The ancient scriptures of India described cow’s milk as amritu, literally “nectar of immortality”! There are many mantras (prayers) in all four Vedas which describe the importance of cow and cow’s milk not only as a perfect food but also as a medicinal drink.
The Rig Veda states: “Cow’s milk is amrita… so protect the cows.” Arias (pious people), in their prayers for the freedom and prosperity of the people, they also prayed for cows, which give a lot of milk for the country. It was said that if a person has food, then he is rich.
Curd roofs (made from cow’s milk) and ghee (clarified dehydrated butter) is wealth. Therefore, in the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda there are prayers asking God to provide us with so many gheeso that in our house there is always an excess of this most nutritious product.
The Vedas describe ghee as the first and most important of all foodstuffs, as an essential component of sacrifices and other rituals, because thanks to them it rains and grain grows.
Atharva Veda emphasizes the importance and value ghee, in other parts of the Vedas ghee described as a flawless product that increases strength and vitality. Ghee strengthens the body, is used in massages and helps to increase life expectancy.
The Rig Veda says: “Milk was first ‘cooked’ or ‘cooked’ in the udder of a cow and after that it was cooked or cooked in fire, and therefore roofsmade from this milk is really healthy, fresh and nutritious. A person doing hard work must eat roofs at noon when the sun is shining«.
The Rig Veda says that the cow carries into her milk the curative and preventive effects of the medicinal herbs she eats, therefore cow’s milk can be used not only for treatment, but also for the prevention of diseases.
The Atharva Veda says that the cow, through milk, makes a weak and sick person energetic, provides vitality to those who do not have it, thus making the family prosperous and respected in a “civilized society.” This indicates that good health in the family was an indicator of prosperity and respect in the Vedic society. Material wealth alone was not a measure of respectability, as it is now. In other words, the availability of a large amount of cow’s milk in the household was taken as an indicator of prosperity and social position.
It is very important to know that there is a certain time prescribed for the intake of milk in order to cure diseases and normal functioning of the body. Ayurveda, an ancient Indian treatise on the harmony of soul and body, says that the time for taking milk is the dark time of the day and the milk taken must be hot or warm; good with spices to regulate the doshas (kapha, vata and pita), with sugar or honey.
Raj Nighatu, an authoritative treatise on Ayurveda, describes milk as nectar. It is said that if there is any nectar, it is only cow’s milk. Let’s see if cow’s milk is compared with amrita only on a sentimental or religious basis, or is there a description of certain qualities and properties of dairy products that help cure certain ailments, increase the duration and quality of life?
The Chharak Shastra is one of the oldest books in the history of medical science. The sage Chharak was an eminent Indian physician, and his book is still followed by those who practice Ayurveda. Chharak describes milk like this: “Cow’s milk is tasty, sweet, has a wonderful aroma, is dense, contains fat, but is light, easy to digest and does not spoil easily (it is difficult for them to get poisoned). It gives us peace and cheerfulness.” The next verse of his book states that due to the above properties, cow’s milk helps us to maintain vitality (Ojas).
Dhanvantari, another ancient Indian physician, stated that cow’s milk is a suitable and preferred diet for all ailments, its constant use protects the human body from diseases of vata, pita (Ayurvedic types of constitution) and heart diseases.
Milk through the eyes of modern science
Modern science also speaks of the many medicinal properties of milk. In the laboratory of academician I.P. Pavlov, it was found that the weakest gastric juice is required for the digestion of milk in the stomach. It is a light food and, therefore, milk is used for almost all gastrointestinal diseases: problems with uric acid, gastritis; hyperacidity, ulcer, gastric neurosis, duodenal ulcer, pulmonary diseases, fever, bronchial asthma, nervous and mental diseases.
Milk increases the body’s resistance, normalizes metabolism, cleanses blood vessels and digestive organs, fills the body with energy.
Milk is used for exhaustion, fatigue, anemia, after illness or injury, it replaces the proteins of meat, eggs or fish and is beneficial for diseases of the liver and kidneys. It is the best food for heart disease and edema. There are many dairy diets used to improve and strengthen the body.
