Protect A Cow

SRILA PRABHUPADA AND REAL GITA-NAGARI

Room Conversation
                                --
                    October 6, 1977, Vrndavana

Prabhupada: Of course, if I die, there is nothing to be ruined. You are all participants. So organize this farm project, simple living. Human life is meant for God realization. Try to help them. This is my...
Paramananda: We're always feeling your presence very strongly, Srila Prabhupada, simply by your teachings and your instructions. We're always meditating on your instructions.
Prabhupada: Thank you. That is the real presence. Physical presence is not important.
Tamala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada? Mother Satyabhama, she wrote a short note to you. Should I read it to you?
Prabhupada: Um hm.
Tamala Krsna: She said, "Dear Srila Prabhupada, please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace. This shawl is made of the wool from our own sheep, spun and woven here at Gita-nagari. It is the first piece we have made. While I was working on it I would always think of you, of how I was supposedly making you a gift. But actually you are giving me the gift of engagement in devotional service. Srila Prabhupada, I always pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva to protect you and allow you to stay with us to finish your books. But I think today the rain falling from the sky is actually the tears of the demigods, crying at the prospect of your departure. I am also crying. Even Krsna cried at the passing of Grandfather Bhisma, so I have a right to cry. I cannot be so philosophical to say that you are always present in your books and teachings, though I know these things are true. I will miss you so much, Srila Prabhupada, if you go. I beg that I may always remain your menial servant and devotee. Your humble disciple, Satyabhama dasi."
Prabhupada: Thank to her. Made with our wool.
Tamala Krsna: So you'll take rest now, Srila Prabhupada?
Prabhupada: Um hm. This can be on the foot. Yes. Up.

Prabhupada: Hm, very nice. Very comfortable. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna... Made with our wool.

SRILA PRABHUPADA AND REAL GITA-NAGARI

Prabhupada: Also Los Angeles. (break) ...and big, big city like Calcutta, Bombay, there are many, many more pigeons. Why they are so small?
Kirtanananda: They kill them.
Prabhupada: Kill.
Pusta Krsna: They kill them?
Devotee: They poison them.
Kirtanananda: They put poison feed out.
Prabhupada: Ah, killing experts.
Kirtanananda: This civilization is that "If you cause a little disturbance to my sense gratification, I will kill you."
Prabhupada: But there is civilization. I saw it practically, that there is no disturbance in our Pennsylvania farm. The cats, the dogs, the cows, the boys, children, they are living like family. In your farm also. Wonderful. The cats are not afraid of the dogs. It is very peaceful.

Prabhupada:It is my calculation that we can produce food to give food ten times of the population if we properly utilize the whole planet according to this--produce food.

740605r2.gen              Conversations

Prabhupada: So far I have studied... I am traveling all over the world. It is my calculation that we can produce food to give food ten times of the population if we properly utilize the whole planet according to this--produce food. Why because the milk is produced more, the cows should be slaughtered when there is a need of milk? It is so nice foodstuff. So on account of this false nationalism, "This is my land, this is my land, this is my land..." And why not take it as God's land and produce enough foodstuff. There will be no scarcity. There will be no skeleton. And distribute it. Where is that consciousness? There is so much land uncultivated all over the world, especially in America, in Australia, and in Africa, so much, huge land, no cultivation. They are keeping some cows and slaughtering them and exporting. What is this? Why don't you produce food?

Vedic civilization gives protection to all the living creatures, especially the cows.

My Dear Rupanuga Prabhu,
   Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 24, 1975. Upon seeing the pictures of the doll exhibit I thought it was some of our devotees play acting. This boy Saptaratha Das has done the dolls very very nicely, now make a museum for the public. This doll making was one of the programes of my Guru Maharaja, and the exhibit used to tour India. That same exhibit, although falling apart, is still touring India today and people are appreciating it. So develop this program, I am very pleased with this boys work, encourage him.
   Our cows are happy, therefore they give plenty of milk. Vedic civilization gives protection to all the living creatures, especially the cows, because they render such valuable service to the human society in the shape of milk, without which no one can become healthy and strong. In your country the dog is protected, and the cow is killed. The dog is passing stool and urine in the street, he is considered the best friend of man, and the cow is all pure, stool, urine, and milk, but they are taken to the slaughter house and killed for food. What kind of civilization is this. Therefore we have to preach against all this nonsense.
   How is the New temple building in New York?
   I hope this letter meets you well.

