So it is quite clear that the appearances of the mother cow is not only very vast and great but also very sacred, in which all the deities have their abode.

Since ancient times, Cow has been the symbol of our religion and culture, In our country the cow is considered as 'Godhana'. Even in the Vedas there are instances of reverence and respect towards the Cow like :

AGHNYE! TE ROOPAAYA NAMAH,
ROOPAAYAAGHNYE TE NAMAH O

DeIv³es! les ªHee³e vece:~
ªHee³eeOev³es les vece:~~

"O unslaughterable Cow! Salutations on your beauty appearance. i.e. The place where a cow resides with happiness and joy, becomes as sacred as the holiest of a pilgrimage, and even the dust of that place becomes pure.

In the olden times, the valuation of anybody's wealth was made on the basis of the number of cows he possessed. Apart from the milk which is like ambrosia, the bullocks and the Ox, who exist only because of the cow, are the backbone of our farming system. Not only that even the Cow-dung is useful and it is used as fertilizers to increase the fertility & productivity of the farm & land, and it's urine is considered to be have numerous medicinal properties.

The four objectives a man aspires to fulfill in his life i.e. Religion (Dharma) Money (Artha), Sex (Kaam) & Liberation (Moksha) is made easily possible by the Cow. Our sacred texts and scriptures say that the Cow is the most beneficial to the human being concerning religious & spiritual activities.It has been creations of this world were the Vedas, Fire, the Cow & the Brahmins. Vedas educate us about our duties. They are the eternal source of our knowledge. The purpose of the man's life is to please the deities, by performing the sacred rites like Havana (making sacrifices by offerings in the sacred fire) etc. We get the things required for the Havana, from the cow.

So to maintain his cycle of YAGYA-CHAKRA, Vedas, Cows Fire and the Brahmins were created by the Almighty God, because all of them are essential to perform a 'Yagya'. The methods have been described in the Vedas how to perform 'Yagya' it is performed by a Brahmin by following the methods mentioned in the Vedas and to keep the fire burning Ghee is required for the Havana (Sacrificial fire), ghee being the most prominent among them. The deities to whom sacrificial offerings are made become very much pleased, if ghee is used.

Not only that, the area where 'Yagya' is supposed to be performed, is purified by sprinkling the urine of the cow, and the surface coated with the solution of the cow dung. And even the fire is ignited with the help of dry and solid pieces of Cow Dung in the Havana-Kunda.

The host who is supposed to perform the 'Yagya' has to purify himself by drinking PANCHAGAVYA, which is a mixture of milk, curd, ghee, urine of the cow, and the Cow dung all acquired from the cow.

The rice that is cooked in milk with sugar is called Kheera, which has been called PARAMANNA (the supreme food) in Sanskrit language. Ghee is supposed to increase vitality and the life span of the man and without it's use the food preparation is even is considered impure.

The great poet Kalidas, in his epic Raghuvansham, has mentioned about an incident which is as follows -
Once, emperor Dileep, after accomplishing his worship of Indra, in the heaven was returning back to the earth, and neglected Kaamdhenu (cow belonging to Indra believed to yield whatever may be desired), sitting under the KALPAVRRIKSHA (The tree which yield everything desired), and forgot to make a pradakshina of her, He was immersed in his own thoughts.

Kaamdhenu felt insulted by his action cursed him that he will not have a child born in his family, until he worship any of her progeny.

The curse had its effect and emperor Dileep remained issueless for a long time. His teacher Vashishtha came to know about the reason behind it, by the help of his yogic powers and ordered the emperor to serve the Nandini Cow.

Emperor Dileep accompanied by his wife Sudakshina, did serve Nandini for 21 days and received Raghu as his son.

Those people who serve the cows with great dedication receive rarest of boons from them. One must not have negative feelings towards them,One should try to keep them happy and satisfied.

Lord Rama,had said that - 'I was unfortunate in this life, in not being able to do service to the cows, so I will compensate it by again taking birth in the Dwapara Yuga.'

Satyakama and Jaaboal had been able to realise god. Just by serving the cows.

Serving the cows has also spiritual concern. After a man dies the cow helps him to swim across the Vaitarani River to the Heaven.

The milk of the cow is the purest among the milk of all the other animals, and hence it is supposed to have the Satva-guna (The most pure quality).

The milk given by other animals is considered to be having Rajo guna.

MEANING OF THE TERM 'GAOU' AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVATION OF THE COWS