In the countries of the Orient, especially India, Cow is considered to be a sacred animal. It is given the status of a Mother and we mostly believe and take pride in the fact that the western countries are not having any such compassion and treat animals as mere objects of milk, leather and beef. However this is not the truth.

Cows In India

More often that not, the issue of the cow is an election issue in India where it is many times used by unscrupulous leaders to spread hatred among-st different communities. Plus there are cows and other animals often found on the road which get killed by accidents. 

Cows in West

It is true that the cows are well fed and cared for in the west but it is mainly due to financial business reasons and not from the religious standpoint. There are mechanized farms where the health of these animals is taken care of but at the end of the day the fact of the matter is that they need to be disposed off when they do not produce milk. The reason for this is that they are no longer viable to be afforded as it is too expensive to feed them.

This might seem like a cold blooded theory but still it is not the full truth. There are people and organizations even in these countries which show their humanitarian face and care for these animals. One such organization takes care of cows after they are beyond their milk producing stage.

A short video description of this organization is given below

This video shows how the cows are happy after being released to freedom. It also shows that the instinct to be free and be with your own ones is a desire which is common to all living beings.

The particular organization shown in above video is a non-profit organisation from Denmark and goes by the name of Kuhrettung and you can check out their website by clicking here.

Post Retirement Treatment in India

Despite the bad condition of the cows in India (generally speaking) post retirement (after they stop bearing calves and giving milk), there are innovative individuals and organizations which have shown to the world that even after retirement stage, there can be a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and cows.

It has been proven that the different excreta from the cows namely cow-dung and cow-urine both have medicinal properties. This has been used in Ayurveda and home remedies by the ancestors since times immemorial, though the modern science has only recently thrown light on this by doing proper research.

The Innovative Business Model

Basically there are few things which can be done to cows post retirement and these are:

• Leave them on the streets where they eat plastic, get killed by accidents and affect traffic as well
• Kill them and use them on dinner plates

OR

• There is a third and innovative business model which has been successfully tried by few people and organizations. There are many examples of cases where people have started farms where they collect disposed off and discarded cows and take care of them. Then they collect gobar (dung) and mutar (urine) of these cows, process it and make different products which are beneficial for health and other uses. This business model is very useful and is providing employment to several people too.

The first option is good on humanitarian grounds but only if they are cared for properly. The second option seems practically good but from the spiritual perspective eating meat of any kind is avoidable as it leads to negative vibes and qualities being heightened in the mind. Of course there is a detailed reasons why non-veg is not good for people who want to progress on the spiritual path, but we will discuss that separately.

Summary

Hence it can be seen that east or west, the condition of the cows which are very useful for us is not that great. It is not without reason that the Saints and Sages of the ancient times bestowed the title of mother to the cow and saw its usefulness from the physical and spiritual standpoint. It is time that society develops the same sort of values once again even though it will be a difficult process and easier said than done but then Rome was never built in a day…