Before I start, I would like to say, that I have nothing against cows or Hinduism. Recently, after a man got killed in Uttar Pradesh for consuming beef , surprisingly, (or maybe not) many politicians have been supporting this crime by quoting religion .
Sakshi Maharaj, a Member of the Parliament hailing from Bharatiya Janta Party, stoked a fresh controversy over the Dadri lynching case, saying Hindus consider cow as their mother and used the analogy of a terrorist who attacks the country and gets killed in the process.
Source: Telegu.oneindia.com
“If someone insults our mother, we would rather die than tolerate it… for us it is Bharat mata, our biological mother and gau mata … I want to ask (UP Minister and SP leader) Mohd Azam Khan and those who favour eating beef as to how would they feel if someone they revere as their mother is cut,” the controversial MP from Uttar Pradesh said. He also said people are ready to kill or get killed if a terrorist attacks Bharat mata. “It is the same with biological mother and gau mata ,” he said.
After reading these reports, I Googled the Bhagavad Gita to see what exactly did they speak about cows:
Cows are the mothers of all creatures. Cows are verily the mothers of the 33 crores of demigods that administrate creation in the material existence throughout all the universes. Cows are the goddesses of the gods and the refuge of all auspiciousness. Cows bestow every kind of happiness and for these reason they always are worshippable. Cows are the support of all the worlds for by their milk they nourish terrestrials beings and by their ghee offered in sacrifice they nourish the denziens of the celestial realms. Nothing superior to cows.
A cow should not be owned by one who is a killer of cows or a seller to killers of cows, by one who is unrighteous, by one who is sinful, by one who is untruthful in speech, and by one who is outside of the Vedic culture nor should cows ever be given to one such as these. Gifts of cows should be made after ascertaining and determining the qualification of the receiver. Cows should never be given unto those whose residence they are likely to suffer from fire or sun. Cows should always be given away accompanied by their calves. Those cows who have been rescued from situations of distress or have been received from humble farmers unable to continue to take care of them properly are considered to be most auspicious.
S ource: Bhagavad Gita
One should never show disrespect for cows in any way nor should one feel any repugnance towards the urine and dung of a cow because these things are also pure . When cows are grazing or laying down relaxing one should never disturb or annoy them in any way. Cows should never be killed in any type of sacrifice or slaughtered in any way for food as the killing of cows constitutes the most heinous of all sins in existence.
Cows are the foremost of all creatures in all the worlds. It is from cows that the means for sustaining the worlds has established. Cows are auspicious and sacred and the bequeathers of every blessing. Cows benefit humans with milk, yoghurt, cheese, butter and ghee. The Vedas have stated that the milk of a cow is equivalent to ambrosial nectar and that ghee derived from cows milk is the best of all libations poured onto the sacred fires of brahmins.
Clearly these lines were quoted in Geeta to protect a cow, who was then one of the sole givers. An unselfish animal who consumed little but gave away much more enough to make a poor man earn his bread. Cows are indeed an important part of the food chain. Starting from their milk to their feces, every bit of them is important to human beings.
Source: tamu.edu
However, scientifically speaking, every living being in a food chain has to make a sacrifice to not only to be the consumer of the next one in line but also bring about a balance in nature. It is one thing to ruthlessly kill an animal for poaching or hunting pleasure, another thing to sacrifice an animal to feed the poor.
If by killing one cow, a hundred humans are being fed can it really be called a crime?
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