Plight of the cow! -Holy Cow-

August 18, 2009

Om Namo Narayanaya

Holy Cow does exist in this country (USA) also but only in phrase. I was watching the "wheel of fortune" program yesterday and the end Bonus puzzle was a phrase with "Holy Cow" that the participant could not solve. I was wondering if this has anything to do with our discussion. This phrase remains as phrase only. The information I gathered about the "cows" in the farms, they are not treated as Holy at all. With the procedure of GMO (Genetically Modified orgasms) the yield of milk increased and as Kamlesh said, if they do not produce milk, they are sent to slaughter house. The solution is not avoiding milk, because cows milk is second to mother's milk. It has all the nutrition to build the body and bones at young age, and good for ladies after menopause to strengthen their bones. We can only advocate to end this brutal cruelty on the Holy cows not only in this

country but all over the world. What about GE (Genetically Engineered) seeds with which all crops are produced that cause many "sicknesses" in this world? Will the big corporations with their "greed" hear our voice?

But I am sure Lord Guruvayoorappan will hear our prayers. He did hear our prayers in Keralam, and the Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran is displaced with Kadanapally Ramachandran who is an ardent devotee.

Let us pray for HIS blessings

Om Namo Narayanaya

Chandrasekharan

Veryytterium <veryytteriumguruvayur ; Radhe <shaantihMonday, August 17, 2009 3:57:47 PMRe: [Guruvayur] Re: Plight of the cow! Please save them!

namo narayana

Respected Devotee,

I am very satisfied that my email on cow protection has inspired at least one member of this group, I shall be very fortunate if you spread this awareness to the largest audience possible.

Personally I have been a strict vegetarian since childhood, but I used to drink milk and eat milk products with delight. When I came to the US, I came across some articles regarding the plight of the dairy cows and how they are abused all their lives and finally miserably slaughtered ending as dog food and leather which left me disgusted.

After much research and reading on this topic, I decided that I am not going to be a part of this cruel, demonic system which treats the sacred cows in such a brutal manner, I prayed to Lord Sri Krishna to give me the strength to completely avoid milk, and milk based products. Being a strict vegetarian in the US itself was tough, and giving up milk was difficult indeed in the beginning but HE gave me the strength. I found soy-milk, tofu products etc to be wonderful cruelty-free alternatives. Now since two years I have not had any milk products and I just find no difference in my lifestyle.

I also want to narrate an incident which happened on Gokulasthami last year. My friends and I had arranged a big Sri Krishna puja and the topic came, what we are going to offer Him for His abhishekams and Naivedhyams?

I had made my mind that I will NOT offer Sri Krishna, milk products obtained from cruel practice but will offer non-milk based naivedhyams. However my other friend said that we should offer Him milk based food as it is His favourite.

However we need the Lord's opinion and not our own, so we called one senior devotee friend (who was neutral) from ISKCON, and he prayed in front of Sri Krishna and then tossed a coin and the devotee friend said that the Lord did not want to be offered milk obtained by inhuman means.

I was very satisfied and humbled that the Lord had approved my decision, and we conducted His puja, with great pomp. We bathed Him in turmeric water, coconut water, chandana water etc and offered Him rava laddoos, thattais, paruppu payasam (made from coconut milk), appams, rava kesari all made without any milk products. Even this year I celebrated Gokulashtami without any milk-based products and it was very satisfying to know that my celebration was not based on some innocent animals suffering and death.

The reason I state this is that we can still have all our traditional celebrations and rituals without causing torturing these poor animals. We only have to be sensitive to pain and suffering of others and try to relive their pain, this will be our true service and puja to Lord Sri Krishna.

The term â€œOrganic Milkâ€ can be misleading, while it is true that organic milk will ensure that the cow is not given hormones or antibiotics, it does not ensure that the cow is not repeatedly artificially inseminated nor does it ensure that the cow (and its male calves) are not killed after it has stopped giving milk for meat and leather.

Hence we need to make sure that the milk is completely obtained humanely, which is possible only in Go-shalas.

We need to spread this awareness to all Hindus and also to our archaryas and gurus so that they can find an alternative to this menace which conforms to our non-violent dharmic principles.

Let us not incur horrendous bad karmas by indirectly causing the suffering and deaths of our sacred cows.

