Why is the cow such an important animal to the Hindus?
348719
I'm a Hindu.  To me, all life is sacred.  All sentient beings deserve our respect.  But the cow in particular is of special importance in Indian culture for various historical and cultural reasons.  \n\nThe cow is seen as a symbol of the Mother.  The cow gives, and asks for nothing in return.  It is gentle and itself a vegetarian.\nIndians have used the products of the cow for their livelihood.  They drink its milk, and they use ghee (clarified butter) in much cooking, and paneer (cheese) is an important nutritional element in a predominantly vegetarian diet that most Indians keep.\nBesides these foods, the dung is a traditional source for fuel.  The cow's urine is an antiseptic.\n\nThe cow was an ancient measure of wealth.  When there were no coins, people traded in cows and such.\n\nThe cow is a national emblem for India, and there is much pride associated with it.\n\nThe cow is not really worshipped, in the same sense that one worships God.  But it is definitely respected and appreciated, and protected.
506753
Vishnu is regarded as a major god in Hinduism and Indian mythology. He is thought as the preserver of the universe while two other major Hindu gods Brahma and Shiva, are regarded respectively, as the creator and destroyer of the universe. \n\nThe original worship of Vishnu, by the Aryan conquerors of India or the original Dravidian inhabitants is not definitely known. In the ancient Vedas, the body of literature known as the Veda, and sacred literature of the Aryan conquerors, Vishnu is ranked among the lesser gods and is usually associated with the major Vedic god Indra who in the epics and Puranas fights against dragons and demonic forces. These latter writings emerge during the later development of Hinduism. \n\nIt is throughout this literature and especially through incarnations that Vishnu is raised to higher rankings within the Hindu pantheon. He becomes the prominent second god of the Trimurti, the Hindu Triad, while Brahma is first and Shiva is third. \n\nIn some Puranic literature Vishnu is said to be eternal, an all-pervading spirit, and associated with the primeval waters that are believed to have been omnipresent before the creation of the universe. \n\nThe concept of Vishnu being the preserver of the world came relatively late in Hinduism. Presumedly it sprang from two other beliefs: that men attain salvation by faithfully following predetermined paths of duty, and that powers of good and evil (gods and demons) are in contention for domination over the world. When these powers are upset Vishnu, it is further believed, descends to earth, or his avatar, to equalized the powers. Further it is thought that ten such incarnations or reincarnations of Vishnu will occur. Nine descents are said to have already occurred, the tenth is yet to come. Rama and Krishna were the seventh and eighth. \n\nAnother interesting speculation concerning Vishnu's role as preserver among many modern scholars is that it is characteristic of the practitioners of Hinduism to raise local legendary heroes to gods in the Hindu pantheon. \n\nVishnu is portrayed as blue or black shinned and has four arms. He has a thousand names and their repetition is an act of devotion
936964
I am yet to meet a member of this eastern faith that tries to convert people. They are a gentle bunch, with no murderous beliefs (except for their scr*wed up treatment of untouchables), they practise vegetarianism and are pacifists, and hold most animals holy, and so don't slaughter or hunt. Their beliefs are passed on to their next generation. With over 500 million of them, that is quite a positive impact on the ecology of the earth. It is a refreshing earth-friendly humanist faith compared with the murderous abrahamic trash that passes off as religion in the guise of christianity and islam.
388019
Check out this link....read chapter 16.\n\nhttp://www.dalitstan.org/mughalstan/qatl/krishna/index.html
531154
cow is widely worshipped in India
640146
There are multiple reasons. I mention the two most important:\n\n1) Same reason as why people worship any God. They need to believe in God. Some believe in Ganesha.\n\n2) According to Indian mythology, Ganesha is one who clears your way of all obstacles. His other name is Vighnaharta, i.e., the one who takes away all impendiments, obstacles, sorrows. So, he is worshipped to ensure the success of any new venture. The intention here, is to pre-emptively remove any difficulties which might come in the path of success. Such is Ganesha's reputation of ensuring a smooth flow of all operations, that he is the first one to be worshipped during yajnas (holy prayers to all Gods through the medium of fire).
