As the build up to the war in Iraq developed, the ISCOWP News printed scriptural quotes from the ancient spiritual text of India known as the Vedas and philosophi­cal quotes from great respected per­sons throughout the history of the world as to the connections between animal slaughter (specifically cow slaughter) and war. Now that the war is a reality it is more important than ever to establish cow protection worldwide.

This issue contains the annual report for ISCOWP activities for the year 2002. We are most grateful to you, our supporters, for your help in spreading  cow protection both in the past and in the future. May we do more and more together to make the world a more peaceful place for all.

ISCOWP’s trip to India in the beginning of 2003 is reported in this issue. An account of the Vrndavana goshalla (top photo) and the Manava Muni Go Raksha Trust, located in Indore, (bottom photo) are included. This trip substantiated the immense value of the cow for mankind.

Inside This Issue:

In this article we would like to give a photo guide of Balabhadra’s trip to India.

Balabhadra’s first stop was Vrndavana. Here he visited the ISKCON Vrndavana goshalla and Kurma Rupa prabhu’s cow sanctuary. The Vrndavana goshalla purchased some Thapakur cows and bulls (photo on top of the front page of this newsletter) to breed out the western breeds from the herd be­cause western breeds have not adjusted well to India’s climate.

The most immediate need here is a workable managerial structure. The Vrndavana temple as a whole is experiencing a managerial change and when that becomes stabilized, the real business of cow protection can proceed. Nandanandana prabhu has been taking care of the cows for 18 years and is still there serving the cows. He and his wife are a great asset.

All the land around Vrndavana temple is now very valuable and the goshalla has about 10.5 acres in a prime location. Other devotee projects would like that land for their projects since it appears that the Vrndavana goshalla is not fully utilizing it. It was voted by the Vrndavana Executive Board (VEB) that the cows could be moved so the goshalla land could be given to the Gurukula. A wealthy Indian man offered to take 200 of the cows (there are 260 cows) to his property (25 acres) 8 KM from the temple. He said that he would maintain them for the devotees.

There are many unanswered questions with this offer. The general consensus is that first and foremost, if the land is not deeded to ISKCON outright, the cows will not be moved. The concern of the Ministry is that even if the land is deeded to ISKCON, will there be sufficient manpower and devotional care provided for these cows or will it just become out of site out of mind. Most of the devotees consider the location of this land to be in a dangerous area and it is not on a road which goes to any pilgrimage sites. Therefore the number of devotees visiting the goshalla will decrease. We have discussed with the Vrndavana management and the ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) that it is ISKCON Law 507 that no cows can be moved from an ISKCON goshalla unless approved by this Ministry. In this case, the move as presently proposed, is not beneficial for the cows and we do not approve of it. Discussions are on going with the VEB. It is a fact that the cows need more land, but all pertinent questions about any land must have positive answers.

The purpose of this Ministry is to advise the GBC on cow protection within ISKCON so that the cows are truly protected. We are in continued correspondence with the Vrndavana Management and pray that our advice will be heeded.

There is a quote from Srila Prabhupada:

“Our cow protection program in India should be the exemplary standard for the whole world.” Letter to: Devakinandana, Mayapur April 8, 1975

This is why we feel the cow protection programs in India are of special importance; especially in such holy places such as Vrndavana and Mayapur where thousands of pilgrims come to visit on a regular basis. Such programs can become exemplary by focusing on the development of the goshalla and its preaching attributes such as: development and usage of cow urine medication, methane gas, cow dung fertilizers, cow urine based herbicides and pesticides, breeding programs of indigenous breeds to once again have animals best suited for the their area, training bullocks for agricultural use and general use, for local parikrama and bullock cart sankirtan, education and training of Gurukula children in how to take care of the cows in a Krsna Conscious goshalla setting, on site training courses for local farmers in cow dung and cow urine usage in village agriculture and the importance of using the bullocks in their farming practices, seed bank for open pollinated seeds of all varieties so that the local farmers can once again grow the old time proven varieties of grain and vegetables which are best suited for their area and not be dependent on hybrid seeds and petrochemical fertilizers,
 

With all these programs in place the goshallas would be a dynamic hub of preaching activity centered at the lotus feet of Krsna Balaram and Srila Prabhupada. The goshalla would draw countless visitors and would be seen as an example of a goshalla not based on milk production but on a holistic cow care scheme.
 

