Why cow is sacred in hinduism

However, unlike the sacred cow, the pig represents impurity and filth , because it eats our wasted food. This is considered to be particularly impure and soiled as, for example, it has been touched or come into contact with saliva. Mahias, Marie-Claude, Le barattage du monde.

Home The sacred cow. The sacred cow Hinduism favours a vegetarian diet and protects the cow as a sacred animal and source of prosperity. The cow, a revered animal in Hinduism In the Hindu religion, the cow has acquired a sacred status. Products which come from the sacred cow As the cow is a sacred animal for Hindus, all products derived from it are highly valued. The pig: an impure animal Like beef, pork is also forbidden in Hinduism.

Assouly, Olivier, Les nourritures terrestres. France : Actes Sud. Quien, Aleandra, Dans les cuisines de Bombay. Conflicts over cow slaughter often sparked religious riots that led to the killing of more than people in alone. In , at least eight people died in riots outside the parliament in Delhi while demanding a national ban on cow slaughter.

And in , Acharya Vinoba Bhave, considered by many as a spiritual heir of Mahatma Gandhi, went on a hunger strike to ban cow slaughter. The "holiness of the cow" is also a myth, argues Dr Jha. In his masterly work The Myth of the Holy Cow , Dr Jha cites religious scriptures and ancient texts to show that Hindus did consume beef in ancient India. This flew against the Hindu right-wing assertion that beef-eating arrived in India with the coming of Islam.

Not surprisingly, he was threatened after the book was published in India. And American academic Wendy Doniger correctly argues that Hindus "do not always treat cows with respect or kindness; cows are sometimes beaten and frequently half starved".

India's most revered leader Mahatma Gandhi may also have been responsible for the Hindu veneration of the cow.

He once said that the "central fact of Hinduism is cow protection", and spoke about the "idea of penance and self-sacrifice for the martyred innocence" it embodied.

Today, in an ironical twist, the Hindu radicals seem to have hijacked the cow, and all it stands for. Image source, AFP. The cow is worshipped and decorated during festivals.

Virulent campaign. But let's not digress. Image source, EPA. Related Topics. The same people use medicines made up of cow urine when it is made by foreign companies or the western world. Are we ashamed of our own culture, knowledge?? Killing cows for food or just to show Hinduism in a bad light is the worst thing we are doing to humanity and the environment.

Akshay G Paraskar. Gyanendra Shravan. Gaargi Tomar. Abinaya Suresh. Maharshi Ghosh. Sai Prabhas Mallidi. Environment Cow: A sacred and Friendly Animal. Vedic knowledge compatible with modern science.