When milk is nowadays extracted violently from cows, should devotees take milk?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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now it is because even there is violence against cows then even some people become vegans and they want to avoid even milk and other cow products so what is the spiritual perspective on that yeah what would be Krishna’s perspective yes so firstly milk is integral to bhakti culture milk is what milk and milk products Krishna is a coward and he takes milk he takes milk products profusely so the question is Krishna doesn’t just take milk products he loves cows and the cows offer their love to him in the form of milk it’s true in today’s culture that cows are also become just another unit in the mechanized industrial circle and that’s why they are treated like machines very inhumanely so as devotees the best solution would be that associated with temples we have farm communities where cows are taken care of and they are loved they are cared for and that milk we take so this may not be immediately possible but there are many places where there are people who are trying to do this so for example I stay in Mumbai the temples and many of the congregation devotees over there they get milk from a nearby place in Gujarat where there are traditional farmers who take care of cows very well and every morning from that place there are several tankers of milk which come and they go all around and devotees take that milk there is no violence over there so as much as possible if we can get that kind of milk and we can help in creating systems by which that kind of milk can be got that is the best and apart from that if suppose that milk is not available then what should one do in such a situation that is a matter of individual preference in bhakti there are matters of principle and there are matters of preference so if that is a matter of preference is made into a matter of principle and that becomes fanatical so in principle we are not meant to eat we should not eat meat that is a matter of principle we should not condone violence to cows that is also a matter of principle but if we see another matter of principle also is that milk is an integral to bhakti culture so now which principle who will give more importance some devotees may feel I cannot tolerate violence to cows so they may choose to be vagrants that is a matter of individual preference that preference can be can and should be respected but other devotees may take another perspective and they may say that yes in so much in our bhakti culture the principle we use whatever we have in Krishna’s service so if this is the only milk we have then is it that how can we continue if we have no milk sweets or no milk products at all we just use what we have and they use the existing milk that is available so both principles, both courses of action are acceptable in the process of bhakti so this is a matter of preference so like another example I will give sometimes some devotees say if you are studying Bhagavatam Bhagavatam is the deity of Krishna so you should not mark anything, you should not underline anything how can you write on it other devotees they may underline the Bhagavatam they may mark something, they may highlight something and they may have the mood that actually yes the Bhagavatam is a deity and I am decorating it so now who is right who is wrong, both are right so it is a matter of individual preference so if devotees are vegan that is a matter of personal choice that should be respected if some devotees still take milk that is also a matter of preference that should be respected we can follow our heart in this thank you is there any question why is it