Guest guest Posted April 28, 1999 Report Share Posted April 28, 1999 All of the following text makes me feel like I'm reading about Vrindavana pastimes in modern day! I am so sorry it is about the passing away of one of the cows, but it is still very touching. To me this is what Krsna consciousness/varnasrama-dharma/Vedic culture/devotional service is all about. The difference between discussions of this nature and some of the other types of discussions are vastly different in the feeling they give to my heart. Thank you. P.S. I was wondering if there are still some offspring from the original cows we bought for Gita-nagari back in 1974? I do not remember their names but they were beautiful Brown Swiss heifers when we bought them after a long search around the entire Northeast and Midwest. One I remember was Mother Dvipa. Your fallen servant, Janesvara dasa On 27 Apr 1999, Hare Krsna dasi wrote: > > I just had to share with the devotees that my favorite cow, Prema-Vivahla has just left her body. I remember so many times milking her in the morning, playing Srila Prabhupada's KT-1 tape, hoping she would remember it when she left her body. So many different pastimes with her. She rarely mooed, except when it was time for the morning milking. One year she was all decorated for Govardhana puja, with silver hooves and a silk mirrored blanket and a feather headress and a garland. She was offered puja with Sri Sri Radha-Damodara who had come to the barn. She was so mild the whole time. Then the children fed molasses and grain balls to each of the cows and the Deities circumambulated the whole barn to see each cow. As the Deities left the barn, Prema-Vivahla let out a long low moo of separation. Now I pray after giving so much milk to Krsna all these years that she will be able to join Him and Srimati Radharani in Their eternal pastimes. > > Balabhadra will remember Prema-Vivahla because I believe he is the one who gave her her name from a verse in the Fourth Canto which described ecstatic love of Godhead. > > your servant, > > Hare Krsna dasi ------ > > Dear Hare Krishna Prabhu, > > > > Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to ISKCON founder-acarya > > Srila Prabhupada! > > > > One of our beloved cows, Prema-vivala left her body on Saturday. She seemed > > just fine the day before and we found her body the next morning. > > Fortunately, it was quick and she wasn't down for long. She did so much > > service for Sri Sri Radha-Damodara and the devotees... > > > > Mother Kaulini told us that she is quite dear to you and we thought we > > should tell you about her leaving. Her daughter, Vrindavanesvari is now > > pregnant and expecting this fall. > > > > Take care, Prabhu and please let us know if we can serve you in any way. > > > > Hare Krishna. > > > > Your servant for the cows, > > > > mangala-arotik Dasi > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 1999 Report Share Posted April 28, 1999 > > > P.S. I was wondering if there are still some offspring from the original cows > we bought for Gita-nagari back in 1974? I do not remember their names but they > were beautiful Brown Swiss heifers when we bought them after a long search > around the entire Northeast and Midwest. One I remember was Mother Dvipa. > > Your fallen servant, > Janesvara dasa If a cow purchased in 1974 was 2 years old, and calved again at the age of 12, then her calf could would now be 15 years old. That is old for a cow, but not unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 1999 Report Share Posted April 28, 1999 > > > P.S. I was wondering if there are still some offspring from the original cows > we bought for Gita-nagari back in 1974? I do not remember their names but they > were beautiful Brown Swiss heifers when we bought them after a long search > around the entire Northeast and Midwest. One I remember was Mother Dvipa. > > Your fallen servant, > Janesvara dasa If a cow purchased in 1974 was 2 years old, and calved again at the age of 12, then her calf could would now be 15 years old. That is old for a cow, but not unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 1999 Report Share Posted April 28, 1999 "WWW: Janesvara (Dasa) ACBSP (Syracuse - USA)" wrote: > [Text 2273816 from COM] > > All of the following text makes me feel like I'm reading about Vrindavana > pastimes in modern day! I am so sorry it is about the passing away of one of > the cows, but it is still very touching. > > To me this is what Krsna consciousness/varnasrama-dharma/Vedic > culture/devotional service is all about. The difference between discussions of > this nature and some of the other types of discussions are vastly different in > the feeling they give to my heart. > > Thank you. > > P.S. I was wondering if there are still some offspring from the original cows > we bought for Gita-nagari back in 1974? I do not remember their names but they > were beautiful Brown Swiss heifers when we bought them after a long search > around the entire Northeast and Midwest. One I remember was Mother Dvipa. > > Your fallen servant, > Janesvara dasa Most of Gita-nagari's cows are still descended from the original, prize-winning Brown Swiss herd, and most of them are pretty mellow to work with. Prema-Vivahla was Brown Swiss. This time of year, her coat would begin to turn speckled, after spending so much time in the barn during the winter. Walking her out to pasture on a sunny day, I would really notice it. Also, with Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance coming up, it reminds me that many times we made Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance