Sirona 1 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 Over the last years I got rid of meat, and as for alc and coffee, I don't drink them as a principle. However, I have a little problem because I like chocolate really bad and I don't know whether I can "give" it to Krishna. I know that "perfect" Vaishnavas are a little pinchy about psycho active substances but somewhere in the scriptures is stated that Krishna ate betel which, at least to my humble judgement, is a real drug. Krishna recommends to eat things that are not harmful, but from the mere health aspect a little piece of chocolate to me seems less harmful than a piece of sweets of the same size which is composed of nothing but sugar. I know that the Lord can support carbohydrates beyond any measure but there are some people in their material bodies who can't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 16, 2003 i think you need to chill out! you don't drink, smoke, eat meat ok. but know and again you have a bite of some chocolate (r u a girl /images/graemlins/shocked.gif)so what!!! To be serious though 'c' does contain caffine, but u can give it up slowly, no problem..hare krishna Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 16, 2003 offer that chocolate to krsna and eat it happily (if there are not animal fats!!!) do not let anyone to disturb your spiritual life with little subject like that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guruvani 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 To answer your question; no, chocolate is not supposed to be offered to Krishna according to the standards Prabhupada established in ISKCON. I guess the caffeine content is what makes it prohibited. Many devotees eat chocolate as bhoga though. It is one of the little sins that many devotees consider up for compromise. Many devotees also drink Coke or Pepsi or some other cola which also has caffeine it in. That does not make it right. It is just one of the weaknesses of many devotees who otherwise try to maintain some Krishna consciousness in their lives. When you become commited and dedicated enough to give up these things it will be easy to give them up. Until then, you will be keeping your own standards which might not always meet the rigid principles that have been established by Prabhupada for the International society of devotees. I am certainly no one to preach from a high horse about giving it up. I am just answering your question about whether chocolate can be offered to Krishna. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Subala 1 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 devotees offer to Krishna the substitute for chocolade - can anyone remind me whats the name of this product? tastes like chocolate though.... I like to eat chocolate but stopped (to watch my weight /images/graemlins/smile.gif ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 16, 2003 I think it is called carob. You can get it at most heath food stores in either powdered or in solid chunks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 Carob does not actually taste like chocolate; it only looks like it. A big part of what's missing is the bitterness. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 Actually, chocolate has a substance similar to caffeine but which has rather different effects. One difference is that it is not addictive. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada responded to questions based on information we gve him. In fact, we don't find the strong stricture against chocolate that we see regarding coffee and tea. In fact, one of my Godbrothers recounted Srila Prabhupada asking him to make chocolate sandesh in Japan. I did some quick research on the subject recently and found some interesting things. Some of it is on the Health and Wellbeing forum, here: http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=health&Number=41489&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=3&vc=1 What's "addictive" about chocolate, in my experience, is the flavor. I know that I can lose all sense around this stuff. However, I do occasionally make nice chocolate sweets for my Thakurajis and give the mahaprasadam to others (I'll have a little). Every semester I like to make either chocolate chip cookies or brownies, offer them to my Lords, and take them to school for my students so they will have had prasadam. I work hard to ensure there are very few left for me. Like Subala, I need to watch the fit on my pants. I seem unable to burn food off as I did when I was younger. (sigh) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Subala 1 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 If you get a person overwight 20% he will consume 200% more food. this is marketing tip/trick.... No wonder Philip Morris (Tabacco company) are heavily investing in a food industries after many lost multi billion $ suits... think about it... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raga 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 My Giridhari eats lots of chocolate. If someone has an issue with that they'll have to take it up with Him. I think he's a bit addicted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
I_love_krishna_ 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 Krishna loves chocolate!. Yep! true Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livingentity 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 <FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/dopoll.php"><INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="pollname" VALUE="1055804310livingentity"> one of the hardest things (if not the hardest) to give up. <input type="radio" name="option" value="1" />yes /images/graemlins/blush.gif <input type="radio" name="option" value="2" />no /images/graemlins/crazy.gif Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2003 My Girirajas and shalagram seem to like it as well. They've been bugging us for brownies for a while (my wife picked up on this, too). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 18, 2003 Could you please explain what bhoga means? