Sacred Cow, Divine Mother

Hinduism Today
http://www.hinduismtoday.com
April, May, June, 2004

-From the Vedas

Sacred Cow, Divine Mother

Cow protection: a scriptural edict, a lynch-pin for dharma

The protection of the bovine species is prescribed by Hindu
scripture. Orthodox Hindus are adamant that the nurture of cows lies
at the core of Hindu dharma, representing symbolically and in real,
earthly terms the Hindu reverence for the Divine in all life. Read
more about why the cow is sacred in this issue's article on Ten
Questions. At a time when the human species is wreaking havoc on
nature and the environment, cow protection takes on new meaning as a
dramatic headline issue. We present here key scriptural verses from
the Rig Veda and the cogent thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi on the subject
of goseva, caring for the cow, "the mother of Cosmic Forces."

Rig Veda: She is like the mother of the cosmic Forces, the daughter
of the cosmic Matter, the sister of cosmic Energy, the centre of the
ambrosia. I address to men of wisdom -- kill not her, the sinless
inviolate cow.

The divine cow, herself is skilled in eloquence, gives speech to
others, who comes surrounded by every kind of utterance, who helps me
for my worship of the divine forces, it is only the fool that
abandons her.

May cows come and bring us good fortune; let them stay in our
cowsheds and be content in our company. May many colored cows bring
here prolific milk for offerings to the resplendent Lord at many
dawns.

The resplendent Lord bestows affluence on the devotee who offers
worship and oblations. He takes not what belongs to the worshiper and
gives him more; thereby increasing his wealth more and ever-more, he
places the devotee in fortified positions, free from danger.

Let not the cows run away from us, let no thief carry them away; let
no hostile weapon fall upon them. May the master of the cattle be
long possessed of them, with the milk products of which he makes
offerings and with which he serves the godly men.

Let not the cows fall a victim to the arrogant, dustspurning war-
horse. Let them not fall into the hands of a butcher or his shop. Let
the cattle of the man, the householder, move about freely and graze
without fear.

May the cows be our affluence; may the resplendent Lord grant us
cattle; may the cows yield food (milk and butter) of the first
libation. These cows, O men, are sacred as the Lord resplendent
Himself -- the Lord whose blessings we crave for, with head and heart.

O cows, you strengthen even the worn-out and fatigued and make the
unlovely beautiful to look on. Your lowing is auspicious, and makes
my dwelling prosperous. Great is the abundance that is attributed to
you in our religious ceremony.

May you, O cows, have many calves grazing upon good pastures and
drinking pure water at accessible ponds. May no thief be your master.
May no beast of prey assail you and may the dart of vital Lord never
fall on you.

O resplendent Lord, a showerer of virility as you are, may we have by
your blessings the sturdy bulls for insemination and let us have
plenty of nourishment for the cows.

Rig veda viii, 102, 15-16; vi , 28, 1-8 Translation by Swami Satya
Prakash Sarasvati and Satyakam Vidyalanka

Mahatma Gandhi: "The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection. Cow
protection to me is one of the most wonderful phenomena in human
evolution. It takes the human being beyond this species. The cow
means the entire sub-human world. Man through the cow is enjoined to
realize his identity with all that lives. Why the cow was selected
for apotheosis is obvious to me. The cow was in India the best
companion. She was the giver of plenty. Not only did she give milk,
but she also made agriculture possible

"Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism
will live so long as there are Hindus to protect the cow. Hindus will
be judged not by their tilaks, not by the correct chanting of
mantras, not by their pilgrimages, not by their most punctilious
observances of caste rules, but their ability to protect the cow.

"I would not kill a human being to protect a cow, as I will not kill
a cow to save a human life, be it ever so precious. My religion
teaches me that I should by personal conduct instill into the minds
of those who might hold different views the conviction that cow-
killing is a sin and that, therefore, it ought to be abandoned. My
ambition is no less than to see the principle of cow protection
established throughout the world. But that requires that I should set
my own house thoroughly in order first.

"Cow protection to me is not mere protection of the cow. It means
protection of all that lives and is helpless and weak in the world.

"The cow is a poem of pity. One reads pity in the gentle animal. She
is the mother to millions of Indian mankind. Protection of the cow
means protection of the whole dumb creation of God. The ancient seer,
whoever he was, began with the cow. The appeal of the lower order of
creation is all the more forcible because it is speechless. The cow
is the purest type of sub-human life. She pleads on behalf of the
whole of the sub-human species for justice to it at the hands of man,
the first among all that lives. She seems to speak to us through her
eyes: 'You are not appointed over us to kill us and eat our flesh or
otherwise ill-treat us, but to be our friend and guardian.' I worship
it and I shall defend its worship against the whole world.

"Mother cow is in many ways better than the mother who gave us birth.
Our mother gives us milk for a couple of years and then expects us to
serve her when we grow up. Mother cow expects from us nothing but
grass and grain. Our mother often falls ill and expects service from
us. Mother cow rarely falls ill.

"The reader will observe that behind the foregoing requirements lies
one thing, and that is ahimsa (noninjury), otherwise known as
universal compassion. If that supreme thing is realized, everything
else becomes easy. Where there is ahimsa, there is infinite patience,
inner calm, discrimination, self-sacrifice and true knowledge."

Excerpts from The Mind Of Mahatma Gandhi, compiled by R. K. Prabhu &
U. R. Rao http://www.mkgandhi.org/momgbook/

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules...hp?itemid=1321

More at:

Hinduism Today
http://www.hinduismtoday.com

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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About the terrorist Goon Squad:

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As everyone knows, a goon is a bully or thug who terrorizes or tries
to do away with opposition.

"Myself, Mallu. Yourself?" (V. Bhattathiri) >
tries his best to be a bully -- telling others what and when to post,
where to post and where not to post, deliberately publishing lies
about others, stalking and abusing them with hate speech -- but fails
miserably. He is really stressed out, and like his lap dog Prem
Thomas (who currently posts as "P. Rajah" >, and issues
*death threats* to people), is priming himself for conditions such as
stroke and heart disease. Others in the Goon Squad include
Dayashankar M. Joshi "DMJoshi" > who displays
unquestioning obedience to Goon Squad thugs, and the instigator who
posts as "Bholu" >
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