In healthy families and communities, both male and female are valued equally. A flourishing child's psyche is guided and protected by the father figure, while the mother figure nurtures growth and development. Without such a stable structure, children perceive a hostile world (lack of feminine nourishment) within an empty universe (lack of masculine direction giving meaning and purpose).

Children who do not experience a proper relationship with their parents have a greater chance of falling prey to intoxication in order to fill the void and dull the pain. Without loving families and communities, they feel inadequate, lost, and without a sense of belonging. Unable to tolerate it, they rapidly fill that void with artificial types of happiness. These “quick fix” solutions simply exacerbate the distress. In fact, in current times, we see how everything has to be faster and faster. “Snail mail” is outdated, and high-speed internet is considered a necessity of life that can answer all our dilemmas.

We live in a society where the price of fixing a thing exceeds the cost of buying a new one. Modern consumerism requires petroleum and fuel from the Earth, drawing out more of her energy. Although it is simpler for broken items to be dumped into a landfill, the resultant toxic waste burdens Mother Earth, killing our life support systems and polluting our collective unconscious.

As this consumer-based mentality expands, it pervades the realm of our relationships which also become disposable commodities. There is not enough time to cultivate meaningful connections. Accustomed to the comforts and luxuries of modern technology, parents work longer and harder to earn more money in order to provide what the global, socially transmitted disease of Affluenza (addiction to modern comforts and conveniences along with the narcissism that it aggravates) deems as "normal”. Resulting in even less time and energy for their children.

Having secure relationships with both parents offers more than mere emotional stability; it furthers connection to the supreme seed-giving Father of all (Krishna) and the original Mother (Radha), the tender-hearted feminine Beloved of the Lord. Moreover, an organic lifestyle and quality time with parents can help offspring naturally develop faith in God above (dharma) and respect for Mother Earth below.

Conversely, the ongoing disintegration of our cultures, families, communities, and sustainable infrastructures, has destroyed our natural sense of rejuvenation and regeneration. As a result, many have learned that we need to "slow" down and develop a long-term scheme that will conserve our natural resources and preserve our relationships. This scheme, called _varnasrama-dharma_, was created by Krishna as a blueprint for a harmonious society. He invites us to incorporate it, along with His other gifts, into our lives.

Srila Prabhupada wants his followers to live and demonstrate a lifestyle dependent on nature's gifts. He wants ISKCON to serve as a model for Krishna's design, showing how human society can live in harmony with the ecosystem. This is _daivi-varnashrama dharma_ - brahminical culture - an agrarian lifestyle in which we live in harmony with one another, depend on nature, and protect Krishna's cows and bulls. There is no brahminical culture without the protected cow and contented bull.

A society organized according to the principles of _daivi-varnashrama dharma_ naturally utilizes and creates an appreciation for both the female and male energies. The female energy is represented by the cow, who supplies milk, and the male energy is represented by the ox, who provides an organic, sustainable, and renewable power source complementary to agricultural enterprises.

The cow represents the Earth and nurtures her children with her milk. Milk is needed for sacrifice and developing the fine brain tissue required for higher intelligence and spiritual advancement. Srila Prabhupada writes, "The cow is the most important animal for developing the human body to perfection. The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff. Still, cow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge." (SB 3.5.7, purport)

Srila Prabhupada's standard for cow protection is not that we just provide a home, a natural life, and a natural death for the cows. His larger intent is that the cow and the bull be "jolly" – that is his term. A cow is jolly when her contribution –her milk – is appreciated, and she is respected accordingly. Cows have a sense of whether they are valued; if they feel appreciated, they are satisfied and productive. This is their natural domestic feature.

