By Vrndavanlila Devi Dasi – Dr. Vrinda Baxi
This celestial cow is the mother of the entire universe [matrah sarva bhutanam / gavah sarv sukh prada], she can sustain the complete creation, she is dharma herself, in the form of milk she provides “liquid religiosity”, just by her service one attains dharma, artha, kama and moksha. She is so sacred that all the demigods, munis etc. have taken permanent place in her body, and whose even excreta is considered as gold. The panchagavyas (milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine) derived from her help destroy one’s sin:
yatvagasthi gatam papam dehe tishthti mamke
prasnat panchgavyasya dahasagnirivendhnam
[From skin to bones, whatever sins (diseases) are in my body, are destroyed by panchagavya just as fire destroys fuel.]
“Once Śrīmati Radharani and Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the company of many gopis, went to the forest of Vṛndāvana. They sat down in a solitary place. Kṛṣṇa suddenly developed a desire to drink milk. Immediately, out of His own sweet will, He manifested the Surabhi cow from His left side. Her milk bag was full with milk. The name of her calf was ‘Manoratha’. Sudama, who was present there, immediately took a new pot and began to milk her.
The milk was just like nectar and was capable of freeing one from the repeated cycles of birth and death. Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the gopis, personally drank that milk. Suddenly, the milk pot fell out of His hands and broke. All the milk spread on the ground, and took the shape of a lake. This lake was one hundred yojans wide and one hundred yojans long.
This lake became famous in Goloka as Ksira-sarovara and became the principal spot for Śrīmati Radharani and the other gopis to enjoy their pastimes. All the four sides of this lake were plastered with various jewels. Then by the will of Kṛṣṇa, innumerable Kamadhenus appeared there immediately. The same number of gopis also appeared from the pores of these cows. These cows had countless calves. This is how, by the mercy of Surabhi, all the cows were created and came to fill the entire universe.
At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa personally worshipped Surabhi cow. On the next day (Dipavali) the worship of Surabhi took place by the order of Kṛṣṇa. From that time onwards, worship of the cow has been continuing in this world.i
Almost everyday I used to tell stories of pastimes of cows with the Lord and mother cow’s spiritual pursuits to my dear cow, aptly named Surabhi by my spiritual master, His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami. She used to listen to them with rapt attention, pricked ears and large deep black dilated eyes. Everything about her was majestic, her grave gait, her compassion filled eyes, her soft skin, her spectacularly clean lifestyle…just everything. As we got closer and closer to each other with each passing day, Surabhi made me wonder about gomata? I wondered about other cows, who looked and behaved very different from her. She fueled my anxiety and maharaj’s blessings facilitated me research more about cows – about gomata. The results were very startling for an ignorant person like me. I realized not all the ‘cows’ are cows. They may look like cows but are not gomata, who is glorified in the scriptures. It is possible whom you worship everyday is not gomata, whose milk you take everyday thinking that you are taking “liquid religiosity” and thus wallowing in material and spiritual prosperity is not mother cow. You may be totally mistaken in your perception. Ignorance is no excuse. Fire burns a child as well as a grown with equal severity.
The real cows, who once populated the entire face of earth are slowly on the verge of extinction, thanks to our ignorance and equally unqualified leadership. In a very systematic manner the cows are being slaughtered and made to disappear. The situation in India is no different. Though it has been lucky enough to have the largest figure of wide variety of original cows but the figure is fast changing. From more than 130 breeds it has come down to mere 28 surviving breeds. And out of those 28 also, the purity of breed is not maintained. There has been lot of cross-breeding, lot of contamination, both internally and externally- varnasankara population. Our artificial life style imitating the west has brought degeneration not only in our species but to the complete network of life. Since cows were so inextricably linked to the Indian lifestyle, they were the ones who have been affected the most. The government introduced Jersey cows, HF, and many such imported cow breeds on the pretext of their higher milk yield and even framed laws resulting in forcible control on desi (indigenous cow breed) cow population. Their similar policies of introducing HYV seeds and mechanized irrigation have already imploded in states which had enthusiastically implemented the “green revolution” charter, now it is the turn of their “white revolution” policy of encouraging exotic cow breeds. The implosion is inevitable, but how are we placed? We are immune because we have blindly placed our trust in the hands of demoniac and religiously blind leadership. They show us Jersey or any other exotic cow breeds, saying they are better than our own desi cow breeds, we do not question them… we simply take their milk and even worship them! What kind of spiritual benefit can we expect? If there has been a rise in the cases of cancer, lacto-intolerance, and other such medical conditions, the reason lies in our non-discriminatory attitude towards cows and cow like creatures.
