Value of a cow

Pastime from Mahabharata


In the course of his pilgrimage, Sage Chyavana reached Prayag where Ganga and 
Yamuna merge. He entered the river and stayed under water in the stage of 
Samadhi. A big group of fish surrounded the sage and was in total peace with 
him. The sage also was at ease with the fish around him and stayed thus for 
twelve years. One day, a group of fishermen came to that place and threw big 
nets into the river. Along with the fish, the sage also was caught in the nets 
and the fishermen were surprised to see the sage along with the fish. The 
fishermen were frightened and fell at the feet of Sage Chyavana and requested 
for his forgiveness. They also asked him to give them further directions.
The sage reassured them that they did do not anything wrong and since he was 
part of the catch, they should sell him for a suitable price. The fishermen did 
not know what to do and went to their king Nahusha and reported the whole 
matter and requested the king to come and take care of them.

King Nahusha came to see the sage along with his ministers and other staff. He 
prostrated himself at the feet of the sage and expressed remorse at the actions 
of the fishermen and requested the sage to guide them further. The Sage Chyavana
replied: “Oh King! What is there to feel bad? The fishermen did nothing wrong 
and were simply doing their duty. There is no mistake from their side. Now 
listen to my advice. Since I am their catch, they should be compensated and I 
suggest that you compensate them suitably.”

The king was happy that the Sage was not angry with him or the fishermen and 
ordered his ministers to pay the fishermen a thousand madas (some gold coins of 
that era). The sage heard that and told the king and the ministers to pay a fair
and just price to the fishermen. The king went on increasing and finally offered
the whole kingdom, but the sage simply asked the king to sit and confer with the
ministers and decide the fair compensation.

The king and the ministers were wondering what to do when would great wise man 
named Kavi Jatha came that way and he assured the king that he will fix the 
suitable price for the sage and asked them not to worry. The king and the 
ministers were very happy and were a relieved a lot. Then Kavi Jatha said, “The 
value of a cow and a Brahmin is equal. Lord Brahma made cow as the cause of all 
havis in yaga and the Brahmin as the head of all mantras. No one can fix the 
price of a Brahmin or a cow. So, offer a cow instead of the sage to the 
fishermen.” The king was pleased and went to the sage and told the sage that he 
was incapable of fixing the rate for him and instead would offer a cow to the 
fishermen. The sage was very happy to hear this and said: “Oh king! I am glad 
that the proper value has been fixed. The cow is holy and contains Agni and 
Amrita (the nectar). It is fit to be worshiped even by the gods. I am pleased 
with your decision. So, give a cow to the fishermen.”
So, the king gave a good cow to the fishermen. They accepted the cow and then 
went to the sage and bowed to him and pleaded with him that he had been very 
kind to them and so he should kindly accept the cow from them. The sage was 
pleased with their devotion and agreed. By the mercy of the sage, the fishermen 
and the acquatics became purified and went to heaven. The king also became very 
happy and from that time onwards began to worship the cows. The great sage then 
returned to his hermitage.

The Yoga of Cow Protection

Cows with a calf produce milk in amounts far greater than what is needed or really healthy for her calf and will offer an abundant supply of milk to the human members of her family.

It’s easy enough to understand cow protection from the standpoint of yoga as an ethical philosophy: ahimsa requires us to refrain from violence against all living beings, not just human beings. But the first principle specific to cow protection in yoga philosophy is not really about cows; it’s actually about the engagement of bulls for the production of grains.

A cow doesn’t give milk unless she has a calf and half of all calves are bulls! And, as our friends at ISCOWP explain on their website:

“The expense of feeding the bulls will be a deficit to the farmer unless he realizes their potential for alternative energy by employing them in tilling the fields and hauling. Otherwise, the farmer, in most countries throughout the world, acquires his economic profit by selling them for meat either directly to the slaughterhouse, the meat industry’s feedlots, or to the veal industry where he lives a short life crammed into a small crate not much bigger than him.

The modern system of agriculture does not realize the alternative energy potential of the bull calf nor the variety of useful bovine dung and urine products (fertilizers, compost, pest repellent, medicines, cleaning products, and biogas fuel to name just a few). Therefore, slaughtering becomes the only economically viable means of management. Most people, accustomed to this viewpoint and seeing no alternative, will throw up their hands and agree, even if they prefer a less violent solution. This is only because they don’t have the facts. They don’t know that the overall value of the ox is greater when he is utilized for work than when he’s slaughtered for meat, and even when not productive a cow or ox produces useful urine and dung.”

An ideal social structure that supports the practice of yoga is one that’s local and sustainable, one in which we eat food that grows where we live, one that’s free from the many downsides of technology and industrialization such as polluting fossil fuels, poisonous pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and artificial economics that tilt the playing field against small, family farms. The protection of cows is not merely a religious sentiment nor is it just a matter of avoiding the bad karma associated with needlessly killing innocent animals: it’s a means to secure the highest benefit for human society, both material and spiritual.

