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 “Snail mail” is outdated, and high-speed internet is considered a necessity of life that can answer all our dilemmas.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.