With all my humble heart I submit and share my understanding of this beautiful question ( i. e. why only cows are so dear to Sri Krishna?).We know Sri Krishna as Gopal,Gowardhan residing always in Golok Vrindawan.If you take just the literary meaning of 'Go' as cows then we will just have no other reason than to say that just follow what has been said in the Vedas which were first given by Sri Krishna(Sri Garbhodakshiya Vishnu) to Bramhaji.But,we must try and understand the true meaning of the word 'Go'.With all my humble heart I have understood the meaning of 'Go' as 'Senses'.What we know as our five sensory perceptions, through which we perceive this 'Maya' or the temporary world, are our 'Go' .This is temporary as we are identified with our body which is made of 'Maya' tattva i.e. of 'Prakrati' (External energy of Sri Krishna). This was made out of His compassion(Karuna) for the benefit of those 'Atmas' which are covered by the darkness of ignorance.So,instead of just understanding cow as cow,if you take the underlying meaning of cow as senses you will see Krishna as one who is controlling the senses of all jivas.Vasudev Sri Krishna is always in the Golok Vrindavan with His consort Radharani(i.e. Pure,devotional unconditional love incarnate) His inner most Bhava tattva.Sri Krishna is pure existence,pure consciousness,pure awareness,He is indifferent from Radharani i.e.'Pure love'.Krishna as depicted in any chitra(picture) as Caraiya i.e. as cowherd is to show that He through just by His Murli can attract the cows(i.e. senses) which are always running away in search of ever more green pastures in the Vrandavan.Our (jiva's) senses are all the time running for ever more experience of the external temporary world and we are unable to control it without the proper surrender and loving devotional service to Sri Krishna.We must never forget that it is only till our atma's presence in our body & mind that we have these senses(i.e.our consciousness).The moment our atma leaves the body it has no more senses.The senses are always controlled by Sri Krishna, but we are forgetful of Sri Krishna and that makes us suffer the misery of Janma,mrityu,Jara and vyadhi.Our atma is just a small part and parcel of Paramatma ,just like a ray of Sun.When this ray of Paramatma falls on our body we get the body consciousness and our senses lead us in this external conscious world.
So,we must be full of great reverence to cow because it is providing all that is necessary to maintain and enhance the bodily senses through its milk,butter,ghee, cowdung,cow urine etc..By all means we must love and take care of Cow because it provides us all that we need just as our mother provides us all that we need. That is why all our scriptures show the importance of Cows. Vedas,Gita & Srimad Bhagvatam are full of Sanatan knowledge meaning the knowledge,given herein, is not changing with time.It is one knowledge which is constant.It is eternal.We cannot understand it through our temporary knowledge of reasoning.We must learn to surrender our temporary senses and become awares of permanent senses through the cultivation of pure loving devotional service to Sri Krishna.That is possible through the loving service of a bonafide Guru and his teachings.
Yes, it is true that Krishna is full of compassion and love for all jiva atma irrespective of its being a cow or not.Krishna is known as Rishikesh that is controller of senses.It is through His control of senses that He through His Maya gives the Prarabdha of all the jivas and keeps the Kalachakra move from creation,maintenance and destruction.
When,we understand the true meaning of 'Gobramhana hitaya cha', which means Krishna loves cows(senses) and those who are having the knowledge of Brahman(brahman).
Hare Krishna !! All glories to Sri Krishna-seva Acharyas and Bhaktas !!
The vedas mention that the Mother Cow's whole body is a residence for all the Gods and Devas. So by worshipping the cow or even seeing it gives us the blessings of all Gods and help us earn the Grace of Krishna. All that the cow gives - milk, urine and stool are all holy and the Panchakavya made from a mixture of 5 products from the cow is said to be a great medicine and disease-healer. Similarly, the bull is a representative of Dharma itself - the spiritual instructions of Krishna (The Nandi Bull is a devotee of Lord Shiva - the prathama Vaishnava guru). So, Krishna showed his special love for Cows, calves and Bulls.
Among all the animals. cows and bulls are fortunate to have been blessed with Divinity and therefore deserves our sincere love, care and respect.
