#ISKCON

#ISKCON - COW PROTECTION MODEL || Srila Prabhupada || ISKCON GauShala || Jivjaago Media
Srila Prabhupada :
"This is not the idea, to keep cows and get milk and produce yogurt and cheese and ghee and by selling them to become fat, rich capitalists. The idea is to please Krishna. That is bhakti.
In the Bhagavad-gita (18.44) Krishna says, krishi-go-rakshya: 'agriculture and cow protection.' We protect the cows because Krishna wants it, for Krishna’s pleasure - whether we make money or not. Even if we lose money, we will still protect the cows - and depend on Krishna. Our interest is to please Krishna. That is bhakti."
----------------Reference: Watering the seed
Author: Giriraj Swami
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Go-rakṣya. Go-rakṣya, cow protection, is one of the items of state affairs. And now there is no cow protection. Poor cows, they deliver milk, and later on they become slaughtered. How much sinful the modern society is, and they still want peace and prosperity. That is not possible. The society must be divided-brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra-and they must execute their proper duty. And the vaiśyas, they should give protection to the cows. And the śūdras, they should work under the direction of the higher three divisions.
Lecture on BG 1.12 -- London, July 13, 1973:
Why cow protection is so much advocated? Because it is very, very important. Therefore... There is no such injunction that "You don't eat the flesh of a tiger." You can eat. Because those who are meat-eaters, those who are meat-eaters, they have been recommended to eat the flesh of goats or other lower animals---sometimes dogs also they eat, or the hogs---you can eat. But never the flesh of cows. So, innocent animal, the most important animal, giving service even after death... While living, giving service, so important service, giving you milk; even after death she is giving service by supplying the skin, the hoof, the horn. You utilize in so many ways. But still, the present human society is so ungrateful and rascal that they are killing cows. So Kṛṣṇa comes to punish them, these rascals. Therefore it is said that go-dvija-surārti-hara. Kṛṣṇa comes to... Therefore we worship Kṛṣṇa, namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. Brāhmaṇa.
So to make a perfect human society, there must be protection of the go-dvija. Dvija means brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means one who knows Brahman, God. These two classes must be given first protection. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is worshiped with this word,
namo brahmaṇya-devāya
go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya
govindāya namo namaḥ
[Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.19.65]
See, the same thing is there. Govindāya, go-dvija arti-hara. Dvija. Dvija, when the brāhmaṇa class, when the cows, they are too much troubled by these rascal demon, and Kṛṣṇa comes, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, abhyutthānam adharmasya [Bg. 4.7]. These are adharmas.
So in this age, Kali-yuga, the people are so sinful, so suffering also, therefore Kṛṣṇa has incarnated in the form of His name:
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.43
Type: Srimad-Bhagavatam
Date: May 5, 1973
Location: Los Angeles
Lecture on BG 2.1-11 -- Johannesburg, October 17, 1975: We are proud of our business, vaiśya, but vaiśya means kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). Vaiśya means they should take care of the cows, cow protection, go-rakṣya. Why go-rakṣya? Why not other animal rakṣya? Kṛṣṇa has not said "animal rakṣya" or "janawal-(?) rakṣya." Go-rakṣya. The cow is very, very important animal. If you want to advance your spiritual consciousness, then you must have sufficient milk and sufficient grains. That is civilization. Therefore it is the duty of the vaiśyas to produce food grain. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Annād. In the society, if you have got sufficient anna, both the animals and the man, they will be happy. These are the instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, everything practical. If we follow Bhagavad-gītā from all angles of vision-social, political, economical, religious, cultural-you will be perfect.