The bull/ox represents dharma and is the father who provides and protects. It is thus crucial that he is appropriately engaged. If the bull (father) is not employed, then society has no prosperity. Moreover, the bull is required for our independence from fossil fuel-powered machines and exploitive industrial practices that have critical consequences on our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Furthermore, if an ox does not work in the agricultural field and produce for the family, he will be seen as a burden. In this case, although he may live a natural life and die naturally, he will not be happy. Clearly, if the bull is unproductive and thus unhappy, it is not really cow protection. The father figure, the guru, the bull, and the king are all meant to fortify our respect and love for the Supreme Father. As these elements are eliminated from society, the culture of Krishna Consciousness becomes weaker.

Interdependence with the Earth's ecosystem has always been a part of my life due to my early roots on my grandfather's farm. One of my duties as a young boy was to herd the cows. While walking with them, it fascinated me that wherever the cows dropped manure, the grass was healthy, green, and tall. I didn't know why, but I could see that there was something in the manure that the grass needed; that symbiotic relationship between Earth and the cow was obvious.

In those days, draft animals were still being used in cultivating the land, and barter was still prominent as the economic standard of exchange. This is quite a contrast to the plundering multinational corporations dominating and devouring nature's resources today.

I observed in my childhood that the farmers were very devout in their Christian beliefs. In the village church, the farmers expressed a faith that was a natural result of their lifestyle. I considered them to be closer to God than most of the population. I saw and appreciated a connection between their lifestyle of living off the land and their faith, dependence, and devotion to God. They had a better understanding of life than most people, which was attractive to me.

In the church choir, the farm women sang sweetly, expressing the satisfaction characteristic of farm life. Their husbands' voices, trained in calling out to command the draft horse teams, offered a rich deep complementary resonance.

It was both a blessing and a curse to have been raised in a traditional agricultural village – a blessing to see Krishna's model for living in action, a curse to see it eclipsed by modern agro-business.

The position and condition of the cow and bull in society is the barometer of a civilization's health on both subtle and gross levels. Cultures and individuals who live in communion with God's plan for a healthy community through _daivi-varnashrama dharma_ naturally propagate the perennial seeds of prosperity.

Attuning our lives to the rhythms of earth culture, we must strive to live in harmony with Mother Nature and her laws by following Krishna's original design for order in the universe. Honoring archetypal mother and father figures facilitates our ability to know life's true meaning and purpose. This creates a deep connection to our universal and merciful Mother, Srimati Radharani, and to the message of our Father, Lord Krishna: to chant His Holy Names.

The maha-mantra is likened to the sound of Sri Krishna's flute song, which calls all the lost cows back home. Sri Krishna, by his flute playing and with the rope He carries, ensures the cows will be home in time for their milking. His big brother, Dauji, by the plow He holds, guarantees that the oxen will be appropriately situated. And Srimati Radharani, Vrishabhanu Nandini, by the Name She cherishes, ensures that the archetypal bull, Vrishabha, will forever be honored.

Although lost and misguided, we can follow in the footsteps of the cows and the cowherd boys and girls. By chanting Krishna's Names and being attracted by that sacred vibration, we too can return home to Krishna's abode.

Appreciating Male and Female Energies, Cow and Bull Protection

From time to time, Krishna presses the pause button to give us time to reflect upon the consequences of our overstimulated lifestyles. Such a lifestyle has detrimental effects on mother earth's life support systems, our individual immune systems, and healthy relationships. This pause gives us the opportunity to reconsider the choices we have made.

The ecological crisis means that mother earth's life support systems are shutting down. Our air, water, soil, and food supply are becoming compromised due to the excessive pollution created by the plundering of multinational corporations and industries. Consequently, every living entity's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare is compromised.

Our privileged life on the most blessed planet is in jeopardy. Already much of Mother Earth's former splendor and glory has been reduced to ashes, foreshadowing further distraction and destruction if we fail to heed her warning.

Earth can process a certain amount of toxic waste, but when the overconsumption of mankind overloads nature's purifying effects, we all succumb to collective toxicity. Breathing, drinking, and eating polluted substances poisons the body and mind rendering them incapable of registering the messages from the archetypal world. So let us acknowledge and confess the truth awaiting beneath the denial fueled by our toxic conditioning.