Kurma Rupa prabhu started a few years ago protecting a few cows who were roaming the street outside the ISKCON Vrndavana temple. He is now using land that is owned by the Vrndavana Food for Life and has under his care 56 animals. All of these animals have been hurt or abandoned. (Photo 1) His program has an excellent reputation and support in the local area. His sincere and attentive concern for the animals under his care was evident upon our first visit to his facility.

Click on picture to enlarge

Balabhadra das visiting Kurma Rupa's "Care for Cows" facility in Vrndavana.

Taking seriously the concept that cow protection is not only about milk production, Kurma Rupa prabhu gave Balabhadra a bottle of cow urine shampoo that he made from the urine of one of his cows. You can view some of his cows and more about this project at careforcows.org

A few lines from their recent pamphlet: “We provide stray cows hay, flour, fresh grass, medical attention and a place where they can recuperate from injuries. Since our activities are not centered around milk production, we are not considered a dairy or goshalla. Unfortunately, such abandoned cows are easily abducted and transported in very inhumane ways to the growing number of slaughter houses in India. There is an urgent need to provide shelter, food, and care for the innocent cows wandering Krishna’s holy land. “

Kurma Rupa’s cow care facility is ever expanding due to the number of injured cows turned out by their owners. This facility is worthy of any assistance anybody would like to offer. You can be rest assured that whatever you give will be used for the cows.

The next stop was Indore. We have been corresponding with Indian gen­tlemen, B.R. Thakur, who has been involved in cow protection for many years. This is the first time we had the opportunity to meet him. Bhakta Rupa Prabhu (BSD) met Balabhadra at the airport and with some detective work found B.R. Thakur and other persons who Balabhadra wanted to meet.

Balabhadra was very fortunate to first meet with a number of trustees of the Manava Muni Go Raksha Trust. Pictured on the bottom of the front page of this newsletter starting from left to right are Mrs. Baharli Dubey, Rajesh Goyal, and Pawan Ruthare. Balabhadra was given a tour of their 6 acres facilities, 12 kilometers outside of Indore. They are currently looking after 65 cows who have been saved from going to the slaughter­house. Their facilities were very clean, the cows looked after very nicely, and the cows were affectionate and not afraid of meeting Balabhadra, a stranger to them. Every morning and evening bhajans (spiritual music) are played on the PA system in the cow shed Their goal is to eventually look after a thousand animals. The basic foundation work to extend the cow shed is already in place.

The inspiration for this project has been the late respected Shri Murarilalji Tiwari and his desire to prove that cows can be maintained by their dung and urine. Balabhadra was most fortunate to meet Dr. Urmila Tiwari, the daughter of Shri Murarilalji who is also a trustee of the Trust. At present people running cow therapy centers are purchasing urine of desi cows for Rs. 5/-per liter and the cost of dung and urine of the cow is able to fetch Rs.50/-per day per cow if kept systematically and well attended. So, the economic future of Indian Agriculture and cow rearing units is very well assured for a better future.

Contact information for the Manava Muni Go Raksha Trust: Rajesh Goyal, trustee: abhishekplast@rediffmail.com , Pawan Ruthare trustee: pawanraj@rediffmail.com.

We then located a man by the name of Virendra Kumar Jain who is very

prominent in the development of cow urine medicines in India. He gave Balabhadra several hours of his time and Balabhadra signed up to be a distributor of his line of cow urine medicine.

At the Cow Urine Therapy and Re­search Institute, research is done by Virendra Kumar Jain including the constituents of cow urine, the effect cow urine has on numerous diseases, and the methods of taking cow urine. Every morning about 3 to 4 hundred persons visit the research center and are given purely filtered urine from their desi cows in the morning between 7 to 8 AM. This is being done entirely free and advise is also given for various cures and treatments on a charity basis on behalf of the Trust. They have also prepared certain medicines from cow’s urine, dung and Ayurvedic herbs. “

You may contact Virendra Kumar Jain at the Cow Urine Therapy and Re­search Institute, G-12 Ratlam Kothi, Indore-452 001 (MP) India, e-mail -drjain@cowurine.com, Phone 91-731-2520644, 5070528, Mobile-91-98270-33255

Virendra Kumar Jain gave us detailed directions to B. R. Thakur’s residence. He is a retired lawyer and English Professor and who has been involved with cow protection for many years. Balabhadra enjoyed lunch at his house where he met a good number of his family members and his wonderful cows who live in the courtyard of his house. B.R. Thakur then took Balabhadra to meet a dear friend of his, Mr. N. H. Shah, (photo 2) who is a prominent businessman and protecting 40 cows at his home. He takes care of them just as he would his own children.