Your ever well wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Bull is producing food--he is father. And they are being killed? Is that human society? How they can be happy?

740531r2.gen              Conversations
Prabhupada: Yes. Any sane man will admit it. Cow is giving milk--mother. And bull is producing food--he is father. And they are being killed? Is that human society? How they can be happy? There is no possibility. Regularly they are maintaining slaughterhouse especially for the cows and bulls. Why don't you slaughter the dogs and hogs and eat if you are meat-eater? There are many meat-eaters who eat dogs. Dog is useless. You can eat. Hog is also useless. They are eating also dog and hog, everything, whatever they...
Yogesvara: His point was that they can... He was thinking that man has the capacity for resolving his own problems. Simply we have to come together and organize.
Prabhupada: That is United (Nations) Organization. Why do they not think all these things?

Wars and crime are a direct result of the cow slaughter.It is a wholesale reaction.

750705rc.chi              Conversations
Economic question? That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita, annad bhavanti bhutani. You produce food grain, anna, sufficiently. So there is immense land still. Say, in America, so much land is without any utilization, in Africa, in Australia. They are not being properly utilized. People are complaining, "Overpopulation." Now countries which are overpopulated, they are not allowed to utilize the vacant land, neither people are being trained how to produce food grain. 

They are being trained up, technology, to produce motor tire. And nobody is interested to produce food grain. So without taking food grains, they are killing animals, and they are eating, short cut. They do not know killing of animals is sinful activity. This is the... Man is advanced; we can grow food. This killing of animals is for the non-civilized society. They cannot... They do not know how to grow food. They were killing animals. When man is advanced in his knowledge and education, why they should kill? Especially in America, we see so many nice foodstuffs. Fruits, grains, milk. And from milk, you can get hundreds of nice preparations, all nutritious. In our New Vrindaban we are doing that--rabri, pera, burfi. The other farmers are surprised that from milk such nice preparation can be prepared. So instead of teaching them--you Indian, you know how to utilize milk and prepare so many nice preparation,--you are learning how to eat meat. Why? So if you forget your culture and if you become victimized, that is your fault. You should teach them how to utilize milk. And if the cows are kept jubilant, they will deliver double milk.

They know(non-protected cows), "We shall be killed."  They are always depressed. Therefore milk is not properly supplied. So that is stated in the Bhagavad..., er, Srimad-Bhagavatam, that during Maharaja Yudhisthira's time the cows were so jubilant that milk was dropping from the milkbags, so much so that the pasturing grounds became muddy with milk. So if you keep... Killing of cows means utilizing the blood in different form. The milk is also another transformation of the blood. So if you take milk sufficiently and prepare nice foodstuff, then it is equally beneficial like the meat from health point of view. But one must know the..., learn that keep the cow living; at the same time be benefited by the blood. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita you will find this word krsi-go-raksya. Go-raksya. This animal has to be protected.

Not other animals it is mentioned. And go, cow. So those who are meat-eaters, they can eat nonimportant animals. But cows should be given protection. This is the instruction. But in the western country the cows are specially being killed. Now the reaction is war, crime, and they are now repentant. And they will have to repent more and more.
Jayatirtha: So the wars and the crime are a direct result of the cow slaughter.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. It is a wholesale reaction. All these crises are taking place. They are killing their own child. Own child means that child is criminal; therefore it is being killed within the womb. Nature will take action. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah. You are not independent. So if you work independently, then you will have to suffer. The law of nature is there. You cannot avoid it. If you infect some disease, you must suffer from the disease. You cannot avoid it. This is the law of nature. Law of nature is working in such a way that as you are infecting... Karanam guna-sangah asya sad-asad-janma-yonisu. Find out this verse. Why there are varieties of life. One is tree, one is cat, one is dog, one is human being, one is blind, one is lame, one is educated, one is foolish--why? Why the difference, varieties? And that is answered in the Bhagavad-gita, karanam guna-sango 'sya: "As you are infecting the modes of material nature, you are getting your birth." Otherwise, how you can explain by nature there are so many varieties of life, 8,400,000 species of  life?

