An exotic “yoga with cows” session at a Lancashire dairy in the United Kingdom has triggered a controversy after it was met with objection from a section of people from the Hindu community for allegedly offending Hinduism and “trivialising” its core concepts.
Lancashire Farm Dairies held a session of six people at a farm in Leyland where the practised UK’s first cow yoga class, the HuffPost UK reported. It was conducted as a way of encouraging people to resume physical activities amid the coronavirus lockdown. The concept of practising yoga with animals is believed to be helpful for reducing stress levels.
However, soon the session was slammed by Hindu cleric Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, in Nevada. Zen hit out at the event and its organisers for “trivialising two serious concepts of Hinduism: cows, (considered sacred in Hinduism) and the ancient discipline of yoga.”
The cleric shot a letter to the dairy objecting to the classes and urged for an immediate stop “before they became a trendy fad with herds of people flocking to dairy farms to do yoga alongside cows, with many visualising it as an Instagram opportunity”.
“The cow is the seat of many deities and is sacred and has long been venerated in Hinduism. They should not be used as a prop for human entertainment. Cows were inappropriately used in such events, causing unnecessary disturbance to cows and putting them in stressful situations. Cows should be left well alone and accorded the respect they deserve,” Zed told HuffPost UK.
In his letter, he further accused the team of participants of “diluting the profound, sacred and ancient discipline of yoga” and that “unpredictable cows could be a distraction in a path of self-discovery that drew the yogi inwards.”
Zed has urged the Lancashire Farm Dairies to rethink, revisit and reevaluate its yoga classes with cows. “We suggest that companies should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they have an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products, organising events or launching advertising.”
Meanwhile, in a rejoinder, Jack Morrison, brand manager at Lancashire Farm Dairies, tendered an apology for “any offense caused”. Morrison said, “We can only apologise if the recent fitness activity has caused offence. As you can imagine, this wasn’t our intent. The activity itself was in reaction to a recent study saying physical exercise had fallen during the Covid-19 lockdown.”
“As a brand which is about health and nutrition, we wanted to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors whilst engaging in some positive exercise in a socially distanced manner. We are big promoters of welfare, being the first and only free-range yogurt brand. The cows weren’t disturbed, nor were they involved with the class itself. The event was a one-off exercise for an intimate group of six people and there will not be further events,” he added.
Following the apology, Zed thanked the Lancashire Farm Dairies “for understanding the concerns of the Hindu community”.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Lancashire Farm Dairies said, “At Lancashire Farm, we take the welfare and happiness of our cows very seriously. All our cows are free range and spend as much time outside as they want – just as nature intended. We hosted an intimate yoga class for six people at one of our farms as a fun way to encourage UK adults to exercise outdoors and experience the tranquility of the vast 500 acre farm. There are no plans to hold any further yoga events.”
While a section of the community felt offended by the “yoga with cows” event, another was left appalled by the row.
Satya Minhas, a Hindu leader who is also co-chair of the Hindu Council UK, expressed his displeasure at the controversy and said he was “baffled” by the complaint from the US Hindu cleric.
“After looking at photographs of the yoga with cows session, I cannot see anything objectionable. There is nothing wrong with these ladies doing yoga with cows in the background. This company is selling a very nice yogurt, not beef, so provided the cows are treated well, from a religious point of view, I personally cannot see anything wrong. There is nothing to do with meat or Hindu gods and there is no disrespect to Hinduism,” Minhas said.
Taking a swipe at Zed for writing from the US instead of contacting British Hindu organisations for their views before lodging a complaint, Minhas said, “It is not a sensible idea to seek an apology from innocent people to make a point. I think it is about using common sense and there was clearly no disrespect intended and I do not see a problem or anything objectionable. The last thing we want is for people to start jumping up and down and saying there are problems where there aren’t. We should be promoting UK dairies as they are doing a good job and this man in the US should not be looking at this negatively.”
“Rajan Zed should appreciate the efforts people are making to keep fit. Perhaps Lancashire Farm Dairies should contact the Hindu Council UK for the way forward in promoting yoga and their products. They seem like an excellent company and should be encouraged. The Hindu Council UK wants to see more companies promoting yoga and wellbeing,” Minhas told Huffpost UK.
In a similar incident, Zed has rebuked a dairy in Pennsylvania for a cattle yoga session that the organisers described as “udderly awesome”.
Apart from ‘yoga with cows’ sessions, Zed has also slammed New York breweries Pressure Drop Brewing and Big Ditch Brewing Company after they named their collaboration beer “Aqua Shiva” after a Hindu deity, which he described as “highly inappropriate”.
The companies later apologised to the Hindu community for their “poor choice in beer name”. The drink was discontinued.
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