Verses to brace-ourselves to preach Cow Protection

[bhaktajan 0]

Here are some rudimentary reminders of the Dharma for which we've

been preparing are consciousness for [vs. the final exam at the time

of death]: "How to brace-ourselves to preach "Cow Protection":

SB 1.17.3P—It is the duty of every householder to have cows and bulls

as household paraphernalia, not only for drinking milk, but also for

deriving religious principles. The follower of Vedic principles

worships cows on religious principles and respects brahmanas. The

cow's milk is required for the sacrificial fire, and by performing

sacrifices the householder can be happy. The cow's calf not only is

beautiful to look at, but also gives satisfaction to the cow, and so

she delivers as much milk as possible. But in the Kali-yuga, the

calves are separated from the cows as early as possible for purposes

which may not be mentioned in these pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The

cow stands with tears in her eyes, the sudra milkman draws milk from

the cow artificially, and when there is no milk the cow is sent to be

slaughtered. These greatly sinful acts are responsible for all the

troubles in present society. People do not know what they are doing

in the name of economic development. The influence of Kali will keep

them in the darkness of ignorance. Despite all endeavors for peace

and prosperity, they must try to see the cows and the bulls happy in

all respects. Foolish people do not know how one earns happiness by

making the cows and bulls happy, but it is a fact by the law of

nature. Let us take it from the authority of Srimad-Bhagavatam and

adopt the principles for the total happiness of humanity.

SB 1.17.9P—There has sometimes been agitation for the protection of

the cow, but for want of pious executive heads and suitable laws, the

cow and the bull are not given protection. The human society should

recognize the importance of the cow and the bull and thus give all

protection to these important animals . . . For protecting the cows

and brahminical culture, the Lord, who is very kind to the cow and

the brahmanas (go-brahmana- hitaya), will be pleased with us and will

bestow upon us real peace.

Adi Lila 17.154P— Everyone can understand that we drink the milk of

cows and take the help of bulls in producing agricultural products.

Therefore, since our real father gives us food grains and our mother

gives us milk with which to live, the cow and bull are considered our

father and mother. According to Vedic civilization, there are seven

mothers, of which the cow is one. . . . "What kind of religious

principle do you follow by killing your father and mother to eat

them?" In any civilized human society, no one would dare kill his

father and mother for the purpose of eating them. . . . religion

as patricide and matricide. . . . a principal commandment

is "Thou shalt not kill."

Light of the Bhagavata 27—Less intelligent people underestimate the

value of cow's milk. Cow's milk is also called gorasa, or the juice

from the body of the cow. Milk is the most valuable form of gorasa,

and from milk we can prepare many important and valuable foodstuffs

for the upkeep of the human body. 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.

The Laws of Nature 1— Way of Knowing God: The cow produces milk

abundantly, not for herself but for human beings. That is proper

human food. God says, "Mrs. Cow, although you are producing milk, you

cannot drink it. It is for the human beings, who are more advanced

than animals." Of course, in the infant stage animals live off their

mother's milk, so the calves drink some of the cow's milk. But the

cow gives excess milk, and that excess is specifically meant for us.

We should accept whatever God has ordained as our proper food. But

no, because of the agitation of the tongue, we think, "Why should I

be satisfied eating grains, milk products, vegetables, and fruits?

Let me maintain a slaughterhouse and kill these cows. After drinking

their milk, just as I drank my mother's milk, let me kill them to

satisfy my tongue." You shouldn't think such nonsense . . .

SB 3.5.7P—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.

SB 4.6.9P— Generally the men of the higher classes of society—the

brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas—do not eat meat. Sometimes ksatriyas

go to the forest to kill animals like deer because they have to learn

the art of killing, and sometimes they eat the animals also. Sudras,

too, eat animals such as goats. Cows, however, are never meant to be

killed or eaten by human beings. In every sastra, cow killing is

vehemently condemned. Indeed, one who kills a cow must suffer for as

many years as there are hairs on the body of a cow. Manu-samhita

says, pravrittir esa bhutanam nivrittis tu maha-phala: we have many

tendencies in this material world, but in human life one is meant to

learn how to curb those tendencies. Those who desire to eat meat may

satisfy the demands of their tongues by eating lower animals, but

they should never kill cows, who are actually accepted as the mothers

of human society because they supply milk. The sastra especially

recommends, kasi-go-raksya: the vaisya section of humanity should

arrange for the food of the entire society through agricultural

activities and should give full protection to the cows, which are the

most useful animals because they supply milk to human society.

