cow puja

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The following article, "The Gentle Cow", was written by Nihal Mathur who is

Cross Cultural Solution's official photographer in India.

 

The Gentle Cow

by Nihal Mathur

The sanctity of the cow is perhaps the foremost sentiment of Hindus for

whom this sacred animal has far deeper nuances in Indian culture and ethos

than is generally understood. For instance, in Sanskrit, the vocabulary used

to mention the cow is indeed staggering, revealing the extraordinary

importance that was once attached to it.

Indian scriptures tell us that the cow is a gift of the gods to the human

race. It is a celestial being born of the churning of the cosmic ocean.

Guias the cow is called in Hindi, is symbolic of Earth itself (similar to

Gaia,the Greek goddess of earth). It follows that the cow represents the

Divine Mother that sustains all human beings and brings them up as her very

own offspring. Much as a mother shows the highest mark of affection for her

young, the passion of the cow for her calf is just as legendary and often

referred to in Indian literature. The ancient texts describe how the gods

run to the succour of a devotee like a cow hastening to feed her calf. In

fact, the cow is even more than a mother in the sense that it fulfills all

the needs of her children as well. It is in this conception that the cow is

understood as Kakadhenu, the wish filling mythical cow, abode of the 330

million Indian gods and goddesses.

But in Indian mythology and legend, it is with the cult of Krishna that the

cow is closely connected. Among other deeds, Krishna is said to have lifted

mount Govardhan to protect his group of cows, cowboys and milkmaids. In

popular imagination it is Lord Krishna who symbolized the relationship man

should have for the cow. Hence to take care of this innocent and

self-sacrificing animal is a matter of virtue for Hindus who identify the

act ad dharmaor moral duty.

 

Considerations of conscience aside, it was natural that in a predominantly

agricultural and pastoral country like India, cows were and to some extent

still are, considered to be the real wealth of the people. After all it is

the cow that gives birth to the bulls, bulls that are harnessed to plough

the fields and to provide transportation. And then of course, there is the

mild--milk that is cultured to become yoghurt--yoghurt which is churned to

produce butter--butter which is converted into gheeor clarified butter that

in India is used as cooking medium. In addition to this, there is paneeror

cottage cheese and buttermilk. Indians cannot forget khoyaand mana--the

other milk derivatives used in preparation of sweets. No wonder the cow is

considered the backbone of rural society.

Paeans of praise is reserved for cow's milk and gheewhich is considered to

be an elixir. Dr. D. Bhandari, the former Director of Animal Husbandry in

Rajasthan said, "You see it is the wonderful bacterial flora of the cow's

stomach that imparts this matchless quality to its milk ideally balanced for

humans. Buffalo milk may be richer but it is the cow's milk that sharpens

intellect, gives swiftness of body, stability of emotions and a serene

nature to the one who drinks it."

Also taken, but in measured quantities, is cow urine or gau mutrawhich has

a unique place in Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine.

Commenting on the chemistry of gau mutra,Dr. C.H.S. Sastry, Director of the

National Institute of Ayurveda said, "Cow urine is used to produce a whole

range of ayurvedic drugs, especially to treat skin diseases like eczema."

Besides, gau mutrais a well known disinfectant. Anti-septic property is also

the attribute of cow dung or gobarwhich is mixed with clay to form a

plastering medium for mud huts. It is a proven fact that mud huts plastered

with gobarkeeps insects and reptiles away. This is the reason why people in

the countryside still store grain in huge earthen pots plastered with

gobarand gau mutrato keep it free from insect manifestations.

Gobarand gau mutrais also mixed with mud and straw to make dried cakes that

fuel kitchen fires. Traditional wisdom says that in burning these cow dung

cakes, the temperature never rises beyond a certain point, ensuring the

nutrients in the food are not destroyed by overheating. Besides, the smoke

of gobarclears the air of germs. Gobarhas also been successfully used to

produce bio-gas and generate electricity for consumer use. Scientific

studies show that gobarhas been found to be resistant to solar radiation.

