Offerings from Mother Earth

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.19.8) Srila Prabhupada notes, "Although the earth's ground is the same, different tastes arise due to different kinds of seeds." What a miracle it is that although two plants grow next to each other in the same dirt, one produces sweet melons, the other hot peppers! Although they use the same resources from Mother Earth, it is as if they give different interpretations of those resources—like two artists with a box of oils, one painting a stately portrait, the other a rich landscape.Different living entities have different ways of serving Krishna. The portrait artist might paint a picture of the spiritual master; the landscape artist a landscape of Vrindavana, Krishna's home. Both artists can gain spiritual advancement, because Krishna reciprocates with everyone's service. Similarly, when the fruits of both the melon and the pepper plant are offered to Krishna in tasty preparations, He blesses the living entities in those plant bodies with spiritual advancement in their next life.But, whereas artists can arrange for their paintings to be used in Krishna's service, plants cannot make an offering to Krishna. They need humans to harvest their produce and offer it to Krishna. Only then can plants gain spiritual advantage.Not only do the plants benefit, but as the Bhagavatam indicates, even Mother Earth feels spiritual satisfaction when the fruits, grains, and vegetables she produces are offered to the Lord. The reverse is also true. The Fourth Canto of the Bhagavatam gives the example that under evil King Vena none of Mother Earth's products were offered to Krishna and she became so offended that she stopped producing food.This is like a mother who gives her child money or flowers to offer in a temple or church. When the child takes these things and offers them, both the child and the mother feel spiritual satisfaction. But if the mother finds that the child is ruining the flowers or spending the money on candy, she stops giving the child things to offer. Then neither mother nor child is happy.Srila Prabhupada once said that every plant has a use. So weeds can serve Krishna, too. Even pesky stinging nettles can be used as a coagulant to replace animal rennet in cheese-making. Devotees fortunate enough to live in the countryside don't have to import foods from abroad to make an enjoyable offering for Krishna. The finest foods to offer are the ones grown with love and devotion right in our own gardens. As Prabhupada told devotees in France, "Anything grown in the garden is a hundred times more valuable than if it is purchased from the market."Mother Earth wants to help her children, but if they're uninterested in serving Krishna she becomes discouraged. Srila Prabhupada writes, "Just as a cow cannot deliver sufficient milk without being affectionate to her calf, the earth cannot produce sufficient necessities without feeling affection for those who are Krishna conscious." In the ideal Krishna conscious village, the process is perfect. Devotees express their love for Krishna by singing and dancing in kirtana, and that stimulates the affection of Mother Earth, who produces crops and pastures abundantly. Cows and oxen graze on the lush pastures, and in turn produce milk and grains. Plants in the gardens and fields become healthy and productive.Devotees then collect all the foodstuffs and prepare tasty offerings for the Deities. In this way the offerings of Mother Earth are used perfectly, and all the living entities—Mother Earth, the plants, the devotees, the cows and oxen, and even the neighbors who receive the food after it's offered to Krishna—get spiritual happiness

The Mature Fruit of The Vedas-1

The author of the Vedic literature urges us to taste the best fruit from the Vedic tree of knowledge.

A lecture given in London, August 19, 1971
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literature. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Goswami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.—Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.3
Srimad Bhagavatam is the ripe fruit of Vedic literature. The Vedic literature is compared to a desire tree—kalpa taru. Kalpa means "desire," and taru means "tree." We have no experience of a kalpa taru in the material world; the kalpa taru is in the spiritual world. Here in the material world, from a mango tree you can get a mango only, not any other fruit. But from the kalpa taru you can get any kind of fruit. And the kalpa taru is found on Krishna's planet.

The Brahma-samhita tells us that Krishna's planet is made of touchstone. If you touch iron with a touchstone, the iron becomes gold. In the spiritual world there are also houses, trees, cows—and Krishna is there with His associates. These are all described in the Brahma-samhita.

Do not think that we have imagined something artistic and created a Krishna. No. Krishna and His planet are completely supported by Vedic literature, especially the Brahma-samhita. The Brahma-samhita clearly describes Krishna's original place. The world we live in now is also Krishna's place, but because we have forgotten Krishna we accept this place as material.

Just as a king possesses all the places of his country, Krishna possesses all worlds, material and spiritual. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita,

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati

If one wants peace and happiness, then one must know these three things about Krishna: that Krishna is the enjoyer of everything, the owner of everything, and the friend of everyone.

You can perform yajna, sacrifices, you can perform austerities and penances, but the result you earn by these should be enjoyed by Krishna. That is Krishna consciousness. Everyone is thinking, "I must enjoy. Why others?" That is the materialistic way of thinking. But in the Krishna consciousness movement we are trying to change that consciousness. The Krishna consciousness movement teaches that you may earn as much as you like but the enjoyer should be Krishna, not you. That way of thinking is Krishna consciousness.

