முன்னாளில் மாடுகளிடம் எத்தனை அபிமானம் காட்டி அதை ரக்ஷித்தார்கள் என்பதற்கு ஒரு சான்று சொல்கிறேன். மனிதர்களாகப் பிறந்தவர்கள் கடைத்தேறுவதற்காக செய்ய வேண்டிய தர்மங்களை எண்-நான்கு — அதாவது முப்பத்திரண்டு -– அறங்கள் என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறது. அதை இரட்டிப்பாக்கி அறுபத்துநாலு தர்மங்கள் என்றும் சொல்வதுண்டு. அவற்றில் ஒன்றாக ‘ஆதீண்டு குற்றி நிறுவுதல்’ என்பதைச் சொல்லியிருக்கிறது. அது என்ன? ஒரு கோவுக்கு உடம்பிலே அரிக்கிறது. நமக்கு எங்கே அரித்தாலும் நாம் கையை வளைத்துச் சொறிந்து கொள்கிறோம். கோவோ பின்னங்காலைக் கொண்டுதான் சொறிந்து கொள்வது. அப்போது சில இடங்களில் அரித்தால் அதற்கு ஸரியாக சொறிந்து கொள்ள வராது. அந்த மாதிரி ஏற்படும்போது அது அரிப்பெடுக்கிற பாகத்தை நேரே வைத்துத் தேய்த்துச் சொறிந்து கொள்வதற்கு வாகாகக் கல்லை நட்டு வைப்பதுதான் ‘ஆதீண்டு குற்றி நிறுவுதல்’. ஆங்காங்கே இந்த மாதிரி நட்டு வைத்தார்கள். அந்த வழியில் போகிற மாடுகள் அவற்றில் சொறிந்து கொண்டு தினவு தீர்ந்தன. இப்படிச் சின்ன விஷயங்களைக்கூடப் பரம தர்மமாக நினைத்து கோவுக்குச் செய்த தேசத்தில் நாம் அதை எலும்பும் கூடுமாக்குகிறோம், வதையாவதற்கு விடுகிறோம் என்றால் அது நமக்குப் பெரிய அபக்யாதி. – ஜகத்குரு ஸ்ரீ சந்திரசேகரேந்திர சரஸ்வதி ஸ்வாமிகள்

I’ll quote an example which stands as a proof to show how people in olden days showered affection on the cows and protected them. It’s been mentioned that there are thirty two Dharmas which all beings born as humans ought to perform. Sometimes these thirty two are doubled and considered as sixty four. One among them has been mentioned as “Aatheendu Kutri Nirivudhal”. What is it? Imagine a cow has an itching in some part of its body. When we have an itching somewhere in our body, we can bend and use our hands to scratch that part and get relieved of itching. But the cow can scratch itself only by its hind legs. When there is an itching in some part of the body which cannot be accessed by its rear legs, it wouldn’t be able to scratch itself. It is to install stones at various places in order to help the cow in such circumstances is what is called ‘Aatheendu Kutri Niruvudhal’, which the cow could rub its body against and get relief from itching. Such stones were installed for this purpose those days. The cows which were going that way scratched themselves on the stones and got relieved of their itching. Like this in a country which considered even small deeds as these as a great Dharma and performed them for the sake of the cows, we are letting the cows starve and go malnourished and are sending them to slaughter houses and what a huge disgrace it is on our part! – Jagadguru Chandrasekharendra Saraswathy Swamigal
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Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara – I’m very grateful to Shri Jayaram who wrote this write-up on the significance of cow lifting equipment. Many of the prominent Gosalas are/were not even aware of this till recently. This is a one time and life long investment that every Gosala should have. Instead of spending money lavishly on our children’s birthday parties, wedding, festivals and other anniversaries let’s consider contributing this invaluable equipment to needy places. What else will please Periyava more than saving those voiceless jeevans? To be more transparent, I will notify all the contributions and for which Gosala we donated the equipment. Rama Rama
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The Invaluable Cow Lifting Equipment – ‘Rescuing’ the rescued cows

The mother cow stands on its feet its entire life providing us milk and nourishment. The rishabam toils on the field dragging heavy ploughs yoked to its neck in hot sun and rain, eating hay, bran and leaves that we consider useless, letting us have all the nutritious grains, vegetables and fruits.

