SO! A friend just shared a video on facebook and it inspired the following write up.
I didn't have an answer before but if I were asked about my favorite animal species now, it's got to be cows. Lots of connections have formed past few months with 'em.
There's an interesting thing my mom said about them where they gobble up as much food as they can and then sit and chew and digest it in peace in their own pace. I can totally relate to it with the way I have found myself to be working especially reading.
There is of course the Krishna connection too which in fact drew my attention to them even more especially thanks to those lovely paintings by artist Shubhangi Samant where she'd painted the cows, especially their BIG eyes. with so much love.
I also had this amazing cow moment just when I was returning from my last trip to Kutch. This golden brown cow just came over at my uncle's gate, right when I was leaving for the station and I had an opportunity to pet it, the leetle hump on the back and especially the underside of the neck- the ripples of skin hanging loose- an urge I'd had for quite some time and got renewed the moment I saw cows again roaming the streets of Kutch and this particular one seemed Universe-sent! (Thank you I-didn't-get-a-chance-to-get-to-know-you-properly kindly cow!)
It reminds me of another cow-story from my visit to Kutch. I'd gone with my cousin once to get milk in the morning. I was curious to see how they milk the cow and luckily we had gotten there early (yay!) The calf was having her share and while we waited, the uncle started saying a few interesting things; of which what touched me the most was when in a matter-of-fact manner he said that we are actually stealing the kid's share and that the mother does not give milk to them until she has satisfied her own calf's thirst first. Only then does uncle proceed to milk her so he can have some for him and sell the rest to other families (one being ours). What is even more heartening is that this is a Muslim family and in a place where by default there is an apparent sensitivity around religion matters, LIFE goes on unabatedly! so proud of 'em all! Salute.
I love the considerate manner in which business is carried out as part of life~ Before we took our leave, I went up to the cutesy calf to say hello and she proceeded to lick my arms and surprisingly (for zeself) the milky remnants that she left as a result of that lovely gesture did not matter to me at all! In my mind I noted to myself- This could be easily washed off while the memory of that momentary loving connection will continue to endure~
I am also reminded here of a visual that was created in my mind, way before; where in a book about time, the author had described this scene of roads in India wherein the cows literally stop traffic with their slow-paced chillout munching moments oftentimes right in the middle of the road XD As if saying- "Chillax humans! What's the hurry?"
There is this story I'd read too of a student that had just finished his studies and thought that he knew everything and was ready to teach the world (I sure find myself in that boat now and again too ahem so I am pretty cautious of my own tendencies too. Beat it outta me!) His guru detected his pride and asked him to spend some time with nobody else but cows until he felt some kind of a change in him. The scholar went ahead and spent as much time with them as he could and finally he returned years later and met his Guru again. The Guru asked him- What up dude?! Is there anything you gotta say?! *chuckles* The scholar said No. I'm at peace. The cows were peacefully grazing the lands and munching their food while I kept talking to them about all things of the world. Silent listeners. I feel empty now. And the Guru said: It is now that you are ready for the world~
And then I am reminded of the Slaughter house where I saw cows being herded mercilessly and disrespectfully to go under the knife to make packaged food for the world. Thankfully I didn't see the butchering in action but saw those BIG knives and the belts set in place for "efficient" managing of butchering. Though I did end up seeing a video that hit some part deep inside me with a question- Why make everyone go to so much trouble?
The cows come mostly from farmers who do not have the resources to take care of their own selves and have to part with them to earn an extra buck to feed their wives and kids. Many cows die on their way to the slaughter house itself, what with the jam-packed conditions that they are carried along in, on bumpy roads. Then there are those that die in the slaughter house out of exhaustion of the journey and little care is taken to give them any kind of space or respect for their being.
Well, I know beef is a thing, it's a part of diet for many and if you think you cannot survive without it, I would ask you if you had the guts to butcher the cow yourself and prepare your meal? If you do have the guts for that, I salute to you~ Because at least then there is some dignity of understanding between you and that cow before it becomes food on your plate. I wonder how many butchers talk to the animals they butcher. Well at least then there is space for thankfulness for its sacrifice.
As for milk, I want to reach that stage where I myself have the guts to milk a cow Or I hope to reach a stage where I don't depend on milk in my diet anymore. Because turns out that ALL the milk especially packaged ones come from these factories of cows where they are sucked of their motherhood until they can't give milk anymore. Not to say that it's all bad news. I'm sure there are ways to go about it much more humanely. The trouble really begins when we start mass producing getting into a hurry to meet the demand flux and begin treating living beings like machines. Imagine all that traumatic energy that the food carries from its memory of where it comes from? No wonder then- the rising rates of mental illnesses because it seems that that memory gets imprinted on the intaker's memory and you start wondering perhaps where all the 'trauma' you feel comes from? This is just an idea which may have been worked on but comes in relation to this documentary about water. (Source courtesy: Jeeves Williams)
As for what YOU can do NOW: It's a soOper awesome thing to be thankful before every meal. I never understood myself why religions had these prayers etc. but I am experimenting my own ways of saying thanks and I see that it actually helps you be in the moment, to relish every bite you take when you realise all the work that the food has gone through to reach our plate to feed our hungry tummies. Sooooooo many people to thank! Especially mom and dad until I can stand on my own teenie-weenie feet. It surely makes 'eating' a joyful ritual of the day. I'm still working on it because I do lose my attention when I am occupied with other thoughts but I'm on my way~
Holy cow! After all that has been said and done,
I am reminded of HOBBITS O.O?
Update:
23-01-2015: The Plastic Cow
I have an opportunity to work on this project and I hope to make the most of it~
