Hindus strongly believes in nature & worship it. The base of Hinduism is strongly connected to the Mother Nature. According to the Scriptures, Nature is the part of Adi Shakti. Nurturing & protecting the nature will protect human beings. In today’s generation we can see how global warming is affecting the whole world. Global warming is nothing but the imbalance of the nature. Humans are increasing in numbers & humans are destroying nature by cutting the trees, not planting enough trees, polluting rivers & other natural elements, killing animals & eating it, all these things are affecting humans directly or indirectly. Nature is the gift of God to the humans & if humans will protect nature; nature will protect humans.
Many argue that, Hindus only protect & worship cows (गौः) & no other animals but, that is not true. Hindus consider each life form as important as human. Hindus not only worship & protect cows (गौः) but, also protect many other animals. Hindus worship Trees, Sun, Moon, Planets & the Stars. Hindus also worship plants, air, earth, fire, water & other natural forces. Hindus worship Cows, Snakes, Birds & every animal. These animals are often associated with gods & goddesses which is the main reason Hindus protect each & every animal. For e.g., Kamdhenu cow is associated with Lord Dattatreya, while Nandi Bull with Lord Shiva; Surabhi cow with Shri Krishna, Vasuki Cobra with Lord Shiva & Sheshnaag serpent with Lord Vishnu. Garuda the eagle with Lord Vishnu, Purnabhadra the Giant Lion with Goddess Durga. Likewise, every gods & goddesses are associated with one or more than one animal which directly or indirectly teaches to stay in the connection with nature. Respecting & protecting Mother Nature is very intense part of every Hindu.
During Vedic period, Hindus used to live with the help of nature, connected to its roots & protecting it. At that time cows (गौः) supported the human settlement. They grazed & provided milk; their progeny was utilized by humans for farming. Cow dung was used as plaster & binding agent for building huts while the dried cow dung cakes were used as fuel. Cow dung was also used as a fertilizer for farming. Further; clarified butter, butter milk, curd, etc. are derivates of milk which are used for religious austerities also. And if a person had a cow (गौः), he was considered to be rich, cultured & fortunate. Thus, killing cow or anyway hurting was considered as terrible offence against the god & mankind.
Significance of the cow (गौः) in Hinduism –
In Hinduism, the cow (गौः) is the symbolic form of all other creatures. The cow (गौः) is the symbol of the Earth, the nourisher, the ever-giving & undemanding provider. It represents life & the sustenance of life. The cow (गौः) is so generous, taking nothing but water, grass & grain but in return it gives & gives plenty of its milk, just as the liberated soul gives of his spiritual knowledge. It is the symbol of grace & abundance. Worshipping the cow (गौः) imparts virtues of gentleness, receptivity & connection with nature. According to the Hindu tradition, the cow (गौः) is honoured, worshiped, garlanded & given special feedings at festivals all over India, most importantly on the Gopashtami festival. From a young age, Hindu children are taught to worship & decorate the cow (गौः) with garlands & ornaments as the cow is the only animal which has the nature of selflessness & generosity.
The nature of the cow (गौः) is symbolized as Kamadhenu, the divine wish-fulfilling cow. Cow is pure & the products of cow are considered as the sacred too & thus its products are essential elements in Hindu worship, penance & rites. In India, more than 3,000 institutions called गौशाला (cow pen), maintained by charitable trusts, where they take care of cows. And while many Hindus are not-vegetarians, most respect the still widely held Hindu Law of abstaining from eating beef. By the kind & tolerant nature, the cow (गौः) exemplifies the prime virtue of Hinduism i.e., non-violence (अहिंसा). The cow (गौः) also symbolizes dignity, strength, endurance, maternity & selfless service.
According to the Vaishnavism, the cow came to be considered as an embodiment of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. In the Bhagavata Purana, the earth takes the form of a cow & asks Lord Vishnu to protect her. That is why Lord Vishnu/Krishna, the guardian of cows, is called गोपालः (protector of the cow). Indra have Kamadhenu, a wish-fulfilling cow, which came out from the ocean after churning it (समुद्रमन्थनम्). Rishi Vasistha had a similar cow & when Kaushika tried to steal it, the cow produced an army to protect itself. Rishi Jamadagni also had such cow, & when Kartaviryarjuna tried to steal it, Jamadagni’s son Parashurama slashed him into pieces.
It is stated in the Raghuvamsam of Kalidas that, Ram’s ancestor king Dilip protects the cow (गौः) from the attacks of lion & instead of cow he offers himself as food to the lion. This can be taken literally that, save the cow even if it means sacrificing your own life or it can be taken metaphorically that, where culture (king) restrains its hunger so that cultivated & domesticated land (cow) do not invade too much the wild spaces (lion). According to the Scriptures one who eats beef or harm cow in any way will attain big sin. It is stated in the Manusmruti that;
अनुमन्ता विशसिता निहन्ता क्रयविक्रयी संस्कर्ता चोपहर्ता च खादकश्चेति घातकाः।। मनुस्मृतिः ५.५१।।
Meaning - Those who permit slaying of animals; those who bring animals for slaughter; those who slaughter; those who sell meat; those who purchase meat; those who prepare dish out of it; those who serve that meat & those who eat are all murderers.