Sincerely,

Kamlesh--- On Mon, 8/17/09, Radhe <shaantih (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote:

Radhe <shaantih (AT) comcast (DOT) net>Re: [Guruvayur] Re: Plight of the cow! Please save them!guruvayur@grou ps.comCc: veryytterium@ Monday, August 17, 2009, 2:30 PM

ï»¿ Dear Kamleshji:

You speak the truth with eloquence. I have thought this myself and have wanted to write to Swamiji to ask that he request devotees to purchase organic milk or soymilk for abishekam. While it may take awhile for people to do, if it is emphasized, they will slowly observe this most important act of ahimsa in their worship of the Lord. In fact, you have inspired me to request your permission to forward this email to him as my request that he consider this change in procedure at the temple as you

speak the truth with such eloquence and honesty. If it is not organic, you can be certain that the cows were abused in some way to obtain the milk. Thank you

for your post. May the Lord shower His blessings upon you for your courage in

saying these words. Offering my namaskarams to you.

In His Service,

Radhe

Hare Krishna!!!

-

Veryytterium

guruvayur@grou ps.com

Monday, August 17, 2009 9:24 AM

[Guruvayur] Re: Plight of the cow! Please save them!

namo narayanaDear all,

Since we had posts on the exploitation of elephants, we as devotees of Lord Sri Krishna must definitely pay attention to the plight of His most beloved animal, the Cow (Go-mata).

Just recently on Sri Krishna Jayanthi, we bathed Lord Sri Krishna in milk, curd, ghee and offered Him His favourite naivedhyams such as paal payasam, ghee and butter.

However we must be aware how this milk is obtained in this Kali yugam, especially where milk is obtained in commerical farming techniques (as in big cities in India and especially here in the US).Before this exploitative factory farming age, our saints used to procure Milk products in harmony and without cruelty, the milk was taken from the cow only after the calf has had it's fill and the cow was worshipped as Go-matha. Such offerings are certainly pleasing to the Lord.However in the present age, factory produced milk is a very cruel exploitative product of torturing cattle. The poor cows are enclosed in a tiny space, chained in its own waste in darkness, cold and filth for the rest of its life. It is pumped with insane amounts of hormones, and other toxic medications to artifically increase milk production.

These large amounts of hormones, antibiotics and other unnatural feed, cause the cow to grow large and make it prone to bone fractures and other very painful diseases. To add to this torture the cows are artifically inseminated to produce calves to ensure regular supply of milk.

The most unfortunate of the calves are male calves (called Bobby calves) who are considered to be useless and are sold off to be butchered for meat when they are just five days old. The mother cows separated from their calves cry in agony, yet they are not spared and are administered more hormones to continue milking them.After milking the cow till it has been exhausted and after ensuring that the cow cannot yield anymore milk, it is sold off to be slaughtered in the most brutal manner for meat and leather.I request all bhaktas to please think about this, will our Lord ever accept our abhiseghams and Naivedhyams if it means that His favourite innocent animals are killed slowly and extemely painfully all their lives?Let us not act in an adharmic manner and perform unthinkable atoricities and sins by offerring factory produced milk and milk based products especially in our sacred rituals and also in our diets. I can

only be certain that we shall never suceed in our sadhana if it causes so much needless pain for innocent animals.We can however use cruelty-free alternative solutions such as

1. Ensuring that we buy milk from establishments which are community farms were the cows are not exploited (Go-shaalas)

2. Restrict and replace cow-milk, with vegan alternatives such as soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk,

3. Perform abhishegams with traditional auspicous dhravyams such as sugarcane juice, fruit juice, coconut juice, turmeric water, saffron water, camphor water, thulasi water, cardomum-clove water...... as cruelty free offerings.

Instead of milk-based abhishegams, please think of donating the equivalent amount to cow shelters such as http://www.careforc ows.org/, these noble people help and resue abused cows who would have ended in illegal slaughter houses in India,

4. Do not buy leather products such as shoes, belts, purses etc (leather in India comes mainly fro illegal slaughter of cattle) and do not eat sweets. choclates and desserts which contain Gelatin (a by product of slaughtered cattle)

5. Create more awarness of this issue and support community Go-shalas.I humbly pray and request all of us to please be aware of this very cruel and sad situation of our "Go-matha", and refrain from passively encouraging this exploitation. This should not be restricted to only cows, but should be extended to save all commerical farm animals from abuse.

It is very contradictory that the most important symbol of Sanathana Dharma, the cow is being tortured in our own Bharat.

