By-HG Hrimati Devi Dasi (ACBSP)

namo brahmaṇya-devāya

go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca

jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya

govindāya namo namaḥ

“My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the Cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world.” (Visnu Purana 1.19.65)

We talk so much about cow protection, but what does cow protection actually mean?

What does Go Raksha actually mean?

“Cow protection means just like Bhagavan, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is tending the cows. He is going, taking the cows personally from His royal palace going to the forest whole day, working there. Is it not, cowherd boy? And taken some little fruit, mother, whatever mother has given. They are playing that.So this is cow protection, not that ‘Somebody will give money and we shall keep some third class cows and feed there and become cow protector.’ That is not cow protection.”

“We must tend the cows very nicely so that they give us sufficient milk. And with that milk we shall live.”

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Class 1.16.19

So, what does it mean to “tend the cows very nicely?”

First of all, we must learn what does a cow need to live a healthy life. This is not very difficult to know.

Cows need good feed, like organic fresh green grass, according to season and some preventive medical care. Cows need shelter from all harsh weather conditions — hot, cold or stormy. Cows also need to be groomed and kept clean and given facility to graze and socialize with other cows.

Cows and bulls that are lovingly kept like this in a clean environment will stay healthy and will give us back their love a hundred folds, in the form of all the 5 products of a cow, like milk, butter, yoghurt, go ark, etc., transportation on a bullock cart, and bull power in the agricultural sector.

“Protection of Cows is the single most important principle towards saving the whole world from both moral and spiritual degradation. Simply by protection of cows all the wonderful benefits of religiosity and piety will be automatically achieved without any separate endeavour.

The scriptures describe Go Seva and Go Raksha as a highly reverential duty that can be done by a man to please Lord Krishna and bring auspiciousness and harmony in the society!

“Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the prime protector of brahminical culture and the Cows. Without knowing and respecting these pleasing personalities, one cannot realise the science of God, and without this knowledge, any welfare activities or humanitarian propaganda cannot be successful.”

SB 4.21.38 purport.

– SB: 8.6.12 (purport)

Tamil pāyasam and its etymon Sanskrit pāyasa, originally in sense ‘made of milk’ from payas milk.

Poori Payasam

A traditional Thanjavur dish made during Deepavali

**Ingredients**

Semolina(Rava) – 1 cup

Ghee – 1 tsp

Milk – 2 -3 tbsp (to make pooris)

Sugar – a pinch

Salt – a pinch

Water – 1/2 cup

Almond pulp – 1/2 cup

Sugar – 5-7 tbsp

Milk – 500 ml (to make badam kheer)

Saffron soaked milk – 2 tsp

**Method to make Pooris**

Mix the rava, salt, sugar, ghee and 2 tbspn milk well and let it rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 mins, make a stiff dough (add water only if needed).

To make pooris, divide the dough into equal sized small balls, flatten them and roll them into small round discs with a rolling pin and deep fry them in ghee or oil. Strain and remove the poori from oil when they puff up and turn golden brown in colour.

**For the almond pulp**

Soak 1/2 cup almonds in hot water for an hour. After an hour, strain the almonds, remove the skin and grind them with a little water to a thick paste/pulp.

**Badam Kheer**

Boil 2 cups water in a thick bottomed sauce pan. Reduce the heat to low-medium and add almond pulp to boiling water. Keep stirring as the mixture thickens and the raw smell fades.

Now add 3 cups boiled milk and soaked saffron. You can adjust the quantity of milk according to the desired thickness. Now add 4 tblspn sugar or according to taste. Boil until the sugar melts and blends well. Your badam Kheer is ready.

Add the fried pooris to the Badam kheer (warm or chilled) and let it soak for 3 to 4 minutes. Now Poori Payasam is ready to be offered to Gopalji!! serving.

Tips à Do not use all the badam kheer as the pooris tend to absorb. Keep some handy to add over the pooris, just before serving.

To see the Lord being carried by the bulls,Taraka and Paraka, was an unforgettable experience. According to ancient sacred texts, they are Dharma personified, in this case assuming the form of Kankrej bulls, members of a noble lineage. From ancient Indian archaeologists, we find records of these majestic bovines being displayed in the artwork of the Indus Valley civilization for their incredible beauty, distinguished b y their unique large sculpted horns.

It is said their horns have an effect on cooling their system as they serve as extensions of their bodies. The bulls have many functions in the blueprint of the universe and this is just one more of their distinguishing features.

A 20th century scientist of the Vedas, Rudolf Steiner, who applied his findings to many

fields, including agriculture with the bio dynamic system, stated that there are subtle

channels in the bovines connecting their horns and stomachs, and from that premise he developed a unique fertilizer. He recommends burying the horns of deceased bovines filled with cow dung to produce a fertilizer that potentialize the soil many folds. Here, the earth and bovines are also linked. Some say there is a great symmetry between the microorganisms present in the rumen of bovines, in human intestines and on the earth, creating a continuum of health. This once again proves the connection of bovines to human civilization.

This auspicious procession was designed to carry Their Lordships from Their present

residence to Their glorious new home, the temple of the Vedic Planetarium. The TOVP is a majestic offering to the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a temple that will broadcast His mission and the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra to every town and village in the world.

