The generous cow gives milk and cream, yogurt and cheese,
butter and ice cream, ghee, buttermilk, sirloin, ribs, rump, quarter
round, porterhouse, beef stew etc. Its bones are the base for soup
broths. It gives us our leather belt, leather seats, leather coats
and shoes, beef jerky, cowboy hats etc. The cow is the most
prominent giving animal in the world today.
And now the question: Why do the Hindus regard the cow as
sacred?
Answer#1: People who ask if cows are considered sacred
should understand that Hindus regard all living creatures as
sacred-mammals, fishes, birds and more. The cow symbolically
represents all other creatures to the Hindu.
Answer#2: The cow represents life and the sustenance of life
to the Hindu. It represents our soul, our obstinate intellect, our
unruly emotions, but the cow supersedes us because it is so
giving, taking nothing but grass and grain. It gives and gives and
gives, as does the soul give and give and give.
, Answer#3: The cow is so vital to life, the virtual sustainer of
life for humans. In a society if you only had cows and no other
domestic animals or agricultural pursuits, you could still survive
and the children could survive with the butter, the cream and the
milk to feed the children. The cow is a complete ecology, a gentle
creature and a symbol of abundance.
Yes, the cow is considered very sacred in our religion and for
very good reason. Its good qualities are those that we can
emulate.
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