Hinduism and the Holy Cow
Having spoken about Hinduism in front of a wide variety of audiences; one of the most common questions I get asked is “Why do Hindus worship cows?” Be it eight-year-old kids or schoolteachers, there is a fascination with Hinduism and the holy cow. Sometimes the question is asked in a mocking tone, while at other times there appears to be a genuine desire to get an insight into the subject of cows in Hinduism.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:58 am
‘Gow’ is a sanskrit word ,one meaning is Cow,other more contexually interpreted includes -’transforming information into Knowledge or wisdom ‘or ‘Light’.Vedas consciously indulge into a pratika language(symbolism),’Rupak tarka’,collative parallelism as a technique of informing the materialist Human Brain thinking consciousness to employ imagination and intution .Cow has secret Devatas(Spiritual Energy powers,exploited in ‘GoTantra’.'Gomedha’ is a ‘Yajna’ enabling to acquire esoteric powers of devatas residing in the Cow animal form to Human Consciousness.This is apart from the pragmatic Utility significance of the Milk giving ‘Mother’ Cow to the World.thisi truth cannot be understood or digested by a mediocre materialist,which is the reason for criticising Hinduism.Yeshwant sane E-mail:yrsane@eth.net 29-1-2007.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Extremely well thought-out and informative article. The explanation is wonderful and very educative. It’s a “MUST” to know for any self respecting Hindu.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:16 am
This article is beautifully worded. It would have helped to explain the importance of the cow to an agricultural economy.
Thank you,
Mona Vijaykar
January 29th, 2007 at 4:54 am
There is lot of difference between “Respect” and “Worship”.I dont deny that we should respect “cow” but this is not happening, people are worshipping it as “God”. allright “we should respect other creatures” its a good theme in such case there r many other creatures which r helping or doing service in someway or the other wa,why dont we respect and worship them.Afterall every creature is created by Divine Power lets suppose GOD,evry livingbeing has to fulfill its task or purpose of its presence meant for it by god,Its not that one animal is doing great job and the other is doing less.Finally what iam saying is there should be mutual respect or love among all livingbeings but there is no need to worship.WORSHIP THE DIVINE POWER also if u believe that GOD IS OMNIPRESENT then worship everybody.
Iam sorry if i talk something wrong or hurt somebody.I think iam talking with some sense.I always accept suggessions,critisism and guidence.
Thank You
Snetha
January 29th, 2007 at 11:34 am
This is great intelligent and very well written article.
I believed into everything said here, but failed to describe in the manner you explained here. This will help me to explain it properly to friends and other people around me.
Best wishes, will expect more great articles from you!
Vinayak
January 29th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
This is a nice article and certainly there is much truth to what is said at the end. But it takes off at a tangent from the question on why the cow is sacred in Hinduism. The cow became sacred because after the child stops drinking mother’s milk, she grows up drinking cow’s milk. If the mother dies before the child grows up, again the cow’s milk is fed to the child. Thus the cow is revered as a mother. Innumerable mythological stories including the celestial cows Kamadhenu and her daughter Nandini have reinforced respect for the earthly cows.
Romilla Thapar states in her book on the History of India that at one time, people in India loved cow’s flesh so much that the cow population began to dwindle, causing much problems for children who needed the milk. The Hindu leaders then mandated that cows should not be killed. Knowing that Ms.Thapar is a marxist communist, who primarily think of every issue on earth from an economic perspective, I would not put much credence in such a theory (especially because there is not much evidence of people eating steak with relish in historical India). But it is a good and interesting theory and I thought you would like to know.
There is no question that humans are exploiting nature so much as to adversely affect it. But there is no evidence that respect for cow will help all of us become responsible citizens of the world. Respect for all living creatures is important; but acquiring more knowledge on how we are harming the planet, and, what will happen if we keep living on in such selfish manner, will help more.
Great article in any case. I enjoyed reading it.
Rajashekhar Sharma
January 29th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Dear Rajashekhar - Man, I hope you know that anything that Romila Thapar says is a load of agenda driven rubbish. You should quote better authorities.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:50 am
The cow is one of the 5 mothers of this world and universe, cow dung is an anticeptic. unlike the stool of very other animal.
