Lesson in living joyously

MANY years ago, I lived in a small ashram in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA, with two friends, Yamuna and Dinatarine, who had their own delightful cow, Bimala Prasada.

Prior to meeting Bimala, I’d always viewed cows from a safe distance. Bimala, however, was practically an ashram resident who happened to live in the pasture just behind the ashram. She and Yamuna and Dinatarine were on close terms and gradually Bimala became my friend, too. She thoroughly enjoyed me stroking the underside of her neck and brushing her. Her short black and white hair was thick and velvety soft, and as I brushed her, I’d watch the coarse brush bristles as they followed the rounded contours of her plump belly, the gentle rises of her ribs, and the high peaks of her bony hips.

Once I had the rhythm of milking down and had developed some strength in my fingers and forearms, milking Bimala before sunrise became a favoured activity. Even now, decades later, I can still hear the sound of the thin, strong streams of milk rhythmically hitting the stainless steel bucket, releasing wisps of steam into the cool morning air. As the bucket gradually filled with rich frothy milk, Bimala, contentedly chewing grains, would make subdued snorts and grunts that melded with the calls of the early rising song sparrows and black-capped chickadees in the nearby forest. The unique stillness of that pre-dawn hour was filled with scents of dung and hay and fresh, pure milk.

And how much milk there was! With this single and incredibly versatile ingredient, we made yogurt, cream, paneer cheese, scrumptious milk sweets, butter and ghee, whey and buttermilk. Meanwhile, Bimala, the giver of such opulence, was peaceful, satisfied and tolerant, and being around her somehow increased my sense of peacefulness, satisfaction and tolerance – qualities of brahmanas, those the mode of goodness. (In Krishna’s words, “Peacefulness, selfcontrol, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness – these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.” (Gita 18.42)

To acquire the qualities of the mode of goodness we need an environment conducive to that mode and we need the company of those with good qualities. This concept is put poetically in the Gita Mahatmya 6: “All the Upanisads are like a cow, and the milker of the cow is Sri Krishna, the son of Nanda. Arjuna is the calf, the beautiful nectar of the Gita is the milk, and the fortunate devotees of fine theistic intellect are the drinkers and enjoyers of that milk.”

In other words, the Upanisads, which contain knowledge of the absolute truth, are likened to a cow. Sri Krishna, who is famous as a cowherd boy, is the milker of that cow. Arjuna is likened to a calf. In the presence of her calf the cow gives profuse milk, and that milk is the Bhagvad Gita. For Arjuna’s nourishment and wisdom, Krishna offered him the Bhagvad Gita, and to this day every one of us can also take this ‘milk’ – the Gita’s nectarean directives – and experience the happiness of the mode of goodness.

The simple life at Dina and Yamuna’s ashram was blessed by the natural abundance that accompanies bhakti, devotional service to Krishna. By the grace of our teacher, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (the founder of the Hare Krishna movement), we were experiencing the sense of fulfilment and happiness that comes from trying to live according to Krishna’s plan. Srila Prabhupada explains, “The bull is the emblem of the moral principle, and the cow is the representative of the earth. When the bull and the cow are in a joyful mood, it is to be understood that the people of the world are also in a joyful mood.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.16.18 purport)

One cow, one small ashram, but such a profound lesson in living well and living joyously! Just as throughout our body there are all sorts of complex actions and reactions going on that we don’t fully understand but that lead to our wellbeing (or lack thereof), similar with our relationship with the earth and her creatures, especially the cow. Bimala Prasada, in her own ineffable way, was nudging me toward a fuller, more holistic life. It was a life steeped in appreciation and gratitude for god’s miraculous gifts, and my awareness of and attempt to reciprocate those gifts. It was a wholesome life of joy and challenge and delight.

Perhaps, looking back on it after so much time, I’ve idealised that little Grants Pass ashram – because it was a life of simple living and high thinking that Krishna prescribes for human beings – was truly enchanting.