Musings 78: Why do Hindus worship the cow?

For a Hindu mind, the world is a manifestation of the divine. Each and every aspect of the creation is sacred. The elements, stone, plants, animals and humans are all worthy of worship. However, the veneration earned by the cow is matchless. She is gO mātā, the mother. She is a devata (deity).

Non-Hindus find it difficult to understand and appreciate this unique status of the cow in Sanātana Dharma (Hinduism). They can’t be blamed though, as most Hindus struggle to understand and explain it themselves.

The śāsrtra and ācāryas offer explanations from different perspectives. This post takes up only one of such explanations, strictly from the point of view of the Yajña.

-I-

To answer the question, we need to understand,

1. What is Veda?

By Veda, Hindus do not mean any book/sets of books. It is the sum total of all knowledge/spiritual laws concerning/guiding the cosmos and its relationship with the life principle.

a. The Veda is apauruṣeya. That is, it has no author. The knowledge is revealed to the seekers in their dhyāna (meditation). Thus the seekers transform to seers, the ṛṣis. Therefore, the words of ṛṣis (śabda pramāṇa) are considered as the Veda Itself.

b. The Veda is infinite. Meaning, the knowledge/spiritual laws regarding the cosmos is not exhaustive. There is no end to the knowledge. Different ṛṣis at different times got different aspects and dimensions of it revealed. For e.g. the Gāyatri mantra was revealed to sage Viśvāmitra by Godess Sāvitri (the Sun god). In future too, many ṛṣis will be revealed with insights from dimensions unknown.

c. The Veda is timeless. It means that the knowledge about the cosmos is born with the cosmos.

d. The Veda is eternal. Meaning, these “truths” stand on their own merit. It doesn’t cease to exist if humans (or other higher beings) forget/fail to understand/acknowledge it.

e. The Veda is śruti. It means that the truths revealed to the ṛṣis are passed down the generations by the word of mouth- from father to son, Guru to śiṣya.

Therefore, the true welfare of the world is possible, only by knowing and adhering to the Veda.

(However, today when we say Veda, we refer to the knowledge revealed to different ṛṣis at various points of time in history, as compiled by Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa into four volumes viz. Ṛk, Yajus, Sāma and Atharva Veda.)

At the heart of the Veda is Yajña.

2. What is Yajña?

Yajña is a Vedic rite involving Agni (the sacrificial fire) and the chanting of mantras. It is a religious duty to be performed with an explicit objective of the welfare to the world. It has to be undertaken with devotion, in a spirit of service and dedication.

Yajña invokes the respective devatas (deities) in charge of various aspects of the world (like Indra, Varuṇa, Vāyu etc), offers their rightful shares (not a bribe) to ensure the smooth functioning of the world. The devatas and the mortals are mutually dependent for their existence. This ensures that all beings are peaceful and progress in their natural pace of (spiritual) evolution.

(It must also be noted that mantras are not prayers. They are potent sounds, the repetition of and the meditation on which guides one to the foundations of the cosmos. It also gives the desired results, but most importantly lead one to self-realisation. Śāstra is clear that knowing the meaning of mantra is secondary)

3. Who is qualified to perform Yajña?

If yajña is for the welfare of the world, anybody who has the right intent should be qualified to perform it. However, it is not as simple as that!

Is there anyone who doesn’t want peace, progress and prosperity in the world? All of us wish well for everyone till such time others’ welfare require a sacrifice of our most cherished desires! In this game of my desires versus your welfare, mine always has the preference. The point is, as long as we have the last trace of selfishness in us, this talk of serving the world/humanity etc is a joke.

So the performer of yajña (yajña karta) has to be absolutely selfless. In the Vedic organisation of the society, the community of people trained to be selfless (through strict physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual disciplines) are called the brāhmaṇas. In other words, he alone is a brāhmaṇa who is selfless, and has committed his life for the welfare of the world as prescribed by the Veda. It is therefore prescribed that a brāhmaṇa should take up the study of the Veda and the performance of yajña to the exclusion of everything else. A brāhmaṇa should NOT earn a living, should NOT possess wealth (except the wealth of knowledge) and ALWAYS beg for his food. He is permitted to marry for the sake of having children, who should be brought up in the same cultural envirionment, with intense training, so that they become qualified for the performance of yajña.

(Brāhmaṇa is one of the four varṇas. Kṣatṛya, Vaiśya and Śūdra being the other three. Each varṇa has prescribed duties. Varṇa vyavasta should not be confused with the caste system.)

4. What is offered in Yajña?

This is where the cow comes into picture. The most important offerings in a yajña is sourced from the cow. In the absence of cow (its yields) yajña cannot be performed/complete/fruitful.

