Don't eat grains cooked by non devotees

[Guest guest]

Here is some valuable instruction from Cc and from Hari Sauri's

diary (written while serving as Srila Prabhupada's servant) on

the risk of accepting food cooked by non-devotees, even vegetarian!

 

Combine these instructions with the Kellogg's research I sent out

recently...why risk taking unknown things?

 

ys Romapada Swami

 

 

Cc Antya 6.278-279

"When one eats food offered by a materialistic man, one's mind becomes

contaminated, and when the mind is contaminated, one is unable to think

of Krsna properly."

 

PURPORT

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura suggests that people who are

materialistically inclined and sahajiyas, or so-called Vaisnavas who take

everything very casually, are both visayis, or materialists. Eating food

offered by them causes contamination, and as a result of such contamination,

even a serious devotee becomes like a materialistic man. There are six

kinds of association -- giving charity, accepting charity, accepting food,

offering food, talking confidentially and inquiring confidentially. One

should very carefully avoid associating with both the sahajiyas, who are

sometimes known as Vaisnavas, and the non-Vaisnavas, or avaisnavas. Their

association changes the transcendental devotional service of Lord Krsna

into sense gratification, and when sense gratification enters the mind of

a devotee, he is contaminated. The materialistic person who aspires after

sense gratification cannot properly think of Krsna.

 

 

"When one accepts an invitation from a person contaminated by the material

mode of passion, the person who offers the food and the person who accepts

it are both mentally contaminated."

 

PURPORT

 

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that there are three varieties of

invitations -- those in the mode of goodness, those in passion and those

in ignorance. An invitation accepted from a pure devotee is in the mode

of goodness, an invitation accepted from a person who is pious but

materially attached is in the mode of passion, and an invitation accepted

from a person who is materially very sinful is in the mode of ignorance.

 

January 4, 1976 -- Nellore

 

Living in someone else's house is difficult when the family members are

non-Vaisnava. When preaching in India devotees are often obliged to stay in

the homes of Life Members, their bad habits tolerated in order to broadcast

the message of Krsna consciousness. However, Tamal Krishna told Prabhupada

that when Gargamuni Swami returns to India, he doesn't want to do that

anymore. He said, "He is determined that he will not eat in anyone's home."

 

Prabhupada approved. "That is very good."

 

"Not only that, but he's not going to sleep in anyone's home either. They

want to camp out by the river sides."

 

"Very good idea."

 

"He says that from reading your books it is very clear that Caitanya

Mahaprabhu was very careful, strict, to only eat prasadam cooked by proper

persons."

 

"No, purchase from Jagannatha temple. People would come to offer Him

prasadam. So what is the cost of the prasadam, that was taken and He

purchased. Formerly, the system was there was no hotel, but there were

temples. You go and you can purchase very cheap price. I went with my

father in my childhood in a place. My father would never take food at

anyone's house or in the hotel. He will find out some temple and pay

them and take prasadam. Still there are many temples. So I was about

ten years old at that time, say, seventy years ago. So he paid two

annas to the pujari, and he gave us so much. It can be eaten by five,

six men. Kichari, vegetables, varieties. So much. Two annas."

 

Tamal Krishna mentioned his experience visiting a temple in Navadvipa.

"They had an arrangement like this. At least a hundred people were taking,

respectable people. That temple's very big. Of course, I don't know how

bona fide the people who speak at night are, but every night there are

speakers with many people coming. I was very impressed by it. Nice rooms

for people to stay upstairs, very active, always being cleansed."

 

Srila Prabhupada was impressed by Tamal Krishna's description. "That

is temple. So we have so many examples. Introduce this."

 

[More from that Nellore visit...]

 

"Tamal recalled the previous evening. "Last night when we were reading,

they all left. When you mentioned the regulative principles -- stressing

no meat, crabs, fish, eggs -- they all got up and walked out."

Prabhupada questioned Harikesa again about the cooking. "You said that

the same cooking place will have to do, where they are cooking meat?"

Harikesa reassured him, "They're not cooking it now."

