சாஸ்த்ர வசனப்படி தர்ம தேவதையே தபஸ், சௌசம் [தூய்மை], தயை, ஸத்தியம் என்ற நாலு கால்களுடைய ஒரு ரிஷபமாகத்தான் இருக்கிறது. அந்த தர்மக் காளையுடனேயே கோமாதாவும் இருப்பதாகவும், தர்மத்தையே பாலாகச் சுரக்கிற ‘தர்மதுகா’வாக அப்பசுத் தாய் இருப்பதாகவும், அந்த ஜோடியைக் கலி புருஷன் ஹிம்ஸித்ததாலேயே இந்த யுகம் இப்படிச் சீர்குலைந்திருக்கிறதென்றும் ‘பாகவ’தத்தில் இருக்கிறது.* ஆகையினால் கலிதோஷம் நீங்கி தர்மம் தலையெடுப்பதற்குச் செய்ய வேண்டியவற்றில் கோ ரக்ஷணம் முக்யமான ஒன்றாகும். அதிலே நாம் தவறினோம் என்ற பெரிய களங்கம் ஏற்படாமல் நமக்கு கோபாலக்ருஷ்ண ஸ்வாமி அநுக்ரஹிக்க வேண்டும். – ஜகத்குரு ஸ்ரீ சந்திரசேகரேந்திர சரஸ்வதி ஸ்வாமிகள்

Per the verses of Shastras, the very form of Dharma Dhevatha is personified as a Rishab (Bull), with Tapas (Penance), Soucham (Cleanliness), Dhaya (Compassion) and Sathyam (Truth) as its four legs. Bhagavatham holds that Ghomatha is also present with the Bull and that the Divine Cow Mother stands as “Dharma Dhuka” who secretes Dharma as Her milk and it was only because “Kali Purushan” tormented the Divine couple that this fourth Yuga namely ‘Kali’ is inflicted by all sorts of evil*. Therefore to get rid of ‘Kali Dosham’ (evils of Kali) and to enable Dharma to get manifested in this world, cow protection is one of the most important actions to be carried out. May Lord Gopalakrishnan shower His grace upon us to save us from the disgrace befalling on us of having failed to do this. – Jagadguru Chandrasekharendra Saraswathy Swamigal
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Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara –

In our 3rd attempt after over 10 months of drama, by periyavA’s abundant and unfailing grace and with your prayers and support, we rescued all 104 animals that were supposed to be auctioned, from Chettinad govt. farm today –

– 62 Gho Mathas and calves,
– 28 goats, and
– 14 white varahams

Subsequent to the auction being suspended on Aug 9th 2021, the Department of Animal Husbandry sent out letters to 23 Animal Welfare Board Certified goshAlAs in the area, asking them to approach and buy the animals at book value. This included Dhyan Foundation – our trusted partner goshAlA in Coimbatore. Each goshAlA could have easily come forward to purchase 2 or 3 Gho Mathas. But not a single one came forward. We worked with Dhyan Foundation and responded to the letter asking to buy all 104 jeevans (since we don’t have Animal Welfare Board Certification).

We were anticipating this all along and had already begun discussions with the village leaders in and around the area, to make sure no power-play or hooliganism would derail our efforts this time. Many gratitude to Smt. Jaya, our Periyava Kainkaryam devotee and a native of Karaikudi for helping us with all these negotiations.

Viswanathan and myself left at 6:30 am yesterday to Chettinad. We appraised Shri PeriyavA and took his blessings before we started. We had arranged for 7 trucks to arrive at the location to transport all the jeevans. Loading the animals into trucks started around 11 am since the govt. staff were late to showup to work. It was pathetic to see the Gho Mathas and calves standing there – mere skin and bones – severely undernourished and famished. Asking around, we came to know the animals had not been fed. We learned how the animals were regularly starved, because they were considered non-productive cattle. Many days, they were only fed once around 11:00 am – almost mid day. They are given grass – mostly just corn husk (சோளத்தட்டு). Varahams were fed dry bran (தவிடு) and corn husk (சோளத்தட்டு) apart from water in their respective shed tanks.

