Jayapataka Swami: I haven’t studied the Quran minutely. But I understand that there are verses there which say that we should not kill the cow. We know that the current pandemic is not a human disease. It comes from animals. So because people kill animals, eat the flesh, therefore they are suffering. So, all these things, now is a good time to preach to people, not to kill animals. This pandemic comes from the animals. And previously there was a mass pandemic that came from mistreating cows. Before that there was swine flu, which comes from the mistreatment of swines in the USA. So, we don’t hear about a tomato pandemic or cucumber pandemic!! Swine flu, pig flu, cow flu. This present pandemic is from bats or something. Anyway, get the people to chant the names of God. And use this opportunity to request people to at least in this pandemic, to not kill and eat animals. Maybe if they get the habit of being vegetarian, then they won’t kill animals in the future. At least not cows. Lord Caitanya discussed this with the Cand Kazi. He said that the cow gives you milk. And the bull ploughs the field. In that way, the cow is your mother and the bull is your father? Now how is it that in your religion, they allow you to kill your mother and father and eat them? The Cand Kazi said, well, in Your sastra, it has the Gomeda, the sacrifice of cows. Lord Caitanya explained that this is prohibited in the present age. Gomeda and Aswameda are prohibited. But in previous yugas the brahmanas were so powerful that they would kill an old cow and bring it back to life in a new body. So like this, Lord Caitanya was preaching at that time, when there was an Islamic government. With all respect, He was in this way, preaching very dynamically. So I don’t think that it is impossible to preach. We should do so, in a very respectful and assertive manner. Now, with this pandemic which is crippling the whole world, that the killing of animals is a source of this pandemic, so we should avoid this. Hare Krsna!
26-July-2020 SRI DHAM MAYAPUR, INDIA
