Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya describes how to execute the great task of protecting cows, nothing is impossible if there are people who are willing to do service, all we need is a bunch of service-minded people who can contribute money for building shelter homes for cows, volunteers who can collect fodder from different areas, this is applicable to all the religion, protection of cow is a pious deed, abandoning a cow bring curse in the family.  There is a legend of King Dilipa of the solar dynasty, he visited the abode of deities but he overlooked divine cow Kamadhenu, because of that he got a curse that he will not have a progeny.  King Dilipa’s preceptor was Sage Vashishta who advised him to nurture cow/Nandini who is the daughter of Kamadhenu, he and his wife Sudhakshina sincerely followed the advice of his preceptor took great care of Nandini and relieved from the curse.  They had a child Raghu, later he became illustrious among the solar dynasty/Raghuvamsha.  In olden days there was the land for grazing the cattle and small water tanks were built to put out their thirst, there were milestones that were useful for them to rub their bodies against it to get rid of itching.  Nowadays there is hardly any place for grazing the cattle.    a cow is a national wealth, it serves human society until its death.  Acharya was against the idea of consumption of caffeine, which has many adverse effects on human health.  The performance of Yajja has reduced considerably, therefore the usages of ghee also have reduced, and devotees should make sure to offer ghee to temples and mutt, which could remove the internal as well as external impurities. We should make sure and always remember that whatever we receive from the cows are put into the usage of religious and spiritual needs first, we have the right to use only the remaining, because we are not spending one-third of her compassion in protecting her, hence the greater part of all that given out of love by her in the form of milk, butter, buttermilk, curd, ghee, cow dung, urine, etc..   it should spend in the service of the Supreme Lord.  A law should be enacted in order to prohibit cow slaughtering, our country has a law to protect the wild animals and sandalwood trees, and unfortunately, we do not have a law to protect a cow which is the pillar of righteousness and the welfare of the Universe.  Rishabha/bull and cow are considered as Dharmadevatha, their four legs represent austerity/penance, purity, compassion and truth.  The ideal way to get rid of the evil effects of Kali era is to protect Dharma, it is essential to protect the cow, there is no wealth equivalent to a cow.   There was a practice among us to donate cows during spiritual rites, it removes all the sins of the worshiper and it is considered an ideal way to perform charity.  Our Acharya was a noble soul, he had a great love for cows, and he ensured all the cows were treated properly in the mutt, not only cows all the creatures were treated with kindness, compassion, and love.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya describes, a twice-born is reverentially greeted as deities on the Earth/Bhudeva, cow and twice-born are the pillar of righteousness, without cow and Vedic scholars none of the spiritual or religious rites takes place,  a twice-born who is dedicated his life for Vedic way of living performs daily rites, recites  Vedas and Upanishadh,  conducts sun worship thrice a day, performs  Yajja etc…. for the welfare of Universe and it's living, he is not doing any of the daily rites for personal motive all that performed for the well-being of the Universe, therefore he is addressed as deity on the Earth.  Nowadays, twice-born has forgotten his daily rites, people lost interest in Vedic study and as a result performance of Yajja has reduced significantly, eventually people lost interest in keeping cows at home, once the cattle shed is considered as the purest place as  the permanent abode of Goddess Mahalakshmi can be seen seldom.  Go Puja and Gaja Puja is regular events in our mutt to date.  Feeding a cow is considered as auspicious, this duty should be continued without any fail whether the cow stops giving milk or not, as long as it is alive, and otherwise it will bring severe sins.  Our Acharya urged the need for protection of cow legally and put a ban on cow slaughter.  Collecting vegetable waste from restaurants and shelter homes where meals are cooked in large scale and send to cattle shelter homes is a great idea to serve the cattle; even the women can do this simple task by setting apart from the vegetable waste and rice soup at home and feed the cows.  In this way, we can put an end to sending the cows to slaughter homes, feeding a cow brings an abundance of piousness and blessings of Lord Vasudeva.  It is the responsibility of every individual to make sure that no cow is sending to slaughter homes, instead construct shelter homes for the cows and contribute substantial money for feeding and protection of them, many of the cow owners are villagers from low-income group, they cannot afford to give away the cow for free, therefore provide a reasonable amount as compensation and send the cow to shelter homes.  We all are capable to do physical as well as monetary service, make sure we are utilizing our good energies for the welfare of the Universe.