The archetypal world contains vast wisdom conveyed through signs, symbols, images, visions, and dreams. Mother Earth stores that wisdom in the multiple depths of her being. She is more than our collective body; she is our collective psyche.

Let us pray that mankind will learn these crucial lessons, and further still will recognize and create opportunities for Earth to heal and her children to benefit. Let us take time to rewrite the script in order that a new life may follow, away from modern plundering, pollution, and intoxication. A script granting a glimpse of the mighty Himalayas reappearing from the curtain of smog and of dolphins returning to the clean waters of Venice.

May Phoenix arise from the ashes in time to remind us that beneath our denial, cynicism, and criticism is a deeply rooted longing for a healthy community. Let us remember Srila Prabhupada's important directive of "plain living and high thinking", expressed in a life of self-sufficiency.

Few Reflections on Eco-Ethics 

The full range of spiritual and practical significance represented by the bull is integral to Vaisnava culture and society. Moreover, it is a source of insight into the subconscious mind.

The bull stands as an emblem of male fecundity or procreative potency. This potency tends to be wild and combative until subdued, as in the case of Nandi, the carrier of Siva, the perfect Vaisnava. Then, his touch transforms libido into the driving force that accomplishes and facilitates spiritual goals.

The familiar sight of a bull driving a turnstile reflects the image of Rishabha, the Vedic bull, who sets the cosmic wheel into motion. Even at rest, he stands for dharma, the universal law, and order. At the end of each yuga cycle, he lifts one of his hooves, indicating that the 4 pillars of spiritual life - cleanliness, austerity, mercy, and truthfulness - continue to diminish throughout the ages. Eventually, in Kaliyuga, truthfulness stands alone. Still, even truthfulness is being attacked by Kali, as recorded in _Srimad Bhagavatam_ when Maharaja Pariksit came to the rescue of Dharma, the bull, and Bhumi, the Earth.

Right from the inception of the New Vrindaban vision and continuing during his later visits, Srila Prabhupada showed consistent concern that the bull maintains a solid footing in the sacred soil of the agricultural fields of the holy dhama.

Among his primary mandates for New Vrindaban, Srila Prabhupada promoted cow protection. He emphasized the position of the cow and the bull as Mother and Father figures, representing Earth below and Dharma above. He hoped that with this perspective, we would shift our consciousness away from perceiving them as objects for our exploitation, as when we see the cow primarily as an object meant for milk production. Conversely, of non-milk output, the bull is viewed with equal or greater importance than the cow as a power source.

As Kali continues to attack in an attempt to exploit both Dharma and Earth, cow protection reflects and ensures society's spiritual health. Srila Prabhupada's standard for cow protection extends beyond the cow and bull being granted a natural life; they must also be jolly. We all know that cows are happy to be fed and milked; unfortunately, the source of pleasure for the ox has been obscured by the tractor.

An ox is a bull who has surrendered his procreative potential to be submissive and have a manageable temperament, making him trainable for agricultural and transportation services. As a father figure, the ox loves to provide for his family of humans by pursuing his occupation in the field, which assures a source of income and prosperity for mankind. However, if the father is unemployed, the family does not experience real prosperity but only artificial wealth. His work is represented by the plow, which turns under the weeds and opens the furrow, where seeds of our sustenance and seeds of bhakti are sown and cultivated for the upcoming harvest.

In an agrarian culture, planting and harvesting are both festive occasions when everyone comes together in a joyful mood, delighting in preparing and offering the gifts of the Earth back to their source, Sri Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada considered using tractors only as a concession, to be used in addition to oxen, never as a replacement. He called the tractor the "killer of the bull," meaning that when the ox is not engaged, he won't be appreciated and thus can never be happy because, consciously or subconsciously, he will be seen as a burden. Moreover, if we can't appreciate those dear to Krishna, we can never develop true love for Him.

Srila Prabhupada objected to machines replacing the oxen, creating unemployment, meaning that we no longer come together with a community spirit to cultivate relationships with the Earth, our mother.

