Prabhupada: Then how utilize the bulls?
Nityananda: To plow?
Prabhupada: Plow, transport. You have to engage more men for plowing. Two bulls will be required for each plow.
Prabhupada: …natural arrangement. Jungles — you cut the tree, make your home, and balance you make fuel. And the ground, plow and grow your food. That’s all, natural.
Devotee (4): Srila Prabhupada? A materialist or someone who wouldn’t know, he may say that when the bull is not plowing, all he is doing is eating. You have to pay money to feed him grain or to grow grain to feed the bull.
Prabhupada: They will grow, and they will eat. Rather, they will help you for your eating. The father also eats, but he maintains the family. Therefore the bull is considered as father and the cow as mother. Mother gives milk, and the bull grows food grains for man. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu first challenged that Kazi that “What is your religion, that you eat your father and mother?” Both the bulls and the cows are important because the bull will produce food grain and the cow will give supply milk. They should be utilized properly. That is human intelligence.
Prabhupada: And everything for the cows, but what for the man? They will give everything for cows because they will eat cows, other farmers. But you utilize the animals for growing your food.
Brahmananda: The idea is we should maintain the animals, but then the animals should provide foodstuffs for the men.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Nityananda: To plow?
Prabhupada: Plow, transport. You have to engage more men for plowing. Two bulls will be required for each plow.
Prabhupada: …natural arrangement. Jungles — you cut the tree, make your home, and balance you make fuel. And the ground, plow and grow your food. That’s all, natural.
Devotee (4): Srila Prabhupada? A materialist or someone who wouldn’t know, he may say that when the bull is not plowing, all he is doing is eating. You have to pay money to feed him grain or to grow grain to feed the bull.
Prabhupada: They will grow, and they will eat. Rather, they will help you for your eating. The father also eats, but he maintains the family. Therefore the bull is considered as father and the cow as mother. Mother gives milk, and the bull grows food grains for man. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu first challenged that Kazi that “What is your religion, that you eat your father and mother?” Both the bulls and the cows are important because the bull will produce food grain and the cow will give supply milk. They should be utilized properly. That is human intelligence.
Prabhupada: And everything for the cows, but what for the man? They will give everything for cows because they will eat cows, other farmers. But you utilize the animals for growing your food.
Brahmananda: The idea is we should maintain the animals, but then the animals should provide foodstuffs for the men.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Reference: August 1, 1975, New Orleans. Walk around farm.
Everyone can understand that we drink the milk of cows and take the help of bulls in producing agricultural products. Therefore, since our real father gives us food grains and our mother gives us milk with which to live, the cow and bull are considered our father and mother. According to Vedic civilization, there are seven mothers, of which the cow is one. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu challenged the Muslim Kazi, “What kind of religious principle do you follow by killing your father and mother to eat them?” In any civilized human society, no one would dare kill his father and mother for the purpose of eating them. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu challenged the system of Muslim religion as patricide and matricide. In the Christian religion also, a principal commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.” Nevertheless, Christians violate this rule; they are very expert in killing and in opening slaughterhouses. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, our first provision is that no one should be allowed to eat any kind of flesh. It does not matter whether it is cows’ flesh or goats’ flesh, but we especially stress the prohibition against cows’ flesh because according tośāstra the cow is our mother. Thus the Muslims’ cow-killing was challenged by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Reference: Bhagavad-gita 13.35 – Geneva, June 6, 1974
So one who is fixed up in this conclusion, that “We shall become happy with this materialistic way of life,” they cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And they do not know also that our ultimate goal of life is Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu. Then why it is so? Now,andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te ‘pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ [SB 7.5.31]. They have become blind. They are blind themselves, and they are also led by blind leaders. The leaders, at the present moment, leaders, they say that “Why you are going to church? Why you are going to temple? If you want your bread…” Just like in Christian religion you go to church, “O God, give us our daily bread.” But the atheist class, they are propagating, “For bread, why you are going to church? You make industry, you make business, and you get bread.” But actually… We were just talking that there are so many unemployment. Our Karandhara prabhu was… No. Who was talking? Śyāmasundara. Śyāmasundara said that the computer… What is called, computer? It can do thousands of men’s business. So they have discovered this machine. That means thousands of men will be unemployed. That is actually happening in your country due to so many machines. Now, take for example, formerly… You have seen the picture, Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana picture, Kṛṣṇa’s father transferring Kṛṣṇa. They were going on bullock carts, no motorcar. You have seen the picture. So formerly, transport was bullock carts. The cows and the bulls, the bulls were employed for agricultural purpose, for drawing the carts. So there was no necessity of motorcar. Now you have got motor, motor-tractor. You don’t want the bullocks. Therefore kill them. How you can utilize them? Therefore you must have slaughterhouse to kill them. And as soon as you kill them, then you have to eat them. So this is the, I mean to say, entanglement. If you kill, then you become responsible for being killed. The subtle laws…
Reference: Nrsimha-caturdasi Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance Day – Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.22-34 – Los Angeles, May 27, 1972