Hare Krishna Mudit Pr-another point to add to the answers already given - Just as you may prefer a gulab jamun over a rasgulla The supreme Lord Krishna also has preferences ( we get all our qualities and inclinations to njoi from Krishna- albeit in a minuscule quantity and tend to enjoy in a perverted manner ).So Krishna is blue in color,likes to wear yellow silk garments and a peacock feather and plays the flute and loves cows.It is His supreme sweet will.
YS
dipti
COWS.IT
Mudit > Devi Radha DasiNovember 6, 2011 at 12:10pm
Before I begin to share my feelings let me say that your question is very nice and relevant to not just you but to many many more.
To be born as a human beings is a special opportunity to know our relationship with the Supreme Lord and go back to Him. We have been gifted with a suitable body and intelligence to pursue that but it depends on us how we use it. That intelligence and the decision taken by us based on that will be defective if we do not make it guided by the scriptures as they give us the required discrimination. There is no absolute rule in the material world that we live in. For example, a man gets married to a woman but civilized men discriminate between mother and sisters unlike animals. Anybody's urine or stool is impure but cow dung and cow urine are purifying (even spiritually), touch of any bone is impure but conch is pure; there are many rivers but Mother Ganga has a special place; there are many trees but Tulasiji has special place of worship; the Lord is present everywhere but His murti and temple are special places; similarly there are many animals but Gomata is special. How do we get to know these exceptions? - From the shastras as they are perfect source of information unlike our defective senses.
The Lord tended cows and other animals (including buffaloes) but He loves to be addressed as Govinda or Gopal. Cows hold a special place of love for Him. As our eternal father He loves His creations and had several pets in his pastimes also but cows always held a special place. His eternal residence is known as GO-LOK :) not without a reason.
Brahma Samhita says:
cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vriksha-
lakshavriteshu surabhir abhipalayantam
The Lord's abode is built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of Laxmis. But what is the Lord doing? He is engaged in tending Surabhi or Mother cow. Isn't it interesting?
The cow and bull are dharma itself. If we nourish them, we nourish dharma. According to the scriptures they are never to be sold. If Brahman culture has to survive, we need to serve cows as they complement each other. Cows are sinless and are in mode of goodness. Her glorification can be seen scattered almost everywhere in our scriptures.
It is natural that we don't understand the logic of things in this material world. However,his divine grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given further explanations in several books, especially the Srimad Bhagavatam books which can help clarify doubts.
From the Srimad Bhagavatam, Third Canto:
"As He grew to six and seven years old, the Lord was given charge of looking after the cows and bulls in the grazing grounds. He was the son of a well-to-do landholder who owned hundreds and thousands of cows, and according to Vedic economics, one is considered to be a rich man by the strength of his store of grains and cows. With only these two things, cows and grain, humanity can solve its eating problem.
Human society needs only sufficient grain and sufficient cows to solve its economic problems. All other things but these two are artificial necessities created by man to kill his valuable life at the human level and waste his time in things which are not needed.
Lord Krsna, as the teacher of human society, personally showed by His acts that the mercantile community, or the vaisyas, should herd cows and bulls and thus give protection to the valuable animals. According to smrti regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one's mother, human society takes cow's milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains. Human society will kill its spirit of life by killing the father and the mother."
"A civilized man is expected to live on foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows."
During a conversation between Lord Chaitanya and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, the Lord warned about
the imperfect senses of human beings. This is why is is generally recommended not interpret things in our own way when we are unable to understand them. We should be open=minded and not prepared to discuss arguments without challenging attitudes.
"The Lord thus attacked all Vedantists who interpret the Vedanta-sutra fashionably, according to their limited power of thinking, to serve their own purpose. Such indirect interpretations of the authentic literatures like the Vedanta-sutra are hereby condemned by the Lord.
The Lord continued: "Srila Vyasadeva has summarized the direct meanings of the mantras in the Upanisads in the Vedanta-sutra. Unfortunately you do not take their direct meaning. You indirectly interpret them in a different way.