Who is this miracle cow? Do all the cows have these wonderful qualities? Are all the cows whom we see around us are the same who have been immortalised by participating significantly in the Supreme Lord’s pastimes in Vṛndāvana? Are these the cows whom the Lord eternally serves in Goloka? Who are the cows who belong to the lineage of Surabhi who had done penance for thousands of years? Are all the cows moving around us, whether desi (indigenous breed) or videsi (exotic breed), belong to the same line of divine Surabhi and are thus worshippable? Is there no difference between the indigenous cows and exotic breed of cows?
dhrati kshama damah asteyam
shouchamindriyanigrhah
dhi vidya satyamakrodho
dashakam dharma lakshanam
According to Manu Smriti one of the ten symptoms of dharma is “dhi” or wisdom. It is indicative of the power to discriminate between right and wrong. Following the path of dharma shown by the ācāryas, the individual accepts everything that is favorable to devotional service, while rejecting that which is unfavorable.
Similarly in the context of cows, it is very important that we give the right place to the ‘cows’ and also discriminate between cows and other cow-like creations.
In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.19.2), we can see that Kṛṣṇa’s father, Nanda maharaj reared cows, buffaloes, goats etc. Kṛṣṇa was indiscriminate when it comes to extending His compassion. He swallowed the forest fire to protect them:
ajā gāvo mahishyaś ca
nirviśantyo vanād vanam
īshīkātavīm nirviviśuh
krandantyo dāva-tarshitāh
[Passing from one part of the great forest to another, the goats, cows and buffaloes eventually entered an area overgrown with sharp canes. The heat of a nearby forest fire made them thirsty, and they cried out in distress.]
The Lord protected all of them, treating them with equal compassion. However, at the same time, one can also see discriminating reverence accorded to the cows. For example, when Kṛṣṇa killed Putana, mother Yaśodā and mother Rohini in their anxiety to ward off all evils and offer protection to their dear Kṛṣṇa waved the cow switch (not the goat switch or buffalo switch) over Kṛṣṇa:
yaśodā-rohinībhyām tāh
samam bālasya sarvatah
rakshām vidadhire samyag
go-puccha-bhramanādibhih [ SB 10.6.19]
[Thereafter, mother Yaśodā and Rohinī, along with the other elderly gopīs, waved about the switch of a cow to give full protection to the child Śrī Kṛṣṇa.]
They also discriminated even within the cows. Nanda maharaj had 9 lakh cows but Padmagandha cows were special cows. “Very special fragrant grasses were reserved for their grazing and their bodies emitted the wonderful lotus fragrance. There were 100 such cows and the milk produced from these cows was very special and Mother Yaśodā kept some of this milk especially for Kṛṣṇa.”ii This is why when this specially kept milk was about to get boiled and spilt, Yaśodā ma kept the Lord down setting the stage for the famous Damodar lila.
It is significant therefore to note that the Vedic cows who appear in the pages of our sacred scriptures are non-different from India’s desi cows. Therefore, all the desi-cows are Vedic cows, but not all the exotic cows are Vedic cows. Only those cows whose features match with India’s desi or indigenous cows can be considered as the Vedic cows.
