Equal to God.

The Lord grants liberation to those who surrender to Him. They have realised that He is the upaaya (means) to liberation. In this respect, we have a lot to learn from the cows of Gokula. They had no cares in the world, for they knew Krishna was there to protect them. That absolute trust in Him is essential for moksha, said Velukkudi Krishnan in a discourse.

The cows would make their way to Brindavan to graze there. They knew the route well, and the Gopas and Gopikas just had to follow them. Similarly, all we have to do is to take the path shown by our revered Acharyas. Once breast fed babies are weaned, it is cow’s milk that they are given. Cows are equal to our mothers. That is why the cow is called gomatha. Looking after cows confers merits on us. This does not mean only cows that yield milk. It is easy to look after such cows, because we benefit from them. But even when cows no longer yield milk, we must still continue to care for them. Should we not be grateful for the milk they have given us for many years? Sadly, we think on selfish lines these days, and turn out cows, when they are past the age of fertility. This sorry state of affairs was predicted in the Vishnu Purana. This Purana anticipated what was to come and said that in future, people would look after cows only for their milk, and not because they were sacred. It is because cows are considered sacred, that go daana is significant.

In the Ayodhya Kanda of the Ramayana, we find a story of a poor Brahmin who asked Rama for help. Rama said that all he had to do was to throw the staff he held in his hand. All the cows, which came within its ambit, would be given to him. The man threw his staff, and it fell some distance away, and the result was that thousands of cows became his.