And of course, gobarmixed with gau mutramakes for excellent manure and a

natural pesticide. Modern day ecologists are saying that as compared to

chemical fertilizer which damages the land in the long run, gobaractually

improves the health of the soil. It isn't hard to see why Indian mythology

says that Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, resides in cow's gobar.

 

Usefulness of the cow forms the subject matter of an essay every child in

India gets to write in primary school. The children are told that even in

dying, the cow gives us its hide which is prized for its softness. Besides

the leather, the cow also gives its horns and bones and other parts of the

body like intestines which have various uses. However, there are other

benefits of the cow which are beyond the purvey of scientific scrutiny.

Sages tell us that no matter how advanced instrumentation may become, man

will never be able to unravel the subtlety of the cow's qualities which are

sung in the scriptures.

It isn't surprising that the cow is then actually worshipped. Big and

small, there are many festivals all over India which are dedicated to the

worship of the cow but none is as important as the Gopashtami celebrated

with great fanfare especially in rural India. Besides the festivals there

are also fairs all over the Indian countryside where along with milch cows,

colorful cow jewelry and clothing is also sold. I watched a farmer at Nagaur

fair (in Rajasthan) buy a pair of silver horn jewelry for his cow with as

much care and affection as was probably reserved for his wife!

But the romance of the cow is at dusk or what Indians call the hour of

Gaudhuli--literally "cow dust." There is a mystique in the tinkling of cow

bells as herds return from the days foraging, kicking up a clouds of dust

just when the sun is going down. This is a special time, considered

auspicious especially for marriages. So intimate is the cow's association

with the lives of Hindus that in all the rites of passage of life, almost

from conception to cremation, the cow is connected to ceremony and ritual.

Perhaps the most significant tribute to the cow is paid duringhavanor the

formal fire ritual conducted by a priest. No havanis said to be complete

without the presence of panchgavyaor the five gifts of the cow, namely milk,

yoghurt, ghee, gohar,and gau mutra. In the Hindu world view, to give cow

clarity or gau daanis considered the highest act of piety.

 

But if you cannot afford to give a cow in charity, you can certainly feed

one. At an individual level, people routinely feed the cows--especially the

wandering ones in the streets. But what is unique to India are several

institutions that look after the cow, chief among them is the Gaushalaor

"House of the Cow." Conceptually different from the dairy, the gaushalas,the

gau sadaus,the the pinjara polsetc, maintain even the non-milking, old and

sick cows along with those that are physically handicapped and heed human

care and attention for survival. Mr. Ramavtar Aggarwal, Office Secretary of

the All India Gaushala Federation said that there are more than 3000

Gaushalas in India which are charitable trusts managed by public funds.

There are many other institutions that also look after the interests of the

cow. So one really wonders how come cows are still on the streets? Talking

to a wide cross section of people including bureaucrats, politicians, social

workers, and those involved with the welfare of the cow, I found the answer

as complex as the problem. In the final analysis, it is best to say that

there is no will to act either by the people or by the State. Maintaining

status quo is the most expedient option. Summing up pithily, a government

official said, "One should understand and accept the cows in the street as

yet another paradox of contemporary India."

Perhaps this is the bane of modern times where ancient Indian values seem

to be out of place in an industrial society. Traditionalists lament the

apathy of educated urban Indians who are ambivalent in their feelings for

the cow which seems to have become just another animal. They say that for a

country known for its principles of vegetarianism and non-violence, it is a

shame that not only is the cow treated so badly but also cow slaughter is

still permitted in India.

Gandhi, the father of the nation made a passionate appeal to ban cow

slaughter in India. He wrote with great depth of feeling for the cow and

called it a "poem of compassion". He said that the cow is the representative

of the mute world of animals. With the language of its eyes the cow seems to

be saying to Man that "God has not made you our master so that you could

kill or eat or mistreat us. Instead He made you to be our friend and

protector". Such a fine thought can only emerge from this land where the cow

is a symbol of its civilization. The songs of glory of the cow is a

priceless gift of India to the rest of the world.

 

http://judypat.com/india/cow.htm