Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 10.5.26
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHuman Happiness Requires Care for Cows
“My dear friend Nanda Mahārāja, in the place where you are living with your friends, is the forest favorable for the animals, the cows? I hope there is no disease or inconvenience. The place must be full of water, grass and other plants.”
What the purport teaches
- For human happiness, one must care for animals, especially cows. Vasudeva therefore asked whether the animals had proper arrangements where Nanda Mahārāja lived.
- Cow protection requires adequate pasturing grounds, grass and water, without disease or inconvenience. Happy animals provide milk from which people derive many nourishing products.
- Raising cattle for slaughter is a great sin that ruins the opportunity for a truly human life. Human society cannot become truly happy while neglecting Kṛṣṇa’s instructions.
Try this today
Find one cow-protection effort today and check how it provides grass, water and care for its cows.
Ask yourself
Do my daily choices give importance to the protection and well-being of cows?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.