Protecting the Cow

These are nice instructions for milking a cow. The cow must first have a calf so that out of affection for the calf she will voluntarily give sufficient milk. There must also be an expert milkman and a suitable pot in which to keep the milk. Just as a cow cannot deliver sufficient milk without being affectionate to her calf, the earth cannot produce sufficient necessities without feeling affection for those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Even though the earth's being in the shape of a cow may be taken figuratively, the meaning herein is very explicit. Just as a calf can derive milk from a cow, all living entities — including animals, birds, bees, reptiles and aquatics — can receive their respective foods from the planet earth, provided that human beings are not asat, or adhṛta-vrata, as we have previously discussed.


(Condition of Cows at Modern Dairy Farms)

When human society becomes asat, or ungodly, or devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the entire world suffers. If human beings are well-behaved, animals will also receive sufficient food and be happy. The ungodly human being, ignorant of his duty to give protection and food to the animals, kills them to compensate for the insufficient production of grains. Thus no one is satisfied, and that is the cause for the present condition in today's world.

(Srila Prabhupada SB 4.18.9-10 Purport)

Care for Cows

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Do you want to go your Mother?

Krsna’s pastimes in Vraja are filled with loving sweetness evoked by the Vrajavasis. What sweet mood would cause the Supreme Personality of Godhead to utter the words, “Do you want to go to your mother?”
Srila Jiva Gosvami describes kumara Krsna’s playing with Balarama and Their friends in the Vrindavana forest just after they have begun to care for the young calves.

Sri Jiva describes:
“After arranging that the calves eat the green grass that surrounded them, the boys playing until lunchtime. At that time Krsna and Balarama played Their flutes. They and Their friends hurled fruit and other projectiles at each other, kicked each other with angling-anklet-adorned feet, and enjoyed mock-fighting pastimes in imitation of bulls fighting amongst themselves.

They enjoyed water-pastimes, and, decorating themselves with forest-ornaments, They wandered about. The two brothers became filled with wonder upon seeing the varieties birds and animals within the forest. They playfully began imitating the sounds of the animals, but when They imitated the roar of some dangerous forest-beast, Their friends became, for a moment, frightened. They then enjoyed pastimes of wrestling. Grabbing each others’ heels, they made a great commotion.

Krsna and Balarama continued to watch as the calves ate grass and drank water. Krsna approached one calf, massaged the calf’s face and limbs, hugged the calf, and said in the calf’s ear, “Do you want to go to your mother? I will take you to her.”

- By HG Bhurijana Das

Blood Milk v/s Ahimsa Milk

To be truly called cruelty-free milk or ahimsa milk, all the cows, calves, and bulls who are involved in producing the milk must be protected their entire lives. A cow must be bred to produce milk. A calf will be born. Fifty percent of the time it is a bull calf. There will be bull calves, and non-productive and old cows, who will not produce milk. In commercial milk production, these unproductive cows are killed. This killing allows the commercial milk producers to make a profit.

"The cow's calf not only is beautiful to look at, but also gives satisfaction to the cow, and so she delivers as much milk as possible. But in the Kali-yuga, the calves are separated from the cows as early as possible for purposes which may not be mentioned in these pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The cow stands with tears in her eyes, the Sudra milkman draws milk from the cow artificially, and when there is no milk the cow is sent to be slaughtered. All this is responsible for all the troubles in present society. People do not know what they are doing in the name of economic development. The influence of Kali will keep them in the darkness of ignorance. Despite all endeavors for peace and prosperity, they must try to see the cows and the bulls happy in all respects. Foolish people do not know how one earns happiness by making the cows and bulls happy, but it is a fact by the law of nature. Let us take it from the authority of Srimad- Bhagavatam and adopt the principles for the total happiness of humanity."SB Purport 1.17.3

It is a fact that a cow will give milk even if she is being mistreated. But this sinful act of mistreating the cows while they are being exploited to give milk and their calves being stolen from them and sent to the slaughterhouse, causing them to be very unhappy, are all symptoms of Kaliyuga.

We should therefore stop to continue to support Demoniac Nature by buying milk from the commercial dairies whose sole purpose is to mistreat the cows/bulls from birth till their untimely death simply to gain economic development?

“Our farm projects are an extremely important part of our movement. We must become self sufficient by growing our own grains and producing our own milk, then there will be no question of poverty. So develop these farm communities as far as possible. They should be developed as an ideal society depending on natural products not industry.” - Srila Prabhupada letter to Rupanuga

Srila Prabhupada on Cow Protection - “Please accept my blessings. I have heard that you are a very good man with cows. Your service would be very valuable here in India. I think that you could travel to the centers here where we keep cows and try to establish a very high cow protection standard. Our cow protection program in India should be the exemplary standard for the whole world. So, if you like, come to India as soon as possible. You may come directly to Calcutta and from there you can easily go to Sri Mayapur-candra-daya Mandira. I want to improve our Gosala here in Mayapur first.”
Srila Prabhupada's Letter to Devakinandana, April 8th, 1975,

So, Ahimsa Milk is the milk produced from cows who are protected their entire lives as per Vedic litreatures and Blood milk is the milk received from the cows who have given their blood and life in producing the milk.

More articles on harmful effects of consuming dairy milk coming soon!

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