Click on picture to enlarge

Mrs. and Mr. N. H. Shah, B.R. Thakur and friend and two of the 40 cows the Shahs care for at their home.

If you would like to also contact B.R. Thakur who had worked under Sir Alfred Howard in developing the famous Indore Composting method please refer to the following: B. R. Thakur, C-115 Sangam Nagar, Indore -6 410942 India

The last evening Balabhadra was there most of the people he met came to the temple to meet with him again and they were able to take darshan of Sri Sri Radha Govinda. Bhakta Rupa Prabhu is a gem of a devotee and it was a great boon to Balabhadra to have his association and help during his visit to Indore. Bhakta Rupa prabhu has a degree in diary management and is very interested in cow protection. One of his goals is to have a center based on healing arts, cow protection and harmonious village life.

Jai Caitanya’s project in Mysore was the next destination on the trip (Photo 3). In Vol 12 Issue 2 we had an article about this project submitted by Labangalatika dasi. Balabhadra, accompanied by Labangalatika and her husband Prakash, spent two days at the Mysore farm. This project is a wonderful example of helping the surrounding villagers engage in sustainable agriculture and Krsna Consciousness. Jai Caitanya’s project has 120 acres of land of which he has 90% in cultivation, certified organic. They are growing bananas, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, vanilla, pepper, sandalwood, teakwood, oak, a variety of vegetables, patchouli, a variety of tropical fruits, saffron, mangoes, cashews, tamarind, henna, gugal, jackfruit, avocados, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, rose apples, cocoa, neem, and mahogany. This is only a partial list. There are 40 cows and bullocks, currently 2 young teams of bullocks are being used. They are using cow urine with herbs as pesticides, and they are also utilizing cow dung and herbs according to biodynamic formulations of the Rudolf Steiner method. Astrological implementation is followed for planting, fertilization, harvesting, and pest control. The atmosphere was very peaceful and Jai Caitanya has also organized 300 village farmers who are now growing crops for him on their own certified organic properties.

The Mayapur goshalla is making some improvement. They now have 2 teams of oxen in training whereas for years they had none. They are also distributing distilled cow urine products from their cows, to support the goshalla and help move away from milk production as the main means to support their herd. These are points that we have been strongly promoting.

Click on picture to enlarge

A group of 3 to 6 month old calves in the Mayapur goshalla.

Jayapataka Maharaja, GBC of Mayapur, has been told by his doctor to drink cow urine every day to improve his health. So, every morning, with entourage, Jayapataka Maharaja goes to the Mayapur goshalla to drink cow urine. Not only does he drink cow urine, but everyone in the entourage drinks cow urine. Cow urine and its medicinal properties are now getting much attention in Mayapur.

Balabhadra partook of the morning cow urine with Jayapataka Maharaja on several occasions and noted that the urine from each cow tasted different. From each cow the urine had its own distinctive flavor.………………………..

Balabhadra and Suresvara gave a seminar on cow protection in Mayapur that was attended by students from around the world. They held classes in one of the huts ( Below ) in the gurukula gardens next to the goshalla.

Click on picture to enlarge

Balabhadra on the left and Suresvara on the right. They taught a cow protection course as part of the MIHE (Mayapur Institute for Higher Education) course offerings held in Mayapur, India.

The course consisted of the philosophical reasons for cow protection and the practical problems and solutions of implementing cow protection within and without ISKCON. The first 2 days were in this academic classroom setting. Pancaratna prabhu came one afternoon and explained about his CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) development in Alachua. The following two days contained classes of a hands on nature in living classroom settings. At the Mayapur goshalla, Balabhadra demonstrated the art of hand milking and then each student milked a cow, most for the first time ( Below ).