The protection of cows and her progeny, and the purity of her breeds is our duty. Śrīla Prabhupāda also says, “The killing of cows by human society is one of the grossest suicidal policies, and those who are anxious to cultivate the human spirit must turn their attention first toward the question of cow protection. If we really want to cultivate the human spirit in society we must have first-class intelligent men to guide the society, and to develop the finer tissues of our brains we must assimilate vitamin values from milk. ….For such important brain tissues we require a sufficient quantity of milk and milk preparations. Ultimately, we need to protect the cow to derive the highest benefit from this important animal. The protection of cows, therefore, is not merely a religious sentiment but a means to secure the highest benefit for human society.” But the milk that we are taking, thinking it to be pure cow milk, is it really cow milk? What are the features of a cow?
Who is this miracle cow? Do all the cows have these wonderful qualities? Are all the cows whom we see around us are the same who have been immortalised by participating significantly in the Supreme Lord’s pastimes in Vṛndāvana? Are these the cows whom the Lord eternally serves in Goloka? Who are the cows who belong to the lineage of Surabhi, who had done penance for thousands of years? Are all the cows moving around us, whether desi (indigenous breed) or videsi (exotic breed), belong to the same line of divine Surabhi or Nandini and are thus worshippable? Is there no difference between the indigenous cows and exotic breed of cows?
The book Indigenous Cows and Exotic Cows tries to give an answer to those questions by lucidly explaining the difference between the desi (indigenous) cows and videsi (exotic) cows.
Further, it should help the policy makers to appreciate the unique beauty of mother cow in her natural form, in the indigenous breeds and extending support to make the indigenous cow wealth prosper further.
His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami says, “This book, Indigenous Cows & Exotic Cows should be an eye opener to both the lovers of cows and those who may be neutral on the subject matter. To those who are callous about cow protection, the topic will likely be of little or no interest but will serve to underline their great misfortune in remaining indifferent to what should be seen as the most important concern for all leaders and responsible citizens. As aptly stated by Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Founder-Ācārya of ISKCON, who spoke strongly on the subject matter:
“The killing of cows by the human society is one of the grossest policies, and all those who are anxious to cultivate the human spirit must first turn their attention toward the question of cow protection.” [Light of the Bhagavata 27].
In one of the numerous speeches delivered by Sri Raghaveshwara Bharati Maharaja, he made a bold analogy that I could immediately connect with Śrīla Prabhupāda’s own prediction. He explained how the First World War occurred not in 1914, as we have learned in modern history books, but during Satya Yuga when Lord Ramacandra killed the wicked King Ravana due to his failure to uphold the principles of dharma by kidnapping the Lord’s consort, Sita Devi. Thus, the First World War was fought to protect mother Sita. The Second World War was fought in connection with the chaste mother Draupadi who had been publically abused by unscrupulous kings. Bharati Maharaja went on to explain that the Third World War is soon to come. This Third World War will be fought based on the protection of our mother cow who has been piteously neglected, battered and mistreated over these last few centuries.”iii
In one of his Purports explaining the unique position of Lord Kṛṣṇa [SB 2.6.35] Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Śrīmad–Bhāgavatam, therefore, is the absolute medium by which to understand the Absolute Truth”. We should likewise understand that mother cow is the absolute medium by which to understand the absolute culture of sanatana dharma and varṇāśrama dharma, the absolute medium to become civilized.
Gavo bandhurmanushyanam, manushya bandhuva gavam
Gouch yasmin grhe nasty tat bandhurahitam grham
[Brahma to Narada Muni in Padma Puran, Srishti Khand. 57.151-56]
[Cows are friends of men and men are cows’ friends. The home which has no cows, that home is without friends.]
In order to know our friends and understand the medium (mother cow) who will help us understand the sanatana dharma and varṇāśrama dharma, let us know how to identify her and not get confused by other creations similar to her. All the creations deserve compassion but it should not make us blind and non-discriminatory. Human beings have special place amongst all the species, tulasi amongst all the plants, saligram sila in all the stones; and cows amongst all the animals. We may hear several pastimes of gomata but unless we protect her, what use is that knowledge and reverence? It stands to our material as well as our spiritual benefit that we know and protect gomata. But how do we protect her unless we know who she is and how she looks like? Interestingly there are 28 distinguishing features!
