They say “Cows and Krishna have always been together since eternity. In His original form in the spiritual world, Krishna is a cowherd boy in the agricultural community of Goloka”

At Dhrti, all the yogis are striving to evolve spiritually by tuning our pranas with yogic practices and there is also the regular Bhagwad Gita Sessions & Krishna MahaMantra jaap helping us grow and evolve. We are building a group of spiritually evolved souls, who can be agents of change, by spreading Krishna consciousness into our love starved communities. In this endeavor, it was only natural for us to come in contact with ‘Gowmata’ (cows), and how blessed we were!

In Bhagwad Gita it is stated that Cow is the mother of all creatures and creations. Cow is verily the mother of 33 crore demigods that administrate creation in the material existence throughout the universe. Cows are worshipped by the Gods as the Mother and is home for all auspiciousness.

We were blessed with Krishna’s grace, when Sanyaasi Devanand ji, who is associated with Aatma Darshna Yogashram (Southern branch of Bihar School Of Yoga) graced Dhrti with a talk on the Importance of Gir Cows (Desi Indian Cows) and reminded us that itis the duty of every soul to nurture and protect them before they get extinct in this age of greed & consumerism.

Dhrti now stands tall, hand in hand with ‘Shreyas’ – A Goushala in the small town of Bidadi, started by Sn Devanandji   and his brother Shyaam Prabhu ji. We are now not only receiving pure cow’s milk everyday from the Goushala, but are also blessed with many other products made at the goushala like compost, dung cakes etc.

Recently, to express our devotion and love to the holy mother (cows), a group of 4 from Dhrti went to ‘Shreyas’ to par-take in Karma yoga. Here is our experience

15th March, Sunday, 5:30 AM

The Sun was still making its way to grace Bangalore with its Pranic rays, but the four of us were already up and excited about our trip to ‘Shreyas’ (Goshala). A day we were going to remember for a very very long time. It’s not every day that we get to pet, love and pamper Gowmata, play with them the whole day, experience their motherly love and return overflowing with fulfillment.

It was surely not an ordinary day. It would not be wrong to say that Krishna himself made his way down and established Himself in all of us to serve Gowmata. We were mere instruments of His Leela (play of God).

Our mission was to make compost from dried leaves, Gobar (Cow Dung), Gow Mootra (Cow Urine) and other organic materials like dried grass etc. A mission which was going to test our physical- mental capabilities and our inner strength. Our yogic practice at Dhrti and our devotion for  the Lord was to be put to test. We were devoted to the cause and were humbled for a beautiful opportunity to serve the Lord himself.

The day started at 7:00 am, when we left for the Ashram and collected all the bio waste collected by Bal yogi’s performing Karma Yoga. After loading all the bio waste in a truck,  we started our journey towards the Goushala which is almost forty kilometers from the city. During our journey from Bangalore to Bidadi, minds were undergoing a change, just like the quality of air we were breathing. From the worries of a wordily world, we were being transported to Goloka (Planet of Cows). A still mind, devoted to the cause was being brewed in all of us during that 60 minute journey.

We reached ‘Shreyas’ by 8:00 am. The air was fresh and no commotion of traffic. The only sound was the rustling of the coconut leaves, gently swaying in the wind.  We knew we had arrived at Goloka, when we saw ‘Gowmata’ greeting us with their curiously sweet looks. Their beautiful eyes filled with love and their being, serene in meditation of Lord Krishna, made us realized how much burden we carry in our own minds, while nature surrenders everything to the Lord, and becomes a symbol of Purity & Peace.

Sn Devanandji spoke at length about some interesting facts about Gir cows which instilled so much humility in us, and prepared us to give whatever we had within us, for  the day’s  cause. It also instilled in us the need to carry this attitude for rest of our lives.

Gowmata is always giving to Mankind  and Nature in so many ways:

They take in Oxygen & release Oxygen. Gowmutra (Cow urine) is very medicinal. It is believed that one who drinks it every day, stays healthy for the rest of his life. Cow dung is also beneficial for nature  and soil. When used as a compost, the vegetable plants are enriched with nutrients and it also protects the plants from diseases  and pests. After listening to many such amazing facts, we got down to executing our mission.

The sun was shining with all its glory on us curious to know what Krishna Sevaks were up to and yet sometimes hiding behind the clouds giving us the much needed respite from the heat. The Sun was playing a perfect companion for our task.

While we were arranging the layers of Dried Leaves, Cow dungs, Cow urine, dried grass to prepare the compost, we learnt an important lesson. A lesson which we are all learning at Dhrti Yoga. Our Yoga gurus are layering us with Karma Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Bhakti Yoga thus preparing a fertile ground in each one of us for divinity to germinate so that we can start our journey back from where we came (our real home). It’s a task which can be only achieved with discipline, hard work, love & devotion.

We also witnessed a very important cycle of nature. Gowmata is fed with fresh fodder & grains. The Cow dung & Cow urine which is generated by them is then used to make Compost, which goes into the soil and helps fodder, vegetables  and fruits grow.

Once our mission was complete, we were in store for a treat. Gowmata treated us with fresh Gowmutra, which we all drank and savored. We also experienced the creamy  and natural sweetness of freshly milked milk ( raw milk- un boiled). Our bodies were not only rejuvenated but our souls healed.

Karma Yoga can be spiritually uplifting, and we got to experience that. Our weary souls rested that day under the soothing love and care of Gowmata. We came back home with the sankalpa (will) of grabbing every  single opportunity of going back, this time not just the 4 of us, but with many more of our Karma Yogis at Dhrti.

Hare Krishna!

As experienced by Harmeet, Kuldeep, Harshada & Ravinder