I am a white guy, who since become a Hare Krsihna, the eternal religion. I comment on this, beacuse last night i watched a programme called Taboo, and saw killing of cows in India by Muslims. India is the the salvation of this world via the Vedas. So india must STOP this slaughter, for the sake of mankind, the Vedas.
India will GAIN world resepct if the Vedas are replaced instead of its current policy
HARE KRISHNA TO YOU ALL
January 30th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Though most of the intent of the article was positive, this article was another example of how Hindus need to better understand the words they use. “To worship” means “to repsect and to revere.” Therefore anytime one respects and reveres anything or anyone, one is engaged in worship. Hindus worship everything. We can even respect the ignornace of others which lays the foundation for positive action.
In not understanding words and their meanings, Hindus have been responsible for much of the misinformation about Hindu Dharma. Hindus routinely misuse “God,” “Lord,” “Monotheism,” “theism,” “yoga,” etc. With Hindus misusing many Christian and even Sanskrit/Hindu terms, it is no wonder that these terms are misused by the general public.
Vag-arthav’iva Sampriktau…
January 30th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Namaste
What a wonderful piece, an excellent, well thought and well researched article.
When I was young and attending evening classes on Hinduism, we ofteh used to ask the same question to our teacher whom we used to call Guruji. Why is cow holy, so important in our culture, our religion.
One answer, explanation we received from our teacher, besides all the points raised in the article, was that it was economically necessary to protect cows, as Bharat was an agricultural land, in fact a bread basket for the ancient world.
The land could not be tilled without oxen and if cows were not protected, it would harm the economy of the country. What better way to protect them than make them holy, give them respect under the flag of Hinduism!
I would say we respect cows rather than worship them. They are the symbol of motherhood, a life line for the survival of our children, especially in the ancient time when many women would die at child birth.
So there are or were some very practical and compelling reasons why we respected cows and many other traditions that are the part of our culture and tradition.
We only need good teachers to explain to us, to our younger generation the finer points of Hinduism. We were lucky we had a wonderful teacher, a Guru, a learned person with a Masters degree in Sanskrit, English and Hinduism.
He was well ahead of his time and so often misunderstood.
Bhupendra
January 31st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Is it true that the composition of cow’s milk is the same as that of human milk which makes it a perfect substitute for newborn babies?
January 31st, 2007 at 11:26 pm
how would you create an egalitarian world?
You want each person to have the energy, tools, methods of economic politica and religious independance.
You would want each person to have a cow: energy to plough the field to raise the crop and feed the family/village. Milk, an absraction of earthly things that gives life and love as intimate and pure as a mtoher and her child. The portability of a cow allows one to walk away from energy dependance with the middle east or any other poor government.
In effect, before capitalism and consumerism, the holding of a cow solved much of the economic and hence political problems which then allowed one to be abstract.
Now we need to invent a cow substitue: a portable energy source (once bought would not need to be rented), a sustainable food source, and a wonderful symbol of love . The capitalists will resist, the energy companies will stall or steal technologies, the governments will demand our acquiessence. But once the new cow is out, freedom will truely grow.
Certainly not everyone had a cow (in the past nor the present) so progress is still needed and we need to be reminded that the kamadenu is only given to great sages.
Any engineers out there up to the challenge on improving on the cow model of economics?
hariaum
February 1st, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Namaskar! the article is very informative. Hindus, ignorant only respect but knowledgeable and wise do worship cow because it serves the humanity like the mother. Whether mother is alive or dead, the cow- milk serves both ways like the mothers milk. The world is turning back to mothers milk upto 3 years and after wards only cows milk is best for child growth of all other milk. Ancient Hindu knew this secret. Secondly cows dung has a chemical effect and serves as an insecticide in many ways, villagers know the best importance/use of the same. Thirdly in my childhood, I remember my mother used to ask me to collect cows urine (called Goint) to spay in the house and touch a drop at my tongue, it has the antibiotic effect. The skin of cow after death is regarded as the best leather of all other skin after dear which is rarely available for common use. Above all cow produces oxen which serves for agricultural production which is very important for the human survival and females for permanence of race. Cow, has become a sacred animal because of its all qualities / attributes which engrossed Hindus to worship cow, Hindu is a worshiper of GUNAS available in any object / creature. Hari Motwani
February 1st, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Romila Thappar - is she not dead?
