In Vedic tradition each animal is considered to be sacred. Customs of paying tribute to animals began and were perpetuated through timeless eons. Shamanic cultures observed and learned about themselves and the earth's rhythms through their humble and reverent relationship with animals. They celebrated and honoured the animals, mimicking their movements and appearances which clarified their quest for spiritual unity with the earth. Milk and meat of animals was used with regard for the natural world and with observance for the Creator, Great Spirit, Earth Mother, or Brahma. Today we live in a civilisation which blatantly abuses the other inhabitants and resources of the planet. We have arrived at a time when the consequences of our collective consciousness are becoming more evident.
In the last two decades many compassionate and humane voices have risen in an attempt to eliminate the cruel brutalities to which cows are subjected to in the dairy and beef industries. These are crimes that affect the natural rhythm of life, for the land and every living being on this planet. Every symptom a cow suffers in it's captivity is directly mirrored in the present condition of the human species. The mental agony and physical torture of the cow is inherited by all those who drink the polluted milk and eat the desecrated meat.
In the business of dairy and beef farming, the cattle are rarely provided with shelter, they are left out to wallow in freezing conditions in mud and excrement, while others are held in permanent darkness without mobility or space This increases body fat by inhibiting energy output produced from normal exercise, producing a “fatter” cow for the butcher's block. They live their lives in pain and torment and die in fully conscious, screaming terror when it comes time for the slaughter. Beef cows are pumped with over two thousand known chemicals, antibiotics and hormones. The diet of milk cows consist highly of moldy, roughage-less feed containing pesticides, nitrite fertilizers and herbicides. A baby cow destined to end up as veal is torn from it's mother within a week of being born (just enough time to bond). It is placed in a dark stall where it cannot lie down or turn around. It wails for it's mother while it is force fed iron deficient gruel, it cannot turn around to prevent it from licking it's urine, which it would do instinctively to supplement it's iron needs. If it survives it's confinement of sixteen weeks of living hell, it is then slaughtered.
A couple of years ago I lived in a 200 year old farmhouse that backed onto 150 acres of pasture land for a small head of 40 Brahman cattle in northern New South Wales, Australia. I know from experience the deep sorrow felt by a mother cow who has had her baby taken from her. She wails constantly, it is a panicked, fearful wail that lasts for well over 24 hours. She continues to call for her baby for over a week. Her cries of misery not only affect the other cows, but induce pangs of grief and sorrow in anyone who possesses a heart within earshot.
Subjecting these sacred lives to pain and fear does not bode well for humanity. The degree of each animals suffering is paralleled by the agony of our own pain and that of our Earth Mother. We cannot wait for scientific research to unfold the facts one at a time that commercial milk and beef consumption is contributing to a miasma of diseases and dysfunctions including, allergies, infertility, poor absorption of nutrients, liver abscesses, cancer, hives, fever, ulcerations,digestive disorders, heart disease, hyperactivity, bloating, constipation, respiratory ailments, obesity and asthma. We need to look at the beef and dairy industry, at it's profiteering system of exploitation to realise that the cruel victimization of animals is not the only concern we should be having. The natural balance of the land, our health, our communities are all deeply afflicted as a result of this insidious crime against the natural world.
It is time for every human on the planet to raise his or her consciousness. To sit quietly within ourselves and and observe that which goes against the grain of nature is seeping into our bodies and psyches and preventing us from reaching our potential. It is time to acknowledge that we can no longer continue to drink from this well or repast from this meat. Cows milk is the milk of the eternal mother, their flesh is our flesh. For us to continue as love embodied in a life form we need to remember that if we allow the abuse, we are also guilty. Unless we organically farm for milk and observe the natural order of killing animals for their meat as practiced by the native peoples we will not be able to continue our present occupation on this planet as a species seeking enlightenment.
It is all too easy to dismiss information because of it's disrupting effect to our comfortable way of life or to deny the truth on the grounds that we cannot see it with our own eyes.
Blessings on your road to self-realisation,
Elfeya
I wish to acknowledge Maya Tiwari and her book A life of Balance for the inspiration behind this blog
