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THE ISCOWP NEWS Volume 7 Issue 1 Vraja and Gita are 6 Years Old!
In this issue, friends from various parts of the world
have contributed reports of their efforts to protect cows and show a simple
lifestyle based on Srila Prabhupada's teachings. By no means, are these reports
representative of all such efforts, but in fact they are only a small sampling
of the efforts of ISCOWP's friends to establish cow protection. In this age of
high technology and complex living surely such efforts are applaudable.
An Offering for Srila Prabhupada Back to Back Issues Page
India In Maharastra, the breed of bulls there are not castrated till 3 or 4 years old,
or taught to work. We have 2 bulls of that type still under 3 years. They do not
grow up till 3 or 4. I have a Jersey bull, already big at one year old, and we
are keeping him for breeding from his mother. He is 60/40 Jersey. So we'll have
a mixed herd certainly, I suppose we should have a local farmer train the oxen
in the traditional way - to plough and pull carts. I spend as much time as
possible with all of them. Do you have any recommendations for bulls? I feel totally unqualified and unprepared to handle them. I don't want to keep him (Gaura) tied. Are nose rings recommended by you?
ISCOWP REPLIES: California, U.S.A
I have been meaning to write to you for quite sometime, to
tell you we did end up getting that Jersey cow. Her name is Krishna Priya. She
had a heifer calf last October. We named her Madana-mohini. We have been milking
her and shall continue to milk her for another 6 months or so. She gives us 2 -
2 ½ gallons a day. Earlier on she gave 3-3 ½.
We treat the cows with natural remedies as far as
possible. I correspond with Labangalatika in India. She is a treasure of
knowledge and experience. If you ever come back to California, please come and
visit. Vermont, U.S.A. Florida, U .S.A. Argentina As you probably know, there aren't many devotees in Argentina and the nearest
Temple is 1200 km from our farm. Anyway some devotees visit us just now and then
and we visit the temple in Buenos Aires twice a year at least. It's very
important to preach about cow protection here because our country is, as a
matter of fact, full of meat-eaters. We knew the devotees in 1985 and that year
we became vegetarians. I was initiated in September 1996. My spiritual master is Bhaktibusana Swami. My
husband is also a devotee and we'd like to attain the six goals you mention in
your Project (in the BTG) if it is possible. We'll be looking forward to your answer. Within one month, Surabhi will have her next calf and if it were a bull, we'd like to train him.
By the way, is there any devotee there who understands
Spanish? My husband doesn't know English but he'd gladly write to you if it were
possible. Yugoslavia We have ended the year of our work, written the second letter to our friends and
donors, made the annual report for fiscal year. There were totally 21 persons on
the list of donors. In the newsletter of one society for healthy diet and
environment our Society GOPALA was presented. In one serious weekly magazine an
article was published about our attempt to protect cows. We were then invited to
be a guest in one radio broadcast. We would like to thank you for allowance to print your leaflets in Serbian
language and for your care and practical suggestions we will need, in order to
avoid mistakes and problems. We thank you also very much for offering us the
possibility that Balabhadra Prabhu comes here to train and help organize a plan
for development when the time comes. We are very grateful to you for that, as we
are aware we cannot do anything alone and independently, since we have neither
qualification nor experience. We are sending you enclosed the first printing of our leaflets which have many
mistakes . We have to prepare them again in the computer for printing in greater
number which is not an easy task since we haven't our computer. Milan run from
one friend to another, so that it could be done correctly, but then somehow or
other new mistakes in typing occurred, we have seen our omissions, etc. We hope
that one day we will become experts in this service, especially when we will be
able to buy computer and do that alone. Now there is no possibility for it,
although every day we can see the in- dispensability to have one, also because
of communications, as you have suggested on the very beginning of our contact.
It became a burden for my husband to send so much letters through his official
fax, so that we shall continue to communicate by letters. We ask you to send us
your answers by fax because it is not a problem for him. Milan, my son, has been appointed by the co. GBC here, Sri Rohini Suta Prabhu, to be the representative of GOPALA in National Council. This is to dispel all doubts someone could have about the status of GOPALA. We have been informed that all present devotees support our project and that they agree that we include the members of the congregation to help in it. Milan is about to receive initiation form H.H. Harikesa Maharaja.
