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Honouring Krsna Prasadam

BY: HAREKRSNA.COM
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-08/features1066.htm

Painting by Jamini Roy

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) A four-part series on Srila Prabhupada's


instructions for honouring Krsna prasadam.

Prasada Protocol
"The word apavitra anna refers to food that is unacceptable for a Vaisnava. In other words, a Vaisnava cannot
accept any food offered by an avaisnava in the name of maha-prasada. This should be a principle for all
Vaisnavas. When asked, "What is the behavior of a Vaisnava?" Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, "A Vaisnava must
avoid the company of an avaisnava [asat]." The word asat refers to an avaisnava, that is, one who is not a
Vaisnava. Asat-sanga-tyaga,--ei vaisnava-acara (Cc. Madhya 22.87). A Vaisnava must be very strict in this
respect and should not at all cooperate with an avaisnava. If an avaisnava offers food in the name of maha-

prasada, it should not be accepted. Such food cannot be prasada because an avaisnava cannot offer anything to
the Lord. Sometimes preachers in the Krsna consciousness movement have to accept food in a home where the
householder is an avaisnava; however, if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken. Ordinary food cooked by
an avaisnava should not be accepted by a Vaisnava. Even if an avaisnava cooks food without fault, he cannot offer
it to Lord Visnu, and it cannot be accepted as maha-prasada. According to Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita
(9.26):
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it."
Krsna can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An avaisnava may be a vegetarian and a very
clean cook, but because he cannot offer the food he cooks to Visnu, it cannot be accepted as maha-prasada. It is
better that a Vaisnava abandon such food as untouchable."
Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila 9:53 Purport

In Vedic culture and Vaisnava sastra, we find many references to the protocol one
should follow when preparing bhoga, offering foodstuffs to the Lord, and taking
Krsna prasadam. These regulations establish how prasada should be handled for both
home and temple worship. Srila Prabhupada gave instructions as to how these rules
should apply for present time, place and circumstance. For example, he explained
how prasada should be handled for those living under shelter of the temples.
Srila Prabhupada provided a great deal of instruction and purport on Vaisnava
literatures which explicitly detail how offerings are to be made to the Deities in the
temple, and the prasada protocol related thereto. For example, Srila Prabhupada
instructed that only twice initiated brahmana disciples were to cook in the temple.
Non-brahmanas were permitted to assist, but could not themselves cook.
Preparations produced by non-devotees are not to be offered to the Deities, and this
regulation should extend, to the greatest degree possible, to ingredients purchased
in karmi stores. At the same time, Srila Prabhupada always emphasized a common
sense approach to regulative practices. For example, while regulations require fasting
for Ekadasi and the observance of various religious and festival events, Srila
Prabhupada instructed that one should not allow such practices to interfere with
devotional service:
Devotee: You said that if we fast and we can't do our work and we become weak,
than this is not so good. Prabhupada: This is not good, "not so" not, absolutely bad.
Devotee: So, our devotional service comes first?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Devotee: So if there is, let us say there is grain and rice being offered to the Deities,
and one finds that if he eats this, his service is impaired. Like so many times I've
seen, practically myself if I overeat grains in the summertime, I drive around doing
my service and I'm falling asleep.
Prabhupada: Then which foodstuff suits you?

Devotee: Fruits are more... they keep me more active.


Prabhupada: So you take fruit. Fruit is also offered to the Deity. There are varieties
of prasadam. So whichever suits, you can take. Anything artificial is bad.
Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, 07-01-75, Denver

A great deal of prasada protocol is given within the context of the Varnasrama
system, which regulates right living for the varnas and asramas. Different rules are
given for those who are brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra, each according to
their unique station in society. While the pure varnas and asramas do not exist in the
age of Kali yuga, these designations are still somewhat delineated amongst those
strictly following the path of Bhakti yoga. Grhasthas (householders) are expected to
take a practical approach to prasadam for one engaged in family life, whereas one in
the renounced order follows a different protocol. For example, a person in the
renounced order of life should not cook for himself, but is permitted to cook for the
Supreme Lord. A sannyasi may take prasada at the house of a grhastha, and a
brahmacari helps in this connection, given that a sannyasi is supposed to be a
spiritual master and a brahmacari his disciple. The husband provides for his family,
and the wife offers him service, not as a servant, but so that husband and wife work
together in a way that encourages spiritual advancement.