The ultimate aim of the karmis, people who work hard day and night, is to satisfy their senses. That's why they work so hard. The Bhagavatam therefore says, nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye: "We should not work so hard simply for sense gratification, which is available even to the hogs and dogs." Krishna consciousness means to work for Krishna, not for sense gratification, because the real proprietor is Krishna. To think "I am the proprietor, I am the enjoyer" is illusion.

In the cintamani-dhama, Krishna's abode, everything is there, and there everyone acts for Krishna's pleasure. Here everyone tries to enjoy for himself, so there is competition—man to man, family to family, society to society, nation to nation. But that competition will stop as soon as there is Krishna consciousness, as soon as we think,"We are not the proprietor; Krishna is the proprietor." To think in that way is the basis of peace.

We must also understand that Krishna is everyone's friend. He is situated in everyone's heart as friend. That is stated in the Upanishads. There the body is compared to a tree, and the soul and the Supersoul, or Krishna, are compared to birds in the tree. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other, the friend, is simply witnessing.

The Supersoul is our supreme friend. He's always trying to get us back home, back to Godhead. Not only does He sit within our hearts, but He descends as Krishna. He comes and canvasses. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: "Why are you engaged in so many so-called occupations? Simply surrender unto Me."

But we are so engulfed in matter that we cannot take Krishna's advice. Therefore Krishna comes again, as a devotee—Lord Chaitanya. Lord Krishna said, "Surrender unto Me."

COW PROTECTION

Mother who feeds you milk your whole life For the Indian villager with his agrarian life, the conservation of natural resources is an integral part of daily existence. He is expert in using nature's gifts to manufacture all his requirements, from his mud hut to his
homespun clothes. And protecting cows has always been the most important feature of the village conservation program; every homestead has at least one cow.
The cow and bull are indispensable in rural India, where about eighty percent of the population lives. The cow, eating only grass, happily supplies milk, which provides virtually all of the nutrients our bodies need. From milk we get cheese, curd, butter, ghee, whey, cream, yogurt, and an endless variety of milk-based preparations well known to experts in traditional Indian cookery. Because the cow supplies milk, she is accepted in the Vedas as our mother.
In India it is well known that cow dung has antiseptic properties, and in any Indian village
one will see cow-dung patties drying in the sun to provide an excellent fuel for cooking fires. The urine of the cow is prescribed as a medicine for the liver by the Ayurveda, the Vedic scripture on the science of healing.
The bull is also an invaluable asset to the small farmer. The strong bull enjoys working all day pulling a plow through the fields. The use of the bull may be slower than machinery, but it does not compact the soil and reduce its productivity as does heavy modern machinery. There are other problems with machinery in India, such as its inability to cope with seasonal changes and monsoons. (What to speak of the problems of finding spare parts or a mechanic). Because the bull provides for food, he is considered our father.

In Vedic society it was recognized that a symbiotic relationship exists between man and cow. The cow produces far more milk that her calf requires. If the calf is allowed unrestricted access to the udder, mastitis will develop, which could lead to the cow's death. When the cow is done calving, she will
peacefully continue to produce milk. Of course, if she's not milked, she will feel pain.
People object now about the exploitation of cows in dairies that are more like factories. The calves are taken from their mothers at birth, and cows are slaughtered when past milking age. This is not the Vedic system, which demands that the cow be as well looked after as most people today look after their dogs. But are there any practical examples of the Vedic system in operation, where the cow is not grossly exploited and made to suffer in exchange for her milk and flesh?
Of course, rural India is one good place to look. Another example is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), among whose principles is cow protection. Indeed, in the Bhagavad-gita cow protection is given the status of a religious principle. All ISKCON farms are dedicated to this important principle, and the results can be seen. The cows are happy and peaceful and produce abundant, creamy milk. On ISKCON farms (there are fifty worldwide), the cows and bulls capture many prizes at local shows.
One of the main purposes of ISKCON is to establish self-sufficient farming communities. The farming techniques employed are traditional and organic and as far as possible avoid the use of modern machinery. Men and animals work harmoniously together to glean just enough for
survival, forgoing machines designed to produce more for profit making. The Vedic tenet of ahimsa or nonviolence toward all living entities, is carefully observed. Thus, of course, animal slaughter of any kind is avoided, and even a plant's life is taken only to provide subsistence. If items cannot be indigenously produced and need to be bought, excess milk can be sold to provide the necessary money. Otherwise, the milk is converted into long-lasting ghee for future use or barter. The cow is therefore the basis of the Vedic economy and is accorded the highest possible regard.
Srila Prabhupada was appalled by the slaughter of thousands of cows every day in the West. To him it just did not make sense. Such a useful creature is being killed for her flesh. It is like taking an expensive car and demolishing it for its scrap value. We value our machines, but can any machine produce milk from a little grass?
The ISKCON farm in Srirangapattana, Mandya district, Karnataka, is centered around the principle of the Vedic economic system, of simple living and high thinking. A respect for all living entities as a part of God forms the basis of a life very much in harmony with nature. And for the cow, there will always be a special regard, thanks to her beautiful nature.