Daiva Varnasrama Ministry, India, there was an interesting line-up of speakers who spoke at both the Penang and Kuala Lumpur events: His Grace Simheswara Das, the regional General Secretary of ISKCON Malaysia; His Grace Kisora Krsna Das, the representative from Gau Raksya Indonesia (GAURI); and Bhakta Jonson Chong, a householder devotee from TODU.
During the conference, Bhakti Raghava Maharaja emphasized, in light of current critical social and environmental conditions, the desperate need for implementing varnasrama based on cow culture. Indeed, he reminded both audiences that cow culture is not just about us protecting cows, but also that when we respect and care for cows they will also protect us.
Simheswara Das shared many significant quotes from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhativedanta Swami Prabhupada regarding cows and milk, and also showed the audience various activities in the Lanchang farm through a series of photos of devotees and cows. During his talk in Kuala Lumpur, he also invited His Grace Goloka Candra Dasa to talk about the production of Ahimsa milk at the Janda Baik farm.
Kisora Krsna Das shared the experience of GAURI, the Indonesian organization that was set-up to promote cow culture in line with the global OM Sri Surabhi Campaign, an initiative of ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry (IDVM-India). He also gave several interesting anecdotes about the use of go-ark and other panchagavya products made by GAURI.
Bhakta Jonson spoke about cow culture from a householder (grhasta) perspective. Whilst echoing Maharaj’s point about the dire ecological disaster faced by the world today, he encouraged devotees at both events to embrace simple living in Vedic farm communities, which is an important part of Srila Prabhupada’s vision as well as a necessity for an auspicious future.
The official global OM Sri Surabhi Campaign video was shown after the panel spoke.
The collective effect of the speeches and the video was palpable. A devotee, who was clearly moved, asked the speakers for practical advice as to how we could adopt a Vedic farm lifestyle. He wanted to know whether there are any model farms around the world that we could follow, and also what he, a city-dweller, could do if he were to live on a farm.
The Cow Culture Conference in Malaysia was co-organised by the ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry (IDVM-India) as part of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign together with ISKCON Malaysia, which was supported by the respective temples in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
Compiled by Bhakta Jonson
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