"Although she was not accustomed to such difficulties, Queen Arci followed her
husband in the regulative principles of living in the forest like great sages. She lay
down on the ground and ate only fruits, flowers and leaves, and because she was not
fit for these activities, she became frail and thin. Yet because of the pleasure she
derived in serving her husband, she did not feel any difficulties.
Purport: The words bhartur vrata-dharma-nisthaya indicate that a woman's duty, or
religious principle, is to serve her husband in all conditions. In Vedic civilization a
man is taught from the beginning of his life to become a brahmacari, then an ideal
grhastha, then vanaprastha, then sannyasi, and the wife is taught just to follow the
husband strictly in all conditions of life. After the period of brahmacarya, a man
accepts a householder's life, and the woman is also taught by her parents to be a
chaste wife. Thus when a girl and boy are united, both are trained for a life dedicated
to a higher purpose. The boy is trained to execute his duty in accordance with the
higher purpose of life, and the girl is trained to follow him. The chaste wife's duty is
to keep her husband pleased in householder life in all respects, and when the
husband retires from family life, she is to go to the forest and adopt the life of
vanaprastha, or vana-vasi. At that time the wife is to follow her husband and take
care of him, just as she took care of him in householder life. But when the husband
takes the renounced order of life, namely sannyasa, the wife is to return home and
become a saintly woman, setting an example for her children and daughters-in-law
and showing them how to live a life of austerity.
When Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, His wife, Visnupriyadevi, although only
sixteen years old, also took the vow of austerity due to her husband's leaving home.
She chanted her beads, and after finishing one round, she collected one grain of rice.
In this way, as many rounds as she chanted, she would receive the same number of

rice grains and then cook them and so take prasada. This is called austerity. Even
today in India, widows or women whose husbands have taken sannyasa follow the
principles of austerity, even though they live with their children. Prthu Maharaja's
wife, Arci, was steadily determined to execute the duty of a wife, and while her
husband was in the forest, she followed him in eating only fruits and leaves and lying
down on the ground. Since a woman's body is considerably more delicate than a
man's, Queen Arci became very frail and thin, parikarsita. When one engages in
austerities, his body generally becomes lean and thin. Becoming fat is not a very
good qualification in spiritual life because a person who is engaged in spiritual life
must reduce the comforts of the body--namely eating, sleeping and mating--to a
minimum. Although Queen Arci became very thin from living in the forest according
to regulative principles, she was not unhappy, for she was enjoying the honor of
serving her great husband."
Srimad-Bhagavatam 4:23:20

"A sannyasi should be completely detached from fire and any residential quarters. A
grhastha has a relationship with fire, either for offering sacrifices or for cooking, but
a sannyasi is freed from these two responsibilities. He does not have to cook or offer
fire for sacrifice because he is always engaged in Krsna consciousness; therefore he
has already accomplished all ritualistic performances of religion. Aniketanah means
"without lodging." He should not have his own house, but should depend completely
on the Supreme Lord for his food and lodging. He should travel."
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3:24:42 Purport

"After the grhastha-asrama is another asrama, known as vanaprastha, which is


midway between grhastha and sannyasa. A person in the vanaprastha order is
restricted in eating food grains and forbidden to eat fruits that have not ripened on
the tree. Nor should he cook food with fire, although he is allowed to eat caru, grains
that have been offered in a sacrificial fire. He may also eat fruits and grains that
have grown naturally. Living in a thatched cottage, the vanaprastha should endure all
kinds of heat and cold. He should not cut his nails or hair, and he should give up
cleaning his body and teeth. He should wear tree bark, accept a danda, and practice
life in the forest, taking a vow to live there for twelve years, eight years, four years,
two years or at least one year. At last, when because of old age he can no longer
perform the activities of a vanaprastha, he should gradually stop everything and in
this way give up his body."
Srimad-Bhagavatam 7:12 Summary

