Why is the cow important to Hindus?

Answer 1

Cow is important and respected by Hindus for many reasons.

Cow's milk is believed to be closest to mother's milk for infants

Cowdung is an excellent organic manure

Cow's urine has a very significant medicinal value in Ayurveda

Upon its death its skin provides good quality of leather.

This is the only animal which is useful to the mankind whether living or dead; whether giving milk or not'

Its progeny become oxen which have great strength required for ploughing in the agricultural fields. India is an agricultural country and this animal is still used in many villages for ploughing and cart pulling

Answer 2

In Hinduism there are seven basic forces each associated with a basic Hindu god.

The seven basic forces and the seven basic Hindu gods:

They are,

1. Dreaming force - Indra

2. Illusory force - Shakti

3. Voluntary force - Brahma

4. Semi voluntary force - Vishnu

5. Involuntary force - Shiva

6. Status altering force - Shani

7. Compulsive force - Yama.

Indra and Yama play a role after our death only. The central three forces together represent Trimurti.

Shakti is the last, easiest and inexhaustible source of inertial, voluntary or controlling force.

Shakti, the mother goddess:

Shakti is considered as the mother goddess.

For Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva to help us there must be a reasonable, natural or logical solution to our problem. However, Shakti, like mother, is forgiving and it would help us even if there is no rational solution for our blunder. Thus, it is considered as the mother goddess for its forgiving and protecting nature. Thus, it is symbolically represented by the cow, which like mother, gives milk.

Thus, cow is important to Hindus because it symbolically represents the last, easiest and unlimited source of controlling force needed to control and modify our activities.