This questions and answers document is prepared by a group of Hindu Speakers as a source of information for them or for any one seeking information on Hinduism. There are multiple ways of answering a single question and this group is not claiming to provide all potential answers here.
On Hinduism
The target audience is 9th grader Abrahamic students in American Schools but it will be useful to anyone interested in learning about Hinduism. All answers are designed to answer in about a 3 minute time frame. We have also provided links to other reading materials and video links relating to each question.
Considering Hindu speakers are invariably asked some sensitive geopolitical questions, we have included some potentially sensitive topics here to help speakers answer them from Hindu perspective. However we wish to clarify that this group is composed of Hindus but the group does not have any political affiliation.
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21. Nature
The cow was the first animal that the Hindus domesticated. In the Vedic age the cow was a blessing to the rural community.
The cow is a maternal figure [Gau mata or mother cow], a caretaker of her people, also seen as a divine bounty of the earth. Lord Krishna was raised as a cowherd, and played His flute with the rest of his friendly cowherd mates. He is a friend and a protector of the cows, often called “Gopala”.
The cow is considered a sacred animal as it provides us with life-sustaining milk. It is considered an auspicious act to feed the cows first before eating once’s food.
Ayurveda promotes the Sattvic qualities of milk, and dairy products, so most Hindu families drink milk and eat milk based products to provide the essential proteins and nutrients. In the rural communities, bulls are used for ploughing the fields and transportation. Cow dung is used as a fuel, and can generate heat. Village homes are plastered with a mixture of cow dung/mud mixture, providing insulation. Cow dung is rich in minerals and is an excellent fertilizer. Rituals involving cow dung and ghee [clarified butter] for sacred fires are considered to purify the atmosphere, are antipollutant and anti-radiation. Some of the Hindu rituals use a combination of milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and sugar as offerings for prayer services.
It is hardly surprising that the cow occupied the position as a mother in the life of a child. It is considered a sin to kill a cow and eat beef. The vedic scriptures emphasize that the cow must be protected and cared for.
Other reading material: Read Why Hindus don’t eat beef? (22a), https://voiceofhindus.org/why-cows-are-sacred-for-hindus-and-why-they-dont-eat-beef/
Relevant videos:
Contributor: Dr. Jyoti Lulla
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21. Nature
Hinduism, at its core, has a reverence for universal Truth. It can be said that Hindu text, practices, and traditions are a codification of multiple approaches to recognize and honor the universal truth. That universal Truth and its divinity can be recognized and honored by folding hands, service to others, deity worship, chanting, meditating, yoga, dance, music, vegetarianism, etc. The choice of approach can be theistic, atheistic, nature worship, object based, or may simply have a philosophical school of thought associated with it.
In case of Tulsi, there are Puranic (one of the many sacred Hindu texts) stories of it being associated with deities. Tulsi is also a medicinal plant that has many benefits when consumed. As true with many things, Hindu have more than one reason to pray to Tulsi–both theistic and practical. Simply put, Tulsi can be an object to enable a Hindu’s devotion, or it could be a Hindu’s mooring in nature, and a reminder of our inter-dependence and obligation to preserve it, or it can simply be a somewhat selfish desire to keep the sacred blossoming in our courtyards as a symbol of divine’s presence in our homes.
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Other reading material:
Relevant videos:
Contributor: Rajeev Singh
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21. Nature