Day the day that we turned the cows onto the pasture after the winter. The Deities would also watch and enjoy the crazy antics of the cows on the fresh pasture -- which added to the festivities of the day. [Aradhya prabhu, do you remember that you came from New Mayapura in France and we met you and your husband Pitavas at such a Nrsimha Festival one year? Hari bol -- I hope you are enjoying Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance this year also! ys hkdd] My kids (who are now teenagers) both cried last night when I told them that Prema had left her body. At Gita-nagari, the kids loved to go into the barn and lie on the cows, using them as "couches." The cows liked the attention and liked having a fuss made over them. One of Asto and Maha's favorite photos from Gita-nagari is a picture of them both as little kids snuggled up with Prema. She looks so motherly and affectionate. One of the most heart-breaking experiences of my life was to leave Gita-nagari and especially the cows -- but our lives are complicated, aren't they? Anyway, over the years I've often thought about Prema and the other cows I milked, but especially Prema, hoping that somehow or other they could be nicely taken care of. Now that Prema has left her body (she must have been about 20 years old) I see that her story has come to a happy ending to have left peacefully, and still in the care of Radha-Damodara's devotees. I just feel so grateful to Mother Kaulini and all the other devotees at Gita-nagari who work so hard day in and day out -- either directly caring for the cows, or raising funds for them, or caring for the devotee cowherds. I feel very thankful to them. One last episode. My service was to milk the cows every morning. After about a year, I had someone replace me for a week while I took my children to visit their grandparents. When I returned, naturally I wanted to go right in the barn to see the cows. It was mid-day, so they were in the barn eating hay to get out of the hot sun. They were chained in their own stalls. I went up to Prema to give her a hug and she did not accept it. Instead, she pulled back as far as she could on her chain and turned her head away from me. Just like a two-year old child, she loved me, so she was angry at me for having deserted her. She was hurt. It was a very sweet moment when I realized that that was how she was expressing her affection for me. In an old issue of the ISKCON Farm News, Teiyjas quotes Srila Prabhupada, "We should start this varnasrama in America. Varnasrama is centered around the cow." I think that too often we forget that cow protection is supposed to be a central feature of varnasrama. Our western way of thinking is that the most efficient thing is to centralize everything. Therefore, we like the idea of a centralized goshalla -- so that many cows can be taken care of by just a few devotees. Everyone else does not have to waste their time caring for the cows. But, by that philosophy, we miss out, because cows have a vital social role to fill in a spiritual community -- and that is to soften the hearts of the inhabitants and thus make them receptive to Krsna's message. My belief is that that is best done if we can arrange for cows to be taken care of by individual families. Better to have many people taking care of just a few cows each than to have just a few people taking care of many cows each. It's much more personal. Gandhi introduced the idea of a "pinjrapol" for "old and decrepit cows," but I can't imagine Krsna sending His old cows (if He had any) away to some cow "old age home." The older the better, to teach human values and gentleness. Sri Krsna dasa used to love them, "They're the grandmothers! Such nice old ladies. You will never see cows like this on a non-devotee farm." If I could have had my own desire, Prema Vivahla would have lived out her life with my family, and we would have benefitted greatly by her gentle association. As I say, life is complicated, so that was not possible. And on many farms, the way things are set up now, the only possible way to take care of cows is with a centralized goshalla. May Krsna bless all our devotees who are struggling to keep these projects going. But, at the same time we appreciate the work of our goshalla workers, I think we should also keep in mind that the ideal is that as many people as possible should have the daily experience and responsibility of taking care of the cows. That will make us a much gentler society. We have to create the social and economic arrangements that will make that possible. As we make those arrangements, we will see varnasrama actually blossom. In the meantime, we can appreciate the wonderful animals we have, and try to help those who are caring for them every day. your servant, Hare Krsna dasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 28, 1999 Report Share Posted April 28, 1999 "WWW: Janesvara (Dasa) ACBSP (Syracuse - USA)" wrote: > [Text 2273816 from COM] > > All of the following text makes me feel like I'm reading about Vrindavana > pastimes in modern day! I am so sorry it is about the passing away of one of > the cows, but it is still very touching. > > To me this is what Krsna consciousness/varnasrama-dharma/Vedic > culture/devotional service is all about. The difference between discussions of > this nature and some of the other types of discussions are vastly different in > the feeling they give to my heart. > > Thank you. > > P.S. I was wondering if there are still some offspring from the original cows > we bought for Gita-nagari back in 1974? I do not remember their names but they > were