Go Seva
PROTECTION & PRESERVATION OF COWS.
Go Seva
PROTECTION & PRESERVATION OF COWS.
When baby Krishna was brought down from Putana’s chest, a cow’s tail circled Him.
He was thoroughly washed with cow urine and then smeared with the dust raised by the movements of the cows. Then different names of the Lord were applied with cow dung on twelve other parts of His body, beginning with the forehead, as done in applying tilak. In this way, the child was given protection. When the Lord grew up, he started moving around the house. He would not like to play with toys but would go to the Goshala (cow shed). He would go to areas where the cows and calves were moving around. The Lord would be pleased to cover His body with go raja (dust from the lotus feet of cows). Mother Yashoda would go to pick up the Lord in anxiety, fearing that a cow or calf might step on small Krishna. Nanda Maharaj had special padmagandha cows. These cows would emit an incredible lotus-like fragrance. Even such scent would come from their milk, curd, and buttermilk. Even their dung and urine had a unique aroma, like a lotus. A variety was created in the mixture of cow dung and urine of these cows, called Vraj Kardam.
The Lord would go and sit in this mixture. Krishna would take palmfuls of this mixture and put them on Balaram’s body. This is called Pankabhishek Lila by the saints. Seeing this mother, Yashoda would say, “Oh son, it appears that you have taken an incarnation of a boar in Your last life.” The Lord would reply, “Oh! Mother, you are saying that with anger, but I took the form of boar. Then Lord grew up a little, and walking; he would go near the calves. The calves would come near the Lord and smell Him. Getting the divine fragrance from the Lord, the calves would jump up in ecstasy and start dancing. As the calves would stand again, Lord Krishna would go slowly and catch their tail. Just by the divine touch of the Lord, the calves would be joyful and start running around the place with total energy. The Lord would keep hanging on to the calves’ tails and enjoy the pastime. Sri Bilva Mangal Thakur, in his book Krishna Karnamrita, says as follows – Oh Lord! You joyfully move around in the mud of Vrindavan, made up of cow urine, dung, and dust from cows’ feet, but You feel hesitant to go to the yajna thali of Brahmanas. Hearing the mooing of the cows, You answer them in the language of calves, which You understand, but when the great Brahma prays to You, Oh lord, You keep quiet and stand without replying. But when calves sound, You quickly approach them and embrace them. Oh! Lord, I have understood that You don’t regard any other principle but only the love of cows. You are satisfied with only those who have a love of cows in their heart.
Our Goshala Objectives
Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON, encouraged everyone to protect and serve cows till they naturally leave their bodies. To make it sustainable and economically viable, it is essential to properly use various gifts received from the mother cow – especially the usage of cow urine and cow dung. In our Goshala, we manufacture different eco-friendly products from pancha-gavya (5 items derived from the mother cow). We also produce organic fertilizer for our farm near the Goshala. Moreover, we buy cow dung and cow urine from the farmers. As a result, they get additional income and can thus sustain their cows and land most naturally.