Here is a correspondence I had with Guna Grahi Maharaj about eating

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Dear Harikesa Maharaj,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

I've been working with Indradyumna Maharaj on his festival program (lots of

intense nectar)and a question has come up that only you can answer. It

involves one of the favorite Iskcon party foods - pizza. When we were

discussing how enlivened all the 200 devotees would be if we could serve it

to them, it was mentioned that a number of your disciples, and there are

quite a few on the party, won't eat it on your order because of the

possibility that it has rennet in it. The other reason given was that the

cheese is not fresh. On the other side, it was said that many of your

disciples, including some of your leading ones, eat pizza regularly. I

know that in Argentina they all eat it. One devotee said they saw you

eating it as well, with store bought cheese. In light of all the above,

I'd appreciate hearing your feelings on the matter.

If you say your disciples shouldn't pizza, we won't make it. If you say

they can eat it provided there is with certainty no animal rennet in the

cheese, we will make it. If you indicate the latter, would you mind

writing your repy in such a way that your disciples can read it themselves

rather than have to take my word for it?

 

And as long as we are on the subject, spaghetti is another devotee favori-

te. Can you clarify your feelings about noodles ( without eggs, of

course)? We also heard that your disciples are not supposed to take them

either.

 

I have always had the highest respect for you and appreciate greatly your

high standard of leadership and management. Thus, I value your opinion on

everything and like very much hearing it. Since I was born with a slice

of pizza in my mouth, however, I don't know whether I would personally be

able to refrain from honoring pizza prasadam, but I will certainly always

encourage your disciples to have faith in your instructions.

 

The tour ends on the 16th of August, if you have time to respond before

then.

If not, I'll look forward to a reply sometime in the future at your

convenience.

 

I hope this meets you well.

 

Your servant,

 

Gunagrahi das Goswami

 

Dear Gunagrahi Maharaj PAMHO

 

Gee, didn't know that pizza was such a hot item! I know that there is much

controversy about pizza. I will never try to say that there is something

wrong with pizza.

 

My policy on pizza is as follows: Pizza is great. But it should only be

made with cheese that is made by devotees. One can buy chemical rennet and

make the cheese very easily oneself and then one is sure that it is ok.

One could even offer that to the Deities. We do that all the time and it

is fine.

 

The second best thing is to buy rennetless or chemical rennet cheese in the

store. But Prabhupada didn't want that offered to the Deities. He didn't

even want sour cream purchased in the store offered to the Deities, what to

speak of store bought cheese. If one is eager to eat pizza and needs to

offer it somehow, one could offer that to the eagerly awaiting Vaisnava

gurus one time. But it is not as good as making the cheese oneself. You

can try to make it. It is fun and a good habit.

 

Anything else is out of the question.

 

One important point, it is a medical fact that eating such cheese is a

guranteed way to get kidney stones which are more painful than Indra's

thunderbolt! Therefore I never eat cheese.

 

If someone saw me eating store bought cheese it most likely was because I

was under the impression that it was not with rennet and made ourselves. I

would never eat it with rennet and since the last 3 years I refuse to eat

any cheese at all. But that is me and I like it when my disciples eat tons

of pizza and zone out completely afterwards and become useless.

 

As far as spaghetti goes, it is karmi made. Therefore I have asked that

the temples get spaghetti and macaroni machines and make their own and eat

that. It is also good for getting fatty. I discourage them from eating

store bought spaghetti when it is so easy to make oneself. Prabhupada

wanted us to make all these things ourselves and not depend on store bought

items. I do not know what he would think of spaghetti. I do not think

anyone dared offer it to him when he was on the planet.

 

I hope this meets you well and happy and that my answer has clarified

something, at least for my poor disciples who are starving due to my too

high standards.

 

Your servant

 

Harikesa Swami

 

ps: I am sending a copy of our communication to my Questions and Answers

conference so that everyone can see this.