Srila
Prabhupada established over
108 ISKCON centers in 10
years, the world over.
Mother who feeds you milk your whole life For the Indian villager with
his agrarian life, the conservation
of natural resources is an integral
part of daily existence. He
is expert in using nature's
gifts to manufacture all his
requirements, from his mud hut
to his
homespun clothes. And protecting cows has always been
the most important feature of
the village conservation program;
every homestead has at least
one cow.
The cow and bull are indispensable in rural India, where
about eighty percent of the
population lives. The cow, eating
only grass, happily supplies
milk, which provides virtually
all of the nutrients our bodies
need. From milk we get cheese,
curd, butter, ghee, whey, cream,
yogurt, and an endless variety
of milk-based preparations well
known to experts in traditional
Indian cookery. Because the
cow supplies milk, she is accepted
in the Vedas as our mother.
In India it is well known that cow dung has antiseptic
properties, and in any Indian
village
one will see cow-dung patties drying in the sun to provide
an excellent fuel for cooking
fires. The urine of the cow
is prescribed as a medicine
for the liver by the Ayurveda,
the Vedic scripture on the science
of healing.
The
bull is also an invaluable asset
to the small farmer. The strong
bull enjoys working all day
pulling a plow through the fields.
The use of the bull may be slower
than machinery, but it does
not compact the soil and reduce
its productivity as does heavy
modern machinery. There are
other problems with machinery
in India, such as its inability
to cope with seasonal changes
and monsoons. (What to speak
of the problems of finding spare
parts or a mechanic). Because
the bull provides for food,
he is considered our father.