Student Devarsi das learning to milk a cow.

 There was also a demonstration of field preparation at Hrimati dasi’s property using her ox and a local ox (Below). As Tahir, the local ox teamster plowed the earth by Hrimati dasi’s hut, Balabhadra explained the process to the students.

Click on picture to enlarge

Hrimati dasi's home in the background. Balaram, Hrimati dasi's ox is on the left, the local ox teamster in the middle and his ox on the right.

 If Balabhadra was teaching this course at Vrajapura Farm (ISCOWP head­quarters), he would be demonstrating practically with his own trained teams. It was interesting to note that the local teamster controlled his animals (the white ones) by voice commands

The textbook was a success and well received. It does seem that it can be used as a basis for a course taught by someone who has familiarity with the subject. Considering that Balabhadra cannot travel widely at this time, we wrote the textbook with the consideration that other persons besides Balabhadra can use it as the basis for a course on cow protection. We were told that the book was the “talk of the MIHE” (Mayapur Insti­tute for Higher Education).

At the end of the course the students were asked to write what they thought of the course. Most students wanted more practical instructions and more visual aids. This was very helpful to know so we can formulate the next course. It was a question in our minds whether students who wanted to take the course were more interested in academic classroom discussion or hands on living classroom settings. From the comments of the students it appears that a 50/50 com­bination of academic and hands on possibly more on the hands on) would be a good balance. The book was considered comprehensive and helpful and that if some video were shown it would enhance the material. We actually have a video that would have been useful.

Here are some of the comments when asked what realizations were gotten from the course: Kirtiraj das from California: “ How extremely important cow protection is on every level of human life from sustaining the body to perfection of life by self realization, in other words Krishna con­sciousness. It can be done! Not some time in the future but right now. Simply by educating and preaching and inspiring others. Actually, the resources are available for starting cow protection and Brahminical culture. Devarsi from Mayapur: “ Thank you so much for introducing me to the cow and bull in such a personal and affectionate way. There is such a great need of educating in our society and more involvement of our ISKCON communities with the goshallas, in particular the children need to take the cows’ association. The class manual is amazing and we thank you so much for sharing the fruit of all your service from so many years. A labor of love. It is touching. We have enough to implement for our whole life. “

By visiting the established cow protectors who are not members of ISKCON within India, we are trying to connect their knowledge and experience with the cow protectors in ISKCON. There have been visitations from the ISKCON devotees to some of the places we have mentioned and they are gaining by the knowledge and understanding they have of cow protection. India is a special country in the fact that there are many such persons convinced about cow protection. We hope also to gain by associating with such persons and implement some of their knowledge here in the West.

There is a tremendous push in India to ban the slaughter of animals, especially the cows and bulls. Of course there is the religious, spiritual, reasons for not killing the innocent animals, which weigh heavily in the argument against the slaughter of the cows and bulls. Another argument is based on the economic importance of the cow and bull. The fact is that the cow and bull are more valuable alive than dead. If a person sells his cow for Rs./ 1000 he will be the loser economically and spiritually. If a cow is not giving milk but the owner is able to sell the urine for Rs./5 per liter he can collect 4 or 5 liters of urine daily and realize Rs./ 20-25 daily which is the cost of supporting a dry cow or bull. Also if the dung is collected it can be sold as fertilizer or dried into cakes and sold as cooking fuel. The urine has been sold for medicinal purposes which cover the cost of maintaining the animal and the sale of the dung is in the profit column for the owner. Lets say that the urine and dung is bringing the owner Rs./50 daily, it would take only 20 days to realize the Rs./1000 that he would have received for selling his animal for slaughter. The cow and bull are more value alive than dead

Back to Newsletter Index

Click on picture to enlarge

The year of 2002 was a year of stabilizing the foundation of ISCOWP.

One way we did this was to begin to establish office operations that are up to date and can be operated by volunteers without a lot of training. We established a new and easily operational database, a new computer with some new software and CD burner. Our original database was continually giving us problems mainly because of its age. The CD burner enables us to give disks to our printers who in turn create better end products and less work for the ISCOWP office.