"The authority of the Vedas is unchallengeable and stands without any question of doubt. And whatever is stated in the Vedas must be accepted completely, otherwise one challenges the authority of the Vedas. "The conchshell and cow dung are bone and stool of two living beings. But because they have been recommended by the Vedas as pure, people accept them as such because of the authority of the Vedas."
Hari Bol,
Mudit > Jay Krishnan RamasawmyNovember 7, 2011 at 11:17am
Hare Krishna to all !!
PAMHO
Thank you all for your replies , i think my doubts have cleared reading the answers to my questions.
Thanks once again for patiently and humbly answering my question .
His divine grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given explanations in several books, especially the
Srimad Bhagavatam on the importance of cows. The quotes below should help you to understand better why the cow is so important.
From the Srimad Bhagavatam, Third Canto:
"According to smrti regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one's mother, human society takes cow's milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains."
"Human society needs only sufficient grain and sufficient cows to solve its economic problems. All other things but these two are artificial necessities created by man to kill his valuable life at the human level and waste his
time in things which are not needed. Lord Krsna, as the teacher of human society, personally showed by His acts that the mercantile community, or the vaisyas, should herd cows and bulls and thus give protection to the
valuable animals."
"The cow is the most important animal for developing the human body to perfection. The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff, but cow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. A civilized man is expected to live on
foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows."
Cows are in the mode of goodness and represent religion. Lord Krishna is Gobramhan hitaya cha - protector of pious Bramhins and cows. So cow protection is very important in survival of Vedic culture.
Replies
Hare Krishna,
With all my humble heart I submit and share my understanding of this beautiful question ( i. e. why only cows are so dear to Sri Krishna?).We know Sri Krishna as Gopal,Gowardhan residing always in Golok Vrindawan.If you take just the literary meaning of 'Go' as cows then we will just have no other reason than to say that just follow what has been said in the Vedas which were first given by Sri Krishna(Sri Garbhodakshiya Vishnu) to Bramhaji.But,we must try and understand the true meaning of the word 'Go'.With all my humble heart I have understood the meaning of 'Go' as 'Senses'.What we know as our five sensory perceptions, through which we perceive this 'Maya' or the temporary world, are our 'Go' .This is temporary as we are identified with our body which is made of 'Maya' tattva i.e. of 'Prakrati' (External energy of Sri Krishna). This was made out of His compassion(Karuna) for the benefit of those 'Atmas' which are covered by the darkness of ignorance.So,instead of just understanding cow as cow,if you take the underlying meaning of cow as senses you will see Krishna as one who is controlling the senses of all jivas.Vasudev Sri Krishna is always in the Golok Vrindavan with His consort Radharani(i.e. Pure,devotional unconditional love incarnate) His inner most Bhava tattva.Sri Krishna is pure existence,pure consciousness,pure awareness,He is indifferent from Radharani i.e.'Pure love'.Krishna as depicted in any chitra(picture) as Caraiya i.e. as cowherd is to show that He through just by His Murli can attract the cows(i.e. senses) which are always running away in search of ever more green pastures in the Vrandavan.Our (jiva's) senses are all the time running for ever more experience of the external temporary world and we are unable to control it without the proper surrender and loving devotional service to Sri Krishna.We must never forget that it is only till our atma's presence in our body & mind that we have these senses(i.e.our consciousness).The moment our atma leaves the body it has no more senses.The senses are always controlled by Sri Krishna, but we are forgetful of Sri Krishna and that makes us suffer the misery of Janma,mrityu,Jara and vyadhi.Our atma is just a small part and parcel of Paramatma ,just like a ray of Sun.When this ray of Paramatma falls on our body we get the body consciousness and our senses lead us in this external conscious world.