beautiful Brown Swiss heifers when we bought them after a long search > around the entire Northeast and Midwest. One I remember was Mother Dvipa. > > Your fallen servant, > Janesvara dasa Most of Gita-nagari's cows are still descended from the original, prize-winning Brown Swiss herd, and most of them are pretty mellow to work with. Prema-Vivahla was Brown Swiss. This time of year, her coat would begin to turn speckled, after spending so much time in the barn during the winter. Walking her out to pasture on a sunny day, I would really notice it. Also, with Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance coming up, it reminds me that many times we made Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance Day the day that we turned the cows onto the pasture after the winter. The Deities would also watch and enjoy the crazy antics of the cows on the fresh pasture -- which added to the festivities of the day. [Aradhya prabhu, do you remember that you came from New Mayapura in France and we met you and your husband Pitavas at such a Nrsimha Festival one year? Hari bol -- I hope you are enjoying Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance this year also! ys hkdd] My kids (who are now teenagers) both cried last night when I told them that Prema had left her body. At Gita-nagari, the kids loved to go into the barn and lie on the cows, using them as "couches." The cows liked the attention and liked having a fuss made over them. One of Asto and Maha's favorite photos from Gita-nagari is a picture of them both as little kids snuggled up with Prema. She looks so motherly and affectionate. One of the most heart-breaking experiences of my life was to leave Gita-nagari and especially the cows -- but our lives are complicated, aren't they? Anyway, over the years I've often thought about Prema and the other cows I milked, but especially Prema, hoping that somehow or other they could be nicely taken care of. Now that Prema has left her body (she must have been about 20 years old) I see that her story has come to a happy ending to have left peacefully, and still in the care of Radha-Damodara's devotees. I just feel so grateful to Mother Kaulini and all the other devotees at Gita-nagari who work so hard day in and day out -- either directly caring for the cows, or raising funds for them, or caring for the devotee cowherds. I feel very thankful to them. One last episode. My service was to milk the cows every morning. After about a year, I had someone replace me for a week while I took my children to visit their grandparents. When I returned, naturally I wanted to go right in the barn to see the cows. It was mid-day, so they were in the barn eating hay to get out of the hot sun. They were chained in their own stalls. I went up to Prema to give her a hug and she did not accept it. Instead, she pulled back as far as she could on her chain and turned her head away from me. Just like a two-year old child, she loved me, so she was angry at me for having deserted her. She was hurt. It was a very sweet moment when I realized that that was how she was expressing her affection for me. In an old issue of the ISKCON Farm News, Teiyjas quotes Srila Prabhupada, "We should start this varnasrama in America. Varnasrama is centered around the cow." I think that too often we forget that cow protection is supposed to be a central feature of varnasrama. Our western way of thinking is that the most efficient thing is to centralize everything. Therefore, we like the idea of a centralized goshalla -- so that many cows can be taken care of by just a few devotees. Everyone else does not have to waste their time caring for the cows. But, by that philosophy, we miss out, because cows have a vital social role to fill in a spiritual community -- and that is to soften the hearts of the inhabitants and thus make them receptive to Krsna's message. My belief is that that is best done if we can arrange for cows to be taken care of by individual families. Better to have many people taking care of just a few cows each than to have just a few people taking care of many cows each. It's much more personal. Gandhi introduced the idea of a "pinjrapol" for "old and decrepit cows," but I can't imagine Krsna sending His old cows (if He had any) away to some cow "old age home." The older the better, to teach human values and gentleness. Sri Krsna dasa used to love them, "They're the grandmothers! Such nice old ladies. You will never see cows like this on a non-devotee farm." If I could have had my own desire, Prema Vivahla would have lived out her life with my family, and we would have benefitted greatly by her gentle association. As I say, life is complicated, so that was not possible. And on many farms, the way things are set up now, the only possible way to take care of cows is with a centralized goshalla. May Krsna bless all our devotees who are struggling to keep these projects going. But, at the same time we appreciate the work of our goshalla workers, I think we should also keep in mind that the ideal is that as many people as possible should have the daily experience and responsibility of taking care of the cows. That will make us a much gentler society. We have to create the social and economic arrangements that will make that possible. As we make those arrangements, we will see varnasrama actually blossom. In the meantime, we can appreciate the wonderful animals we have, and try to help those who are caring for them every day. your servant, Hare Krsna dasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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