Personal Cleanliness

The Bathing Ghat

"So you must live up to the rules and regulations of brahminical life. First and foremost is cleanliness. In your
country they have so many filthy habits. For example, they don't wash after eating. A brahmana does not do like
that. If he did so in India, he would be highly criticized. So even if you eat a little, still you must wash
immediately. And the place that you eat at must be washed off immediately also. In this way.
A brahmana's name is suci, or one who is clean. In the toilet room wash with water and wash your hands with
soap. Then wash feet, face and mouth. Your cloth must be washed daily, especially any cloth used to sleep in. In
the kitchen also, things should be kept spotless and cooking should only be done by brahmanas; others may
assist. That is the same procedure followed with Deity worship. So these are some of the points to note in
Brahminical life. Keep yourself clean outside by bathing, etc. and clean inside by chanting Hare Krishna Mantra.

Go on in this way and your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness will be certain."
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Laksmi narayana, 07-08-71

Cleanliness is next to Godliness. One of the most important aspects to be considered


when cooking for the pleasure of the Lord is cleanliness. All things must be kept fully
clean and organized, including the kitchen, equipment and utensils, and the persons
who are cooking and assisting.
One should always prepare for kitchen service by first performing a complete
personal cleansing. In the "Hari-bhakti-vilasa", Gopala Bhatta Goswami has explicitly
described the rules of Deity worship, including protocol for the preparation of
foodstuffs for the Lord. One should first pass urine and stool, shave, brush the teeth
and rinse the mouth, all of which are considered to be contaminated activities. Next,
one must fully bathe, chant the proper mantras, and put on clean Vaisnava clothing
and tilak before entering the kitchen.
All effort should be made to maintain an atmosphere of cleanliness during the
cooking process. If one is called out of the kitchen, or gets involved in some other
activity while in the midst of cooking, always wash the hands thoroughly before
resuming the cooking activities. After cooking and making the offering, one may
change into clean clothing while the Lord is eating.

"But you do not know cleanliness, although you are..., that is because your, your
cleanliness is with machine. And without machine, you cannot keep clean. Why not
this broomstick is sufficient? If in India machine is not available, you cannot be
clean? Keep everything cleansed--utensils, plates, teeth, hands, feet. Use sufficient
water. There will be no (indistinct). Dirty things should be removed, and cleansed
inside and outside. Inside cleansed: simply Krsna consciousness, always thinking of
Krsna. That is inside clean. And outside, that is also required. You cannot neglect,
because outside unclean means inside also you'll see unclean. If you keep both sides
clean, then you will be healthy inside and outside. Srnvatam sva-kathah krsna
punya-sravana-kirtanah hrdy antah stho hy abhadrani. Abhadrani, all inauspicious
things, that will be cleaned. They should be washed. To become sacred thread means
he must be suci. Satya samah damah saucam, saucam. One must be very clean.
That is brahminism. Not simply having a sacred thread: "Prabhupada, give me sacred
thread, sacred thread, sacred thread," everybody. You have got sacred thread, that
is certificate, but what is your saucam? Cleanliness. The brahmana's name is suci. He
is always cleansed. Everyone will see, and he'll immediately feel how cleansed he is.
What is the difficulty? God has given sufficient water. For cleanliness you simply
require water, that's all. No antiseptic bottle--Dettol, this, that, so many. You are
manufacturing so many rascal things, but ultimately unclean. Ultimately unclean. But
by God's arrangement, by Krsna's arrangement, simple..."

Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, 12-11-71, Delhi


Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

Honouring Krsna Prasadam, Part 2


BY: HAREKRSNA.COM
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-08/features1067.htm

Jul 06, CANADA (SUN) A four-part series on Srila Prabhupada's


instructions for honouring Krsna prasadam.

