Cow in Hindu Faith

[Indra]

Namaste,

I watched a documenatry yesterday about traffick in new dehlhi and there were cows on the streets along with the cars. The worst you can do is having an accident with a cow. If you kill the cow the police cames and arrests you. Also you destroy your karma if you kill a cow and will be reborn as something low in next life.

Why is the cow so important in hindu faith?

[Eastern Mind]

It's not just the cow. It's all of life, even non life. To the Hindu, everything is sacred. The gentle cow, as much a giver as anything, is representative of this. She gives milk, transportation, fuel, etc.

Many think that the cow's sacredness developed over history, as people came to realise her economic value. Not sure if I buy into this analysis personally. Another western interpretation/explanation of a culture they just don't get.

Aum Namasivaya

[Znanna]

I grew up on a dairy farm in the midwest of the US ... and I can vouch for cows being very nice, peaceful critters who easily converse and can be heard if one slows down to their pace :)


ZN/my mom always asked me what they said, as they talked to me, when I asked questions :)

[Eastern Mind]

On my Canadian farm, we had a few dairy cows for personal milk products, as well as beef cattle. They were all tame and friendly, unless you got between Mom and her calf. I liked the Jerseys the best. They also had a social hierarchy as well as a social sharing of duties policy. For the hierarchy, (pecking order) there was a Boss cow. Each year when the beef cattle returned from their summer pasture a ways away, the boss dairy cow, and the boss beef cow would have an ego battle. The social sharing was during calving season. In turns, one cow would stay out on the fields to babysit all the newborns whilst the rest ate the grain we fed them. The babysitter would fast from the grain for the day. When I was at Pillaiyarpatti Temple, the cows were the happiest cows I've ever seen.

Aum Namasivaya