128150
Cows are actually very intelligent when compared to people who try to measure their stupidity.
62446
I agree with your premise and conclusion. I would add that the quality that is the most important in seperating us from the animals is faith. The ability to choose to believe or not believe. To search and want to know your Creator. Even those who reject God, do so with high thought process and passion.
83842
ouso271wi, you're stupid, stop answering questions for people, you're just making the world ignorant. INDIANS DON'T WORSHIP COWS. The reason why the cow is consided "sacred" is because the cow can do alot to give food that helps the economy. For example, they can cutlivate farms by fertilizer and they also give us milk and other things as well.
908709
omfg! because cows arn't made of leather!\nthere hides are tanned and what not into leather and thats  y!
470582
I believe it relates to the time when India was part of the British Empire.  Elephants were and are used as farm animals but were also used at events and celebrations.
1104227
The beliefs of others are always viewed critically and found to be mythology, while one's own mythology is viewed as fact.\n\nWhat I like about the Hindu god is that you can't corner it, you can't trap it, you can't blaspheme against it because, well, because it's god. The Hindus have one of the highest concepts of god on the planet, and if people think it's stupid because there are cows involved then they simply lack the ability to understand what "infinite" means. That's why such people are limited to worshiping a finite anthropomorphic god made in their own image.
725010
I see all the previous answerer's have never been to a slaughter house. Cows can be calmed by the fact that they have no object permanence; once it is out of site it is out of mind. But they do have a sense of smell and herd feeling, so they have presented problems from time to time. They have blinds, gates and other ruses to insure humane and trouble free slaughter of cows. Pigs are another matter, though.
881988
for the record i like cows, they're nice.\n\nseveral religions believe in reincarnation. how you recognize people is different than you might think. some believe you carry similar physical traits in each life. some people are lucky enough to carry glimpses of their past lives, and they figure it out. it's not like you see someone and go "hey charlie where you been buddy?!"..it's more of a recognition on a deeper level. think about someone you've just met and instantly clicked with, and you can't quite put your finger on why. it's possible that you knew them/were related to them in a previous life. i've had that happen with several friends/boyfriends.
865907
According to the encyclopedia, which is very accurate here in this case:\n\n"A bovid is any of almost 140 species of cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae. The family is widespread, being native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica, and diverse: members include buffalo, bison, antelopes, gazelles, and both wild and domesticated cattle, sheep, goats, and water buffalo."\n\n"The biological subfamily Bovinae (or bovines) includes a diverse group of about 24 species of medium-sized to large ungulates, including domestic cattle, Bison, the Water Buffalo, the Yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship between the members of the group is obscure, and their classification into loose tribes rather than formal sub-groups reflects this uncertainty. General characteristics include a cloven-hoof and usually at least one of the sexes of a species having a true horn."\n\nHowever, the domestic cattle species Bos taurus that you see on farms is extinct in the wild. Wild cattle today is not the same species as domestic cows and bulls. Wild cattle belong to the same family and in some cases same subfamily and look very, very similar, but they are not the same exact species. A gaur is wild cattle of India. There's the Cambodian Forest Ox, several other types of wild cattle.
632705
I think of utmost importance would be the production of grasses, which includes corn, wheat, barley, oats, etc.  Of secondmost importance would then be the ruminants such as cows which live off grass and provide the human world with most of its meat.  Thirdly would be the myriad species which are not cows which eat the grasses and seeds derived therefrom, which are in turn eaten by other animals...\n\nAdditionally, the presence of the grasses provides an anchor for water in the soil, which (as was learned in the dust-bowl of the 1930's American midwest) prevents soil erosion and drought.
844363
First of all (The Cow a very good surah).\nAbout your question, its as the first person mentioned, its a formal thing. No, He is not more than one person. He is one God named Allah. He refers to himself as "We" as a way of us to show Him respect. If you read throughout the Holy Qur'an you will see that "We" is in there quite often. Good question though, I asked that too once! :) His Angels aren't part of Him. Allah created them.\n\nThanks,\nJalapeno10