Krsna's Diet is Bhakti

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Krsna's Diet is Bhakti

 

Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari

 

"While speaking of mixed devotion, Bhagavad-gita says that whatever you

eat should be offered to Krsna. One has to start somewhere. Start with

the spirit of offering and everything else will follow in due course."

 

Q. It is said that to receive the full merit on Ekadasi one has to fast

from food and water and stay awake all night. This is quite difficult,

so how can a devotee get the full benefit of Ekadasi if he or she is

not able to do this? Since Ekadasi begins at sunrise can one eat grains

before sunrise on that day?

 

A. You can get the full benefit of Ekadasi by following the directives

of a satguru. Guru and scripture ask all devotees to fast from grains.

This will please Hari and guru very much, but of course you can gain

more devotional merit by fasting from all food and water and by staying

awake all night chanting Hari Nama. However, one should only observe

such added austerities if this promotes your remembrance of Hari and

time spent glorifying him. This is what Ekadasi is all about.

 

Yes, technically one can eat grains before Ekadasi begins, but

traditionally this is not done. Indeed, Hari-bhakti-vilasa speaks of

beginning one's fasting the night before Ekadasi.

 

[Editor's Note: More information on Ekadasi can be found in the

following Sangas:

 

Ekadasi, The Day of God

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_four/m194.html

 

Ragas and Ekadasi

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/vnn/ET20-4334.html]

 

Q. I heard a tape of you singing Bhaktivinoda Thakura's song

"Kali-kukkura" (Prabhati-gita). To me your singing sounded "nomadic,"

which in this case is a word that might not make sense to some people.

What I mean by this is that your bhajans have a unique quality that is

very authentic, a quality uninhibited by the environment. Do you plan

on making your bhajans available to the public?

 

A. My first kirtana CD called Audarya Seva is now available to the

public through Audarya Audio, and I will take your comment on my

singing as a compliment--nomadic sounding. Vraja as a verb means "to

go." The residents of Vrndavana (Vrajavasis) could be considered

nomadic. They are on the "go." The Sanskrit word "go" means cow. The

Vrajavasis with their cows moved from Gokula to Vrndavana for greener

grasses and the advantages of Go-vardhana hill. To become residents of

Vraja, we will have to be nomadic as well. We will have to move from

the plane of exploitation to the plane of dedication. Furthermore, to

experience our changeless nature we must be willing to change. In

material life the endless cycle of birth and death forces us to move

and change regardless, but when we move from here (material life) in

consideration of going there (to Vraja), we are moving in the right

direction. Otherwise merely moving within the material world is to

follow the call of the wild, the senses (go)--another sense of "being

on the go."

 

[Editor's Note: Information on Audarya Audio can be obtained here:

http://www.swami.org/sanga/CD_Audio/CDSanga.html

 

Q. I'm a vegan so I don't eat any animal products. I question the need

to offer milk products to Krsna because of the horrendous things modern

factory farming does to cows in order to make them produce more milk.

Most of the milk served today comes from these farms where cows are

slaughtered when their milk production diminishes. Considering this, it

seems to me that it would be better if devotees did not support the

factory farming system by using milk products. My question is does one

have to drink milk or offer milk to Krsna in order to be a devotee?

 

A. Scripture says that Krsna is fond of milk products. Still, one does

not have to drink milk or offer milk to Krsna in order to be a devotee.

Bhagavad-gita says, patram puspam phalam toyam, that if one offers to

Krsna with devotion a leaf, flower, water, or fruit, then he will

accept it. The main ingredient mentioned in this verse is devotion,

bhaktya prayacchati. It is the bhakti in the offering that satisfies

Krsna. Therefore, if someone refrains from offering milk to Krsna

because of conscientious objections over inhumane dairy farming

methods, there is no harm.

 

On the other hand, I don't believe that all devotees should be mandated

to boycott milk in opposition to factory farming; rather they should

follow their conscience in this regard. However, I do feel that

whenever possible devotees should avoid buying milk from companies that

grossly mistreat cows, even if milk from more humane companies is

costlier. Here at Audarya our cows provide all of our milk products.

Fortunate are those who can alter their lifestyles to have the same

situation. Otherwise, one does not necessarily need to offer and

consume milk in order to practice devotional service. A person can be

vegan and still be a devotee of Krsna, but he or she should aspire to

be a bhakta first and foremost, and a vegan, vegetarian, fruitarian, or

whatever second. A bhakta is a person who values devotion above all

else.