The Indigenous Cows and Exotic Cows gives all that and much more. For instance, it also gives the difference between the cow milk and buffalo milk besides information about the different existing indigenous breeds of India. The most interesting part is that the richly informative book offers all the information from the scientific and also shastric point of view.
[For more information on the subject or for orders contact: vrindavanlila.brs@gmail or gourgopal.brs@gmail.com. Phone : +91 – 9949698296 / 97]
References:
i Dr. Vrinda Baxi, Indigenous Cows & Exotic Cows, HG Balbhadra das in Introduction, Brhad Mrdanga, Hyderabad, 2012.
ii His Holiness Radhanath Swāmi, Lecture on SB, 10.9.5
iii Dr. Vrinda Baxi, Indigenous Cows & Exotic Cows, HH Bhakti Raghava Swami in Preface, Brhad Mrdanga, Hyderabad, 2012.
Hare Krishna mataji, PAMHO. Very interesting article, however I do not agree with the description of Vedic and Non-vedic cows. Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead and he is Supreme personality of Godhead for all humanity whether being a Vedic civilization or Non-Vedic civilization. Similarly Gomata is Gomata irrespective of being a Vedic Gomata or Non-Vedic Gomata. Please do not make this a racist statement by doing this comparison.
Haribol!
I wonder why Srila Prabhupada never gave us this information. In the USA there is a term “brahmana cow”. That refers to the one imported from India. There are different classes of humans, but those who are not Brahmanas are still humans.
I am sorry to say but this sounds similar to the “only Indians can be gurus” that is sometimes propagated. If fact one previous ISKCON member wrote a book about that.
Cows and buffalos do not interbreed, they are different.
I could say more but I will leave it. Srila PRabhupada was happy to drink that milk of foreign cows and to make brahmanas out of melechas.
Hare Krishna!PAMHO! AGTSP!
I asked my friend, Navadwippati Prabhu, IIT, Mumbai, for his comments on this article. He has very nicely given the following explanation. I am posting this with his prior permission.
According to one’s guna and karma (and not according to birth), one is qualified to ascend – BG 4.13. As Maharaj above says – Not all Humans can be guru but only the qualified ones. Similarly, not all cows can be Brahmanical (or Vedic) cows, but only the qualified ones. Like various human species, cows from various regions carry various qualities. E.g. Gir cows produce more milk than other Indian breeds. Similarly, Holsten/Jersy produce more milk than Gir and so on. On the same terms, Indian breed cows carry some special properties which distinguish them from the other breeds. Read http://info.vediccowproducts.com/2011/09/why-indian-cows-are-better.html for more details.
All Ekadashis are Ekadashis, but some are of significant importance; all forms of Krsna is Krsna inherently, but some forms carry noteworthy characteristics; similarly all cows are cows but Vedic/Brahmanical cows carry exceptional qualities which can not be ignored. If other breeds can carry those qualities, certainly they can be accepted as Vedic cows even if they are from other countries. On the contrary, even if a non qualified cow (Holstein etc) take birth in INDIA, they can not be termed as Vedic, though they are from India.
Saying that doesn’t mean that other breeds (or other animals for that sake) carry less importance and should not be protected. The discrimination is not at the protection level, but at the acceptance level. We love all humans doesn’t mean I’ll accept anybody as my guru. If SWISS watches are good, I should NOT be hesitant in accepting this only because I’m not a SWISS.
Many a times Srila Prabhupada quoted ” courage of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother.” By quoting this did Srila Prabhupada make a racist statement? No, Never.
Hope the difference is clear and MUST NOT BE taken as racism.
Thank you very much!
Your fallen servant,
Nityananda Ram das
New Delhi
Part 1 (from Vrindavanlila dd)
Hare Krsna dear Maharaj and Sureshkari mataji,
Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Thanks for your interest in cows and reading the article.
Before I begin I would like to humbly declare that the article is no way meant to demean any other animal including videsi (exotic) cows. The very address of non-Vedic or videsi cows as “exotic” says all. It is written to bring us closer to cows who participated in the Lord’s pastimes and open the eyes of administration to the wide discrimination against India’s own godhan (cow wealth), which has resulted in the disappearance of the country’s local cow breeds.
