“You should know Krishna to be the original Soul of all living entities. For the benefit of the whole universe, He has, out of His causeless mercy, appeared as an ordinary human being. He has done this by the strength of His internal potency.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.14.55)

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कृष्णमेनमवेहि त्वमात्मानमखिलात्मनाम्
जगद्धिताय सोऽप्यत्र देहीवाभाति मायया

kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam
ātmānam akhilātmanām
jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra
dehīvābhāti māyayā

If you follow a certain way of life that happens to go against the prevailing wisdom of the day, of the particular area, of the community in which you live, it is only natural to develop a kind of shield of armor, over time. You end up being defensive about your decision, even though you didn’t start out that way. Rather, there was a choice based on intelligence. You used your brain. You made a list of positives and negatives, pros and cons, regarding a particular subject matter. After careful deliberation, contemplation, and consideration, you chose to proceed a certain way.

The problem is that your choice is a little difficult to hide, especially when dealing with others. Something as innocent as choosing to educate your children at home, as opposed to sending them to school, returns weird looks in conversation. You feel the need to justify, to argue in response, when in truth you are completely fine with others choosing the more conventional route.

In this regard, if you follow traditions of the Vedas, particularly within the line of disciplic succession of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and other saints of the Vaishnava conclusion, you are bound to come across opposition. The basic practices which you have followed for so long that you forgot are even distinct, now stand out. Others have a counterargument, and if we are being objective in the analysis, we can see who actually has the burden of proof. In other words, who should actually be defensive: the person aligned with sanatana-dharma or the person in defiance of it?

1. Dealing with cows

If we were being totally honest, the only justification in this case is taste. To taste a certain kind of food. You relish the flesh of an animal. How that flesh was produced, how it was extracted, how it was prepared, how it ended up on the dinner table – these are of secondary concern. The topmost priority is enjoyment.

Nevertheless, if entering a sober and rational discussion on the issue, the proponents might present arguments along the following lines:

“I believe in God. I believe in the one true God. I believe that God gave man dominion over the animal community. People raise cows specifically to be consumed. That is their purpose in life. I am simply fulfilling destiny. Otherwise, what purpose would the cow serve? We are not doing anything wrong. Rather, you are the odd ones for respecting them. It is like you worship cows, with those strange markings you apply on the forehead, the beautiful decorations applied, and the exalted status afforded on the property.”

A person in support of protecting cows, and all innocent animals for that matter, offers the following, in response:

“They are like a mother. They produce milk upon sight. When they feel love for their children, they give so much milk that humans are allowed to enjoy, as well. The cow only gives. They take a little grass, but that’s it. They respond to their names being called, just like your dog. Don’t you sleep with your dog, in fact? Why are you not killing your dog? At least the cow provides vital nutrients for the human population. It is a matter of appreciation. We take from someone, and we should not kill them, in return. What kind of civilization is that? And you wonder why people of the area are so unhappy, where they have descended into killing unborn children, and sending innocent young men to die in needless military conflicts.”

2. Identifying the individual

Keeping with the theme of animal protection, the one side offers the following view of the individual and what defines a living being:

“Yes, we believe in soul. We are soul. We are a human soul. The animals have a different kind of soul. They will never become humans and we will never become animals. To think otherwise is nonsense. We do not believe in multiple lifetimes. This is the only chance you get. You better choose right. You better surrender unto the savior, who rescues the human souls. If you make the wrong choice, there is no going back. You will be condemned, forever.”

The person who understands the definition of the individual as spirit soul, atma, based on Vedic teachings, responds in kind:

“If there is something like a human soul, then there must be an infant soul, as well, no? Because the infant is completely different from the adult. Do you kill the infant? The adults have dominion over the children, do they not? Does that mean the adults kill the children? The individual is distinct from the body. The individual is spirit soul. That soul is sarva-ga; it can travel anywhere. The body is always changing, but the individual is always the same. When the individual goes somewhere else, that is merely travel. You might think it is some mystical process, some fairytale going by the name of reincarnation, but the individual is always associating with a changing body.”

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

3. Viewing the object of worship

Ultimately, the practices relate to a specific objective. There is a destination to reach. The relationship with the object of worship is everything. The one side has the following viewpoint:

“You cannot worship an idol. That is strictly prohibited. We do not worship in that way. To create a form for the Almighty is sinful. We are not into worshiping false gods. Yours are of demonic origin. You are really on the wrong path. You should be praying for eternal life. You should not be praying to these statues.”

The person following the time-honored practice of deity worship responds as follows:

“We both worship. We are in agreement, in that regard. What is wrong with offering worship to a physical form? Is this world not filled with form? Is the sun some figment of the imagination? Are the clouds not real? Do you actually exist? We are meant to worship; that is inherent within the individual, as spirit soul. These forms are not made-up. They provide a glimpse into the transcendental features of the Almighty. As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains, it is like dropping letters into a mailbox. That is an ordinary receptacle, but it has been authorized for a specific purpose. The deity is the same way.”

What to speak of the deity, the same confusion is there with the avatara. Shukadeva Gosvami explains that the Supreme Lord is already the soul of all souls. He is the life of everything. He still appears as Krishna, as an ordinary child, out of His mercy. He is always wishing well to the living entities. The avatara facilitates worship for those who are otherwise confused about transcendence. The deity represents the avatara. It is the way to worship by proxy, in absentia, but since God is Absolute, such worship is equivalent to being right next to Him. It is like finding the promise land even prior to completing the life experience, in the current iteration.

In Closing:

If form of beauty and charm,
In worship where the harm?

If cow milk products providing,
Why its protection deriding?

If in changing body are you,
Why a stretch for future too?

Vedic wisdom simple yet profound,
Answers to key questions found.

Categories: the three

Tags: cows, dailyprompt, hinduism, life, poem, poems, poetry