While we as Hindus abhor beef eating, we do not bat an eyelid to allow our (holy?) cows to be tortured all their lives for drinking their milk, how can we ever escape the karmic repercussions of such an atrocity.

Next time you eat an ice-cream, chocolate or eat paayasam please think for a while the plight of the cow.

Sincerely,Kamlesh--- On Mon, 8/17/09, Savitri Puram <savitriopuram@ gmail.com> wrote:

Savitri Puram <savitriopuram@ gmail.com>Re: [Guruvayur] Re: Namasthe- Njanappana 12guruvayur@grou ps.comMonday, August 17, 2009, 8:31 AM

Dear Achyuthan Nairji,

I agree 100% with you. We are making these animals suffer in the name of God for our own pleasure. It is cruelty. Even Guruvayur devaswom elephants are not treated with kindness. I have witnessed it several times even inside the temple.

à´Žà´¤àµà´° à´¶à´°à´¿à´¯à´¾à´£àµ†à´¨àµà´¨àµ à´†à´¨à´•à´³àµà´‚ à´ªà´±à´žàµà´žàµ à´•à´£àµà´£àµ€à´°àµâ€ à´¤àµ‚à´•àµà´¨àµà´¨àµ à´Žà´¨àµà´¨àµà´±à´ªàµà´ªà´¾à´£àµ . Even a golden cage with all comforts is no match to the freedom given by God, what about their complete à´ªà´¾à´°à´¤à´¨àµà´¤àµà´°àµà´¯à´‚ even to move their legs evenly? There is no end to their suffering. Who else other than Bhagavvan can change the present situation?

Regards and prayers

savitri

On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 6:57 PM, anair1101 <anair1101 > wrote:

Hari-Om=======nairji, You are right. There is a huge differene between A mad elephant and an elephant in Musth.Musth is a biological occurance in bull elephnts and a necessary one It is somthing like an animal in heat. THe animal becomes restless. feel emotionaly weak and agressive. Mad elephants are very rare . They become more aggressive when in captivity.In this case it is a misunderstanding and due to the wrong usage of an english word. No big deal. English is not our mother tongue.As for the mistreatment of animals, especially elephants, Keralites take the front seat followed by Thailand , Burma and the so-called animal loving (pets ) developed nations like USA, UK, Germany etc.one only has to go to the zoo or the Ringling Brothers circus to witness how elephants are chained, tortured and starved. All for the fun and entertainment of human beings. In Kerala they do it in the name of God. They

claim shree Guruvayoorappn loves elephants . Very true but He did not mean tht they should be captured, beaten with sticks, poked with razor sharp spears. and starved until they submit to the Mahout and his boss and companions. The Lord does not want these helpless animals to be captured ,chained, beaten and paraded in front of Him by drunken mahouts in the name of Utsavam. We do not do it for Him but , for our own enjoyment. Most of these elephants are owned by logging industry bosses and during night hired out for temple festivals. They have no rest and are made to walk hundreds of miles daily in hot sun with no drinking water , walking on sizzling tarmac roads burning the skin underfoot. We are hypocrats with no heart and compassion, but only naked greed for money.Let the animals roam free in the natural surroundings , as it in the Ambosili national park or Serengeti in Africa, We might learn if we are put in the same sitution, chained,

beaten and starved.Krishna, Guruvayoorapp, don't you see the cruelty of these so called bhaktas of yours ? God save our helpless elephants.jai shree krishna !Achuthan Nair

guruvayur@grou ps.com, "NB Nair" <nbnair2000@. ..> wrote:>> > HARI AUM> > With due respect and regard for the excellent service rendered to> theGroup by Savitripuramji, I would like to point out one specific usage> thatpained me and is still persisting after almost a month.> > In [Naamam persuades us to strive with thedetermination and force of a> "matthagajam" or mad elephant to break this chain of bondage]: > "matthagajam" is not a mad elephant, but anelephant in> `musth'. A matthagajam, intotal contrast to a mad elephant, is> very much focused and bestowed with allhis power in its most heightened> form by Mother Nature to fulfill his NiyukthaKarmam, procreation, in its> most divine sense. The

