Evening Darзana July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.

Devotee (3): They'll ask what should be killed and what shouldn't be killed for eating? Where do we draw the line?

Prabhupдda: No, you, we are speaking go-rakсya. That is not point of view of killing. There are other animals. We do not say that you stop. If you want to eat some meat, at least don't kill cow. You can kill other insignificant animals which has no importance. Cow has got special importance because it supplies milk, and milk is very essential food that is...

From the childhood, a child lives on milk,

and there are many saintly persons, they also live by drinking milk.

Milk is very important item in the human society, and it supplies all vitamins. Even if you say that "Meat-eating is essential for me," you can eat other animals, but don't kill cows. That is our proposal. Give protection to the cows. Kеслa mentioned specifically, go-rakсya. He does not say that you don't kill, but you give protection to the cows. And if you want to eat meat, you can kill other animals. On the whole, paзu-hiаsд, any animal killing, is not good for spiritual life. And so far vegetable is concerned, everyone has to eat something. So if you can eat vegetables, that does not mean because somebody is killing vegetables, he should kill his own father and mother on that plea. So cow is mother because we are drinking her milk. So you cannot put any argument in favor of killing mother. If you... Anyone who supplies milk from the body, she is mother. According to Vedic civilization, cow is one of the seven mothers. There are seven mothers: the real mother, дtma-mдtд guroщ patnй, the wife of spiritual master; then queen, rдja-patnikд. Дtma-mдtд guroщ patnй brдhmaлй, the wife of a brдhmaлa. In this way, especially, seven mothers, dhenu, dhenu means cow, and dhдtrй, nurse, she is also mother. So from that point of view, cow is mother, and you cannot kill on any ground the mother. That is not good reasoning. You are taking the last drop of milk. In South Africa you said?

Puсцa Kеслa: Yes. They have one slaughterhouse and just beside, I have seen, just beside there is dairy. So at night they bring the cows in to the dairy, milk them to the last drop, and then to the slaughterhouse and all night screaming. I heard because the Indian neighborhood was about five hundred yards from the slaughterhouse. Then in the morning you'd drive by and the carcasses are hanging up.

Prabhupдda: So you are drawing the last drop of milk from the cow and sending her to the slaughterhouse. Is that very good civilization?

Dr. Sharma: Swamiji, the beef industry here is based more on... The argument of mother would be a little weak.

Prabhupдda: Hm?

Dr. Sharma: The beef industry here is more based on steers, which are not, which are basically bulls given high estrogens and bred in that way.

Prabhupдda: Whatever it may be, we are layman, and

we follow Kеслa's instruction that cow, milk is very important,

we drink the cow's milk, therefore she is mother.

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