Shopping for Bhoga


"Service means activity, for when we serve someone, we are acting. When we serve Krsna, we are preaching
Krsna consciousness, or cooking, or cleansing the temple, or distributing books about Krsna, or writing about Him,
or shopping for foodstuff to offer Him. There are so many ways to serve."
Path of Perfection, Chapter 1

Shopping for bhoga (unoffered foodstuffs) should be an extension of the Krsna


Consciousness with which prasada is prepared and served to the Lord. The same
principles of cleanliness and orderliness that apply to one's person and kitchen
facilities should also be applied to shopping.
Whenever possible, shop for foodstuffs in stores that are as close to 'mode of
goodness' as possible. Such stores are clean, the produce is fresh, the environment
is open to air and sunlight, and the mood of people there is positive and happy. Here
in the west, we are more likely to experience 'mode of passion' shopping venues,
where people are frenetically rushing down florescent lit aisles, and consumerism is
the religion. Avoid shopping in places that appear 'mode of ignorance', where food is
left rotting in the bins, the air smells foul, and the place is dark or dirty.
Shop methodically and carefully, taking the time to read labels and understand
exactly what's contained in the foods you purchase. As Krsna says in the Bhagavadgita, "If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will
accept it." Krsna will accept offerings of foodstuffs prepared from milk products,
vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. Meat, fish, and eggs are not offerable, and are
strictly avoided. Unfortunately, these forbidden items are often included in prepared
foods, hidden under names that are indistinguishable from other additives. For
example, some brands of yogurt and sour cream contain gelatin, a substance made
from the horns, hooves, and bones of slaughtered animals. Many cheese products
contain rennet, an enzyme extracted from the stomach tissue of slaughtered cows.
Here is a detailed list of food additives and some name brand products that
contain animal ingredients, and notes on foodstuff adulterations.
Certain vegetarian items are also forbidden for offering to the Lord, including garlic
and onions. Some Vaisnavas consider these items to be in the mode of darkness
(ignorance), because they are grown underground. Similarly, mushrooms are
considered unbonafide for offering. Some consider onions and garlic to be mode of
passion, because they tend to heat up the blood, while others avoid them because
the strength of their flavour dulls to palate to finer, more subtle tastes. Vedic cooks
replace the tastes of onion and garlic with a spice called Hing (asafetida), which adds
a similar rich taste to cooked foods without overcoming the palate.
On the subject of onions, garlic and mushrooms, we have several interesting
comments from Srila Prabhupada:
"Odor, although one, becomes many - as mixed, offensive, fragrant, mild,
strong, acidic and so on according to the proportions of associated
substances.
PURPORT: Mixed smell is sometimes perceived in foodstuffs prepared from
various ingredients, such as vegetables mixed with different kinds of spices
and asafetida. Bad odors are perceived in filthy places, good smells are
perceived from camphor, menthol and similar other products, pungent smells
are perceived from garlic and onions, and acidic smells are perceived from
turmeric and similar sour substances. The original aroma is the odor
emanating from the earth, and when it is mixed with different substances,
this odor appears in different ways."
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.45

My Dear Harer Nama, [...] So far as explaining my letter to Kris, I have listed
the ingredients which may use for preparing prasadam but these various
varieties of foodstuffs may be prepared either in the given recipes or if you
like you may invent nice new formulas for offering. The important thing is that
your preparations be palatable for Lord Krishna and that the ingredients be
within the groups of ingredients already listed. You have asked me about
sassafras and yes, it may be offered. Mushrooms are generally not offered,
but there is no prohibition, there is no harm in them.
68-12-01 Letter to Harer Nama

My Dear Himavati, Because mushrooms grow in a filthy place, they are not
usually offered to Krishna.
71-11-17 Letter to Himavati