So,we must be full of great reverence to cow because it is providing all that is necessary to maintain and enhance the bodily senses through its milk,butter,ghee, cowdung,cow urine etc..By all means we must love and take care of Cow because it provides us all that we need just as our mother provides us all that we need. That is why all our scriptures show the importance of Cows. Vedas,Gita & Srimad Bhagvatam are full of Sanatan knowledge meaning the knowledge,given herein, is not changing with time.It is one knowledge which is constant.It is eternal.We cannot understand it through our temporary knowledge of reasoning.We must learn to surrender our temporary senses and become awares of permanent senses through the cultivation of pure loving devotional service to Sri Krishna.That is possible through the loving service of a bonafide Guru and his teachings.
Yes, it is true that Krishna is full of compassion and love for all jiva atma irrespective of its being a cow or not.Krishna is known as Rishikesh that is controller of senses.It is through His control of senses that He through His Maya gives the Prarabdha of all the jivas and keeps the Kalachakra move from creation,maintenance and destruction.
When,we understand the true meaning of 'Gobramhana hitaya cha', which means Krishna loves cows(senses) and those who are having the knowledge of Brahman(brahman).
Good luck. Hare Krishna!
Hare Krishna to all devotee's
hari bol, Abhay Naik Prabhu.
The vedas mention that the Mother Cow's whole body is a residence for all the Gods and Devas. So by worshipping the cow or even seeing it gives us the blessings of all Gods and help us earn the Grace of Krishna. All that the cow gives - milk, urine and stool are all holy and the Panchakavya made from a mixture of 5 products from the cow is said to be a great medicine and disease-healer. Similarly, the bull is a representative of Dharma itself - the spiritual instructions of Krishna (The Nandi Bull is a devotee of Lord Shiva - the prathama Vaishnava guru). So, Krishna showed his special love for Cows, calves and Bulls.
Among all the animals. cows and bulls are fortunate to have been blessed with Divinity and therefore deserves our sincere love, care and respect.
|| sri krishna: sharanam mamah !!
Hare Krishna Mudit Pr-another point to add to the answers already given - Just as you may prefer a gulab jamun over a rasgulla The supreme Lord Krishna also has preferences ( we get all our qualities and inclinations to njoi from Krishna- albeit in a minuscule quantity and tend to enjoy in a perverted manner ).So Krishna is blue in color,likes to wear yellow silk garments and a peacock feather and plays the flute and loves cows.It is His supreme sweet will.
YS
dipti
Hare Krishna to all !!
PAMHO !!
Thank you for your replies Jay Krishnan Ramasawmy Prabhu and Dipti Naik Mataji .
May be I am to fallen ,i am an neophyte on path of KC ,please forgive me ,I am not convinced by your answers few points i would like to add .
There are also other animals resources who feed us by their milk , then why we don't worship them also ?
Krishna had other pet animals also whom he loved and liked very much , then why don't we worship them too?
I understand that if anything GOD likes then it becomes worshippable , so why we don't worship GOD'S other liking's ?
Thank you very much.
Please forgive me .
Hare Krishna
Hare Krsna Mudit prabhu,
PAMHO, AGSP.
Before I begin to share my feelings let me say that your question is very nice and relevant to not just you but to many many more.
To be born as a human beings is a special opportunity to know our relationship with the Supreme Lord and go back to Him. We have been gifted with a suitable body and intelligence to pursue that but it depends on us how we use it. That intelligence and the decision taken by us based on that will be defective if we do not make it guided by the scriptures as they give us the required discrimination. There is no absolute rule in the material world that we live in. For example, a man gets married to a woman but civilized men discriminate between mother and sisters unlike animals. Anybody's urine or stool is impure but cow dung and cow urine are purifying (even spiritually), touch of any bone is impure but conch is pure; there are many rivers but Mother Ganga has a special place; there are many trees but Tulasiji has special place of worship; the Lord is present everywhere but His murti and temple are special places; similarly there are many animals but Gomata is special. How do we get to know these exceptions? - From the shastras as they are perfect source of information unlike our defective senses.
The Lord tended cows and other animals (including buffaloes) but He loves to be addressed as Govinda or Gopal. Cows hold a special place of love for Him. As our eternal father He loves His creations and had several pets in his pastimes also but cows always held a special place. His eternal residence is known as GO-LOK :) not without a reason.