>> Srila Prabhupada never gave us this information.
**I agree with you Maharaj that Srila Prabhupada did not give any specific instruction on this subject.
>>In the USA there is a term “brahmana cow”. That refers to the one imported from India. There are different classes of humans, but those who are not Brahmanas are still humans.
**There will always be a difference in all the human beings though they all be under the same category of “humans”. I do not deny that even non-brahmanas are humans but I am just suggesting acknowledgement of differences in every individual. Does this uniqueness mean demeaning? Let us accept the differences that is why even the Lord listed different qualities of different varnas; thirty qualities of a civilized human being. It is this pseudo-equality approach which has created lot of problems of modern society – democracy where every voter is treated equally be it a highly qualified vaishnava or a totally corrupt maleccha materialist (all are equal). There can be many such examples but if I go further into it, it will only take the discussion in an area which is not connected to the subject of cows.
Part 2 (to dear Maharaj and Sureshkari mataji):
>>I am sorry to say but this sounds similar to the “only Indians can be gurus” that is sometimes propagated. If fact one previous ISKCON member wrote a book about that.
Cows and buffalos do not interbreed, they are different.
** Maharaj, regarding gurus, I am sorry if it makes you feel like that, but I cannot even think about it even in my remotest thought. This is simply because first, guru is direct representative of the Lord. Therefore, confining or identifying guru by his place of birth only tantamounts to demeaning the special position of guru. Others may have written a book on that subject, but I certainly do not condone that. Second, even if it were so the only thing that I can be proud of is my guru maharaj. And if I have to define him in material terms of his place of birth, he is a non-Indian. I therefore do not belong to that bogie which propagates “only Indians can be gurus”. I request you not to mistake my intentions.
>>Cows and buffalos do not interbreed, they are different.
** Yes, under natural circumstances cows and buffaloes do not interbreed, but what to talk of man who wishes to play God. Demoniac men have interbred them for different reasons ranging from making them immune to blizzard to increased beef production. Srila Prabhupada did not give any specific instruction on this but we know; any sane person knows it is not natural. Similarly crossing of cows of different breeds is not natural under normal circumstances. But demoniac kali society in the pursuance of its goals of greed is doing both intercrossing as well as giving unnatural living conditions to mother cow. All the indigenous cows (desi cows of India) belong to the scientific class of zebu or bos indicus while exotic cows (videsi cows including jersey, HF etc) belong to bos taurus. They have entirely different features but they have been crossed! Is it not varnasankara population?
Similarly even within the different desi Indian breeds there has been lot of interbreeding, causing lot of problem for the mother cow. In many instances this also leads to death of the cow while mating, while giving birth, cases of miscarriage and many more related complications. What kind of cow protection is this? Unfortunately in India, the land of gopuja (cow worship), people in their greed to get more and more milk are blindly turning to jersey or other exotic cow breeds, crossing them with desi (indigenous local breeds). They do not care that jersey cows are not suited to Indian climate. I personally know of instances where jersey cows died because they could not bear normal Indian heat. They died of heart attack despite being given cool showers in summer. They belong to a different geography. A normally built Indian cow has difficulty in breeding with non-Indian breed. They have practical problems. So, indifferent to their problems, the government has introduced the concept of artificial insemination. One demoniac action after the other… According to them, whatever be the situation the cow has to obey the commands of man rather than of nature. Is this not a case of cow torture?Is it right to keep silent on these issues of cow torture and disguised cow slaughter saying that Srila Prabhupada did not say anything on this subject?
Contd. Part 4
It is this silence of ours which has already resulted in the loss of precious more than 100 desi cow breeds of India, the few which are left are also on the verge of extinction and need our protection.
