Go: more than a “cow”
In Sanskrit the word go covers the cow, the bull and the calf alike. Maharaj ji preferred to keep the word go in English, because “cow” does not carry the same feeling. In the scriptures the go is a mother, a teacher and a dear companion of the Lord, not merely a farm animal.
The śāstra gives a simple mark for recognising the go: goḥ sāsnādimattvam, she has the soft fold of skin hanging under the neck (the gala-kambala), a hump, long ears, gentle eyes and a sweet natural fragrance. These are the native cows of Bhārata.
Two divine qualities
Why is anyone worthy of worship? Because of their qualities and their actions. Maharaj ji taught that the cow has the two highest qualities of the Lord Himself:
- Nirāparādhī: she never causes distress to anyone.
- Upakārī: she is always working for the good of others.
Her milk nourishes children and the sick; her ghee is offered in every sacred fire; the bull ploughs the fields; even her dung and urine purify and heal. God created the cow as an ideal, Maharaj ji said, so that human beings would learn to live without harming anyone and for the welfare of all.
Govinda and Gopāla: Kṛṣṇa and the cows
Everything around Kṛṣṇa is connected with the cow. He is called Gopāla, the protector of cows, and Govinda, the one who delights the cows. He lives in Gokula, “the home of the cows”. His dearest friends are the gopas and gopīs, the cowherds. Govardhana Hill became His greatest servant simply by caring for His cows.
Kṛṣṇa, whom all worship, Himself serves the cows. In the Gītā He says, dhenūnām asmi kāmadhuk: “Among cows I am Kāmadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow” (10.28).
The abode of all the gods
The scriptures describe the cow as sarva-devamayī, the one in whom all the devas live. Brahmā dwells at the root of her horns, Viṣṇu in their middle and Śiva at their tips; the holy rivers flow in her; Lakṣmī lives in her dung. So whatever one hopes to gain by worshipping many deities or visiting many holy places is gained simply by serving the cow.
The same verses end with a warning: one who knows this and never strikes or speaks in anger to a cow attains great fortune.
What go-sevā really means
Sevā is not work done for a reward. It is loving action done only to please the one we serve, with a heart united to theirs (ekatā) and in a way that is pleasing to them (anukūlatā). Go-sevā, then, means caring for the cow as one’s own family: keeping her safe, fed, clean and happy. Because this pleases Kṛṣṇa directly, Maharaj ji called go-sevā the highest form of bhakti.
Anyone can do go-sevā. Maharaj ji began with a single cow, Pushpa; today the goshala he founded cares for hundreds of cows and bulls, none of them kept for profit.