As a global representative of agriculture and the cows and bulls, I was invited to sit on the

majestically-carved wooden bullock cart carrying Their Lordships. It is said that when the cows and bulls are in a happy mood it is to be understood that a community is entering

prosperity. A classic Indian scripture states as follows:

namobrahmaṇya-devāya
go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāyakṛṣṇāya
govindāyanamonamaḥ

“Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the worshipable Deity for all
brahminical men, who is the well-wisher of cows and brāhmaṇas, and who is always
benefiting the whole world. I offer my repeated obeisances to the Personality of Godhead,
known as Kṛṣṇa and Govinda.” 
---[ViṣṇuPurāṇa 1.19.65]---

For a perfect human society, there must be the protection of go-dvija – the cows and the brahmaṇas.

In anticipation of this very auspicious moment, the residents of Sri Mayapur Dham

and many others, who came on pilgrimage to witness this unique moment, stationed themselves in every available space on each and every floor of the surrounding buildings.

The Brahmanas apprentices and their teachers led the procession chanting Vedic Hymns to please and attract the Supreme Lord. They were followed by loud drums announcing the passage of the Deities. The Brahmanas, with their turbans and beautiful decorations, spread a feeling of freshness andtranscendental bliss in the whole atmosphere. The citizens, elated by the transcendental picture in front of them, threw an incessant flow of flowers and petals onto Their Lordships and on the bulls as a sign of their ecstasy.

All of a sudden the meaning of this frequently recited mantra “namobrahmaṇya-devāya” was revealed to me. There, right in front of my eyes, there was a shower of transcendental response from the devotees to the presence of the Lord, the bulls and the Brahmanas. It was

very clear to everyone that some kind of magic was operating even though not all could ascertain its precise origin.

The impact of this moment penetrated deep into my heart.I feel the time is ripe and extremely conducive to engaging the bulls in the service of the Lord and activating Dharma in our lives.

Therefore, for the year 2022, The Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture is launching

the theme “Dharma and Agroecology in the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu} for the

farm conference cycle. There will be many seminars, workshops, and conferences on this

topic. This knowledge has the purpose of revealing the pathway to abundance. For more

information, please visit the ministry website, https://mcpa.iskcon.org

Most healthy herds of cows produce calves in a 50 percent gender ratio of half male and half female calves.

The biggest problem faced today by cow protectors and Goshalas world wide is finding a befitting role for the bull calves born in the herd. This is not because bulls don’t want to work, it is rather because not many of us want to work with them. Too much dependence on the tractor has put us out of tune with nature.

As the use of tractors in agriculture has rendered bulls useless, they are now being sold to butchers or ending up in the streets to fend for themselves. This is one of the biggest challenges for cow protection. Hence training and employing bulls constitute the most important and urgent 50% of cow protection.

Srila Prabhupada said, “If you don’t use the bulls, you will kill them.”

“Now you have got motor car, motor-tractor, you don’t want the bullocks; therefore kill them. How you can utilize them? Therefore you must have a slaughterhouse to kill them. And as soon as you kill them, then you will have to eat them.”

SB Lecture dated May 27, 1972, Los Angeles

Cows and bulls together provide all the required nutrients, ingredients, and services that the earth requires to produce food grains. This clearly indicates that mother cow and mother earth have a special relation, they need each other to flourish!

Today, we have divorced cows and bulls from agriculture and this special bond between the cows and land has been broken. This unnatural practice is the main reason for increased costs of farming. The farmers are forced to take loans for seeds, fertilizers, tilling, and transportation, which ultimately lead them to higher debts.

For this reason, some farmers quit farming, and some even take their own life.

It is hard not to see a connection between bulls being slaughtered and farmers committing suicide. All over the globe, bulls are cruelly slaughtered for their meat. Even in India where bulls are revered by a majority of the population, they are transported to far off lands to be killed.

Such atrocious practices are pushing us more and more towards our complete dependence on fossil fuels and to be at the mercy of large business corporations to feed the world.

Today scientists, intellectuals, and politicians the world over are forced to re-examine our modern model of development. Is it sustainable? Can it solve world hunger? Will it end poverty? Will it ensure the survival of all species, not just humans?

Cow rearing and cow protection is the foundation for any sustainable and civilized culture and the need of the hour.

Since the bond between bulls, the farmer and agriculture is missing today, it has become pertinent for us at Sri Mayapur Goshala to remind the world that bulls should not be simply deemed as useless and consequently killed, which is simply a result of our failure in understanding their importance in the welfare of the society.

Srila Prabhupada emphasized self-sufficiency for Mayapur, particularly in agriculture. The cow and her male progeny are the foundation of agriculture. Therefore in Sri Mayapur Goshala, training and employing bullocks for agricultural activities, and offering the milk from our cows to the temple constitutes our worship to Sri Sri Radha Madhava.

The cow and bull together provide us with all ingredients and services required for us to grow our food and our sustenance, and the sustenance of the earth is dependent on them. Their dung and urine are best components for fertilizing the land, and they are also the most eco-friendly tillers of the land.

Even though Krishna conscious Vaishnava principles consider all life forms as sacred, it places great emphasis on the life of cows and bulls as invaluable to the society. Our symbiotic relationship with cows and bulls is based on mutual co-existence.