Brahma Samhita says:
cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vriksha-
lakshavriteshu surabhir abhipalayantam
The Lord's abode is built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of Laxmis. But what is the Lord doing? He is engaged in tending Surabhi or Mother cow. Isn't it interesting?
The cow and bull are dharma itself. If we nourish them, we nourish dharma. According to the scriptures they are never to be sold. If Brahman culture has to survive, we need to serve cows as they complement each other. Cows are sinless and are in mode of goodness. Her glorification can be seen scattered almost everywhere in our scriptures.
Hope it clears your doubt.
Aspiring to serve
Vrndavanlila dd
Hare Krsna,
It is natural that we don't understand the logic of things in this material world. However,his divine grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given further explanations in several books, especially the Srimad Bhagavatam books which can help clarify doubts.
From the Srimad Bhagavatam, Third Canto:
"As He grew to six and seven years old, the Lord was given charge of looking after the cows and bulls in the grazing grounds. He was the son of a well-to-do landholder who owned hundreds and thousands of cows, and according to Vedic economics, one is considered to be a rich man by the strength of his store of grains and cows. With only these two things, cows and grain, humanity can solve its eating problem.
Human society needs only sufficient grain and sufficient cows to solve its economic problems. All other things but these two are artificial necessities created by man to kill his valuable life at the human level and waste his time in things which are not needed.
Lord Krsna, as the teacher of human society, personally showed by His acts that the mercantile community, or the vaisyas, should herd cows and bulls and thus give protection to the valuable animals. According to smrti regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one's mother, human society takes cow's milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains. Human society will kill its spirit of life by killing the father and the mother."
"A civilized man is expected to live on foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows."
During a conversation between Lord Chaitanya and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, the Lord warned about
the imperfect senses of human beings. This is why is is generally recommended not interpret things in our own way when we are unable to understand them. We should be open=minded and not prepared to discuss arguments without challenging attitudes.
"The Lord thus attacked all Vedantists who interpret the Vedanta-sutra fashionably, according to their limited power of thinking, to serve their own purpose. Such indirect interpretations of the authentic literatures like the Vedanta-sutra are hereby condemned by the Lord.
The Lord continued: "Srila Vyasadeva has summarized the direct meanings of the mantras in the Upanisads in the Vedanta-sutra. Unfortunately you do not take their direct meaning. You indirectly
interpret them in a different way.
"The authority of the Vedas is unchallengeable and stands without any
question of doubt. And whatever is stated in the Vedas must be accepted
completely, otherwise one challenges the authority of the Vedas.
"The conchshell and cow dung are bone and stool of two living beings.
But because they have been recommended by the Vedas as pure, people
accept them as such because of the authority of the Vedas."
Hari Bol,
Hare Krishna to all !!
PAMHO
Thank you all for your replies , i think my doubts have cleared reading the answers to my questions.
Thanks once again for patiently and humbly answering my question .
Hare Krishna :)
His divine grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given explanations in several books, especially the
Srimad Bhagavatam on the importance of cows. The quotes below should help you to understand better why the cow is so important.
From the Srimad Bhagavatam, Third Canto:
"According to smrti regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one's mother, human society takes cow's milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains."
"Human society needs only sufficient grain and sufficient cows to solve its economic problems. All other things but these two are artificial necessities created by man to kill his valuable life at the human level and waste his
time in things which are not needed. Lord Krsna, as the teacher of human society, personally showed by His acts that the mercantile community, or the vaisyas, should herd cows and bulls and thus give protection to the
valuable animals."
"The cow is the most important animal for developing the human body to perfection. The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff, but cow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. A civilized man is expected to live on
foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk. The bull helps in the agricultural process of producing grain, etc., and thus in one sense the bull is the father of humankind, whereas the cow is the mother, for she supplies milk to human society. A civilized man is therefore expected to give all protection to the bulls and cows."
Hari Bol,
Hari Bol,
Cows are in the mode of goodness and represent religion. Lord Krishna is Gobramhan hitaya cha - protector of pious Bramhins and cows. So cow protection is very important in survival of Vedic culture.