   

Jayatirtha: You mentioned several times that those persons who are guilty of abortion, then they also enter a womb, but they never leave it alive. They're also killed within the womb.
Prabhupada: Yes. That means... That child is killed means it must take another birth. Again in the womb it will be killed. Again another womb. This is going on. Mudha janmani janmani. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, "Birth after birth they will be put into the darkness of life."

The greatest sinful activity is cow slaughter, and they are committing. They do not know what will be the result.

770219r3.may

                                           Conversation
Tripurari: I think there is more animal slaughter in Argentina than anywhere in the world.
Prabhupada: Most sinful.
Adi-kesava: That is the national industry there, cattle slaughter.
Prabhupada: It has become national industry in Africa also.
Hari-sauri: And Australia...
Prabhupada: Australia.
Hari-sauri: ...New Zealand.
Prabhupada: Therefore the world is suffering, so much sinful activities. The greatest sinful activity is cow slaughter, and they are committing. They do not know what will be the result. Such brain, stool, stool-bound brain. Thorough overhaul is required. That we are doing. Otherwise the stool cannot be cleansed.

 

The Christians are maintaining thousands of slaughterhouse. Is that very good proposal?

750624gc.la               Conversations
Therefore according to Vedic civilization, there are seven mothers. So you cannot kill your mother. That is not very good philosophy. And who can deny, "The cow is not mother"? Who has got this audacity? You are drinking milk in the very morning. Christ says, "Thou shall not kill?--wholesale killing stop." And the Vedic literature is little liberal. It does not say, "Thou shall not kill," but, "You shall not kill at least cow." But the wholesale stop is not possible. The Vedic wisdom knows that. But you shall not kill at least cow. That is civilization. And the Christians are maintaining thousands of slaughterhouse. Is that very good proposal?
 

You cannot stop war and go on killing animals

710724SB.NY                  Lectures
Now if you are willingly killing cows and so many animals, so how much we are being responsible? Therefore at the present moment there is war, and the human society becomes subjected to be killed in mass massacre--the nature's law. You cannot stop war and go on killing animals. That is not possible. There will be so many accidents for killing. The wholesale kill. When Krsna kills, He kills wholesale. When I kill--one after another. But when Krsna kills, they assemble all the killers and kill. Therefore there is atonement in the sastras. Just like in your Bible also there is atonement, confession, paying some fine. But after performing atonement, why people commits the same sin again?

The cow is so wonderful and valuable in society

74-01-07. Prabhupada  Letter

I was very pleased to hear your report of our cow protection program, and I had part of your letter read aloud to a group of devotees how you have one cow who will be giving 70-80 pounds a day. The cow is so wonderful and valuable in society. But you should also use the bulls by engaging them in tilling the ground. People may call this the primitive way but it is very practical for engaging the bulls--have them work in cart loading, transporting, etc.

 

It is also essential to give protection to the cows and take nectarean milk from their milk bags.

SB 8.6.12 P   The Demigods and Demons Declare a Truce  

In this verse, the cultivation of bhakti-yoga is compared to many material activities. By friction one can get fire from wood, by digging the earth one can get food grains and water, and by agitating the milk bag of the cow one can get nectarean milk. Milk is compared to nectar, which one can drink to become immortal. Of course, simply drinking milk will not make one immortal, but it can increase the duration of one's life. In modern civilization, men do not think milk to be important, and therefore they do not live very long. Although in this age men can live up to one hundred years, their duration of life is reduced because they do not drink large quantities of milk. This is a sign of Kali-yuga. In Kali-yuga, instead of drinking milk, people prefer to slaughter an animal and eat its flesh. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His instructions of Bhagavad-gita, advises go-raksya, which means cow protection. The cow should be protected, milk should be drawn from the cows, and this milk should be prepared in various ways. One should take ample milk, and thus one can prolong one's life, develop his brain, execute devotional service, and ultimately attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is essential to get food grains and water by digging the earth, it is also essential to give protection to the cows and take nectarean milk from their milk bags.

