தொன்று தொட்டுப் பசுவும் அதனுடன் இணைந்துள்ள புனிதமான எண்ணங்களும் தத்வங்களும் நம்முடைய கலாசாரத்துக்கென்றே ஏற்பட்ட பல சீரிய அம்சங்களை உருவாக்கியிருப்பதால் வேறெதற்கும் இல்லாத தனியானதொரு ஸ்தானத்தைப் பசுவுக்குத் தந்து அது என்றென்றும் போஷாக்குடன் இருக்கச் செய்ய வேண்டும். கோ ஸம்ரக்ஷணம் பரம தர்மம்; பரம புண்யம். 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

As from time immemorial, Mother Cow and the noble thoughts and philosophies associated to it, have enriched our culture with unique and significant aspects, we should attribute a special status to the cow among all other species and enable it to live healthily forever. Cow protection is ‘Parama Dharmam’ and ‘Parama Punyam’. 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,

I really don’t know what to say except for the fact that humanity is dying right in front of our eyes. This shows one thing clearly, rapidly deteriorating dharma and a big gaping hole in this Punniya Bhumi when it comes to Gho Matha Samrakshanam. All these cows that were cruelly attacked have been roaming around in severe pain for several days, with the Madurai public watching and doing nothing about the situation despite it being in the local news papers. What is more inhumane and pathetic is some local groups took pictures of the cows, flaunted it in the social media, collected funds but did nothing for the cows. While there are animal welfare activists in many areas who take interest in such incidents and come forward to help, they do not have the resources, funds, experience, or other means to pull it through. This is where by Periyava Anugraham we come into play.

As soon as we came to know about this, we involved ourselves right away and below are the results of our actions. As you are aware, rescue is one thing and rehabilitation and upkeep is another. It takes hell a lot of effort and resources to treat the cows, labour, transport, fodder, and providing them a permanent home for the rest of their lives. Please continue to support and we will continue to rescue Gho Mathas as much as possible by Periyava Anugraham. Rama Rama

Local News Articles – Link 1, Link 2
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Brutal (Acid) Attack on Cows in Madurai followed by a grueling rescue effort

On March 28th, our Kainkaryam member shrI Venkatesh shared a news article with us. The article mentioned that a few unidentified people had brutally attacked 3 cows with acid, at a locality named Surya nagar in Madurai. It carried a picture of a majestic bull with gory wounds on its stomach.

We were very troubled to read about this incident and immediately started asking around to see how we could get in touch with someone in the locality.

Within a few hours, we were able to get in touch with a local animal activist Shri Mayur who was already acting on this incident. He came to know about this incident a few days ago and filed a written complaint with the local police station, to find the cruel miscreants who did this and to get them punished. The police came up with excuses and were reluctant to file his complaint.

There were inconsistencies in the details of the incident published in news articles –

1. One article said the cows belonged to a local temple.
2. Another one said the department of animal husbandry refused to attend to the cows when informed.
3. There was no clear information on when the attack happened.

No one had come forward to claim the cows or care for them, although they continued to roam the streets with their gory wounds.

As we started communicating with shrI Mayur and guiding him on next steps to take based on our own prior experiences, we slowly started putting together the pieces of the puzzle –

1. Two bulls – a jallikkattu bull and a younger bull – and one cow were the victims.
2. Contrary to what the news articles said, locals say the incident happened at least 2 weeks ago.
3. The younger bull sustained the most severe injuries on the side of its stomach and its back.
4. None of the cows belonged to any temples. No one came forward to claim the bulls, while a lady came forward for the Gho matha.
5. Veterinarians from the department of animal husbandry had promptly arrived to attend on the cows, as soon as shrI Mayur informed them. The jallikkattu bull was captured and provided first aid, but it soon escaped. The other cows were very difficult to approach and couldn’t be tended to.

We remained in touch with shrI Mayur. Over the next couple of days, he continually kept monitoring them to make sure they were okay and still in the area and engaged another animal activist Shri Deepak, and his team of people to round up and catch the cows. Since the cows were extremely scared and jumpy from the agony of being attacked, the team had a tough time catching them.