Any word in the glorification of Srila Prabhupada is always less. Among so many qualities, one that hits me in the context is his foresightedness and practical approach. His each and every instruction is DOABLE (including implementing daiva varnasrama dharma). Varnasrama dharma or Vedic culture is based on simple life and localized living (there was exchange but no large scale imports as we have now). The simple life revolved round land, cows and Krsna. How can we serve cows if we do not keep local breed of cows for they are naturally designed to meet the requirements of that particular place?
>>I could say more but I will leave it. Srila PRabhupada was happy to drink that milk of foreign cows and to make brahmanas out of melechas.
** Srila Prabhupada’s actions and instructions have to be blindly considered as DOABLE, simply because they were given according to desha-kala-patra. The Supreme Lord Krsna was given only Padmagandha cow milk by Yasoda Ma, Lord Balaji (Tirupati) is offered only Punganur cow milk, and in the same vein Lord Udupi Krsna is offered only Malanadu Gidda cow milk. All the mentioned cows are local to that place. Why would Srila Prabhupada ask a desi Indian cow milk outside India? He lovingly accepted it as does the Lord. This gesture however does not mean there is no difference between the cows. What is the harm in accepting the differences in cows? It only helps us serve them better as we know for which climatic conditions they are suited better and many more relevant details. If I make a huge cow breed live in a hilly area saying that all the cows are similar, it will be injustice with her. Better we accept the differences and serve her accordingly. There is variety in His creation:
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, everything is full of variety. In one species of rose, you’ll find many varieties. And in the human species, you will find variety even between twin brothers.
Guest: And in the spiritual world, are there also varieties?
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, yes. There is unlimited ananda, or pleasure, and pleasure means variety. “Variety is the mother of enjoyment.” ……. [August 1973 at the Hare Krishna center in London]
Contd. Part 5:
So Krsna has created lot of variety everywhere, in humans, in plants, in planets, in food, in cows too. Why not accept the difference between the different variety of cow breeds? Acknowledge it, know more about them and serve them. Acknowledgement of differences between different cows can be seen even in Vrndavan. “Nanda maharaj had 9 lakh cows but Padmagandha cows were special cows. “Very special fragrant grasses were reserved for their grazing and their bodies emitted the wonderful lotus fragrance. There were 100 such cows and the milk produced from these cows was very special and Mother Yaśodā kept some of this milk especially for Kṛṣṇa….” (source mentioned in the article).
Those who come from the background of ayurveda, or those who make panchagavya products will easily testify that medicines can be prepared only from the panchgavyas of desi cow. Let us acknowledge the differences and work accordingly. In humans also not all are brahmanas, in devotees also not all are uttama adhikaris; some are qualified to become gurus while others are disciples, somebody (Haridas Thakur) loves to chant day in and out and his chanting converts even a prostitute while some struggle even to complete their avowed quota itself. One may say, “Gomata irrespective of being a Vedic Gomata or Non-Vedic Gomata.” We have seven mothers according to the scriptures; do we not differentiate between them? While mother cow is given grass and other fodder, mother Earth is given water. Their requirements are different. Similarly even here, there is so much of variety. We all agree to the idea of cow protection and service to mother cow but still our perspectives are different. Isn’t it interesting? There can be differences in thinking, in perception. Similarly there are differences even in the cows. So what? It does not demean any creation. The variegatedness simply stands testimony to Lord’s work of variety. Still if one does not agree to differences in cows, I request them to kindly read the book first before considering the statements made in the article as “racist”. Every detail given in the book has been presented from the scientific and shastric perspective with a motive to serve gomata better and more effectively.
Contd. Part 6:
It is always better to know the object of our service nicely in order to serve them better. We have Krsna’s description, how He looks, what He wears, how He dresses up, what He does, where He lives etc. Does our knowledge about Him not help us in meditating and serving Him better? Similarly, what is the harm in knowing about gomata or mother cow?
Aspiring to serve,
Vrndavanlila dd
Dear Vrndavanlila,
Hare Krishna
In comment 4 you wrote:
“I do not deny that even non-brahmanas are humans”
It maybe a language thing but just to let you know the above was lucky to make it to publication as it sounds elitist in the extreme.
Ys Praghosa dasa