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya continues, we have seen various usage of cow’s milk and supplementary products, cow-dung is used for burning fire and the remains are used as sacred ashes, it is used for fire sacrifices, it is used as cleaning property, it removes bacteria works as a disinfectant, it removes air pollution.    In olden day’s cow dung patties were kept in large stock in every home, it is used as burning fire during the winter season and for the religious and spiritual rites at homes.  Panchagavyam is a collective ingredient of milk, curd, ghee, cow dung, and urine, It is used as a purifying agent, it removes external as well as internal impurities.  Panchagavyam works as firewood, it removes the impurities in the air and when it is consumed it removes the sins of the individual.  Cow slaughtering brings severe sin, a sin equivalent to the killing of one’s mother; there is no Prayashchiththam/atonement for this sin.  When the cow get older, it reduces giving milk or completely stops, during this period of time it is our responsibility to take care of her and show gratitude for her long years of service to the family, when our mother get older and physically and mentally worn out, is not that our duty to take care of her?  It is not our practice to send her away from home; in the same manner, when a cow gets older we should protect her until the natural death takes place.  Gorochana is a bright yellow substance prepared from the bile of cattle after its natural death, it has various usages.  In Jabalopanishadh Lord Shiva describes the method of preparation of sacred ashes which remove the sins of the worshiper, and provides Moksha.  Usually, we take bath for bodily hygiene, smearing sacred ashes provides the same result of bathing.  The dust raised from the hooves of the cow is considered as sacred; it provides the piousness of sacred bath in holy rivers.  All the spiritual and religious practices are done for the welfare of the Universe and its living beings, Yajjas and various fire sacrifices are performed for the welfare of the people, all these Vedic rites require numerous ingredients from the cows and collective efforts of Vedic scholars/ priests for the performance, therefore Vedic scholar and cows are fundamental for the continuation of spiritual and Vedic rites, these two are vital for the Universal well-being and righteousness, none of the Vedic or spiritual rites takes place in the absence of these two.  Supreme Lord is the essence of Veda, he is the performer/Vedic scholar, and he represents the performance of Yajja/fire sacrifice and ingredients of Yajja as well.  Protection of cow is our prime duty, for the welfare of the Universe and its living beings.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya continues endless attributes of cow, she is often compared with the Mother Earth for her forbearance, in fact, she is the Universal Mother who has embodied as Earth and cow, Earth has possessed rich mineral and soil, the cow is a source of wholesome milk which has high nutritional compounds, it multiplies the Swathik nature in human beings.  The supplementary products like curd, buttermilk, ghee, butter, cow dung, urine, etc.. are ingredients used for the performance of Vedic rituals as well as for personal consumption,  none of the spiritual or religious rites can be performed without these ingredients, she is the primary source for the existence Dharma in the Universe, so she should be treated in a well manner.  Cows constantly serve human beings like Earth which is the source of rich mineral and soil, therefore it is our responsibility to ensure her safety and protection.  In Dwaparayuga, Mother Earth assumed the form of a cow and appealed to Lord Vishnu, when she was burdened by the demons.  Even though Lord Vishnu has infinite incarnations, Krishnavathara is considered as Poornna Punyavathara, he lived on the Earth like an ordinary human being, he performed all the duties and responsibilities of a cowherd, he protected cows and took good care of them as a cowherd, he underwent all those sufferings, and miseries.  Lord Krishna came down to Earth for the accomplishment of a specific objective, he imparted knowledge of Bhramam, he killed numerous demons, he blessed his staunch devotee Devi Yasodha and Nandhagopa with his childhood pastimes, he performed various amusements in the sacred land of Gokulam and Brindhavan, he performed most glorious Rasaleela with the young maiden of cowherds and Sri Radharani, he crushed the pride of Lord Indhra and Lord Bhrama, he killed Kamasa and liberated Devi Devaki and Vasudeva from the detention,  he married to Devi Rukmini to prove that they are inseparable consorts, whenever Lord Vishnu incarnates on Earth, Goddess Mahalakshmi also follows him,  he performed the role of emissary of Pandava who symbolizes Dharmam, he carried out the role of Gitacharya and charioteer to Arjuna, he established a magnificent city Dwaraka, lived in this glorious city with sixteen thousand and one a hundred wives, once the objective of the incarnation was completed, he returned to the supreme abode.  This is one of the glorious incarnations of Lord Vishnu as a cowherd who protected cows.  Therefore, we should take good care and protection of cows, in every household the cow, should be worshiped and taken care in a good manner; it is the eternal abode of Goddess Sri Mahalakshmi.