hapless aspect of a "matthagajam in> chains" would have been verywell known to Poonthanam who had> personally experienced the pains of not havingas well as having lost an> offspring in his own life.> > Sucha noble soul like Poonthanam perhaps used this simile not only to> impress up onthe power of prayers in liberating the devotees from the> bondage of life andbirth but also to point out the paradox in our> practice of keeping inphysical bondage for life some fellow creatures in> the false hope of securingliberation for ourselves from the spiritual> bondage.> > So,it may be emphasised that the practice pointed out as a simile is not> keepingmad elephants in chains but elephants in musth â€“ the most> cruelest ofcruelties!> > Letus take Poonthanam's message in its totality: at least in our> prayers let ustreat all His creations with due

dignity by not failing to> dissociate ourselvesfrom anything to the contrary.> > Please be generous to spare a few minutes andcorrect me, if I am wrong.> > Regards to all,> NB Nair.> > guruvayur@grou ps.com, Savitri Puram <savitriopuram@>> wrote:> >> > Njanappaana 12> >> > Ponnin changala onnipparanjathil> > onnirumbu kondennathre bhedangal> > Randinaalumeduthu panichaiytha> > Changalayallo misramaam karmavum> >> > Bondage comes from three types of karmaas and one string (changala)> formed> > as a result of satkarmaas or punyakarmaas or good deeds is made of> Gold> > (ponnin), another one (onnu) formed as a result of paapa karmaas

or> negative> > karmaas or dushkarmaas is made of Iron (irumbu) and the third string> (> > formed as a result of the mixture of the above two types of> > karmaas-misrakarmam ) is made of a mixture of both Gold and Iron> > (randinaalumeduthu pani cheytha).> >> > Even though Gold and Iron are different metals with entirely different> > properties, when they are used for tying or binding some one it hardly> makes> > any difference for the bound victim. The word "changala" and> "thalakkuka"> > are usually used for chaining elephants. By using these words,> Poonthanam> > brings out the fact that breaking the strings of bondage is as> difficult for> > us as it is for an elephant to break it's thick Iron chain. But with> lot of> > effort, sometimes elephants do break and run to freedom. So

with> continuous> > and sincere effort human beings blessed with the power of> discrimination,> > can break all three binding chains. Even people with predominantly> satva> > gunaas find it hard to break the bondage effortlessly. As long as> their> > satkarmmas are result oriented, they will not be freed from the cycle> of> > birth and death. They live to enjoy the results of satkarmaas, again> do> > satkarmaas to be born again and again. Only renunciation of the fruits> of> > action can break the bondage for Punyaatmaas (great souls), Paapis> (sinned> > souls) and those punyaathma-paapaath ma combination souls . The only> > difference is that when we do Paapa karmaas we are subjected to> negative> > experiences and punya karmaas yield positive experiences and mixture> of both>

> will give both positive and negative experiences. But eternal freedom> from> > this cycle calls for Nishkaama karmam.> >> > Even if a cage is made of Gold, a bird sees it only as a cage in which> it is> > trapped. It does not enjoy the beauty of Gold. It only wants freedom.> > Likewise our souls craves for eternal freedom to join the Parmaathma.> > Because of the avidya or ignorance, jeevathma goes after transient> pleasures> > and with egoistic actions accumulate all three types of karmaas.> Poonthaanam> > advises us to do naamasnkeerthanam which removes ignorance and makes> us> > realize that we are trapped in this eternal cycle of birth and death.> Naamam> > persuades us to strive with the determination and force of a> "matthagajam"> > or mad elephant to break this chain of bondage. Poet

assures that this> force> > to break the chain can be derived from chanting Lord's name. By the> power of> > Naamajapam even an athiest (who does not believe in God or in prayers)> goes> > through different stages of Bhakthi or devotion and reach the highest> state> > of Uttama Bhaktha or perfect devotee.A Bhaagavatotthama ( the highest> type> > of devotee ) is one , who sees the glory of Bahgavan in all animate> and> > inanimate beings , and also perceives all beings as dwelling in Him.> So all> > his karmaas become an offering to God and practically becomes a> > Jeevanmuktha. Then he discards the body when the results of the> accumulated> > karmaas are exhausted and merges with the Paramaathma.> >> > Where does God live? Bhagavan says to Narada:> >> > Naham vasami

vaikunte na yogi hrudaye ravau> > Mad bhaktha: yatra gayanti tatra thishtami narada.> >> > "I dwell not in Vaikundha, not in the hearts of yogis, nor in the Sun,> I> > live where my devotees sing my glory and divine names."> >> > So let us sing along with Poonthanam, Narada muni and millions of> devotees:> >> > Krishna! Krishna! Munkunda! Janaardana!> > Krishna! Govinda! Naarayana! Hare!> > Achyuthaananda! Govinda! Maadhava!> > Sachinthaananda! Naraayana! Hare!> >> > Sreekrishnaarpanams thu> >> > Regards and prayers> >> > savitri> >>

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August 19, 2009

namo narayana

Respected Menonji,

Thank you for your email. Certainly the term "Holy Cow" is a sad joke, when most of the "Holy" cows are abused for their milk and flesh by selfish individuals.

