Horses on ISKCON owned or rented land

[Guest guest]

>

> 1. At Bhaktivedanta Manor we are regularly approached by local residents to

> allow them to graze their horses on our land for periods of time. Out of

> neighborliness we have allowed one neighbor to graze two horses for a

> month each year so that they can rest their one acre paddock.

 

Balabhadra told me once that Horses eat the plants right down to the roots .

This means that the grass has difficulty growing back. Is this the case on your

pasture?

Unless there is some severe damage done to your pasture, and the horses are not

sick or anything, I do not see the harm.

After all you are only letting them graze for one month out of the year. If you

would not allow them, your relationship with your neighbors may not stay in

good terms.

 

> 2. As a general practice horses do not die naturally but are usually

> assisted when they are too old to ride or are injured.

 

> 3. Are we behaving immorally to allow limited grazing on our land.

 

immoral...why? are we supposed to be our "brothers keepers"? The horses belong

to the neighbors. If they keep horses they must have the money to buy hay for

them.

 

> 4. If we gave all year round grazing then we would inevitably find ourselves

> with a horse killed on our land.

 

I would keep to the one-month policy. Otherwise it may gets a bit complicated

(karma-kanda) if the owner ends up killing the horses later on. You may get

partly the Karma for it.

 

Maybe you could preach to them:

According to Vedic conception, the animals, they are also members of your

family. Because they are giving service. Not that one section of the members of

my family I give protection, and the other section, I take everything from them

and then cut throat. This is not civilization. You keep your sons, wife,

daughters, cows, dogs, they are animals, asses, domestic animals, horses,

elephants. If you are rich, you can keep elephants also. It does not mean...

Either family-wise or state-wise, it does not mean that you give protection to

some members and cut throat of the others. Oh, how horrible it is.

 

============ REF. Bhagavad-gétä 1.26-27 -- London, July 21, 1973

 

 

> 5. The Cow Policy clearly states that one cannot allow grazing on ISKCON

> land for animals that are destined for slaughter.

>

> 6. Does this include horses.

 

Krishna's Land is meant for Krishna's protected Cows and Krishna's protected

Horses etc.

 

The human society should recognize the importance of the cow and the bull and

thus give all protection to these important animals, following in the footsteps

of Mahäräja Parékñit. For protecting the cows and brahminical culture, the

Lord, who is very kind to the cow and the brähmaëas (go-brähmaëa-hitäya), will

be pleased with us and will bestow upon us real peace.

 

============ REF. SB 1.17.9

 

 

> What are the thoughts on this topic.

 

....be kind to all Animals...

 

"Animal race should be slaughtered, and human race shall eat.” This is their

philosophy. But we have already discussed Kapiladeva’s philosophy, suhådaù

sarva-dehinäm. Suhådaù sarva-dehinäm. The animal has got also body; we have

also got body. But a Vaiñëava is not only a friend to the human society, but he

is friend to the animal society also, the bird society, tree society, every

society. A Vaiñëava does not like unnecessarily a tree should be cut down. That

is Vaiñëava philosophy. A Vaiñëava does not like to trample over an ant. That

is Vaiñëava philosophy.

 

============ REF. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.25.32 -- Bombay, December 2, 1974

 

 

 

 

However, Srila Prabhupada said that we are not a welfare society. We do not

open Hospitals.

 

Why don't you make a policy of how many Horses for what period of time can

graze there? That is if you actually have the space and spare pasture for

outside Animals.

 

So para-upakära. This human life is meant for doing, do, doing well to others,

not exploiting others. That is animalism. “I kill this animal and eat.” Tiger,

very powerful. That is animalism. It has no value. Who is, who is asking for a

tiger, although he’s so powerful? There must be some upakära. So Caitanya

Mahäprabhu’s mission is not tigerism, but welfare activities. People are very

much so-called philanthropists. They open hospitals, schools, and other things,

but actually, they do not know what is the real disease of the human being. The

real disease is that he has forgotten Kåñëa. That’s all. Otherwise, there is no

scarcity in the world.

 

============ REF. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.2.5 -- Våndävana, October 16, 1972

 

 

 

 

Y.s.

Hrimati dasi

[Guest guest]

Dear Conference,

 

I would like to make a point on this issue if I may be so bold.

