Why Do Hindus worship the cow?
Hindus don't worship cows.
We respect, honour and adore the cow.
By honouring this gentle animal, who gives more than she takes, we honour all living creatures.
The cow also symbolizes dignity, strength, endurance, maternity and selfless service.
The cow represents life and the sustenance of life.
We acknowledge this reverence for life in our special affection for the cow.
At festivals we decorate and honour her, but we do not worship her in the sense that we worship God.
The cow is so generous, taking nothing but water, grass and grain.
It gives and gives and gives of its milk, as does the liberated soul give of his spiritual knowledge.
Veneration of the cow instils in Hindus the virtues of gentleness, receptivity and connectedness with nature.
Cows are garlanded at special religious functions as our homage to all animals.
Who is the greatest giver on planet Earth today?
Who do we see on every table in every country of the world --breakfast, lunch and dinner? It is the cow.
The generous cow gives milk and cream, yogurt and cheese, butter and ice cream, ghee and buttermilk.
It gives entirely of itself through sirloin, ribs, rump, porterhouse and beef stew. Its bones are the base for soup broths and glues.
It gives the world leather belts, leather seats, leather coats and shoes, beef jerky, cowboy hats --you name it.
Milk and ghee in particular are sacred gifts, which are essential elements in Hindu worship.
In India, more than 3,000 institutions called Gaushalas, maintained by charitable trusts, care for old and infirm cows.
And while many Hindus are not vegetarians, most respect the still widely held code of abstaining from eating beef.
By her docile, tolerant nature, the cow exemplifies the cardinal virtue of Hinduism, which is non-injury.
The cow is so vital to life, the virtual sustainer of life, for many humans.
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