Given the lack of specific prohibition against mushrooms coupled with Srila
Prabhupada's comments above, the use of mushrooms in preparations being offered
to Krsna is certainly an arguable practice. This is particularly true when you consider
that in today's agri-food industry in the west, mushrooms are produced in a growing
medium that is nearly always pastuerized or sterilized, which means it's 'cleaner'
than most field dirt.
In general, if something can be offered to the Lord as part of a prescribed form of
worship, then it is acceptable, otherwise not. Stimulants and intoxicants are always
rejected, including coffee, cocoa, tea, tobacco, alcohol, and any items including
caffeine. Caffeine-free coffee and herbal teas are acceptable.
Some devotees go so far as to reject all vegetarian products that are "meat lookalikes", finding these products too close for comfort to actual animal foods, or not
wanting to be tempted to re-awaken their tastes for these items. Srila Prabhupada,
however, found such foods to be acceptable for offering to Krsna.

Kitchen Standards

A Well-organized Vaisnava Kitchen

"The kitchen department should be very clean and things should not be wasted. This is the first consideration."
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Aksayananda, 01-06-76

When preparing food for offering to Lord Krsna, cleanliness is a most important
principle. Nothing impure should be offered to the Lord, so the kitchen environment
and all gear and utensils must be kept very clean. Foodstuffs being prepared for
offering must be used only for that purpose:
"That which is meant to be offered in yajna cannot be tasted by anyone before being
offered to the Deity. In our temples, this regulation is in effect. One cannot eat food
from the kitchen unless it is offered to the Deity. If something is taken before being
offered to the Deity, the entire preparation is polluted and can no longer be offered.
Those engaged in Deity worship must know this very well so that they may be saved
from committing offenses in Deity worship."
Srimad-Bhagavatam 9:6:8

Srila Prabhupada also instructed that prasadam should never be taken in the kitchen
where cooking is going on. If space is limited, part of the kitchen may be partitioned
off as a prasadam taking area, but this activity must be done separately from the
cooking area.
"One should never eat within the kitchen, there is ample place to eat so why should
one eat in the kitchen? Kitchen should be considered as good as the Lord's room,
and nobody should wear shoes in the kitchen, smelling and tasting of foods being
prepared for the Lord should never be done, talking within the kitchen should be only
what is necessary for preparing the prasadam, or about the Lord, and dirty dishes
(those taken from kitchen and eaten from) should not be brought back into the
kitchen (but if there is no other place to wash them, then they should be put into
sink and washed immediately.), hands should always be washed when preparing
prasadam, and in this way, everything shall be prepared very cleanly and pure.)"
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Aniruddha, 06-16-68

"It is advisable that food being offered to the Deity be covered when taken from the
kitchen to the Deity room. In that way, others may not see it. Those who are not
accustomed to following the advanced regulative devotional principles may desire to
eat the food, and that is an offense. Therefore no one should be given a chance to
even see it. However, when it is brought before the Deity, it must be uncovered."
Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila 4:124

At all times, animals must be kept out of the kitchen area, and away from foodstuffs
being prepared. Animals may not be permitted to see foodstuffs as they're being
prepared or carried to the altar.
Whenever possible, it is best to have completely separate cooking facilities: a Deity
kitchen, and a devotee kitchen. Of course, it is especially difficult for many
householders to arrange separate kitchen spaces. At the least, one should maintain
cooking pots, utensils, etc. that are only use when cooking for the Lord. Serving
spoons must be kept only for Krsna's use, so that foodstuffs are not contaminated
while being placed onto the serving dishes.
"Formerly it was the custom of brahmanas to worship Lord Visnu daily at home and
cook food in new pots. This system is still going on in Jagannatha Puri. The food
would be cooked in earthen pots, all fresh and new, and after cooking, the pots
would be thrown away. By the side of the house there was generally a big pit where
such pots were thrown."
Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi lila 14:7

