The same evening, we all set out to see the farmland we had intended to purchase, located near the Oriental College. All along the way, S had been narrating incidents from Mother’s life.
Mother used to explain the highest philosophy in simple words, just as Sri Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada Devi did.
One day, it seems that someone asked Mother, “What happens to the soul after death? Where does it go?”
The person who asked this question must have expected the answer to be heaven, hell or next life, instead, Mother replied, “It goes nowhere, but simply merges into its surroundings.”
“What is it Mother? I’m unable to understand,” said the confused disciple.
“What happens to the air within a tire, when it gets deflated? Doesn’t it merge with the surrounding air? The same happens with the soul as well,” explained Mother simply.
Air is the source of the prana (life force) in our body. We survive because the air, both within and outside us is constantly being recycled. At the time of death, this process of recycling stops and the air within us merges with the surrounding air. It is that simple! Why complicate it with heaven, hell and rebirth?
But, man never accepts anything that is simple. He will only be satisfied if it is explained for hours in a very complex language, interlaced with mythology and some fascinating stories about hell and heaven from the scriptures. This is the fate of mankind. Nature is very simple, so is the universe. But it is our minds that are clogged with cobwebs. Anything that is simple and unmixed with spicy stories will not be appreciated by mankind.
We reached the cowshed as we were talking.
“This Goushala too was established by Mother herself. Not only humans, but also the birds and animals were fortunate enough to receive her love and affection. It took us so many years after Mother left her mortal body to bring it to the present state,” said S, as he guided us inside.
There were about 50 cows in the sheds. I have seen the cowsheds at other places, wherein they pack too many cows in a limited space without providing them enough room to move about. They are not properly taken care of, their diet too is not very wholesome. At night, they are swarmed by mosquitos. They do not have proper protection either from heat or cold. However, a few fellow Jain brothers religiously send some dry grass to feed the cows.
But this Goushala was quite a pleasure to look at. It was almost past sundown by the time we reached there, so the whole shelter was covered with mosquito nets to protect the cows from mosquitoes. Each cow had a dedicated ceiling fan for ventilation. Cows looked peaceful and healthy under these conditions.
“We serve them very nutritious and pesticide-free food. In his two acre farm, a kind hearted fellow brother produces the necessary greens and vegetables for the cows, without using any pesticides. We give them wholesome food like good fodder, grains and green grass. We treat them as our own children and not as mere animals. There is a compost plant nearby that produces natural manure using the urine and dung of these cows. Through the canal that we see here, the urine and dung gets passed into the plant and converted into fertilizer. We keep this area very hygienic by cleaning it often. Not everyone can do this work. So, we have entrusted this work only to those who do it very diligently,” said S.
He added, “We can maintain this shelter without any hassle, if 108 members donate Rs.6000 annually. So far, we have 70 donors and it will be good if 33 more could join this mission. We have come up with this amount of Rs.500 per month, to avoid burden on the donors.”
Mother used to say, “Do not take one lakh rupees from a single person, instead, take a rupee each from one lakh people. So that it won’t cause burden to anyone and at the same time the work will also get done. Come together to do good work collectively, for the welfare of everyone”.
“A couple had come forward to take care of these cows. They had been married for seven long years, but were childless. Within a year of their dedicated service, they were blessed with a child,” said S.
“It must have nullified the Guru Dosha in their chart,” I thought to myself. Jupiter is the planet responsible for childbirth. Anyone with problems related to child bearing, will certainly have Guru Dosha (weak or malefic Jupiter) in their horoscope. The couples’ service to cows must have worked as a remedy and hence they were blessed with a child. Though they served the cows by taking salary, their devoted service still helped them overcome their bad karma.
We were all very impressed with the way they maintained the shelter.
So I promised S that the remaining amount needed to fulfill their mission would be borne by our Panchawati foundation. Service to cows not only nullifies the malefic effects of Jupiter in a person’s chart, but also that of Rahu and Ketu. Not many are aware of this fact. There is no one on this planet, at present, that is exempt from planetary influence. And for this, there is no better remedy than service to the saints and cows. After assuring S that members of Panchawati would be contributing their best to this cause hereafter, we started to head back.
On the way, I asked S, “What do you do with the old cows?”
He exactly understood the intention behind my question and said, “We do not treat them any differently, we take care of the old and sick cows as much as we do the young and milking ones. We take full responsibility for the cows’ wellbeing, until they breathe their last, because they are not just cattle for us, but our own children.”
His words brought tears to our eyes. I was touched by their faith and the way they meticulously turned Mother’s visions into a reality.
All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Dr. Sri Bhargavi, which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on October 25, 2018. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.