Report on the 1st National Conference on Farms and Cows

The first National Conference on farms and cows was held from 22-24 September 2015 in the idyllic locations of Nliachal Dham. The conference started with a delay of 3 hours as the bus transporting the devotees from the ISKCON Juhu temple had a miraculous escape after it had a tire burst and before coming to halt the diesel tank also burst; providentially it did not catch fire – possibly a reminder to live a more localized lifestyle to reduce such risks—one of the objectives of the farm conference.

The conference commenced at 1500 hrs with HG Rama Lakshman prabhu welcoming  the delegates. After briefly giving details of the conference he thanked HG Damodar Dulal prabhu for making excellent arrangements at the Nilachal Dham, the venue of the conference. The august presence of HH Sukadeva Swami from ISKCON Nellore as a delegate was the highlight of the conference.  HG Kalakantha prabhu, Global Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture, and HG Sanat Kumar from Govardhan Eco Village were the other dignitaries at the conference. Additionally there were 20 other delegates representing various farms. All the delegates to the conference introduced themselves thereafter. The conference started with kirtan and as per plan, the conference was inaugurated with a Go-puja. This was followed by the two minsters’ inaugural addresses.

HG Damdar Dulal prabhu, Minister for Cow Protection-India said the conference is a fulfillment of the need for a national networking of ISKCON farms and the devotees connected with cow care. He cited the example how devotees In Vallabhvidhya Nagar could successfully treat cows for prolapse with medication.  Conferences like this can help in networking and help in sharing the experiences of the devotees from various farms. In due course of time we intend documenting best practices and help avoid duplication of activities.

In his keynote address HG Kalakantha prabhu said that Srila Prabhupada started the first temple in India in Juhu and this farm project started nearly 3 years ago can help in establishing the remaining 50 percent of ISKCON’s mission. He said that at the end of the conference we should come up with approaches in networking the farms involved in agriculture and cow care.  He stressed that the objective of these two ministries is to stimulate this aspect of the mission. He said that India has not been affected by the global disturbances because it has an agrarian base of 60%,

He said that we should pray that this conference produces some good exhibits on cow protection for the 2016 global ILS event.

In his inaugural address HH Bhakti Raghav Swami (read in his absence) said, “I am pleased to know that devotees from different parts of India are attending their first official National Conference on Farms and Cows, an initiative of both the ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry represented by Sriman Rama Laksman prabhu and Sriman Gour Gopal prabhu and the Cow Protection and Agriculture Ministry for India represented by Sriman Damodar Dulal prabhu who serves as National Minister. I had all good intentions to personally attend the conference but circumstances at present do not allow me to be in India.

As you may know, the European devotees, under the inspiration and guidance of Sriman Syamasundara prabhu at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, have been successfully holding their annual Farm Conferences for the last 8 years, rotating venue from one country to another, this year the conference having been conducted a few days ago at the New Mayapur rural community outside of Paris in France.

The recently elected ISKCON Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture, Sriman Kalakantha prabhu, had attended last year’s European conference in Germany and this year attended the one at New Mayapur. I am happy to know that he is also present with you at this first national conference in India. His presence is most important as he not only represents the ISKCON Cow Protection and Agriculture as its recently appointed Minister but he is also Chairman of the global initiative called Sustainable Vaisnava Communities (SVC) that he will speak about during the next few days.

Your conference will mark the first time such an organized attempt is being made on this scale in India and this will certainly inspire other continents and countries to follow in your footsteps. It is my hope that representatives from different rural communities in different continents can occasionally attend such national events to learn and share their experiences. Had the conference in New Mayapur not been so closely scheduled to the one in India, I am sure devotees from India would have attended their conference.

Through the medium of the ISKCON Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture under Sriman Kalakantha prabhu, the India National Ministry for Cow Protection and Agriculture under Sriman Damodar Dulal prabhu, the Sustainable Vaisnava Communities global initiative committee also under Sriman Kalakantha prabhu, as well as IDVM-India, we should all take this opportunity to coordinate our efforts to help push forward our common objectives.

In the context of the OM Sri Surabhi Campaign, I have three small suggestions:

1. You kindly find 15 minutes to view the documentary we have prepared introducing the Surabhi Campaign.

2. Please share your respective contact person for each rural project in India. The Surabhi Campaign aims at promoting each and every community effort (both urban and rural) and this can be done in various ways. One is to highlight each community and make your activities and projects more known to others. This in turn can help foster more interaction and provide opportunities for mutual support. For that purpose we have created a section on our website called FEATURED PROJECTS.

3. The third proposal is that all rural projects share contacts among themselves by forming a WhatsApp group for India. This will give the contact person for each rural project an opportunity to share data and other information that can be useful to members of different projects as well as those involved with the overall promotion of the Surabhi Campaign.

After completion of the addresses by the two ministers, Dr. Pachgaonkar spoke on land and fodder management in relation to mother cow. As he shared his vast experience, delegates were inspired to ask many questions and he patiently answered all the questions. The first day’s session concluded thereafter.

After the inspirational first day’s session all the participants arrived at 6.00am to Goshala to learn few practical tips on milking. HG Damodar Dulal prabhu, who has experience of milking 60 to 70 liters, demonstrated how to milk the cows; HH Sukadeva Swami also tried his hands and after that he commented that “this is his first time in my life that I am milking a cow and was so much exited to milk”. After that all the devotees tried their hands on different cows to get an “hands-on experience”.

OM Sri Surabhyai Namah !

Reported by: Ram Lakshman Das, from Nilachal Dham, India