“For the cowherd men and the cows, Krishna is the supreme friend.  Therefore He is worshipped by the prayer namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca.  His pastimes in Gokula, His dhama, are always favourable to the brahmanas and the cows.  His first business is to give all comfort to the cows and the brahmanas.  In fact, comfort for the brahmanas is secondary, and the comfort for the cows is His first concern.  Because of His presence, all people would overcome all the difficulties and always be situated in transcendental bliss.”
Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.17 – Purport.

The Vedic scriptures recommend that human beings should respect the cow as one of the seven mothers who nurture us during our life.  She is the personification of mildness and religion.  She eats simple food and produces more milk than her calf needs, allowing us to use it for our nourishment.  We use her milk and its products extensively in our cooking.

ISKCON Bangalore’s goshala was started in 1986 with one cow, named Vasundhara, and her calf, Tamala.  Since then, over the last 25 years, the herd has increased.  Currently there are 25 cows, eight heifers and five calves in the goshala.  As the cows age, when they are unable to produce milk, they are moved to ISKCON Bangalore's farm at Mahadevapura in Mandya district where they peacefully spend the rest of their lives, grazing on the fresh grass and the sweet hay that is readily available there.  The young bulls are also moved to the farm after they are weaned from their mothers, due to the lack of space to house them on Hare Krishna Hill.  There, these energetic animals are trained to plough the fields and carry loads to help in farming activities.

Click here to view the photo gallery of Goshala.

Needless to say, the milk from the cows of our goshala is offered to the Lord not only as it is, but also used in a variety of forms to prepare delicious offerings.  The cows are an integral part of the temple and their upkeep is one of the prime activities.  They are housed in a facility behind the temple complex, which is kept immaculately clean by a team of three trained dairymen.  They are bathed everyday and during the summer they are bathed twice.  They are allowed to roam around freely in a corral everyday so that they can stretch their limbs and get some exercise.

Many visitors have commented that our cows are peaceful and content.  With people who care attending to their needs and no fear of neglect or impending slaughter, Lord Krishna-Chandra’s herd on Hare Krishna Hill is a happy one.

Those interested in contributing towards cow protection can sponsor the maintenance of the goshala in Bangalore as well as the retired cows and bulls at the Hare Krishna Farm at Mahadevapura.