For patients suffering from edema, the Russian doctor F. Karell proposed a special diet, which is still used for diseases of the liver, pancreas, kidneys, obesity and atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, hypertension, and in all cases when it is necessary to free the body from excessive liquids, harmful metabolic products, etc.
Nutritionists believe that milk and dairy products should make up 1/3 of the daily calorie intake. If milk is not well tolerated, it should be diluted, given in small portions and always warm. Nutritional science says that milk and its products should be included in the diet of both children and adults. In Soviet times, milk was given to everyone who worked in hazardous industries. Scientists believed that due to its absorbent properties, milk was able to cleanse the body of toxins and harmful substances. A more effective antidote for poisoning with salts of heavy metals (lead, cobalt, copper, mercury, etc.) has not yet been found.
The calming effect of milk baths has been known to mankind since ancient times, so women from time immemorial have used them to keep their youth and beauty longer. A well-known recipe for a milk bath bears the name of Cleopatra, and its main ingredient was milk.
Milk is a product that contains all the necessary proteins and substances, because at first children eat only milk.
Vegetarianism
People of the Vedic culture practically did not eat meat. Despite the fact that for many centuries India was ruled by people who ate meat, a huge number of Indians are still strict vegetarians.
Some modern Westerners, having become vegetarians, later return to their old habits because they do not enjoy vegetarian food. But if modern people knew about the alternative system of Vedic nutrition with its gourmet dishes and spices, which is also scientifically perfect, then many of them would give up meat forever.
From a Vedic point of view, vegetarianism is not only a food system, it is an integral part of the lifestyle and philosophy of those who strive for spiritual perfection. But no matter what goal we pursue: to achieve spiritual perfection or simply develop the habit of clean and healthy food, if we begin to follow the instructions of the Vedas, we will be happier ourselves and stop causing unnecessary suffering to other living beings in the world around us.
The first condition of religious life is love and compassion for all living things. In predatory animals, fangs protrude from a row of teeth, which allows them to hunt and defend themselves with their help. Why don’t people go hunting armed only with their teeth, and don’t “bite” animals to death, don’t tear their prey with their claws? Do they do it in a more “civilized” way?
The Vedas say that the soul, being born in the body of a cow, in the next life receives a human body, since the body of a cow is intended only to give mercy to people. For this reason, to kill a cow that has given itself to the service of man is considered very sinful. The cow’s consciousness of the mother is very clearly manifested. She has real maternal feelings for the one whom she feeds with her milk, regardless of the shape of his body.
The killing of cows, from the point of view of the Vedas, means the end of human civilization. The plight of the cows is a sign centuries Cali (of our time, which is described in the Vedas as the Iron Age – the era of wars, quarrels and hypocrisy).
The bull and the cow are the personification of purity, since even the manure and urine of these animals are used for the benefit of human society (as fertilizers, antiseptics, fuel, etc.). For the killing of these animals, the rulers of antiquity lost their reputation, since the consequence of the killing of cows is the development of drunkenness, gambling and prostitution.
Not to offend mother earth and mother cow, but to protect them as our own mother, who feeds us with her milk – the basis of human consciousness. Everything connected with our mother is sacred to us, which is why the Vedas say that the cow is a sacred animal.
Milk as a divine gift
The earth greets us with milk – this is the first thing we taste when we are born in this world. And if the mother does not have milk, then the child is fed with cow’s milk. About cow’s milk, Ayurveda says that this gift enriches the soul, because any mother’s milk is produced thanks to the “energy of love.” Therefore, it is recommended that children be breast-fed until at least three years of age, and in Vedic society, children were fed milk even up to five years. It was believed that only such children could protect their parents and society.
Vedic cosmology describes the primordial manifestation of this most amazing and inexplicable product in the universe. The primordial milk is said to be present as an ocean on the planet Svetadvipa, a spiritual planet within our material universe, which contains all the wisdom and tranquility emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Cow’s milk is the only product that has the ability to develop the mind. Between the original and material milk there is an incomprehensible connection, using which we can influence our consciousness.
The great saints and sages who reached a high level of consciousness, knowing this feature of milk, tried to eat only milk alone. The beneficial effect of milk is so strong that just by being near a cow or holy sages who eat cow’s milk, one can immediately experience happiness and peace.