The brahminical culture and the cows . . . why they have selected the cows? There are so many animals. Why cow protection is so important in Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Why Kṛṣṇa personally Himself became a cowherd boy and was taking the care of the cows and the calves? Oh, that is very essential.
And here also, we see that the Dharmarāja is inquiring about the comforts of the cow. Amba, kaccid bhadre, what is . . . anāmayam ātmanas te. Āmayam means disease. So "Whether you are quite comfortable by your health?" This is very essential to keep cows very comfortably. If they feel comfortable, then you get the most nourishing food—milk. We are practically seeing in our New Vrindaban center, because the cow are feeling secure in our custody, they're delivering milk up to the eighty pounds daily. You'll be surprised. So if you get milk products, milk, then you can prepare so many preparation full of vitamins, which will nourish your brain. Dull brain cannot understand what is spiritual knowledge. Therefore, that Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote a book, perhaps you know it, You Are What You Eat. If you keep your brain dull, then how you can understand? Because without becoming very intelligent man, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, kṛṣṇa yei bhaje sei baḍa catura: "One who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously and perfectly, he must be very, very intelligent." Dull brain cannot accept it. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). So we have to make our brain very clean. And for that purpose you require to drink not very much—at least one pound or half-pound milk daily. That is essential. But no meat-eating. This is intelligence. The milk is also conversion of the blood, everyone knows. Just like we drink the milk of our mother. The color of the milk is white, but everyone knows that milk is produced from the red blood, red corpuscle. So this is the process, that people are very much anxious to drink the blood of cows from the slaughterhouse. They sometimes drink fresh blood, is it not?
Bali-mardana: Yes.
Prabhupāda: That is not very good intelligence. You drink the blood of the cow by natural process, which turns into white milk. You'll get better brain, better strength. Therefore cow protection is very essential in Vedic civilization. Therefore we offer respect Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa is the benefactor of cows and the brāhmaṇas." Namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. Go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. Kṛṣṇa is well-wisher first, go, cows. You'll find Kṛṣṇa always with cows. Here is Kṛṣṇa's picture, you see how He's loving the cow and the calf. He's personally teaching from His childhood, from His boyhood. So we should follow. If we want to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, we must give . . . the calf is also seeing to the face of Kṛṣṇa for protection, and Kṛṣṇa is giving protection, "Yes, I'll give you protection."
So this is the position. And here is also dharma. Religious life must begin very clean. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- (BG 7.28)
Sinful life will not help . . . (break) . . . that is practical, everyone knows. And we see so many varieties of people, men, in the society, and what is the difference of variety? One has got good brain, another has got dull brain. That is dis . . . that is the variety. So if you want good brain . . . good brain means how to get relief from all the troubles of material existence. That is good brain. And bad brain means to become implicated more and more. They do not know . . . because they have got bad brain, they do not know how spirit soul is transmigrating from one body to another, how he is becoming entangled. Today I have got very nice body, American body, but what is the guarantee next life? But they do not believe in the next life because they have no good brain. So in order to understand things as they are, you require good brain, and for good brain, you require milk preparation. In this way, as they're suggested a routine in the śāstra also, and guided by sādhu-guru-śāstra, if we accept, then we shall become very happy in this life and next life also. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Thank you very much.
Sudāmā: Questions, Prabhupāda? (break)
Devotee: I actually have four questions, but one is sufficient to ask is that are Siddha-svarūpānanda Gosvāmī and Tuṣṭa-kṛṣṇa Mahārāja and their followers more advanced in their understanding of Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master than the other devotees in ISKCON? And secondly, are they . . . have they advanced beyond following the rules and regulations of ISKCON?
Prabhupāda: That is up to you to judge—by the result. If they are actually advanced, why they should leave this company of ISKCON? Therefore—I know they're very good souls; they might have done some mistake out of misunderstanding—but you invite them to come back again and take their position. It is not very good sign that they have left. They'll never be happy. That's a fact.