God's first business is go-brahmana hitaya ca

750412SB.HYD                 Lectures
God's first business is go-brahmana hitaya ca, brahmanya devaya. Krsna is very, very eager to maintain the brahminical culture in the human society, brahma janati, understanding of Brahman and go-brahmana-hitaya ca, go, cows, cow protection. Where is that civilization? Where is that brahminical culture? Where is that go-raksa? Very precarious condition. Therefore we should accept the standard of civilization. So why should we kill? Especially if we are human being, the cow is supplying us milk, the most important foodstuff. So instead of giving protection to the cow, if we kill, do you think that is very..., if you kill me, is that very good gratitude? So at least in the human life, these senses should be there. Cow protection is recommended in the Vedic literature because it is giving the most valuable foodstuff, milk. Apart from other sentiments, it is supplying, and in exchange of nothing. She simply eats some grasses from the ground. That's all. You don't have to provide cows with foodstuff. The things which you refuse, you take the grain and you supply the skin. You take the fruit pulp, you supply the skin. You take the, I mean to say, from paddy. You take the rice. You supply the straw and she delivers you a very nice foodstuff. And I have discussed all these points in my Srimad-Bhagavatam, that human economic problem can be solved simply by having some land and some cows. That's all.

Because we have neglected spiritual life there is no peace

750412SB.HYD                 Lectures

Prabhupada : I mean to say from cow you get milk. From milk you get butter and so many milk products. And from the fields you get sufficient grains and fruits.So your economic question is solved immediately. If you have got some land, the land is..., immense land is still lying vacant all over the world. Yes. But they have diverted their energy in a different way. That is the miscalculation of the present civilization. They have forgotten that the aim of human life is to advance oneself in spiritual realization. So time should be saved as much as possible, and that time should be utilized for spiritual realization. But we have encumbered our civilization in such a way that we have lost all simple living thing. We have manufactured in so many ways encumbered ways of life. Therefore we have neglected spiritual life. And because we have neglected spiritual life there is no peace. If you want really peaceful life, then you have to make your material necessities simplified and engage your time for spiritual cultivation. Then you will have peace. And that is the best type of civilization. Plain living, high thinking. Now, in the modern days, the high living and plain thinking. Eating, sleeping, mating. This is plain thinking. This thinking also in the animals. They are also thinking what to eat, where to live, how to defend, how to have..., have semen or sex life. These are problems in animal life also. So if we keep that animal life problem, at the same time we claim that we are civilized, is it very nice? Civilization means how to get out of this material miseries--birth, death, disease and old age. That is real advancement of civilization. If there is any way and means to get out of this problem, then we must adopt in this human form of life. And that is possible in this human form of life. In no other life.

 

Child, brahmana, cow, and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction

750615SB.HON                 Lectures
So degree, the most sinful activity, according to Vedic information--to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brahmana, and to kill a cow. This is very abominable punishment. Child, brahmana, cow, and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction. They have to be protected. So this should be very carefully done. Stri-sudra-Dvina-bandhunam. Stri, they are considered either as innocent as the child or as innocent as the animal. So they should be given always protection. So here it is said that tasmat puraiva asu iha papa-niskrtau. Very busy. We do not know when is, when we shall die. But we must know, we have committed so many sinful activities; therefore before the next death, yateta mrtyor avipadyatatmana. Mrtyu: we have to die. Before death, we have to make the atonement. "Otherwise," Sukadeva Gosvami says, "as I have already described the different position of hellish condition of life, one has to suffer."

As soon as he saw that one man is trying to kill a cow, immeditely he became fire

710213SB.GOR                 Lectures
Prabhupada: Now state is secular; therefore this is the condition. Formerly the kings and the executive heads were very responsible to protect religion. That is the duty of the king, to protect. Just like Pariksit Maharaja, when he was on tour. As soon as he saw that one man is trying to kill a cow, immeditely he became fire: "Oh, in my kingdom there is killing of cow? Who are you? I shall immediately kill you." You know this? The kings were taking. The kings were so responsible. But here they have declared... The so-called kings, they are themselves debauch, and they do not know what is religion.