Living in someone else's house is difficult when the family members are

non-Vaisnava. When preaching in India devotees are often obliged to stay in

the homes of Life Members, their bad habits tolerated in order to broadcast

the message of Krsna consciousness. However, Tamal Krishna told Prabhupada

that when Gargamuni Swami returns to India, he doesn't want to do that

anymore. He said, "He is determined that he will not eat in anyone's home."

Prabhupada approved. "That is very good."

"Not only that, but he's not going to sleep in anyone's home either. They

want to camp out by the river sides."

"Very good idea."

"He says that from reading your books it is very clear that Caitanya

Mahaprabhu was very careful, strict, to only eat prasadam cooked by proper

persons."

"No, purchase from Jagannatha temple. People would come to offer Him

prasadam. So what is the cost of the prasadam, that was taken and He

purchased. Formerly, the system was there was no hotel, but there were

temples. You go and you can purchase very cheap price. I went with my father

in my childhood in a place. My father would never take food at anyone's

house or in the hotel. He will find out some temple and pay them and take

prasadam. Still there are many temples. So I was about ten years old at that

time, say, seventy years ago. So he paid two annas to the pujari, and he

gave us so much. It can be eaten by five, six men. Kichari, vegetables,

varieties. So much. Two annas."

[END]

 

On another occasion, December 22 1976 we visited Mahabaleshwar, a

hills station outside Poona. We were being offered some land and a house by

the Malhotras, some life members. We stayed with them overnight and were

obliged to eat with them (mainly because I wasn't a cook so Srila Prabhupada

accepted whatever they cooked for us). However their standard wasn't very

high, although they were at least vegetarian.

 

December 22, 1976

DEC 22nd

Srila Prabhupad, Gopal Krsna Giriraj and myself all flew to Poona

on the early morning flt. and we were met at the tiny airport,

which consists of one small shack and a landing strip, by Mr.

Malhotra and his family and his brother and sister-in-law. The

latter were wearing long orange robes and are follower of

Rajneesh Acharya who has his asrama in Poona. They received us

cordially and drove us to their home in Poona for breakfast

before setting out on the trip to Mahabaleswar, which is several

hours from here.

The house is large, with a swimming pool etc. and they are

obviously quite rich although they do not appear to have the

culture that the more traditional aritocratic Hindu families

have. For breakfast everyone sat round the table togeather and

the food was brought out in large bowls and passed around.

Everyone simply helped themselves, dipping in, eating and dipping

in again, thus completely contaminating everything. Fortunately I

had served Prabupad with a portion of everything on his plate

before anyone had a chance to touch it so he was not affected. I

was also careful to only take from the bowls which were

untouched.

 

It took almost three hours to reach Mahabaleshwar and was quite

an ordeal, the winding, upward motion of the car on the steep twisting

hillside road, giving Prabhupad a feeling of sickness. Finally we

arrived. The land is not so big and the house quite run down and

not well kept and full of damp. Still the weather is nice and it is

very quiet. After going through the sitting room there are three

bedrooms along a passage and Prabhupad was given the middle one

which had a small attached bathroom. The Malhotras all stayed in

the large one at the far end and we three in the first.

Prabhupad took his massage out in the sunshine and as his

system settled he became enthused and announced he would stay for

three days. The weather and atmosphere of the hills agreed with

him and it would be a good opportunity to have a break from

management and all the hetic programmes at the temple.

Lunch was the same as breakfast, different food but the same

style of eating. This time I made sure Prabhupad and myself had

sufficient so that no seconds would be required and Giriraj and

Gopal also were careful to do the same. We didn't want to offend

our hosts but we wanted to keep our standards. However it was

still difficult to sit, all around the one small table, because

of their gross habits and lusty propensities which are all openly

displayed when it comes to the matter of satisfying the tongue.

It was hardly prasada seva.

 

In the evening:

 

Finally the rest of his family arrived back and after some

light conversation we were obliged again to sit and eat. They

laid out some quite heavy foodstuffs and we took a full meal

before retiring for the night. Prabhupad was too polite to say

anything but after everyone had taken rest he called in Giriraj

and myself and told us to prepare to leave at first light. He was

having difficulty digesting the food and his system was upset.