SB 8.6.12P— . . . Milk is compared to nectar, which one can drink

to become immortal. Of course, simply drinking milk will not make one

immortal, but it can increase the duration of one's life. In modern

civilization, men do not think milk to be important, and therefore

they do not live very long. Although in this age men can live up to

one hundred years, their duration of life is reduced because they do

not drink large quantities of milk. This is a sign of Kali-yuga. In

Kali-yuga, instead of drinking milk, people prefer to slaughter an

animal and eat its flesh. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His

instructions of Bhagavad-gita, advises go-raksya, which means cow

protection. 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, develop

his brain, execute devotional service, and ultimately attain the

favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is essential to

get food grains and water by digging the earth, it is also essential

to give protection to the cows and take nectarean milk from their

milk bags . . .

SB 8.8.11P—. . . the five products received from the cow, namely

milk, yogurt, ghee, cow dung and cow urine, are required in all

ritualistic ceremonies performed according to the Vedic directions.

Cow urine and cow dung are uncontaminated, and since even the urine

and dung of a cow are important, we can just imagine how important

this animal is for human civilization. . . .

SB 10.6.19P— . . . to wave about the switch of a cow so as to

protect the child from all types of danger. There are so many

facilities afforded by cow protection, but people have forgotten

these arts. The importance of protecting cows is therefore stressed

by Krnsa in Bhagavad-gita (krsi-go-raksya- vanijyam vaisya-karma

svabhavajam [bg. 18.44]). Even now in the Indian villages surrounding

Vrndavana, the villagers live happily simply by giving protection to

the cow. They keep cow dung very carefully and dry it to use as fuel.

They keep a sufficient stock of grains, and because of giving

protection to the cows, they have sufficient milk and milk products

to solve all economic problems. Simply by giving protection to the

cow, the villagers live so peacefully. Even the urine and stool of

cows have medicinal value. . . .

BG 14.16P— . . . indulgence in animal killing for the taste of the

tongue is the grossest kind of ignorance. A human being has no need

to kill animals, because God has supplied so many nice things. If one

indulges in meat-eating anyway, it is to be understood that he is

acting in ignorance and is making his future very dark. Of all kinds

of animal killing, the killing of cows is most vicious because the

cow gives us all kinds of pleasure by supplying milk. Cow slaughter

is an act of the grossest type of ignorance. In the Vedic literature

(Rig Veda 9.4.64) the words gobhih prinita-matsaram indicate that one

who, being fully satisfied by milk, is desirous of killing the cow is

in the grossest ignorance . . .

SB12.3.36P—In India, the cow is considered sacred not because Indian

people are primitive worshipers of mythological totems but because

Hindus intelligently understand that the cow is a mother. As

children, nearly all of us were nourished with cow's milk, and

therefore the cow is one of our mothers. Certainly one's mother is

sacred, and therefore we should not kill the sacred cow.

Journey of Self-Discovery 6 —Srila Prabhupada: Yes, this is our

proposal: "Why should you kill the cow? Let the cow be protected."

You can take the cow's milk and use this milk for making so many

nutritious, delicious preparations. Aside from that, as far as meat-

eating is concerned, every cow will die—so you just wait a while, and

there will be so many dead cows. Then you can take all the dead cows

and eat. So how is this a bad proposal? If you say, "You are

restraining us from meat-eating"— no, we don't restrain you. We simply

ask you, "Don't kill. When the cow is dead, you can eat it."

ysotsotsok,

Bhaktajan

[bhaktajan 0]

When it becomes 10 PM, will you know where your children are?