A few days ago we have obtained the donation from our
youngest donor. My little daughter Radhika received from her grandfather and
grandmother some Lakshmi for her 7th birthday. Next day she came spontaneously
to Milan and me and asked us very humbly whether she could also give donation to
GOPALA and gave fifty-dinar note. When we accepted her donation, she was very
happy. She also wanted her name and donation to be recorded in the book of
donations. Thanks to the mercy of Akrura Prabhu, who visits us every month and
is present on our meetings, all members of GOPALA understood that we start to
enter in one more serious phase of our work. We are now in the preparation stage
where we have to define clearly our mission, vision, our relation to ISKCON, our
plans, personal wishes and place in our Society, and the strategy how shall we
present our work in public, raise funds, etc. Also by the mercy of Akrura Prabhu, one aspirant phoned us explaining the
possibility to transport our cow and bulls in one village where his uncle lives,
and where he would train Nandi and Madhu for work on the field. His uncle is an
old man with very much experience with cows and very much love for these nice
animals. We have sent him our letters to our friends in order to inform him
about our work, wishes and plans, and some data and pictures of Syamala, Nandi
and Madhu. We asked him to inform us about his price for their maintenance and
we are eagerly waiting for his answer. We hope that it is not only a nice dream
and pray to Lord Krsna and His beloved Srimate Radhika to help us and make the
best arrangement for Syamala, Nandi and Madhu, so that they could be properly
protected. We would like to wish you, your children and readers all the best in the new calendar year. We would also like to thank you and all your members and readers who have been feeling sympathy towards us and prayed to the Lord for GOPALA, and supported on this way our efforts and gave us more strength to continue with our attempts to protect the lives of Syamala, Nandi and Madhu.
As a gift we would like to quote Srila Prabhupada's words on the importance of cow protection: "Therefore if people are to be educated to the path of Godhead, they must be taught first and foremost to stop the process of animal-killing as above mentioned." (S.B. 1.3.24p) "Human civilization means to advance the cause of brahminical culture, and to maintain it, cow protection is essential." (S.B. 1.16.4p) "Cow protection and brahminical culture are "the two pillars of spiritual advancement." (S.B. 1.17.20p) "Cow protection is the business of the vaisyas and along with our preaching, this is most important work." (SPL to Hasyakari, 26th May 1975) "The human society should recognize the importance of the cow and the bull and thus give all protection to these important animals, following in the footsteps of Maharaja Pariksit. By protecting the cow and brahminical culture, the Lord, who is very kind to the cow and the brahmanas (go-brahmana-hitaya), will be pleased with us and will bestow upon us real peace." (S.B. 1.17.9p) And for one quote from H.H. Harikesa Swami: Great Britain
Sheep, pigs, goats, and deer followed, we could show by
practical example the harmony between man and animal. An ox draft unit was
donated. This is a machine powered by oxen which enables us to power all types
of farm machinery including grain crushers, trashing machines, wood saws, etc.
Now developed the opportunity to show a practical example of vedic farming that
is financially feasible and environmentally sound. Within the next few weeks we
will install a windmill to pump water for our cows and irrigation of the fields
which will make us self-sufficient.
An Offering for Srila Prabhupada by Ekesvari Gauri dasi - one of the teamsters trained by ISCOWP's Sponsor a Teamster Campaign For Prabhupada's Centennial I wanted to make an offering
that would continue for the rest of my life, but I wasn't quite sure what that
would be. Then I heard the following statement: "Srila Prabhupada wanted
all his farms around the world to be worked with oxen, and not by any artificial
means." What better offering to Prabhupada, I thought, than to help make this come about
for Murari Sevaka Farm, where I had just moved with my husband. That very day I was introduced to Agni and Shyam, the team I was going to work
with. Although they were a young team, Agni and Shyam already knew all the
commands and were being worked with a yoke. I felt apprehensive in trying to
work with them because I wasn't sure what to do, but Balabhadra gave me clear
instructions. As I put the instructions into practice I soon became more
confident. I worked every morning and evening for a week. I found that every moment was a learning experience. Balabhadra taught me to treat the oxen as I would treat a devotee. The oxen are working for Krsna and should be treated with respect, love and compassion. The key to developing a great working ox is to see him as spirit soul and not just an animal. You have to be understanding and very patient. You need to see them as friends. You never beat your friends, call them bad names or neglect them - if you did, your friendship wouldn't evolve into an enjoyable, trusting and lasting relationship.