PeriyavA says in Deivathin Kural, that bhagavAn has created Gho Mathas with a big stomach; so their sufferings due to hunger is also greater. Look at the pictures and videos to see how the skeleton is showing through the skin for most Gho Mathas and calves. We had already made the payment for the animals on Friday. This included 2 days worth of feed for all the animals. Yet, the animals hadn’t been given proper food. Upon reaching there we insisted these voiceless are fed something before embarking on a grueling journey.

The animals were terrified as they were tied with ropes and loaded onto trucks. Many of these animals were born in these grounds and have never been tied up. The poor creatures were trapped in the illusion that this place is safer for them than life at goshalas. The laborers got impatient and in the process, a couple of Gho Mathas were bruised as they were loaded into trucks. There were 19 calves who had been separated from their mothers and handed to us. No one knew who their mothers were. One Gho Matha kept eluding our chase as we tried to load her into each truck. Finally, we had to corner her and load her into the last truck. In this process a few of the jeevans were injured but thankfully they were not fatal.

By 12.30 am, three trucks were already loaded with cows. The usual government bureaucracy and indifferent attitude of the officials delayed paperwork and gate passes until 5 pm in the evening. That is when we were able to dispatch our first loaded truck. All the employees of the department were desk workers running the bureaucracy, while all workers that were supposed to care for the animals were contract laborers who don’t seem to be held to any sort of accountability. This was evident from how malnourished the animals were. We dispatched our last truck around 9 pm.

In talking to the officials, we got a better understanding of their overall setup. They have about 650 cows and calves and over 2000 acres of land. The land is not cared for or irrigated to produce feed for the cattle, except when it rains. They periodically segregate cattle as Productive and Non-Productive and cull non-productive cattle by auctioning them off. Productive cattle are engaged in dairy farming, producing over 600 liters of milk every day. Native breed cows are intermingled with hybrid cows and the milk produced from the cows are all mixed up. They sell the milk locally and supply the excess to Aavin.

What we rescued yesterday was a mere 10% of their livestock, categorized as non-productive, and hence neglected and starved.

The rescued jeevans are headed to a couple of different locations –
– 20 Gho Mathas/calves and 28 goats headed to Ananda Vedashramam goshAlA in Coimbatore
– 42 Gho Mathas, Calves and headed to Dhyan Foundation goshAlA in Coimbatore
– 14 varahams headed to our partner Sunitha Christy’s place in Virudhunagar

Ananda Vedashramam goshAlA has large, lush pastures at the base of nearby hills. Dhyan Foundationp has sufficient land, but is soon moving to a larger pasture area in a few months.

We informed Shri Periyava about the completion of our rescue and started back to Chennai around 10 PM and reached home around 6 AM today morning. The rescued jeevans have also reached safely to the goshalas/shelters (Dhyan Foundation/Ananda Gosala/Sunitha’s shelter).

We are grateful to Shri PeriyavA and His karuNai for having made this rescue possible without any interruptions or incidents. These 104 jeevans are now free from the clutches of the system and can live the rest of their lives in peace.

A Note on Saving Ajahs and Varahams:

I want to let you all know I reached out to one of the devotee and a consistent contributor for our rescue efforts to see if we can use some of the funds he contributed towards rescuing Ajahs and Varahams. I thought it would be inhumane to turn our backs off these jeevans and just rescue Gho Mathas when all of them have come together for public auction. If we don’t buy, there there is no hope for them at all as they will go directly from govt. farm to slaughter houses. Happily the devotee agreed and we managed to rescue those jeevans and found a home for them too for the reminder of their lives.

The typical lifespan of a Aja or Varaham is about 20 years. At about 3 years of age, Varahams mature and start reproducing. Each varaham weighs about 300 kgs. Pork sells for about ₹ 400 per kg. Yet, the book value of each white varaham they sold us was ₹ 8,000. Doing the math, it makes no sense for the government to be in this business of rearing Varahams and selling them for meat. I don’t have to say much about goats as you all know what happens to them all over the world. While we don’t go out our way to save Varahams and Ajahs when we encounter situations like this we try to save these jeevans as much possible as well.

Posting a few pics below. Please don’t forget to watch all the pictures and video clips we captured from yesterday’s rescue effort and see how Varahams are screaming. The complete link to all media and receipts are HERE.

We pray to periyavA to bring about transformation in people’s hearts so that poor creatures like these may not suffer.

Sri Periyava Thiruvadi Sharanam, Rama Rama
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