Why is a cow sacred?
In hinduism, a cow is not so much sacred as venerated. Many hindus are vegetarians, but consume dairy products. This comes from a long tradition of respect for all living beings. Hindus that do eat meat usually don’t eat beef. According to wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism ) this is possibly because the largely pastoral Vedic people, and subsequent generations, relied so heavily on the cow for milk and dairy products, tilling of fields and fuel for fertilizer, that its status as a ‘caretaker’ led to identifying it as an almost maternal figure (hence the term gau mata, or Cow Mother). While most contemporary Hindus do not worship the cow (though many venerate her, as they do all life), the cow still holds an honored place in Hindu society as a symbol of unselfish giving. There exists a legal ban against cow-slaughter in almost all states of the Indian Union.