As the days passed, I grew more and more attached to Agni
and Shyam - especially Shyam, because he was always sucking my hand, face, arms,
T-shirt - anything he could find. One of the greatest days was the day Agni and
Shyam first pulled a log. It's such a wonderful experience to see animals you
are working with progress to an important point of learning and skill - your
heart just jumps like crazy - like watching your child walk for the first time. Agni and Shyam became quite popular with the guests that visited the temple.
Nearly every day someone would pass with their car and get out and want their
picture taken with the oxen. We would get donations and encouragement from the
guests. Many were Indian families remembering the old Vedic tradition from home. During the week I learned a number of useful techniques. It's important to take
a few minutes every so often to encourage your team, pat them, and tell them how
good they are - even give them a cookie. That builds the relationship. You
should always work your team by standing at the shoulder. Don't walk in front of
them and tempt them to butt you because you're blocking their view. Avoid
hitting an ox in the face. To get him to back up, say "Back, Shyam"
(or your ox's name) and tap him on the legs with the lash. If necessary, push
his chest. If you hit him in the face, he'll become skittish when he hears a
"back" command. Finally the week was at the end, and my training period was over. I really
learned a lot from Balabhadra prabhu - on one hand practical techniques, and on
the other hand the whole philosophy of ox power and why it was so important to
Srila Prabhupada as part of our mission to spread Krsna consciousness. Cow
protection doesn't mean only protecting Mother Cow, because the bulls are 50% of
the herd, so cow protection also includes the necessity of working with Father
Bull, and living off the land by working with him. So I'm really inspired to
keep this service going. Now I'm back at Murari Sevaka, and with other devotees I am now training up four
baby oxen. I still keep in contact with Balabhadra prabhu for advice on
different problems I run into, and also let him know how our training program is
going. Since we still have another eight oxen to train; I guess you could say I
have my hands full for awhile. I'm just thankful to Balabhadra prabhu for
helping make my offering to Srila Prabhupada a reality, and I pray that I can
keep this service strong and alive. This article appeared in the Fall, 1996 issue of The Hare Krsna Rural Life
INCOME
The ISCOWP barn in Sandy Ridge, North Carolina was built with your donations. The funds from its sale are presently in a CD for this spring's and summer's refurbishing of Vrajapura Farm's two barns and their water system. The investment income represents the CD's interest income. At present there is $18,421.13 in the CD. Balabhadra and Chayadevi contributed about $1,000.00 to this amount, and the rest represents funds from the Building Vrajapura Farm Campaign. The down payment on the purchase of ISCOWP's property in Efland, North Carolina provided the down payment for Vrajapura Farm. The monthly payments for ISCOWP's Efland property provided the next 5 year's monthly payments for Vrajapura Farm. Services rendered represents ISCOWP's services to the Madhuvan farm project. And, as you can see, the bulk of ISCOWP's income comes from your contributions for which we are eternally thankful. EXPENSES
We now have 11 oxen and cows. We just recently added 3 heifers who were staying at the New Vrndavana barn. They, Jamuna, Saraswati, and Ganga, are getting along fine with the nine oxen. With increased numbers we have increased feeding and veterinarian bills. At Madhuvan we constructed a shed, mostly form recycled materials, that has served nicely as a shelter for the 11 animals during the cold winter months. The Vrajapura Farm purchase includes 2 barns which will help tremendously to shelter not only the 11 animals we have now but more. Most of the other expenses include operating expenses in the Seed to Sustenance project which this year meant training 20 oxen and 10 teamsters, providing for and working with 11animals and cultivating vegetable and herb gardens. Next year's expenses in this category will reflect development at Vrajapura Farm.
The quarterly ISCOWP News has been published since 1990. The newsletter has been our main way of relating to others the message of cow protection. The other means of communication that have developed are e-mail and fax. Besides our cow conference on the ISKCON COM internet bulletin board we now have a WEB page. Our WEB page address is: http://www.ovnet.com/~iscowp. We can be reached at iscowp@ovnet.com or iscowp@com.bbt.se. However many of our members cannot be reached by e-mail but by fax and phone. We are now employing an accountant to prepare ISCOWP's tax report and to clarify all past reports. In the office we have upgraded the computer with increased memory and some software making it easier to operate. ISCOWP brought Vraja and Gita to the Rainbow Festival held in Missouri. While there they were a magnetic preaching tool but Balabhadra felt the conditions, not being what was expected, were unsuitable to presenting cow protection and he brought them back after a few days. Travel expenses were incurred. Ox insurance was necessary but this is an expense we incur every year if we are expecting visitors to see Vraja and Gita. Postage and shipping reflects the quarterly newsletter, fund raising gifts, items sold and items given for educational purposes. Along with the newsletter, videos and photos are a large part of presenting ISCOWP's activities.