Pusta Krsna: "I remember when I first went to Vrndavana and I saw in the villages
how they were using dirt and charcoal to clean their pots and pans...
Prabhupada: Yes, they use it.
Pusta Krsna: I thought the.... It was my condition.... I have never seen before. I
thought, "What is this? They are making their pots and pans dirty?" Because, you
know, we're so accustomed to detergents and soaps, and you have to have so many
things to clean.
Prabhupada: That is not also properly clean.
Pusta Krsna: No.
Prabhupada: The down side of the pan remains black. But if you take some dirt and
rub it nicely, it become glisten.
Hari-sauri: Dirt is very first-class for cleaning.
Prabhupada: Utensils for cooking purpose must be very, very clean. The.... If the
black portion remains, in India they will not touch.
Pusta Krsna: Even on the bottom?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Pusta Krsna: On the outside?
Prabhupada: They'll not touch: "Oh, it is still dirty." But our going on. What can be
done? Where there is no cleanliness, little rubbed with soap, that is sufficient. What
can be done? But that is not cleanliness. If there is a black spot on the..., it has to....
It will immediately be cleaned. My mother used to see every utensil, whether there is
any spot. The maidservant had to surrender. Examine. Then it is no spot. Then it is
finished. Otherwise she has to do again. Everything should be neat and clean. The
kitchen should be very neat and clean, washed twice daily, opened nicely and
smeared with water and gobar. And if you see the kitchen, immediately you'll feel
comfortable. It is very cleanly prepared, then offered to the Deity. Then you take.
Automatically your mind becomes cleansed."
Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, 04-22-76, Melbourne

Mahamsa: "Yes, these people are the head of the Marwari community. They don't
know how to live. They live in these slums which we saw today. They live all around
that area. They are karor-patis.(?)They have crores of rupees.
Prabhupada: To live very gorgeously is not good.
Mahamsa: But even their houses are not so clean, shabby.
Prabhupada: Even though they're not... You cannot say not... They are clean. I
have seen in Bombay even the poorest man, his house, and a Parsee gentleman, his
house. Kitchen habits. A Parsee's kitchen is so nasty. And here you see this poor
man's house, they are neat. Their utensils how much cleansed. I had been in Parsee
kitchen. All the pots black. Nothing is cleansed. For eating they use this China. So
clean or unclean cannot be understood. Simply washed. But so far the kitchen pots,
all are... In our also, when it is handled by this European, American devotees, the
black. Down, it is black. That should not be black. It must be cleansed.
Mahamsa: By the heat with these wood, it brings up a lot of soot.
Prabhupada: But it must be cleansed daily.
Mahamsa: It should not come on your finger if you touch it. That black thing.
Prabhupada: Not even you cannot see black, any black spots. Then it is clean.
Otherwise not clean. If there's a single black spot, it is not clean. You can see from
this poor class of men, how their utensils are cleansed. Before taking water the jug,
the waterpot... You'll like to drink water. In our school days there were sweeper, they
were a different quarter. So you like to sit down. So clean. The sweeper, cleansing

the toilet, bangi. But when you come to his house, living quarter, oh, it is so clean.
The bed, the room, the utensils. And they also will take twice, thrice bath, then they
will eat. That is a Hindu culture. Even the sweeper class, lowest class. And I have
seen one sweeper class who were in Allahabad, regularly worshiping Deity. Very nice
worship.
Mahamsa: So a Vaisnava then...
Prabhupada: They took initiation from the Vrndavana Goswami and they follow
strictly rules and regulations. Cleanliness is very essential. In English also it is said
cleanliness is next to Godliness. Everything should be, especially temple. It will
attract them. And we are singing daily, sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana-srngara-tanmandira-marjanadau. Tat-mandira-marjana. Marjana means cleanliness. And want of
cleanliness means laziness. If you are lazy you cannot keep clean. "Ah, let me sleep
for the time being." That is mode of ignorance. Tamo-guna. So we have to conquer
over rajo-guna, tamo-guna. Tada rajas-tamo-bhavah."
Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, 08-24-76, Hyderbad
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

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