Also he was not keen to associate so closely with them. He told

us to inform them as soon as they wake that `we are very sorry

but Srila Prabhupad is not well and we have to leave so we shall

not be able to stay after all. In this way we can leave in a

friendly manner and not upset them'.

 

DEC 23rd

This morning began with the ring of Prabhupad's bell. It was 5am

and we were all still sound asleep. Giriraj and Gopal didn't even

hear the bell and I only responded because I was trained to it. I

jumped groggily from the bed and went in to find Prabhupad

sitting on the end of his bed with the small table on which I had

set up his dictaphone, in front of him, illuminated with the small

table lamp.

He looked at me when I came in and asked quite innocently,

"So you have all become infected like this?" In the background

theer was a loud snoring coming from the Malhotras bedroom and

still thick in the brain from a heavy sleep and not realising

what Prabhupad was implying I said, puzzled, " Well, I don't

think we are as infected as that". Without losing his demeanour

Prabhupad said softly, "No, I mean to say, you should have risen

at four am and had managal arati and bathed but due to only one

night's association you are already infected". I could understand

then his point that association with karmis, no matter how

friendly, is so dangerous. He told me this was due simply to

eating with the karmis, the eating process is so important.

He sent me back into our room to wake the others and bathe

and by first light we were ready for off. Fortunately the

Malhotras were not long in waking and after some short discussion

they agreed to allow Prabhupad to use their car to drive back to

Bombay as it was said to be shorter than the drive to Poona and

then flight. Actually it was also a fact that he didn't want to

return to Poona because it would mean having to take prasada with

them again.

Just as we were loading up Mr. Malhotras brother came to

Prabhupad and told him that from last night's conversation he

could now understand that Rajneesh was actually a cheater and

Prabhupad was very pleased that he had enough intelligence to

respond to his preaching and he invited him to come and visit our

Bombay asrama and perhaps stay with us also.

After tactfully taking our leave we all drove down to the

village and Prabhupad had a short walk with them around a small

lake before we set off for Bombay proper at 7.45 am. Shortly after

starting out Srila Prabhupada ate a small orange. It wasn't long

before we hit some very twisty sections of road and although it

was all down hill progress was slow and difficult. For one and

half hours continuously, with any break we negotiated one sharp

‘S' bend after another, every fifty to one hundred yards.

Prabhupad was in great discomfort and after half an hour we

had to suddenly stop the car and Prabhupad vomitted out the open

door. As we pulled up I got into great anxiety because I realised

I had not packed any water and now it would be required for

Prabhupad to wash his mouth out with. As I wondered what to do by

Krsna's mercy a car suddenly appeared behind us. It was the only

vehicle we had seen in either direction and they pulled up and

gladly supplied some fresh water for Prabhupad. After a couple of

minutes we were on our way again but again after another half

hour Prabhupad was vomitting. Finally we arrived on the flat

lands and Prabhupad vowed he would never make such a journey

again.

After about an hour Prabhupad had us stop at one village.

Now feeling better he wanted some puffed rice, and he

had us go to different stalls and bring back samples till he saw

some he thought was fresh enough. He took a little and passed his

remnants to us as we drove along. I was a little surprised that he

was eating again so soon after throwing up. But Prabhupada smiled

and said that puffed rice can be eaten any time, even if one is

ill “it is so innocent.”

So after a very difficult ride we arrived back in Bombay at

2.15pm. As usual the devotees were ready with full arati and foot

washing paraphernalia in his room but I saw he was a little

dismayed when he came in although he said nothing. He didn't want

to refuse his disciples offering of love and devotion but it was

going to be a strain. I therefore ushered everyone out before

they could begin despite one or two protests and Prabhupad did

not object.

He took his massage immediately. As he sat on the very small

veranda of his room he said, "I was punished almost immediately

for eating with the Karmis". I couldn't imagine Krsna punishing

Prabhupad for anything but that was his humility. Then after

bathing he took rest and in the evening, after having gained a

little strength he gave darshan.

[end]