Is using Packet Milk for abhishek to the deities and Pujas right?
A Girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Hare Krishna. Should we use Packet dairy milks for deity Abhishek?”
REPLY:
It depends on whether there are individual suppliers of the cow’s milk in your area.
In my area, I buy milk from an individual milkman who is supplying cow’s milk within an hour after it was drawn by him from the cow he is maintaining.
(Why milk is allowed, egg is not though both have animal sources? READ HERE!)
He is supplying Cow’s milk for the past three decades.
His cost is slightly higher than the Packet milk supplied by the Government Coop Societies in different states of India.
He says the reason that Cow usually gives less milk than buffalo that increases its cost.
Yes, we can’t expect that the government or private societies supply only cow’s milk in the packets. It may have the mix of buffalo’s milk and cow’s milk. However, we can atleast believe that no prohibited contents are not added to the milk.
These individual milkmen are not available in all the places.
In the cities and flats life, it is not possible to own and maintain the cows.
So, No other way. We have to use the best available resources in our area.
If you can buy cow’s milk supplied by any milkman, buy it.
If not available, search whether any Government or Private brands claim that they sell only Cow’s milk and buy it.
We need to just trust. No other way. If they add buffalo’s milk to the cow’s milk and sell as pure cow’s milk, it is their karma, not ours.
Moreover, though you buy a packet milk that claims as the Cow’s milk, they might have added some extra vegetable fats in that milk to keep the fat content to the optimum level.
(Who are our Seven mothers? Why cow is a mother and given importance? READ HERE!)
Or, most of the brands add Milk powder to the milk to make it strong.
So, we can’t ascertain whether we are using pure milk.
If they sell milk, they should sell only pure milk without any additions.
If they add any products to the pure milk, it is their karma.
We will get pardon because we use that milk with no other way.
So, my advice is that you should use the best available in your area.
In general, it is better to buy from individual milkmen. If it is not possible, you can consider Government owned brands.
If your state government does not sell milk, consider the most reliable private brands.
What else we can do?
We have no other way than using Packet Milk for abhishek to the deities and Pujas is inevitable if no other good choices are available.
(Should we avoid cow’s milk since Cows are exploited commercially? READ HERE!)