HKRL Archives - October 1993

New Mayapura Bhaktas Victorious!
Cows Come Home

By Aradhya devi dasi


"Bol! Bol! Bol! Haribol! Bol! Bol!" A chorus of cows' voices answer back
and a thunder of hooves race to join my husband, Pitavas Prabhu, as he
leads Krsna's herd to the "paradise of the cows," New Mayapura's forest.
Across the newly sprouted wheat field,
 I see him striding along, cow staff in hand, the jubilant cows, calves
and oxen leaping, running, trotting, hurrying after him, proclaiming their
joy at the top of their lungs. The sun is lighting up the forest blades,
full of lush grass, delicate new le aves, buttercups, daisies, primroses.
The cuckoo adds his note to the concert. At last Krsna and Balarama's cows
have come home. 

When New Mayapura was seized and sold at auction some years ago, the cows
had to be taken away to safety. Put under a private name they masqueraded
as a normal herd of bovines on a normal farm in the middle of nowhere. But
bit by bit the secret got out, a s year after year no cows were sold, no
milk was sold, and especially -- horror of horrors -- cows died, not of
illness, not of being slaughtered, but of...old age. 

Finally, after a worldwide campaign, New Mayapura was saved. But shortly
thereafter, the government seized the farm where the cows were hidden
away. Yes, they had found Krsna's cows, "the sacred cows." There was only
one thing to do: bring the cows back t o New Mayapura. But all the fences
were down, the stables were dilapidated, there were no men to help. Worst
of all, it was winter and instead of pastures, there was only mud. The
forest was barren, the leaves had all fallen, even the leaves of the
brambl es and nettles. 

A feed lot was quickly improvised near the forest. Hay was brought in from
a friendly neighbor's supply. Then the cows came, in trucks or by foot if
they were able. They stayed in the lot all winter, until they were thin,
bedraggled, muddy, sad-eyed and w eary of austerities. 

When spring came, the devotees decided to fence the forest entirely, 40
hectares of impenetrable thickets and unexplored woodland. No one ever
went there or knew what fencing a forest might entail. 

Pitavasa Prabhu noticed one evening, while pondering over the map of the
property, that there had been a government road around the forest. He went
to look, but it had long ago disappeared in the underbrush. A stop-off at
the Town Hall and a chat with the
 Mayor yielded its fruits: the town would clear out the road. Then all the
devotees needed to do was put up the fence. A project of weekly
all-community work was set up. One day a week, all the men of New Mayapura
would go "make fence." 

So with many hands making light work, cheerful kirtans, friendly
encouragement, and a lot of joking about blisters, back-ache, heavy fence
poles, lost tools and hunger pains, the forest was fenced entirely in
about a month. Some who couldn't contribute ha rd labor contributed funds
to buy wire and other necessities. It was the turning point in the cow
consciousness of the community. From a lotof city slickers, seeing country
life as a break from city pressures, they became a truly appreciative of
what enor mous energy is required to protect the cow. 

The herd of New Mayapura has representatives of nearly every known breed
of milking or working cattle. In addition to the usual Holsteins, Brown
Swiss, and Jersey or Ayrshires, there are also Normandy cows, Ferrandaise
cows from the Massif Centrale area, Salers, Gascos, and even one or two
Charlois cross-breeds who slipped under the fence. The reason for this
mixture was two-fold: 

First of all, many cows were given as gifts to the temple. But then,
wishing to have oxen who were intelligent, strong, gentle, and long-lived,
we also brought in animals from breeds which are still used for animal
traction here in France. 

Of all the different breeds, ox drivers here prefer the Ferrandais oxen,
or the Salers. In addition to being beautiful, with long elegant horns,
they are gentle, affectionate, strong, and frugal. They also learn quickly
and have a good memory. 

The Charolais are very strong, but not very bright, nor particularly
beautiful. The Swiss, as is well-known, are beautiful and intelligent, but
not as affectionate or gentle or strong. The Gascon are bright, beautiful
and strong, but wild and independent. 


The Ferrandais breed has just one drawback: it is a breed that is
disappearing. There are only 75 cows of this breed existing on the planet.
But in one way this is good, for the government has decided to protect
them. We get free insemination from Ferrand ais bulls, as part of that
program. The farmers generally don't sell their Ferrandais cows, who live
to a ripe old age of 32 years quite often, and can carry calves all their
lives. 

For supporting this sudden new burden of 35 hungry animals, New Mayapura
started a program known as "Labour et Paturage." Contributing members.
help pay for veterinary care, feed, fencing, and ox-power materials. 

What have we learned from eight years of cow protection service? I think
most obvious thing that we learned is it takes a farmer to farm. Although
by reading Prabhupada's books one can become inspired to take up or
support such a project, the actual work has to be done by those who have
an appropriate body and life-long skills with animal handling. Even with
the best of intensions, a city secretary or office employee can never work
up enough muscle to clean out barns, make hay, train oxen, milk cows who
have their calves with them, make fences, grind grains, etc.  That kind of
strength is born, not made. The obvious solution is to make friends with
the local farmers. The problem is that they are, practically speaking, 100
percent butchers and have extrem e difficulty in understanding why we
don't "cull" [slaughter] our less useful cows, why we want to work with
oxen when a tractor is so much faster. So the real problem is rock-bottom:
converting the farmers to Krsna consciou sness. It isn't easy, but it is
possible to make friends with them, essentially through prasadam and
exchange of tasks. 

We have a few devotees who were farmers before joining. Often they are not
appreciated for their real worth, as they are usually shy and soft-spoken,
as well as being very set in their ways. But they get results if you let
them do their work without inter ference. 

As for working oxen in New Mayapura, there are five teams at present. They
are used for hauling wood, transporting loads, grains, hay, and for
Harinama in the neighboring villages, where they are very popular with the
children and the old-timers. 

Mr. Jean Nolle, the ox-power inventor, is going to give us a Kanol on his
next visit to New Mayapura. He has already come once and is planning a
second visit soon. We are also hoping to be able to construct an
electricity generator for this winter, which the whole herd will help run.
It will give them exercise and provide current for the electric saw and
water pump. 

Anyone interested in learning to work or train oxen, or who would like to
help in any way with the cow protection program here in New Mayapura can
write to: 

Pitavas Dasa
Labourage et Paturage
Chateau d'Oublaisse
36360 Lucay-Ie-Male, FRANCE

-- Hare Krsna Rural Life, October 1993