The Holy Cow Worshipped in Hindu Religion

Milk, butter, curd are food. Urine and cow dung are medicines in Ayurveda. Dried cow dung is fuel. Dung mixed with daub is used to plaster walls and is a building material. Butter is used lavishly in Hindu rituals. The sacred white powder made from dung is applied on the forehead – the holy ash in Hinduism, symbol of God Shiva. Dried cow dung is also used in Hindu funerals in some parts of India.

Food, medicine, house, fuel, prayer….the list goes on…Tell me one reason why five thousand years ago the cow should not have been worshipped. God is the all provider and a cow was the all provider in ancient Hindu society.

Various products provided by the cow are an integral part of a Hindu way of life. Quite often many Hindus might not be aware of it.

Even today there are millions of households in India whose economy revolves around the cow. In rural India, you will find stories like… it is by selling this cow’s milk I was able to educate my son!

Majority of the South Indians find it hard to have lunch without the curd. What about our burfis and the numerous other sweets? The buttermilk, the ice cream, the bhang, ….yet another endless list…. It is not without reason that India is one of the largest producers of milk and one of the largest consumers.

But the holy cow creates numerous traffic blocks. Well, the cows you find on the Indian roads were left there by its owners. We are living in a society in which some people send old parents to old age homes and even to streets. So, the fate of an old and diseased cow cannot be any better. The cow loitering on our streets are an indication of a self-centered society. The cow will only be happy to move out of the road and live in some green pastures.