The administration costs reflect what it costs to maintain our family and staff while operating ISCOWP. This income was …. Thank you for contributing during the Fiscal Year 1996
Building Vrajapura Farm
We have just started the last leg of our campaign, and we are now in the process of sending out fund raising letters to all of our members who have not yet heard from us. As you can see we need to collect $5,301.00 to complete the campaign. Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your support in the past which has enabled ISCOWP to achieve its goals in the last 7 years and your support in the future which will enable Vrajapura Farm develop to Srila Prabhupada's satisfaction. Thank you again!
ISCOWP Outreach by Balabhadra das ISCOWP went to Murari Sevaka Farm, located in Tennessee, to see the progress of ISCOWP teamster Ekesvari Gauri, Bhaktin Debbie and their two teams (Dhanna and Gopal, Bhima and Bala) of Jersey yearlings. Each of the girls showed me what their teams had learned. As they went through their routines, I was able to see what corrections needed to be made and the progress the oxen had achieved. They had been trained to the basic commands of Get Up, Whoa, Gee, and Haw. They seemed to know their commands nicely. They also showed me what each team could do in a yoke, and this is where they really needed to practice and receive instructions. During our 2 ½ day visit we worked with each team a minimum of twice a day for an hour to an hour and a half. The first day was a little tough as the teams had only been yoked up 3 or 4 times previously. The second day we switched yokes and gave them a bigger yoke. The first yoke was too tight and was irritating them causing them to be inattentive to the training process. After we switched the yokes their attention immediately focused on what we were doing; they responded very well to walking as a team , going through the different turns, and stopping nicely as a team. I also showed them different techniques of how to back a team up. On the second day we introduced them to the chain. Each item of paraphernalia must be introduced first by sight, next by smell and last by sound. Three of the four oxen were undisturbed by the chain, but Bhima was agitated by the sound of the chain. Therefore at this point, Bhima and Bala did not go beyond being introduced to their chain. With patience and gentle training Bhima will accept the chain without too much delay.
Ekesvari's team, Dharma and Gopal, pulled a small log to get them accustomed to the sound of something being pulled on gravel behind them. When a team is in a yoke they can't turn around to see what noises are being made behind them. So, the first time they drag something behind them they are a little afraid because they can't identify the noise. As soon as they start to panic you stop them, unhook the chain and log, turn them around, bring them up to the log and let them smell it. The unknown becomes known. Then once again you hook them up to the chain and log and start to walk them. Again the noise begins and they might show fear again (which they did). You stop them again and repeat your previous actions. This is to be repeated until they have no fear of the noise caused by the log bumping along on the gravel road. There was one other little ox, being trained by Ekesvari, whose name was Balaram. He was half Angus and half Holstein and as sweet as can be although somewhat shy. He was younger than the Jerseys by about 6 months. Because of his shyness, Ekesvari had to be very patient and slow moving with him. The first day we got to know each other just by sitting with him, feeding him, and brushing him. The second day we did the same in the morning and in the afternoon. Mother Ekesvari put a halter and lead rope on him and started to walk him around. He was a bit reluctant but did go with her several times around his compound and coral. After this he was brushed and given his evening grain and hay. The third day we were only able to give one session to him because of the weather. We introduced a small stick, which was used to reinforce the command of Get Up, with a tap on his rear end. I was thinking that he might not like the use of the stick even though it was only a tap, and he would become disturbed. But he accepted it very nicely because of the gentleness with which Ekesvari was handling him and walked much nicer with her on this day.
On the same trip ISCOWP stopped at Prabhupada Village, Sandy Ridge, North Carolina, to meet with Bhakta Chris and his ox Bhima. Bhima is a thirteen month old Jersey who knows the four basic commands and has done some log hauling and some pulling of a small sled. He is quite well behaved and knows his commands nicely. We showed Bhakta Chris some subtle changes which he needed to introduce into his handling of Bhima. All in all Bhima and Bhakta Chris are doing very well. |
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