Due to the help of Madhurya Lila dd we reviewed all back tax reports to the IRS and got everything up to date and officially correct. We now are able to use a shorter form of tax report that also saves the ISCOWP office time. Madhurya Lila dd gave the ISCOWP office some hints and shortcuts to working with our financial software, Quicken.

We refinanced the land mortgage at the bank and got a lower interest rate and by-monthly payments that help to reduce the interest more quickly. We have about $35,000 left on the mortgage and we are trying to pay that off in 5 years. As you know Balabhadra works a night job to pay the mortgage and our personal bills. The biggest expense is the mortgage and as soon as that is paid, Balabhadra has the chance to quit his night job and spend all his time on cow protection.

We also got insurance on all the buildings and land so that in case there is a fire or other disaster, your investment in the property is not lost.

The year of 2000 was a year of increased international influence. As reported in ISCOWP News 12 Issue 3, ISCOWP made its first trip to India. This trip resulted in increased knowledge and connections with persons who are experienced in cow protection and the development of cow urine and dung medicinal prod­ucts. We feel the development of such medicines can revolutionize cow protection world-wide. The production and sale of these products provide a means of supporting cow protection that is not dependent on breeding or age of the cows. The milk production for economic base leads to overpopulation and thus considering the unproductive cows and oxen to be a burden. In India there is already a revived market for these products. How this can also be implemented in the West is a work for this and future years. It is also a continuing work to spread this knowledge and conviction to all cow protectors. This year’s (2003) trip, reported on this issue, furthered this endeavor.

Spreading this knowledge within ISKCON as well as out side of ISKCON is the challenge. To this end Cow Protection, Book 1 was com­piled and used as the textbook for the first official cow seminar given in Mayapur, India by Balabhadra and Suresvara. This book can also be used as a practical information guide about the essential aspects of cow protection. It is the hope that many more seminars will be given in the years to come. This will become more a possibility when Balabhadra is able to retire from his night job.

Funds were collected in the year 2002 to build a pole barn to shelter hay and ox power equipment. The campaign was begun in July 2002 and goes through to July 2003. This year we will begin the construction of this building. We decided to put this building where the old dilapidated farmhouse now stands. So we must tear down that building before constructing the barn. We feel that although many more buildings can be constructed, we will for now concentrate on completing our self-sufficient farm endeavors and training of persons interested in cow protection and other self-sufficient arts. In light of the current world events these practices are most important to more people than ever before. We have been working in the direction of developing Vrajapura farm as a training center for such endeavors. To this end the buildings have been a necessary part of that direction.

As you know every year we have a large garden by which we preserve foodstuffs for ourselves and for some of our members. Each year we try new crops and different recipes and ways of preserving foods. In the year of 2002 we began more extensive preserving of dried goods which are less expensive than can foods to ship. The weather conditions were poor last year throughout the country for agricultural purposes. So, our endeavors were not as extensive as we had hoped. We pray this year (2003) we will have better conditions that will enable us to expand our gardens and dried food endeavors. We are planning on more herbal products besides a variety of dried foodstuffs. Canning is still the desired preserving method for a variety of food preparations especially for our own consumption.

Back to Newsletter Index

Ananta Acarya d, Revati dd, Omah, Sapna (Lutchman Family).............$..108.00

Isabelle Haas.........................................................$...85.00

Saci Mata (Shirley Prims).............................................$...82.00

Aravind Mohanram......................................................$...71.00

Barry and Annie Edwards...............................................$...70.00

Pusti dd (Connie Humphrey)............................................$...64.00

Brahma-rupa d & Ramani dd.............................................$...55.00

Manju Patel...........................................................$...51.00

Mukunda Datta d & Krsnavesa dd........................................$...50.00

Sadananda d (Stefan M. Knueppel)......................................$...50.00

Venkatraman Chandrasekaran............................................$...50.00

Helen Wells & Dave Meek...............................................$...50.00

Brett & Grace Ranson-Dieter...........................................$...45.00

Amrita dd & Rasamanjari dd............................................$...38.00

Schneller & Wakefield.................................................$...35.95

Atmarama d (Bernard Faustino).........................................$...31.00

From Quicken Financial Software 1/1/02 -12/31/02