The Vedas describe the cow as our mother (go- mata). Why? Because she gives the milk that nurtures and nourishes us from infancy to old age. When the cow is happy, satisfied, and well taken care of, she produces far more milk than her calf requires. We can use this milk for our dietary needs. In return for all the service the cow and ox provide, the Vedas prescribe three duties for human beings toward the cow: 1. Serving the cow (go-seva) 2. Worshiping the cow (go-puja) 3. Protecting the cow (go-rakshya) Serving the cow: We should serve the cow with the same attitude that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, serves the cows in Vrindavana. The Srimad- Bhagavatam describes in detail how Lord Krishna takes the cows and calves every morning to graze on the pastures of Govardhana Hill. There are hundreds of thousands of cows at the palace of Nanda Maharaja (Lord Krishna’s father), and each cow has her own name. Whenever Lord Krishna plays His flute and calls the cows by name, the cows, intelligent and affectionate, come running toward Him. The Vedic literature enjoins us to satisfy the needs of the cows daily (with food, shelter, and so on) before we satisfy our own needs. This is how Aryans—civilized persons—should serve the cows. Worshiping the cows: The Vedic scripture states that all the demigods and demigoddesses reside in the body of a cow. This explains why the body of a cow is divine and holy. If we worship Mother Cow, we attain the same material benefits we’d get by worshiping the demigods and demi-goddesses individually. The Garuda Purana says that anyone who has even once worshiped Mother Cow will be saved after death from the great suffering of hell (Naraka). Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, gave more importance to the worship of the cows than to the worship of the king of the demigods, Indra. Therefore in India even today many millions of pious Vedic followers worship Mother Cow at least once a year on Govardhana Puja day. Protecting the cows: If we accept the cow as our mother, she deserves our veneration and love. And we should protect her from all dangers. In Vedic times it was the duty of everyone, especially kings, to protect the cows at all cost. In the Vedic literature we find the revealing story of Emperor Dalip (an ancestor of Lord Ramacandra in the Sun Dynasty) and his commitment to cow protection. Once when Emperor Dalip was in the forest, he saw that a ferocious lion had gotten hold of a cow and was going to kill her. The emperor challenged the lion, “If you kill the cow, I will kill you. Let this cow go free!” The lion replied, “O pious king! For my food I must kill animals. If I let this cow go free, what will I eat? I’ll die of hunger.” Emperor Dalip thought for a few moments and replied, “O lion, if you let this cow go free, you do not have to die of hunger. I offer my body for you to eat! Let my body be your food!” As soon as Emperor Dalip lay before the lion to be killed so that the cow could live, the lion and cow transformed themselves into a divine man and woman. The lion was Dharma, righteousness personified, and the cow was Mother Earth personified. They had been testing the emperor’s commitment to cow protection. The three basic duties of human beings toward the cow—service, worship, and protection—should and can be practiced today. The cow needs our love, affection, and reverence because, after all, she is our mother and she is so dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 02:40:09 +0000
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