We mentioned that the backbone of the Veda is the yajña. It must also be stated that the backbone of the yajña is the brāhmaṇa (yajña karta) and the cow!

5. What is the status of the cow?

A śānti mantra (prayer for world peace) from upaniṣad goes-

svasti-prajā-bhyaḥ pari-pāla-yaṁtāṁ
nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṁ mahīśāḥ
go-brāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubham-astu nityaṁ
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino-bhavaṁtu

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
oṃ

“May the well-being of all people be protected
May the powerful and mighty leaders administer with law and justice.
May the cows and brāhmaṇas remain auspicious always,
May all the world’s beings be free and happy.”

Note the portion that says, “may the cows and brāhmaṇas remain auspicious always.” In the Vedic view, cows enjoy a status higher to that of the brāhmaṇas (yajña karta)!

-II-

Yajña also has a metaphorical meaning.

The word yajña is also used outside the religious context as any co-operative endeavour undertaken selflessly with the highest commitment, dedication and devotion to the collective good of the society.

The cow embodies the yajña spirit as everything related to it is beneficial to the world. Milk, curd, ghee, urine, dung, hide (after its natural death) are only a few examples.

She is gO mātā because she lives the ideal of motherhood- nourishing the children even at the expense of oneself.

Before we conclude.

a. A quote of Śrī Candraśekhara Sarasvati Svāmikal, the 68th Śankarācārya of the Kānci Peetham, on gO saṃrakṣaṇaṃ (cow protection) is my inspiration for this note.

b. The disscusion here is based on certain premises. One may contest the validity of those. However, not under this post. It may be taken up as a separate post on another day.

c. Love, veneration, sacredness and worship cannot/need not be validated.

Oṃ!

—

Śrīnāth Mohandās

April 02, 2018

Musings 77: A New Indian

India’s intellectual elite have not come to terms with the realities of the day. There is a significant shift in the thinking of our people, especially among the youth. What used to be politically correct, and therefore “sacred”, through the 80s, 90s and 2000s are not so anymore. I will highlight only three of such issues.

1. Indian Secularism is Dishonest

Secularism was smuggled into India, through the 42nd amendment of the constitution, during emergency (1975-77), by Smt. Indira Gandhi. It had a disgraceful entry.

Secularism added NO value to the Indian ethos of respect for all religions, which was shaped through thousands of years, with its active engagement with the Dharmic ideals. It also challenged the idea of “mutual respect” and downgraded it to mere “tolerance” among communities.

Secularism practised in India don’t even live upto its own standards elsewhere. Through a policy of selective intervention, we have alienated communities and pitted one against the other. Four decades later, we have a situation where the Hindu temples are controlled and taken over by the govt., Uniform Civil Code remain unimplemented, and religious institutions funding Maoism, Terrorism and other break-India projects are left unchecked (even encouraged!) for the minority card they flaunt.

2. Not a Global citizen, but a Global Indian

The left through post colonial, sub altern and post modernist studies control India’s education. It is in pursuit of undoing the “Indian” identity of our people. They do it in the pretext of upgrading our people to a universal identity of “global citizens”, rather than a “jingoistic” identity of an Indian.

They would openly support break-India brigade in JNU and elsewhere, provide intellectual and material capital to Maoists and Naxalites, pamper and promote Dravidian and northern chauvinists, mastermind language and regional wars, and manufacture an imaginary north-south divide. All of this is their earnest effort to dilute the cherished Indian identity of an average Indian. And what they offer in exchange is a soul-less global identity, or a chauvinist regional identity.

Young India is ready to the embrace world. But not as rootless refugees. We will embrace the world as the torch bearers of this ancient Indian civilisation.

Imported theories of social justice should fall. It should be replaced with new theories that best understand and reflect the realities and aspirations of our communities. The intrinsic unity of our communities should be brought back to the fore.

An Indian grand narrative that is assertive, yet respectful to all communities of the world is in the making. More and more of young India wants to adopt it, to make a better sense of who they are and what their roles and responsibilities are in the international scheme.

3. No more divided by castes, but united by Dharma

The divide and rule policy of the British was inherited by the Indian political class.

The golden rules are:

a. Never let Hindu unite. Keep them fragmented by oiling the caste fault lines.

b. Never let minority religious and linguist communities embrace mainstream. Patronise the unreasonables among them, and promote them as the communities’ unchallenged leadership.

Lesser and lesser Hindus identify with caste these days. A majority of them have rediscovered their unity in Dharma. It has reconnected them to their civilisational past.

Go for an evening walk in any Indian city. 7 out of 10 times, you will come across a young Hindu, who is not casteist, but confident and assertive of his/her Hindu identity forged in the ideals of Dharma.

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Śrīnāth Mohandās

March 18, 2018