Why exactly are cows sacred in the Hindu religion?

Question

ive always wondered the real reason i dont eat beef

Answer 1

It is prohibited by God to worship animals and other man made God.
jtm

Answer 2

The Hindu religion counts all living things as sacred and holds cows and bulls particularly sacrosanct. The belief in the sanctity of the life of the cow comes from the Hindu ascription to Sanatana Dharma, the harmless consciousness of God and the worship of God in his universality. Every living thing is an embodiment of the divinity according to Hindu belief and the cow has been particularly linked with the gods of the religion. The Hindu god Krishna is often depicted with a cow and is said to have loved the animal. Shiva, another Hindu god, had a bull called Nandi which he is said to have travelled on.

The cow is identified as the mother, the provider of milk and butter, and even fuel in India where the dung is burnt to provide heat. The bull is the father figure providing protection. To harm these animals in any way is to violate the religion, and in India the slaughter of cows often turns into a highly political issue.

Answer 3

In Hinduism, the cow is considered sacred and its protection is a recurrent theme in which she is symbolic of abundance, of the sanctity of all life and of the earth that gives much while asking nothing in return. Most Hindus respect the cow as a matriarchal figure for her gentle qualities and providing nurturing milk and its products for a largely vegetarian diet. Hindus do not worship the cow, yet it holds an honoured place in society, and most Hindus do not eat beef.

Answer 4

Cows are not sacred they are just respect full animals to the Hindus. Hindus have respect and a kind of likeness towards lots of animals, you can't call that sacred. Please don't judge other religions if you don't know anything about them. Hinduisms is a great religion and very complex religion, it is also the oldest religion in the planet.

Answer 5

Because the cow is to be considered like the mother she is so kind that she provides so much, like milk, everything derived from milk etc. Even her cow dung is used as a source of fuel for fire, it is also used in the construction of huts + it is when placed on the ground in the hut in , is very cool in the summer and warm in the winter to lay on and not even a fly will land on this dry placed dung. Her urine is even scientifically proven as disinfectant. That is why she is revered in eastern culture because she is so revered for all the service she provides as a Mother to the Family.

Also she the cow is also very dear to Lord Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead (God). To read more Visit:-
http://www.krsnabook.com/

Answer 6

Because Hindus believe we begin life on a low life-form level, from either a rock or an animal, and by the decisions we make we progress to be humans and then from there we work on progressing to reach Mooksha where the cycle ends..... I don't know how a rock makes decisions to progress but I didn't make up the rules so, there it is. Oh, and they are vegetarians because they think all life is sacred, even worms and stuff.

Answer 7

Traditionally, sacrifices to the gods and goddesses involved the use of 'ghee' or clarified butter. Butter is a product from cows. Indirectly, of course, but still we could not make butter without the cow. Therefore, since ghee is vital to the sacrifrice, the cow is vital to the sacrifice. Since no sacrifice can be performed without cows, it is 'prohibited' to harm them and they are considered sacred. In fact, they came to represent the act of sacrifice, itself.

It is written as such in the Mahabharata.....

"Bhishma said:

No sacrifice can be performed without the aid of curds and ghee (clarified butter). The very character of sacrifice which sacrifices have, depends upon ghee. Hence ghee (or, the cow from which it is produced) is regarded as the very root of sacrifice."

Namaste

Answer 8

cows and buffaloes are sacred because evey house in villages have them for milk. They are said to feed the family. Hindus used to treat them as one among the family members. So, they are respected.

Some people think re-incarnation is the reason. But we eat chicken and goat. Hindus are not commanded by books but by consciousness. What is in books may not be in hindu tradition, what is in their tradition may said to be wrong in books.
Idol worshipping in not appreciated in olden days, but it became popular later on. HIndus establish the truth and change it if they want. The whole point is to know god.

Answer 9

Cow had been the main resource for livelihood in ancient times. Cow provided nutrition through Milk and Milk Products like Butter and Ghee. Besides that bullocks were used for farming. Sanatan Dharma, now popularly known as Hinduism, has always respected every living creature in this Universe considering it a creation of the God as man himself. Moreover, in Hindu culture Mother is considered the most respectable person. Because she nurtures her child in her womb, takes pains to bring the child to the world and feeds him with her milk. The first food a child, anywhere in the world, lives on is mother's milk. So the milk has the value of nectar. And as the child grows up, he is nourished by the milk of cow. So to express the gratitude towards cow, she is titled as mother. In Indian culture, even rivers are called Mother as they provide the most essential water for the servival of all living creatures. So it is the culture of the land of Indian sub continent to express gratitude to those who provide resources for life. There are even myths connected with this belief but I choose to put this logical aspect as an answer.


I saw some ignorant members grumling non sense over the word mother and passing comments to suit to their brought up and cultural back ground in the answers to this question. I pity them. Cannibals can always justify their food, we cannot bring knowledge to them as God wanted them to remain ignorant.

Answer 10

because hindus worship a cow god/goddess that you don't want to anger lest you come back as a cow and become a Macdonalds happy meal!

Answer 11

They supply us with MILK which is the key ingredient to cereal.

Just kidding, not sure.