I thought she was.
If not as she is an old cow herself maybe we can “worship” her …. naw damn… the dumb godless marixst butt heads already worship her….
what a religion having marx as a “god” - well he has the breard and romila as the “mother” no wonder they are so envious of the rest of the world…
I love the smell of naplam in the morning….
hahahahh
JB
February 4th, 2007 at 3:57 am
I agree with much of what was said above, though I am concerned with whether the “cow” is respected or worshiped or both. There is definitely a distinction between respect and worship, I may respect someone but this does not mean I worship him/her - worship involves: praying, meditating or performing a ritual towards the object one holds to be devine - the cow has always played an important part in Hinduism because of its service to humanity - my limited knowledge of Hinduism is that the cow is not the God Head as such but it has been blessed by the God Head to provide this unique service. It could be argued that God is in his manifestation and that when we perform rituals before any aspect of his manifestaion we are indirectly worshiping him/her/it - I think there is a philosophical debate to be had here, the question is: what is the status of the things in the world, be it cow or anything else? Are they the sum total of God or is God distinct from them and above them?
February 5th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Namaste - is a worship of that divine in you: Nama Aste. What in this world is not worthy of worship? Find a thing that reminds you of the divinity (Ishvara) and use it to access the Supreme (Brahman). But if you find a symbol of hate, himsa, injustice… expect people to fight you. Also be cautious of things that claim to be for peace but lead you to himsa - gauranteed eternal salvation (the christ or the right prophet) for a false prophet will take you to greater asatva rather than from asatva to satva.
Thus we worship (not merely secularly respect) life itself, truth itself, justice itself and all of its manifestations. We simply find symbols to help each other talk about it.
hariaum
February 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
|| Ram ||
My background: I had read much about the importance of cows from Srila Prabhupada’s books but didnt fully understand there importance until i decided to do an art project on them. Ever since then my love for cows has been growing. In my opinion cows are the most beautiful species on this planet. They represent supreme humbleness and love, aspects that we all wish we had as humans.
The article is interesting. I think it touches on the importance of cows due to their nature but unfortunetly this is not the focus of the article.
Other points relating to the importance of cows:
a) At times when adharma was dominant on earth, Mother earth would take the form of a cow and approach Brahma for help.
b) Cows are considered satvik animals. I recall reading somewhere that in their next lives they are born as humans with qualities in the mode of goodness. Similary lions are born as humans with qualities in the mode of passion and monkeys are born as humans with qualities in the mode of ignorance.
c) Killing a cow is regarded as one of the greatest sin that can be commited.
d) Bhagwan Krishna gave a direct order to protect cows.
Jai Siya Ram
February 9th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I liked the article and I also concurr with Saket’s comments above.
February 9th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Thank you for the article well written.
Your answer to the question asked by westerners was most appropriate. We cannot answer the same question asked by Hindus with the same answer.
Yes we respect the cow but we also worship her because the cow is holy and sacred. Why is the cow sacred? There is alot of information about cows in our scriptures, the Vedas. More info than I have time to write here but foremost of all, Lord Krishna was a cowherd boy in Vrndavana, the land of the cows. One of Lord Krishna’s pastimes was to tend the calves and cows of Vrndavana. The Lord played the role of a farmer’s child. We worship Lord Krishna and anything and everything that is dear to Him is worshipable to us. Why is the cow dear to Lord Krishna? The Lord doesn’t need a reason but we know the cow’s milk can be used for hundreds of thousand kinds of food preparations. The cow’s dung, containing antiseptic properties, is used in yajnas. The cow is known as ‘mother’.
Followers of the predominant Western religions or ideologies will most likely dismiss the above as mythology but will hopefully be able to grasp a simple explanation of giving respect to our enviroment and being grateful to the source of our sustenance. Slaughterhouses are a major contributor to the exploitation in the world. The article answers the question asked by westerners and the answer using common sense was most appropiate.
