“There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause, because people never went to the fountain-head; they were content only to give mental assent to the customs of their forefathers and wanted others to do the same.”
— Swami Vivekananda
Have you ever wondered why cows need to be milked at 4 PM? Can’t farmers just wake up at a more reasonable time (say 8AM)? Won’t the cows adjust?
A writer on Quora asked this exact question to their farmer friend. The farmer explained that cows will adjust to the routine, but other factors come into play as well.
A cow must be milked twice a day, ideally at twelve-hour intervals. So if a cow is milked at 8 AM, the next leg will be at 8 PM, which, in turn will delay the tasks to be done for the next day. Milking a cow at 4 AM means the second leg (4 PM) will occur when the sun is not burning and the farmer can rest for the rest of the day, spend time with their family, and basically do whatever they want for leisure.
Also, milk is usually sold as fresh as possible, and people prefer consuming it in some form or the other before starting their day. That’s why 4 AM makes sense, well before the market opens.
Before passing judgment on any practice, understand the raison d’etre behind it. Seek answers that make sense, not ones like “This is how it is,” or “It’s written in our books,” or “Because I am right and you are wrong.” We have the power to research, think, and arrive at sensible conclusions.
If we simply resolve to use it, we can get clarity, remove what’s bad, and retain (or even enhance) what’s good.