Jaunpur/Sultanpur (UP), Mar 7 (PTI) Hindu seer Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Saturday said people governing the nation today do not consider the cow “a mother but property”, and there is a need to challenge that approach.
The seer made the remarks in Jaunpur while visiting the ashram of sage Yamdagni on the banks of the Gomti River.
He said a major campaign for cow protection would be launched in Lucknow on March 11 when a 40-day deadline given to declare the cow as ‘Rajya Mata’ and impose a complete ban on cow slaughter ends.
He also invited Yogi Adityanath to join his March 11 movement.
Targeting the state government, the shankaracharya said the cow has traditionally been revered as a mother in Indian culture and Sanatan tradition, but the present dispensation was treating it merely as property.
“In such a situation, it has become necessary to challenge the ruler,” he said.
He said the land of Jaunpur has been associated with Yamdagni and Parashurama, and a tradition of cow service had long been linked to the banks of the Gomti.
He said Yamdagni had served and protected a cow at the same place, and when a king forcibly took it away, Parashurama stood against the injustice and retrieved it.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand said saints were duty-bound to speak the truth and oppose injustice for the protection of society and religion.
He said he had begun his journey from Varanasi to Lucknow as part of the cow protection campaign and would reach the state capital on March 11 to formally launch the next phase of the cow movement.
Before leaving Varanasi, he visited several temples, including the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Chintamani Ganesh Temple, where he recited the Hanuman Chalisa and Bajrang Baan.
During his journey, the seer was also welcomed in Sultanpur district, where he interacted with local journalists after paying a visit to a Hanuman temple near Lambhua Police Station.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand said public representatives were failing to evoke people’s sentiments regarding cow protection, and the issue must be taken up seriously in Parliament and state assemblies. PTI COR CDN VN VN
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