prasadam is not contaminated

[Guest guest]

Home Base: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, Navadwip Dham, Nadia, WB, INDIA

 

My Dear Spiritual Niece,

 

Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I have read

you letter carefully and noted the contents. My comments are given below.

 

> Dear Jayapataka Maharaja,

> Please, accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

>

> I have a question connected with prasadam.

>

> 1.In vaisnava etiquette it is said that devotees should not eat on public.

> I know one point that's because devotees should not like enjoyers. But

> there is another point, that if we eat food on public, somebody by looking

> on this food can contaminate it.

> Generally prasadam while beeing brought to Guru's room is covered.

>

> Why we have to hide prasadam from people, if prasadam is not contaminated?

>

 

When food is seen by animals or humans who covet it or lust over eating it

then it is not offerable as bhoga to the Lord. If it is prasadam and it is

lusted after then it can make the person eating it sick, according to

general information we receive. There is a long story about Ravana being

sick because people lusted over something he was eating and until he

corrected taht he couldn't get healthy. Covering food safeguards that to

some extent, it is also to keep it warm, I presume.

 

> 2. Why also do we try to avoid to eat prasadam from others plates, it's

> also considered contaminated, or we eat other's consciousness or karma. I

> heard that husband and wife can eat from each others plates because "they

> have one karma". Is it all true? How prasadam can be contaminated by

> someone's consciousness or karma?

 

> Thank you very much

>

> your servant Madhurendira dd

 

Generally the wife can eat the remnants of the husband as a part of her

wifely dharma. They feed each other mahaprasadam as a part of the marriage

ceremony. Husband and wife are united so their relationship is special.

After all husband and wife are considered one. I could give more practical

examples, but I won't considering the time, place and circumstances. I

don't know if there is any such details like having the same karma described

in sastra. Actually it isn't they have exactly the same karma. They share

in their present lives karma, but husband and wife are still individuals and

they have their own unique portfolio of karma they are working off. The

wife doesn't get the karma of her husband, but the husband gets the karma of

the wife. There are various unique aspects to marriage. Eating prasadam is

part of their loving exchanges and how formal or informal they will be is an

individual discretion or choice.

 

You can eat the remnants of a more advanced vaisnava and that is spiritually

beneficial. if you eat the remnants of someone who is less advanced and

absorb their karma that is your responsibility. so generally we don't eat

remnants off of the plate of non-devotees as it may affect our

consciousness.

 

I hope that this finds you in good health.

 

Yours in service,

 

Jayapataka Swami