Hare Krishna!
3/15/14
Our oldest ox named Ganda is down after 19 years of wonderful association and friendship here at ISCOWP Farm. For several years his back legs have been riddled with arthritis which has made it hard for him to rise from a sitting position. Last summer on pasture he did really well and made it through this last winter with not much difficulty. Two weeks ago he went down and could not get up. We were able to get him up with a "come-along" and a tool called "Hip Huggers". He did alright until 3 days ago when he could not get up again. This time he was very weak and we were not able to get him up. He has been taking food and water up until this afternoon when he was too weak to even sit up. He has had Govardan dust sprinkled on his head. He is wearing a Pravitra garland from Lord Narashimhadeva in Mayapur. Today he had Radha Kund water. He has been listening to Srila Prabhupada chanting japa and bhajans 24/7.
My feeling is that he will depart tomorrow which is Gaura Purnima here in West Virginia,USA. I was lying down with him for over an hour this afternoon and I would be very surprised if he would make it through tomorrow due to his weaken condition Very auspicious time for departure from this material world.
Ganda was born 19 years ago on New Vrindavan dhama. We have had him at ISCOWP Farm since his birth. He is a gentleman and has been such sweet association. Although he was not the "Head OX" in the herd, he was well respected by all his herd mates as being a gentle soul and they all treated him as a sadhu. He is a great soul and has spent his life helping to spread the importance of cow protection in this horrible age known as Kali-yuga.
All glories to Ganda the OX, a dear friend and humble soul...Sadhu...Sadhu.
3/16/14
We looked to the barn and saw Madhava looking over the fence towards our house. He had been standing guard over Ganda for days. He would also occasionally lick him. We had a sense that Ganda may no longer be alive. Balabhadra went to the barn and found Ganda had passed away on the auspicious day of Gaura Purnima.
Like all great sadhus, he left a lasting impression of enlightened goodness to those who met him and especially those who knew him well. It may be difficult to understand how a soul in a bovine body could have such an affect but he did and because of who he was we are now empty hearted. Please pray for Ganda's spiritual journey
while viewing the following photos and videos.
Your servant,
Chyadevi
(Irene M. Dove)
ISCOWP CO-Managing Director