For having worked so hard for us, these gentle creatures lose their will to stand up if they are unwell. It may be obvious to us that a cow injured in its legs cannot stand up. What is less obvious is that a cow may not be able to stand up for various other reasons like injuries in other parts of its body, illness, infections or even weakness and exhaustion from old age.

If a cow cannot stand up, then it is usually only a matter of time before it will give up the will to live and pass away.

When a cow is down, the critical step to take is to help it stand up. This is important so that its own body weight doesn’t put pressure on its organs and to ensure it receives proper veterinary care. The process of lifting up a downed cow and holding it in that position is very difficult.  It requires purchasing jute bags or other strong fabric that can support the cow’s weight, iron rods that can support the weight being lifted up, hiring people to lift the cow up and to take turns holding the cow in place – all this while the clock is ticking away, since the cow has given up its will to continue.

Places that care about cows go to all sorts of lengths to hire laborers, buy materials and take turns trying to rehabilitate the cow while its condition improves. Places that care less or lack the will or means to do all this, sell the cows to slaughterhouses.

So, the bottom line is – the sooner we enable the cow to stand up, the better the chances that it will recover and continue to live the rest of its life in peace.

This is where cow-lifting machines have proved to be invaluable miracle equipments. These machines enable people to act quickly to raise up a downed cow and attend to it without the need for additional labor or supplies, immensely improving and almost guaranteeing its chance of recovery.

Many of you are aware, but for the benefit of the new members of this group – alongside all other kainkaryams we execute, cow rescue and cow-lifting machines are always a priority for us.

After our main kainkaryam last year to buy and donate cow-lifting machines to needy goshAlAs, we continue to run it in the background at the request of specific kainkaryam members.

This has proved to be immensely useful for them and for many cow owners in their vicinity. The keepers of these cow-lifting equipments continue to give us so much feedback about how these equipments are in high demand and have played vital roles in saving the lives of many cows in their neighborhoods.

Please see the pictures and listen to the audios posted after this message, to understand how these machines are impacting gO samrakshaNam.

This machine gives hope to the owners of downed cows that the cows will survive. It prevents them from thinking of disposing the cow to its horrible fate. It networks people and brings awareness about goshAlAs and go samrakshaNam.

I urge you all to read this first blog post from 2019 – a very distressing account of how we lost an injured gOmAthA for want of a cow-lifting machine HERE.

I also urge you to read this second blog post and see the videos to understand how a downed cow is lifted using the cow lifting equipment, how an injured cow is receiving physiotherapy and how cows are supported using this equipment during their recovery HERE.

As you can see, it is a difference between life and death.

Cow lifting machines currently cost us Rs. 30,000 for the equipment itself and an additional fee for transportation. They are made by a company in Erode and transported to Chennai from where we donate them to needy goshAlas.

While we may be involved in many kainkaryams, we should not forget the importance of procuring more cow lifting equipments and donating them, so that more and more downed gOmAtAs and rishabams may be saved from their gruesome fates.

With the help of many kindhearted donors we have donated many cow lifting equipments to the following Gosalas (Jayam Gosala in Mayiladuthurai, Chidambaram Nataraja temple Gosala, Govidan Gosala in Madurantakam, Oushadhapureeswarar Gosala in Marungapallam), and Jagath Gosala, Wallajabad. Below are some of the pictures or video clips and testimonial audios without even we asking for it.

I encourage all of you to make whatever small contribution you can, towards this cause. Please remember – No amount is too small. Every little bit contributes to the life and wellbeing of cows in a big way.

For contributions click HERE. Please mention ‘Cow lifting equipment’ in the memo for accounting and transfer. Rama Rama

Cow lifting equipment playing a very critical role in saving a cows life

List of Gosalas where we have donated cow lifting equipments so far

Few testimonials from Gosalas

Categories: Samrakshanam

Tags: Gho Samrakshanam