 

In relation to the quotes below, I do not see how it is acceptable to allow

cows, horses or any domestic animal to graze on "sacred land", with the

implicit knowledge that they will then be sent to slaughter. Just because a cow

is a cow, not a horse, does not fit into the principle of compassion, from

whence comes the practice of cow protection.

The principle, the idea, is what drives these fixed practices, so it is to the

principle we must look. S. Prabhupada clearly states the hypocricy of caring

for a living being and then killing it; yet we should not need too many quotes

just to see its hypocricy for ourselves, exactly as it is hypocritical to

consume dairy products from non-protected domesticated animals.

 

We must all live with our compassion, or lack of it, and our resultant

hypocrisies; but as devotees we must try to transform ourselves and our actions

to move further to compassion, which will then develop the soft-hearted nature

of a true vaisnava.

 

As the answer to drinking blood milk is to drink milk from protected cows or

not at all, so is the answer to the hypocricy of allowing sacred land for the

use of to-be-slaughtered animals to use the land differently; this also applies

to selling hay. Surely the land should be used for cultivation if there is

excess land. If there is a shortage of labour, then the best solution would be

to grow grains or legumes.

 

Of course we could live with our hypocricy, and here there are two ways: One is

to state that this is not the ideal, but do it any way; the other is to twist

the ideal to suit one's needs.

 

Govinda, as in the cow protecter, has in its ideological basis the whole of

nature to protect, to steward, not just a singular species called the cow. To

turn cow protection into a sectarian concern just for one species belittles and

undermines the real principles and grand ideals that are at the heart of life,

not just vaisnavism, which itself is non-sectarian. A pure-hearted soul can not

see a horse go to slaughter just as they can not see a cow go to slaughter. It

is compassion and soft-heartedness that is the principle here, not some

doctrine passed down second hand. Any way, even if we were just to follow party

doctrine, then the quotes below from SP certainly show that this is what he

wanted.

 

Yours in service,

 

Gopananda dasa

 

"Animal race should be slaughtered, and human race shall eat." This is their

philosophy. But we have already discussed Kapiladeva's philosophy, suhådaù

sarva-dehinäm. Suhådaù sarva-dehinäm. The animal has got also body; we have

also got body. But a Vaiñëava is not only a friend to the human society, but he

is friend to the animal society also, the bird society, tree society, every

society. A Vaiñëava does not like unnecessarily a tree should be cut down. That

is Vaiñëava philosophy. A Vaiñëava does not like to trample over an ant. That

is Vaiñëava philosophy.

 

============ REF. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 3.25.32 -- Bombay, December 2, 1974

 

 

So para-upakära. This human life is meant for doing, do, doing well to others,

not exploiting others. That is animalism. "I kill this animal and eat." Tiger,

very powerful. That is animalism. It has no value. Who is, who is asking for a

tiger, although he's so powerful? There must be some upakära. So Caitanya

Mahäprabhu's mission is not tigerism, but welfare activities. People are very

much so-called philanthropists. They open hospitals, schools, and other things,

but actually, they do not know what is the real disease of the human being. The

real disease is that he has forgotten Kåñëa. That's all. Otherwise, there is no

scarcity in the world.

 

============ REF. Çrémad-Bhägavatam 1.2.5 -- Våndävana, October 16, 1972

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Syamasyndara

 

pamho agtSP

 

Would it be possible to ask them to give you the old or horse or 2 instead

of killing them, and let them retire at the Manor. You could keep an area

for them and it wouldnt be much extra trouble. It would go down well with

the horsey English public . They are spirit souls who have come into

contact with devotees so should get compassionate treament.ys

Labangalatika dasi

-

Syamasundara (das) (Bhaktivedanta Manor - UK) <Syamasundara (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:15 PM

Horses on ISKCON owned or rented land

 

 

> Dear Rupanuga Prabhu

>

> Thank you for your response.

>

> The present horses are a neighbourly jesture by us. They give a donation

for

> the Cow Protection Project in reciprocation.

>

> At present the benefit to the temple is good-will and some finances. By

next

> year we may well have excess land in that there will be more grass than

our

> herd can graze or eat as hay. Having horses on for short periods until our

> herd builds up seems an advantage to us as long as there is ethical

> justification as well as financial benefit to the goshalla.

>

> ys syam

>

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