Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya speaks about ‘Go Samrakshanam’/protection of cow, it is one of righteous deed should be done by all four Varnnas known as Bhramin, Kshathriya, Vaishya, and Shudhras, it is considered as one of the pious deeds by Buddhists and Jains as well.   The cow is believed as the mother of the Universe, except for cow rest of the living creatures feed their children only and that too for a short period of time.  The cow is the only animal which provides milk to the caretaker for a long period of time in their lives that is also one of the reasons the sacred scriptures strongly recommend the protection of cows.  All the Vedic rites begin with the veneration of cows, Veda praises the generosity of this animal, cows are considered as auspicious animals which abundantly supply with the ingredients for the performance of Vedic rites in this way they take a huge part in the life of a twice-born and performance of Vedic rites.  Protection of cows brings welfare to humans, milk is an essential part of our daily life,  not only milk various milk products like butter, ghee, buttermilk, curd,  cow dung, urine, etc.. are useful for personal as well as for religious rites,  therefore veneration of the cow is treated as most propitious act, it has the capacity to fulfill the needs of its calves and the people dependent on it.  Supreme Lord Krishna narrates the   three duties and responsibilities of a Vaishya, he should take care of agriculture and trade, he should protect cows, he should make sure to avail enough milk for the calves and rest of the milk should be utilized for personal use, he should take care of agricultural and farming for the welfare of other three Varnnas, business and trade is treated as the primary duty of a Vaishya, therefore a Vaishya who completely neglect his Dharma is a sinful deed.  A twice-born discarding his duties and responsibilities towards his family and dependents, living in woods and taking care of his needs also a sinful deed.  Vaishya doing his duty for the welfare of the society, therefore he should always remember that he is doing business not for personal motive, he should have remembrance of Lord who established the duties and responsibilities, it should be performed with intense faith then it is considered as a righteous deed.