According to the Scriptures, cow (गौः) is considered sacred because, 33 कोटी (33 crore) gods & goddesses are present in this kind hearted animal. Killing or harming the cow is thus a sin. Killing any innocent animal is sin & eating it is a bigger sin. As we have heard that Hindus should not eat cow (beef), there are several scientific reasons due to which Hindus have such most important law. Beef affects the body negatively & creates many diseases. As seen in the survey by the Europeans, before 15-20 years they used to eat a lot of non-vegetarian food but later, after the survey & scientific research they concluded that non-vegetarian food (mostly beef) is harmful to the human body & thus, now they are adopting the vegetarian food. later, they started believing that the worlds most intelligent & strongest animal is elephant & it is pure vegetarian animal.
Scientific disadvantages of eating beef (cow) (गौः) –
The consumption of the products of cow has numerous benefits but slaughtering it & eating is has many religious & scientific disadvantages. It is stated in the Scriptures that;
गव्यं पवित्रं च रसायनं च पथ्यं च हृद्यं बलबुद्धिकृतं स्यात्।
आयुःप्रदं रक्तविकारहारि त्रिदोषहृद्रोगविषापहं स्यात्॥
Meaning- पञ्चगव्यम् (05 cow products) is an extremely pure. It is healthy when included in diet, gives joy to the heart, increases life span, strength & intellectual capability. It is the destroyer of the three दोषाः (The three defects as per Ayurveda i.e. वातः, पित्तम् & कफः ). It also destroys all the impurities & disorders of blood. It can cure cardiac disorders. By consuming it, all physical, mental & psychological problems can be overcome.
1. The human body is simply NOT designed to digest animals. The length of the human intestine, the shape & size of human teeth, etc. indicates that; humans are designed to be frugivorous & herbivorous.
2. Human body is designed to digest about 40 gms of protein a day perhaps, a little more for an athlete or have an intense physical job. Animals contain minimum 200 gms of protein. Due to more intake of high protein present in beef increases the risk of diseases like osteoporosis (bone disease) & arthritis.
3. According to the research, eating beef increases the fat & has shown that meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are & every time one eats animal-derived foods, are directly consuming toxic material, dioxins & a carrier of other substances that can gather in human body & remain there for years.
4.Eating beef increases the chances of becoming impotent.
5.Eating beef also increases excess fat, which can lead to diabetes.
6. Beef is a good source of first-class protein which directly affects the kidney. Therefore, eating high protein from beef increases the risk of kidney related diseases.
7. Beef has excess sodium which is harmful to the body. Sodium especially helps to create or raise high blood pressure.
8. Intake of beef increases the risk of constipation, which in turn increases the risk of many more stomach related disorders.
9. Beef is high in saturated fat, which raises High levels of LDL cholesterol (i.e. Low-Density Lipoprotein, also known as bad cholesterol) in the body which leads to the risk of heart disease.
10. Moreover, eating beef increases the risk of bowel cancer. According to the Australia Bowell Cancer Organization, if one does not eat more than 500 grams of beef a week, the risk of developing cancer can be reduced.
11. Spiritually speaking, eating non-vegetarian food attracts more negative vibrations which leads to develop more & more anger, aggression & detachment to the god.
To understand in detail about the effects of vegetarian & non-vegetarian food on human body you can read our fifth article – “Why Hindus don’t eat non-vegetarian food?” You can click below to read the article-
http://kaivalyahinduism.com/blog/details/5
The cow (गौः) represents the giving nature of life. Hindus honour this gentle animal, who gives more than it takes. The only cow-question from Hindus is, why don't more people respect & protect this extraordinary selfless creature? But, as many so-called modern Hindus have forgotten our roots, are demanding for the reasons & here we are, to give reasons about why all these rituals holds such an immense significance in each & every Hindu’s life. The modern religions have so much affected the Hindu religion that now Hindus question their own religion & rituals that were followed since ages which are directly & indirectly connected to the science. And the hypocrisy is, now a day’s foreigners are scientifically proving the theory of Hindu’s life style & accepting the Hindu way of living. However, around the world the image of Hindus worshipping cow has captured the imagination of people, perhaps because most parts of the world eat beef, & we don’t see cattle roaming the streets but in India we do not eat beef & we see cattle roaming around. Snakes, monkeys & elephants are eaten in many parts of the world, but not in Europe. And perhaps that is the reason Hindu worshiping snakes, monkeys, elephants, etc. does not get as much attention. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "One can measure the greatness of a nation & its moral progress by the way they treat their animals. Cow protection to humans is not mere protection of the cow. It is the protection of the entire subhuman world."
Thus, the sacred cow (गौः) is a personification of the practical spiritual wisdom related with humankind & human spirituality. One must have seen an image of cow (गौः) inside which many gods & goddesses are present, there are also images of all the gods being present inside a tree. These images are meant to illustrate that, gods & goddesses are present in all creatures so one must respect each & every creatures & also that divinity pervades in all living creatures.
मार्गशीर्षः कृष्णपक्षे १३, २०७७