Why do Hindus worship cows as gods? Did cows create this universe or sustain it?

 Hindus don’t worship cows as gods. A lot of this comes out of the fact that the British-established education system habitually translates puja as “worship”. More accurately, many (not all) Hindu Dharma traditions venerate cows. No Hindus think that cows “are gods”. In Hindu traditions, puja is not given because the recipient created this universe or sustains it. Rather, we venerate cows to express our reciprocal gratitude to them for all the many benefits they give us.

Cows give us so much, even more so in traditional Hindu society, and possess so many virtues respected and honored in Hindu culture. Cows are gentle, docile, tolerant, not harming others. They are beautiful, dignified, strong, vigorous, maternal, and generous. They give to the world far more than they take. Asking only access to water and grass, and some store of grain, they give us the treasure of milk. Throughout history, most Hindus have depended greatly on cow dairy as a major, nutritionally vital part of their diet. Their dung has fueled the fires of millions of Hindu households for millennia, and plastered the floors and walls of their homes, keeping them pleasant-smelling, termite-free, and more resilient to weathering (due to the fiber in the dung acting as a flexible binder that improves the integrity of wattle-and-daub construction). It also makes excellent agricultural fertilizer. I have literally wept before from my sheer love of the warm, earthy fragrance of cow dung smoke, and the sense of homecoming it gave me.