For Hindus, there is something beyond common sense. Its called faith. What makes spirituality so unique is that it takes us beyond the land of exploitation. We are not these bodies, we are spirit souls or atma as described in Bhagavad Gita. Humans are not the only spirit souls, but all living entities are spirit souls. Once accepting this fact, we can go deeper into understanding the nature of the atma and its purpose. We can begin to understand different levels of consciousness. We can begin to explore or search for ways to uplift our own consciousness. Of course this requires sincerity and faith but at least we will be one step away from thinking Lord Siva or Lord Krishna are just characters in the hindu story books our grandparents read.
The western countries are suffering from the lack of spiritual life and here we are forgetting our own wealth and following the rest of the world.
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February 11th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Wow, very very informative article
very educating
especially for me as i am qiute young and learning more and more about our culture and beliefs
everyone seems to ask me why i never touch beef and the question *WHY DO WE WORSHIPS COWS*
i never had a really straight forwrd answer to that but no i really understand
February 18th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
As a vegetarian Hindu who remembers as a child in rural India having our own cow and so had the pleasure of fresh milk, butter, paneer, yoghurt and so on, I’d like to raise a few questions/issues. Hopefully, these points will be taken in the spirit of genuine interest and desire to better understand, rather than some kind of Marxist/Muslim/Missionary conspiracy, which too often any questioning of Hinduism is viewed as by certain elements within the Hindu community.
1. Both the original article and at least one comment above state quite emphatically that worship and respect are different but then fail to qualify this with any kind of real explanation. I would appreciate it if someone could explain this difference to me as personally, I do not see them as being all that different at all. To my mind, worship is merely the highest form of respect.
2. I agree that we take a great deal from cows, examples of which are given. But what does not follow is to say that to then kill and eat cows smacks of ingratitude for all they give us. Is it so kind to keep them in the conditions predominant in the dairy industry, squeezing (literally) every ounce of milk, meant for their own offspring, from them? Is it any kinder to kill them for their leather rather than their meat? Yes, the leather is often taken after they die naturally, but this is not always the case and besides, why should this not apply equally to meat?
3. Cows are not the only animals whose milk we drink. Nor are they the only creatures on this beautiful Earth that contribute to mankind’s lives. In addition, no there is no credible scientific evidence that cow’s milk is particularly close to human milk as compared with other just as reasonable alternatives. So all the explanation given in this article still fails to explain why the cow is singled out for special treatment.
4. One finds many, many instances within the Hindu fold of people who eat meat but do not eat beef. In what way here has cow protection demonstrated any kind of love for nature or respect for all beings? As I have said, personally I am a vegetarian but certainly, if I weren’t vegetarian (and I was not always so), I would have no issues about not eating certain animals (or, for that matter, refraining on a particular day of the week - what’s that all about?!) as if anything, that smacks somewhat of either hypocrisy (”we love nature and so won’t kill cows but anything else can go to hell - or to our bellies”) or ignorance (”God’s only watching on Tuesday so we can be cruel to animals on any other day”).
I am hopeful that amongst the abuse that I am likely to get for this comment, perhaps there may be at least one person who may be good enough to help me in my search for clearer understanding. As has been commented on in the past, in somewhat scathing terms, yes, I do quite happily attend and take active part in, services of many other ‘faiths’ (for want of a better term) and am glad to have learned much from them. Yet I strongly believe that ‘Hinduism’ (again for want of a better term) in general is the most sensible, rational and reasonable of all the major organised ‘faiths’ in today’s world. However, there are things I fail to understand - despite this undoubtedly well-meaning but ultimately quite weak article, this whole ‘holy cow’ issue remains one of them. Fortunately, I feel the greatest strength of ‘Hinduism’ is that it has enough room within it to gladly accept differences of opinion and it is a credit to our ‘faith’ that just because I do not give the cow any more exalted place than any other creature, that does not mean that I am suddenly excommunicated from the Hindu fold or cease to be a Hindu.
Apologies for any offence - that is certainly not my intention. And thanks in advance for your help.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:49 am
Jai gouranga mai
i have been able to listen to some intersting debates.
