பசுவின் க்ஷேமம் நாட்டுக்கே க்ஷேமம் தரும். அதை ஸம்ரக்ஷித்தால் தன்னால் லோகத்தில் பாபம் குறையும்; சாந்தி பெருகும். அதற்கு ஹிம்ஸை நடந்தால் லோகம் முழுதற்குமே கஷ்டந்தான் உண்டாகும். லோகம் தர்மத்தில் நிலை நிற்பதற்கு கோ ஸம்ரக்ஷணம் அவசியம்.  – ஜகத்குரு ஸ்ரீ சந்திரசேகரேந்திர சரஸ்வதி ஸ்வாமிகள்

The welfare of the cow brings about the welfare of the whole nation. If we protect the cow, all the sins of the world get reduced automatically; peace will prevail everywhere. Any harm meted out to it will bring upon sufferings to the entire world. To steer the world through the path of Dharma, cow protection becomes a dire need. – Jagadguru Chandrasekharendra Saraswathy Swamigal

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Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara – Thanks Jayaram for the write-up. Rama Rama

A Tale of Two Calves

Over the last couple of cow rescues, the circumstances of two calves stand out as glaring examples of how heartless and insensitive cow trading and the people that engage in it have become.

The first is the black calf that you see in the first video posted at the end of this article. It could not have been more than 8 or 10 months old. It was separated from its mother, dragged away to the cattle market and tied up to be sold. The earliest that calves naturally wean from their mothers is around 10 months. In many cases, it extends past that. Very much like humans, calves don’t feed from their mothers just to satisfy their hunger; it is a means of emotional comfort and bonding. Most likely, this calf was still dependent on its mother’s milk.

The entire time it was there, it was crying, looking all around and calling for its mother, completely helpless and innocent. We can only imagine what its mother cow was going through during that time. Our scriptures say – “putra shOkam nirantaram” – the grief of losing one’s child is everlasting. This is the price gomAthAs pay for us.

Continually forcing cows to deliver calves so that they will keep producing milk, is an act of inhumane selfishness. Denying calves their mothers’ milk is worse than that – pure greed. But, killing the calf while the mother continues milking, is of the worst kind – selfishness, greed and cruelty all in one. As you can see, it is a sad reality quite common in our world today.

Unfortunately, having purchased as many cows as we could on that day, we were left without means to save this one. With a heavy heart, we watched helplessly as it was loaded into a slaughterhouse truck, awaiting a horrifying 20 hour journey to Kerala. We can only pray that it passed without too much suffering.

The second is the brown calf you see in the next two videos below. This one was at the Marakkanam cattle market, about the same age – 8 to 10 months.

By periyavA’s grace, we managed to rescue this one. But considering the circumstances, these innocent jeevans have no idea if they are going to be slaughtered or saved. This calf kept calling out to its mother the entire time it was being rescued and loaded into our trucks, perhaps even throughout its journey to the Velliangiri goshAlA where we took it.

This calf was separated from its mother which was already sold for slaughter. Had we not rescued this one, it would have ended up on a slaughterhouse truck to Pondicherry.

This calf was also looking all around and crying throughout the time. It had no idea that it won’t see its mother any more. We are left with consoling ourselves that we could at least save the life of the calf and give it a peaceful, safe home.

Sometimes, this goes to the extreme when calves as young as 3 to 4 months are traded in the market for as little as Rs. 2,500. We came across some of these a couple of days ago. By periyavA anugraham, we were able to buy these calves. As you can see in the pictures below, they look depressed and have probably given up all hope of seeing their mothers. What business do these innocent babies have in a cattle market? Why should they be subject to this kind of a horrifying fate, barely a few months after being born?

Cows have very strong family and community bonds. It is quite common to see related cows stay and wander together even after they grow up and have calves of their own. There is a cow in my area that is about 15 years old – a great grandmother. Her daughter cow, about 12 years old now, is already a grandmother. So, it is 4 generations now. The oldest 15-year cow and her 12-year daughter always grazed together until recently, the owner sold off the 12-year cow to someone in Thanjavur. The great grandmother cow still wanders around looking for her daughter.

Cows also have strong maternal instincts. It is quite common to see mother cows nurse calves that aren’t even theirs, sometimes even baby animals that aren’t even cows – like deer, goats etc. The greater this maternal instinct and bond, the greater, obviously, is its suffering when the calf is taken away.

As you can see, the sufferings or emotions of the cow or calf have no place in today’s world. They are traded like non-living things and are disposed of, by whatever method fetches them the highest amount of money.

It doesn’t have to be this way. What is needed is a change of heart and empathy. We pray that periyavA help more and more people empathize and have a change of heart by supporting our cow rescue operations consistently.

Categories: Samrakshanam

Tags: Gho Samrakshanam