It is uncertain that drinking milk might be beneficial for menopausal women, however it is very certain that milk products are very tasty to the tongue and we are now addicted to it.

This addiction, makes us think that other healthier vegan alternatives such as fresh vegetables, fruits and especially dark green leafy vegetables are excellent sources of minerals and polyphenolic antioxidants which fight cancer with the added bonus that they are completely cholesterol free (unlike milk) cannot replace milk.

Its quite a irony that we spend years and years studying Srimad Bhagvatam and the Gita and tell great stories to our children, about how Sri Krishna protected the cows by lifting the Govardhan hill as well as defeat Kaliya who had poisoned the Yamuna, but when the time comes to actually practically implement these concepts like saving the cows, we simply look the other way and pretend that this is not happening in our â€œsacred landâ€ but happens in some far off â€œUndharmicâ€ land! It is indeed very easy to put the blame on others but very difficult to understand that we are ourselves a part of the problem.

Our mothers may have fed us their milk for at most 1-1.5 years, but the poor innocent docile cow feeds us her milk all her life, even at the cost of her own calves which are butchered, and instead of being grateful to her, we sell her when she gets old to be slaughtered? Is this what our mothers teach us?

What use are all these concepts of non-violence and Krishna-kathas if we are such slaves of our tongue? The main point is of Indhriya-nigraha (Sense control) if we truly pray to Sri Krishna (who is Hrishikesan or controller of our senses) He will definitely gives us the strength to make correct peaceful choices and lead our lives without hypocrisy.

Giving up the consumption of such milk, leather products and â€œpleasure foodsâ€ like ice-cream, chocolates, cheese etc is not such a great austerity, that it cannot be implemented by the common man. Instead of spending crores of money to large scale rituals in which the most sacred animals of the Lord are abused, the common man can live his life in a simple non-violent manner by controlling his great demands of his tongue and genuinely worship the Lord.

I think it is high time that we must challenge the existing systematic abuse of all animals and especially the cows, by sincerely looking at our own involvement in the problem.

Sincerely,

Kamlesh

--- On Tue, 8/18/09, Chandra Menon <chandrasmenon2002 wrote:

Chandra Menon <chandrasmenon2002[Guruvayur] Re: Plight of the cow! -Holy Cow-guruvayur Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 3:18 PM

Om Namo Narayanaya

Holy Cow does exist in this country (USA) also but only in phrase. I was watching the "wheel of fortune" program yesterday and the end Bonus puzzle was a phrase with "Holy Cow" that the participant could not solve. I was wondering if this has anything to do with our discussion. This phrase remains as phrase only. The information I gathered about the "cows" in the farms, they are not treated as Holy at all. With the procedure of GMO (Genetically Modified orgasms) the yield of milk increased and as Kamlesh said, if they do not produce milk, they are sent to slaughter house. The solution is not avoiding milk, because cows milk is second to mother's milk. It has all the nutrition to build the body and bones at young age, and good for ladies after menopause to strengthen their bones. We can only advocate to end this brutal cruelty on the Holy cows not only in this

country but all over the world. What about GE (Genetically Engineered) seeds with which all crops are produced that cause many "sicknesses" in this world? Will the big corporations with their "greed" hear our voice?

But I am sure Lord Guruvayoorappan will hear our prayers. He did hear our prayers in Keralam, and the Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran is displaced with Kadanapally Ramachandran who is an ardent devotee.

Let us pray for HIS blessings

Om Namo Narayanaya

Chandrasekharan

Veryytterium <veryytterium@ >guruvayur@grou ps.com; Radhe <shaantih (AT) comcast (DOT) net>Monday, August 17, 2009 3:57:47 PMRe: [Guruvayur] Re: Plight of the cow! Please save them!