The cow in India is eaten by Hindus in low castes espeacially in tribals areas of maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh ….The cow is also worshipped in form of Nandi bull consort of shiva.
we must understand that Hinduism is the only religion the world that allows a unique relationship with God and has no set dogmas or rules.
We are all bound by our actions and those who are veggies will benefit , those Hindus who eat beef will lose karma and pay for their misguided ways …although this does not make anyone a better person!!!!!!
if you read scriptures and see that the guidance.
March 5th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
its brilliant !
March 8th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Satya, a lot of good questions.
let my offer an opinion:
1) Respect is to remain aloof from the object. Worship is o become subject to the object. But in the advaitic tradition, to stand aloof is disrespectful and only the immersion of self into the object is real. Thus advaita dissolves the word play that others use for power: idol v icon, respect v worship, monism v monotheism…
2) We are consumers and the consumed. Kindness is a spiritual process of love that in this context becomes ahimsa. But ahimsa does not mean no harm but rather a more complex construct of justice, “right harm” (say disciplining a child), … As such we as consumers reduce our consumption to what is needed only (laws of manu: that brahmin is greatest that stores no grain). Clearly this is principle beyond just the cow but of general utility to an aspirant. Clearly, also, it reflects that if we are to consume cows, we must do it with respect/worship/love - let them roam the streets, not abuse them, allow them to live out their lives, remember that they are herd animals and biologically geared to have home and alpha forms (being owned helps them), and when they are consumed make sure that they are consumed efficiently - leather….
3) I think the emphasis of the cow on a arthric foundation is the unity of multiple desirable properties for humanity. Not exclusive of other animals but rather that the cow holds many properties that we look for. It is, in effect, convenient. This is symbolic as well as economic as described above. Of course Krishna being a cowherder becomes and ancient symbol of the guidance god gives to us ignorant beings.
4) If we could all act well at every instant it would be a utopia and the good people of the world would have nothing to do. We are all ignorant. We are all on the path to the supreme. We are all hypocrites, sinners, fools. But everytime we fall off the path Krishna guides us back onto it. We make compromises along the way but each day walk along that way.
But also remember the hinduism is not just concerned about the transcendental. The ayurveda is a biological empirical science. In view of recent data about breast cancer and beef consumption, the risk for mad cow disease, the data on aggression and meat consumption, the biological benefits of turemeric, and fish… all point to a certain diet that is biologically and psychologically healthier.
does this make sense?
hariaum
May 3rd, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Very well written article. Your statement ” First of all we Hindus do not worship cows; we respect them. There is a difference. ” clears up a lot of confusion people have about cow in Hinduism.
May 6th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Swami Param, you say
“To worship†means “to repsect and to revere.†Therefore anytime one respects and reveres anything or anyone, one is engaged in worship”
Sorry - if I understand you clearly, then totally disagree with your analysis of respect V worship. These are two different aspects of thought in anyones mind I would think.
Satya writes: “I would appreciate it if someone could explain this difference to me as personally, I do not see them as being all that different at all. To my mind, worship is merely the highest form of respect”
What I say now by NO MEANS serves as an explanation you seek in point 1 of your article above, but, reflect for a moment, that you live in the UK instead of Saudi Arabia or Africa. Therefore you have more respect for the UK in comparison. Question - why?
Is it because Tony Blair introduced a lot of social laws including minimum wages etc., and the freedom of speech and human rights here?
The UK hands out free money and housing in the name of social security to many, to the deserving as their right, and to the “undeserving” alike. I will probably be ‘torn to pieces’ for this comment by some, but is made to simply illustrate differentials.
The point I make is, you respect these policies by the Government and so live here. The illegal immigrants choose to come to the UK, not Libya, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan to go to - so, should you worship Tony Blair and his Government because of your respect for his thought in making UK a desirable country to live in, Satya?
The sympathiser of terrorists living in the UK will have a lot of respect for those who bombed the London trains, and for Bin Ladin who blew up the towers.
Worship, and respect are two different things - a distasteful way of expressing myself here, but it is to be read with light-hearted humour.
A good article, nicely written by Vinay Popta.