The Sacred CowThe Sacred CowSubmitted by2/29/2012Jagriti Chhateja“Dhenunam Asmi Kamadhuk” meaning ‘among cows I am wish fulfilling cow’ was stated in Srimad Bhagvad Gita, chapter 10, Verse 28 by Lord Krishna. In his book, ‘The Srimad Bhagvad Gita and the sacredness of the Holy Cow’, author Jagannath Das says, “The wish fulfilling cow is also called Kamadhenu or Surabhi cow. The ‘Surabhi’ cow descended from the spiritual worlds and manifested herself in the heavenly spheres from the aroma of celestial nectar for the benefit of all created beings. The direct descendants of the surabhi cows are the sacred cows from the continent India which are uniquely distinguished the same as ‘Surabhi’ by the beautiful hump on their backs and the wonderfully soft folds of skin under their necks. Since all cows in existence in the world today are factual descendants of the sacred cows of India, they are all holy as well and should always be lovingly cared for and protected with highest esteem and great respect. One should never cause harm to cows in any way even not in ones dreams and one should never even think of eating the flesh of cows as there is no action more sinful in all of the creatures than cow killing. Cows are the mothers of all creatures. Cows are verily the mothers of the thirty-three crore of demigods that administer and control the creations in this material world and extending well beyond the frontiers to the whole universe. Cows are the goddesses of the gods and the refuge of all auspiciousness. Cows bestow every kind of happiness and for these reasons they are always worshipped. Cows are the support of all the world’s , for by their milk they nourish terrestrial beings, by the ghee manufactured from the cow’s milk sacrifices are offered to nourish the denizens of the “heavenly realms’’.
With this description of the holy Cow by Jagannath Das, one can comprehend the gravity of respect given by Hindus to mother Cow. Over the world, the term “Sacred Cow” is represented as more of stubborn loyalty to a long standing institution which hinders natural progress. Robin Winter in his article “ The Sacred Cow” says, “Even when human beings suffer from undernourishment, the cow is celebrated and worshipped.” Marvin Harris in his article “India’s Sacred Cow” says, “News photographs that came out of India during the famine of the late Nineteen Hundred and Sixty showed starving people stretching out bony hands to beg for food while sacred cattle would stroll behind them undisturbed. The Hindus, it seemed would rather starve to death than eat the holy cow or even deprives it from its food. The cattle appear to browse unhindered through urban markets eating an orange here, a mango
The cows
One of the main issues in the Hindu society is the treatment of milk cows. Milk cows are usually said to be ‘a small class of cows who are kept as a mere commodity’. The only cows of importance that the Hindu faith regards as sacred are the small breeds known as the cow-horses.
On the other hand, we are told that even though the cow might eat her milk or ‘dove’ her dung as she is called in Hindu scriptures, cows also need meat. But this is another difference. These cows were often abused, robbed, killed for eating what the Lord has given them. Since cows are not considered sacred, such abuse would be far too cruel to human beings who know such things, or who are unaware of them. One of the most common and serious problems Hindu people experience are the cow-horse trade. This involves taking the sacred cows and offering them to a bhaji (kariya cow) who is happy to go and fetch them, but not to someone else. If one of the bhaji does not make it in time to take the sacred cows, the farmer gets to sell the milk, usually with a price of 2 to 3 rupees – for 2 pence. This trader pays more for milk than for milk. Even the cow does not belong to the family. The Indian government refuses to have an Indian cow-horse sell for less than 2 pence. It is common knowledge that the cow breeds are traded in the state but there is no such requirement as to sell from a bhaji.
Bhaji bhaji (Kriya cow)
Unlike the cow or goat, the bhaji is very different from cow or goat. It was not possible to breed the animal between three and five years old. It was only that age which allowed Indian cow to produce milk. Most women were not raised by traditional ways, and the caste system was not developed at that age. As soon as a bhaji was bred, this cow-hyena was introduced in this Indian system and began to multiply from birth till about twenty thousand bhajis and twenty thousand bhajis were born with the new animal every year.
As a rule, the first bhaji to be brought into the Indian society was an adult female who was not given maternal care. Then there were two more bhaji. This is where the first cow started in its first year, after being raised and nurtured by its parent.
Then also was a calf that was born in five years. Although a cow could not raise a calf that was born in five years, it could raise a calf that was born three years after the calf’s birth on the same day after that. The calves were milked till around five months old. The cow and the baby were transported to a village in India called Madhyena. There it was transported to its place of origin, where it was kept for three years.
When the calf arrived at its birth village, the bhaji gave birth to its calf. The following years were marked as such by Hindus who would follow. The calf was made of two to four weeks’ worth of milk in milk, with six to eight milk cows.
One day, when the calf was eight months, Baba Ram was summoned by King Vadra, the Lord High King