 

Q. Devotees are supposed to offer whatever they eat to Krsna

beforehand. It's a nice principle to offer everything, but I wonder how

the Deity feels about being offered foods not mentioned in scripture

such as tofu burgers or chocolate. Does he just accept the sentiment of

letting Krsna eat first?

 

A. This is an interesting question. I don't remember reading that Krsna

does not eat chocolate or tofu. I can assure you that he has eaten

them. How can I say this? Because scripture says that he accepts

vegetarian food that is offered to him in love. Of course, one can

argue that there is more bhakti in offering him things that one knows

he likes to eat, things mentioned in sastra. While this may be helpful

for bhajana at some point, we have the example of the most merciful

Sanatana Goswami, who offered unleavened bread with no salt to his

Deity Madana-Mohana because this was all he could come up with in terms

of ingredients. Madana-Mohana did of course ask for salt at some point,

but even without salt he relished Sanatana Prabhu's offerings because

the offerings were made with love. One can still get that unsalted

bread at Sanatana Goswami's bhajana kutira at the Madana-Mohana temple

in Vrndavana, where devotees have been offering it to the Deity of

Krsna for the last 500 years. The lesson is that if we lovingly offer

food to Krsna that has been made from ingredients readily available,

Krsna will eat.

 

In some places such as the Jagannatha temple in Puri, foods that were

not growing in India when Sri Krsna was present are not offered,

including green chilies. However, Pujyapada Sridhara Maharaja commented

on this saying that this idea was more or less a physical conception.

There are now many vegetables readily available in India that

originally came from other parts of the world. These include eggplant,

tomatoes, and potatoes, all of which came from the Americas. We see

that Krsna adapted his eating habits to the many cultures that exist

within India. In the South he seldom gets chapattis; in the North rice

is rare; in Punjab he is offered corn rotis. Jagannatha means "Lord of

the Universe" not just "Lord of India"; therefore, why wouldn't

Jagannatha adapt his eating habits to other cultures? After all, bhakti

is what he truly eats.

 

Many years ago when I first visited Italy the devotees there served me

many wonderful pasta dishes. I commented that their offerings were

delicious, but they replied that they only offer these dishes to

visitors because they had been taught to only offer Indian cuisine to

the Deity of Krsna. I suggested they reconsider, as I doubt their

version of Indian cuisine was quite as palatable as their pasta.

 

Q. Didn't Srila Prabhupada write that devotees should not eat

chocolate?

 

A. I found one letter in which Srila Prabhupada wrote that devotees

should not eat chocolate because it was an intoxicant. However, in a

letter written later by his secretary, who had asked him as to whether

chocolate could be offered to the Deity, the response was "Yes, if it

was not intoxicating." Thus the perennial debate among Srila

Prabhupada's disciples about eating chocolate. Once in San Francisco,

Srila Prabhupada noticed that one of his householder disciples was

eating a chocolate bar, which she then tried to hide. Prabhupada asked,

"You are not offering me any?" She smiled and offered it to him and he

ate some. Afterwards word spread that devotees could eat chocolate, but

later when the devotees became abusive, eating it in excess, Srila

Prabhupada told them not to eat it. The main concern about chocolate is

its intoxicating properties, but to be affected by that one would have

to eat quite a lot. Other items such as sugar, ghee, certain spices,

and honey are also potentially intoxicating and addictive substances.

Among these honey has the added complication of being made by bees who

use their long tube like tongues to suck the nectar out of flowers that

they store in their special "honey stomachs." Gathering bees return to

the hive and pass the nectar to worker bees that then chew the nectar

until it becomes honey. But in spite of the fact that it passes through

the mouths and stomachs of bees and has intoxicating qualities, honey

is regularly offered to Krsna in Vaisnava temples. Indeed, the

Bhagavatam says that Balarama drinks 'Varuni', an intoxicating beverage

sometimes said to be made from honey.

 

Scripture tells us that Balarama and Krsna do take intoxicants, like

pan, honey, and other such items. Most Gaudiya Vaisnavas do not use

pan, but pan is offered to Krsna in many Vaisnava temples. As for

eating chocolate, do not eat it in excess and it will not hurt your

bhakti, but if you are addicted to it, that is a problem. In general I

believe it is best to avoid it altogether other than perhaps in the

form of hot chocolate made with milk and whipped cream, which is

delicious. While speaking of mixed devotion, Bhagavad-gita says that

whatever you eat should be offered to Krsna. One has to start

somewhere. Start with the spirit of offering and everything else will

follow in due course.

 

Questions or comments may be submitted at the Q&A Forum

http://www.swami.org/sanga/ or email sangaeditor (AT) swami (DOT) org.

 

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Friday, April, 22, 2005, Vol. VII, No. 6

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