66: Exploring Hinduism, Dairy & Mother Cow with Yamini Narayanan (S7)

The sacred status of the cow is so widespread, so institutionalized, so deeply entrenched in Hindu culture, that it is actually quite a central question about the whole notion of Hinduism identity and cows. – Yamini Narayanan

Episode 3 of Series 7: Animals and the Divine ⁠Transcript⁠

In this amazing episode we talk about the place of cows -or more pertinently, dairy –  in the Hindu religion. It raises the
question: what does it mean to treat an animal as sacred versus treating an animal humanely? Yamini discusses the consequences of the cow being amplified
as the mother of human life, and how this actually more deeply entrenches the cow into the practice of dairy farming. We hear the story of Krishna and his
love for milk as a child raised in a dairy farm, and think about how ideas of kinship with animals can be exploited.  Importantly though, we also go
back to the origin stories of Hinduism to ask whether there is a place in the Hindu religion to help animals. 

Guest:
Yamini Narayanan is an Associate Professor of International and Community Development at Deakin University, Melbourne. Her work explores the ways in which (other) animals are instrumentalised in sectarian, casteist and fascist ideologies in India, and how animals are also actors and architects of informal urbanisms. Yamini’s research is supported by two Australian Research Council grants. Her newest book Mother Cow, Mother India (2023) is published by Stanford University Press. In 2019, Yamini was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Mid-Career Research Excellence. In recognition of her work, she was made Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics (FOCAE), a distinguished honour that is conferred through nomination or invitation only.

Host: Marika completed her MA in Anthrozoology at the University of Exeter, UK in 2016 and upon moving back to the Seattle area of Washington state she joined the board of Homeward Pet Adoption Center. She also holds a University degree in Zoology (UW) and a CPDT-KA from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.

Now, host of The Deal with Animals, she enjoys chatting authors, nonprofits, professionals, academics and enthusiasts about the various disciplines of Anthrozoology.

Credits: The Deal With Animals is hosted by Marika. Music was composed by Kai Strandskov. Editing for this episode by Marika Bell

Recording and post production software by Zencastr and hosting provided by Anchor.

This Podcast is part of the IROAR Animals Podcasting Network 

This podcast was produced on Historical Tribal Land of the Quinault Indian Nation and The Snoqualmie Tribe Ancestral Lands

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Humans interact with animals every day of our lives. Even those without pets interact with animals in various ways: diet, wildlife, the clothes they wear. Even most medicines use animals in testing or in the medicine itself. This is a podcast about Anthrozoology: the study of interaction between humans and non-human animals.

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