Tag Archives: Cows

Free Will

Free will, General,

Q. If Krishna is all powerful and wants us to come back to Him, then why does He not simply do it?

A. The answer to your question, which you have asked is a very fundamental one, rests on the understanding of the living entity’s free will.

Because there is free will, the living entity can choose to misuse his/her free will.
When this choice of misuse of free will is exercised by the living entity, the Lord may sanction it. But the punishment is also there along with the sanctioning, so that the living entity learns the lesson that misuse of free will, will not bring happiness. If you look on the other side of the question, ‘Why is it that God does not restrict our free will so that we cannot misuse it?’, then you have a situation where love is also not voluntary but forced.

That is not love, that is something else. For there to be real love for God, there must also be the opportunity for free will, including the misuse of free will.

Worshipping cows

Cow Protection, Krishna,

Q. Why do you worship cows?

A. Because all living things are part of God, all life is sacred and worthy of respect. The Supreme Lord is most worthy of honor and respect, and the Vedas teach that whatever or whoever is dear to God is also sacred–fit to be worshiped in relation to God.

Krishna is known as Govinda, ‘the Lord of the cows’. The cow is sacred and fit to be honored or worshiped because she is dear to God. Worship or honor given to the cow is pleasing to God. If human beings can have favorite animals, why not God? Since the cows are dear to Krishna, they are also dear to his devotees.

The cow is also dear because of her gentle nature and her important service to humanity. Cows provide us with milk, “the miracle food,” which the Vedas consider an ideal food for health. It helps develop the brain for understanding religious and philosophical topics. Since the cow supplies us milk, she is considered another mother. We don’t think highly of a society that practically worships pets but sends cows to be slaughtered.