True agriculture encourages and necessitates cooperation, where everything prospers, and everyone works together. Whereas technology fuels competition. In working the land with oxen and ox power, every step leads to prosperity. Whether that comes from overflowing bounty or simply the faith that there will always be enough to go around. Fuel for the ox team is grass which otherwise needs to be mowed. When it becomes fuel for the ox, it returns to the Earth enriched in the form of manure - black gold.

When working a team of oxen, the teamster is never haunted by the spiritual scarcity accompanying the tractor. How to pay for this machine? How to pay rising fuel prices? How to buy parts? How do I replace my tractor when it wears out? However, by the time an ox team retires, it already has been replaced many times over, considering one-half of the calves born are bulls, and most will become steers, eligible for training, and graduate as oxen.

Instead of supporting this sustainable culture, the Iron age (the age of machines) brought the exploitation of the Earth and her precious resources. Iron is mined by industrial enterprises fueled by petroleum, so the smelting plants can produce steel. Rubber trees are replacing sandalwood trees, giving tires preference over articles of sacrifice. With every stride of the industrial world, the planet's life force diminishes. In contrast, with every step of cow protection and oxen training, our ecology is enriched with vitality and renewed life.

Our tractors and cars become an extension of the ego, which aggravates the false identity in spite of our efforts to purify ourselves. However, when training and driving an ox team, the animals will not cooperate with egotistic outbursts and will serve as mirrors reflecting our attitudes and consciousness. This is a unique service no tractor can offer us.

In attuning our lives to the rhythms of earth culture, we cultivate sensitivity to the vibration of the Holy Name. Our chanting is a natural response to Sri Krishna's flute song, which calls all the lost souls and misguided humans back to Goloka Vrindavan, the planet of the cows.

Significance of Ox Power 

**Srila Prabhupada's Awareness of the Importance of Agrarian Culture**

Excerpt from an interview

Srila Prabhupada went for a morning walk in Talavan (New Vrindaban). When he stepped out of the woods into an open field, he stopped and looked at the devotees. Then, with a serious expression, he asked, "Why are these fields fallow, and why aren't there any men working these fields, and where are the oxen?" I was the only devotee farming at that time, and this impressed me. I didn't say anything, but it really touched me that Prabhupada was attentive to what was being done in the agricultural realm.

Srila Prabhupada was keenly aware that the importance of agrarian culture was not just about having our own food source when the economy fails. Even more so, it was for the sake of depending on nature's gifts as a matter of relationships. We must acknowledge and experience our utter dependence on Krishna in order to serve and love Him truly.

Srila Prabhupada envisioned New Vrindaban as a community where everything and everyone is living in harmony, assisting each other in serving Krishna. That kind of spirit promotes appreciation for everyone and everything and deep gratitude to the designer of this perfect arrangement.

I had been doing farm and conservation work all my life, and I had seen the plight of the American farmer from 1950 onwards. I saw the introduction of tractors and how they displaced the draft animals. High-powered tractors resulted in the overproduction of food, leading to the government paying farmers more money for not growing crops than the profit they'd make from their harvests. I witnessed farms going under and being bought up by the big and exploitative farming industry. I observed the whole syndrome.

What Srila Prabhupada asked weren’t just questions; you could see on his face a serious concern that this same fate might befall the devotees in New Vrindavan; he was aware of this whole tendency and syndrome. His terminology reflects the tractor as the killer of the bull. If you're not seeing yourself as dependent on the land and the oxen, then you're not going to have the proper appreciation and you're not going to demonstrate cow protection on the level of what he deemed as appropriate, the standard that the cows be jolly. Keep in mind that cows come in two genders. And they are not jolly unless they're contributing to society.

Seeing the things that Srila Prabhupada would pick up on gave me an even greater appreciation of the depth of his wisdom and the integrity of his understanding of all aspects of spiritual life, from the most practical to the deeply esoteric.