It took them two days to round up and catch the first one – the jallikkattu bull. As soon as it was caught, it was taken to the department of animal husbandry premises immediately. The wounds were much worse that they appeared in the news article photos. Look at the photos below to see how bad it was. The bull is currently in these premises and is being fed and treated. It is recovering well now.

In the meantime, another person in the locality, who claims to have been feeding the cows for the last two months, tried to arm-twist us into letting him have the cows. He filed a complaint with forest officials accusing shrI Mayur of not letting him feed the cows. Forest officials paid a visit to the animal husbandry premises to tak to ShrI Mayur. ShrI Mayur explained to them how the accused did nothing to address the suffering of the cows and the amount of progress we have been able to make in just the last few days. This could have derailed our efforts but periyavA came to our rescue. They were convinced by our explanation and all the evidence that was obvious. They reprimanded the accuser and gave him a stern warning to stop interfering in this case anymore.

The owner of the Gho matha turned out to be very insensitive. She asked us not to round up her Gho matha or treat her, but refused to take any action herself either – basically just letting her Gho matha suffer and if lucky, recover on her own.

After much persuasion, she gave us written permission a few days ago, to catch and treat her cow. Then Shri Mayur and Shri Deepak engaged the same team and rounded up the Gho matha. She was also taken to the same premises and treated, and has recovered almost fully now.

The younger bull continued to evade capture for a couple of more days. The locality has many thorny bushes and narrow streets, making it further difficult to round up the bull. Cows that have been around people don’t get this jumpy, but the shock and agony that the poor creatures have suffered, have made them terrified of everything and everyone around them. See the video below where the bull jumps high and runs away. Finally, after a couple of more days of strenuous chasing and rounding up, day and night, they managed to catch this one and take it to the same premises for treatment.

The wounds on this bull are the worst of the three. The veterinarian that examined and treated the cows told us that this was caused not by acid, but by very hot oil poured on them.

By periyavA’s anugraham, this hasn’t caused any injury to any internal organs. It is impossible to imagine the kind of cruelty and hatred in the twisted minds of the criminals who did such an act. We pray that periyavA make them realize what they did and turn to good ways.

In the meantime, we have been reaching out to goshalas in the area to house the cows, so they can heal in peace. Since the cows are part of written complaints filed with the police, we may not be able to transport them outside city limits. This is limiting our choices, but we are continuing to work through available options.

With prior such rescues, and with this one, we are continuing to see one major challenge – while there are animal welfare activists in many areas that take interest in such incidents and come forward to help, they do not have the people, resources, funds, experience or other means to pull it through. Over and above this, political or other power-play intimidates them. Lack of cooperation from local people, media and authorities makes it worse.

By periyavA’s grace, we were able to provide guidance and funds to cover rounding up of cows, transportation, feeding, treatment etc., and to oversee the day-to-day tracking of progress, negotiate with people and provide support to deal with authorities for this incident. *This type of leadership is the dire need of the day to ensure cows are safe and taken care of. We hope and pray  to periyavA that more people come forward and take up these types of leadership roles.

We remain fully engaged in this rescue and will continue to provide updates. Photos/Videos below.

Sri Periyava Thiruvadi Sharanam. Rama Rama
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The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection. Cow protection to me is one of the most wonderful phenomena in human evolution. It takes the human being beyond this species. The cow to me means the entire sub-human world. Man through the cow is enjoined to realize his identity with all that lives. Why the cow was selected for apotheosis is obvious to me. The cow was in India the best companion. She was the giver of plenty. Not only did she give milk, but she also made agriculture possible. Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism will live so long as there are Hindus to protect the cow. Hindus will be judged not by their TILAKS, not by the correct chanting of MANTRAS, not by their pilgrimages, not by their most punctilious observances of caste rules, but by their ability to protect the cow. – Mahatma Gandhiji, Father of the Nation

Few Cow Rescue Video Clips – See how terrified the cows are on seeing humans

Rescued Cows undergoing Treatment

Categories: Samrakshanam

Tags: Gho Samrakshanam