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livingentity 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2003 unoffered foodstuffs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raga 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2003 Actually "amaniya" is the exact word used when referring tp that which is to be offered. Bhoga is also sometimes used when referring to prasadi items, such as "raja-bhoga" or "phal-bhoga". It is not uncommon to hear about receiving the raja-bhoga (midday meal) of the Deities. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 19, 2003 it is a factory made food, not home made with love for krishna. so i would not serve it to krishna. besides chocolate has the effect like tea. so if no tea, then no chocolate, at least for me. jai sri krishna! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 19, 2003 "it is a factory made food, not home made with love for Krishna. so i would not serve it to Krishna." Papadams, hing, powdered sugar, store-bought milk, store-bought butter etc. are also factory-made foods. You have to decide how fanatical you must be in your service. Srila Prabhupada allowed the aforementioned foods to be offered. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted June 19, 2003 If we prepare and cook it ourselves, how is it factory-made food any more than the flour we use? Moreover, it has been shown scientifically that the effects of chocolate are not the same as those of coffee or tea. The chemical is similar to caffeine, but its differences give it very different effects. If you don't want to offer it, I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise. There's lots of nice stuff to offer to the Deity. What's the argument here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 20, 2003 are you in chocolate business? jai sri krishna! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guruvani 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2003 Raga says: "My Giridhari eats lots of chocolate. If someone has an issue with that they'll have to take it up with Him. I think he's a bit addicted." Yes, but only a raga bhakta like your holiness can force Krishna to accept chocolate! Us vaidhi-bhaktas would surely be rejected for doing so! Besides, Krishna chews betel nut but we are not allowed to take the prasad. so, maybe chocolate would be the same? Does betel have caffeine or some other kind of stimulant in it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted June 20, 2003 In 1974/1975 the Cleveland devotees offered Sri Sri Radha Murlidhara chocolate sweet rice for the Sunday feast. It was quite yummy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ramanujadasan 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2003 ThiruvAimozhi 6.7.1 ********************************** " uNNum sORu paruhu neer thinnum VeRRilaiyumellAm KANNAN , yemperumAnenruenrE kaNkaL neer malhi maNNInuL Avan seer vaLam mikkavanoor vinavi tiNNa menniLa maan puhumoor ThirukkOloorE " " Here the mother of ParAnkusa Nayaki decribes the KrishNA- conscious state of her daughter : " My dear young daughter has gone to ThirukkOLoor . She would not have gone anywhere else. To her , ALL is KrishNA . Food (eaten to satisfy the appetite), water (drunk to quell the thirst ) and betel leaves (chewed for digestion after partaking of food ) are all KrishNA only in her case. Saying KrishNA, speaking of His (auspicious ) qualities , thinking (always ) of Him , she would feel she has eaten and enjoyed . She would not eat food at all since KrishNA-consciousness is enough food for her . Reciting the Lord's names and inquiring of every one that she comes across , " Am I on the right track for ThirukkOLoor ? How far is it from here ? , she would be going. The very thought of the place (of the Lord of ThirukkOLoor ) serves as her (total ) nourishment in her walking- journey ." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mryabotoetoyou 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2003 Would not the lord eat what pleased him or her to eat? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raga 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2003 Yes, but only a raga bhakta like your holiness can force Krishna to accept chocolate! I don't have to force Him much to have Him accept chocolate! Besides, Krishna chews betel nut but we are not allowed to take the prasad. so, maybe chocolate would be the same? Does betel have caffeine or some other kind of stimulant in it? Tambula consists of a betelnut and a betel-leaf wrapped around it, and any blend of spices inside along with the nut. The leaf is the more stimulating part of it, the nut itself has practically no effect aside the taste. There are different brands of betel-leaves. In general, the intoxicating effects of betel are mild. The effect is slightly refreshing. Sometimes the pan-wallahs put inside tobacco or bhang. Needless to say, then it becomes more intoxicating, but this evidently has nothing to do with betel itself. I recall hearing that Hari Bhakti Vilasa actually states that one should take the betel-remnants of Radha and Krishna. "Offerings of natural products such as betel nuts, bananas, newly grown wheat, paddy, yogurt and vermillion, carried by the citizens and scattered throughout the city, are all auspicious paraphernalia, according to Vedic civilization, for receiving a prominent guest like a bridegroom, king or spiritual master." (Srimad Bhagavatam, 4.21.4, Prabhupada's purport) Such natural products are very auspicious, befitting for receiving the spiritual master. Nityananda distributed them to all the devotees in the assembly at the Panihati festival. <font color="darkblue">mAlA-candana-tAmbUla zeSa ye Achila zrI-haste prabhu tAhA sabAkAre bAGTi dila (CC Antya 6.98) "With His beautiful hands, the Lord distributed to everyone the left-over garlands, sandalwood paste and tambula."</font color> Raghava Pandit offered betel to Radha and Krishna, distributing the remnants to the devotees. <font color="darkblue">biDA khAoyAilA, kailA caraNa vandana bhakta-gaNe dilA biDA, mAlya-candana (CC Antya 6.121) "He offered the betel, praying at Their feet, then giving the betel, garlands and sandalwood pulp to the devotees."</font color> Vallabha Bhatta did it, too, after the Vaishnavas had taken prasadam. <font color="darkblue">mAlA, candana, guvAka, pAna aneka Anila sabA pUjA kari bhaTTa Anandita haila (CC Antya 7.71) "He brought a lot of garlands, sandalwood pulp, spices and betel. Worshiping everyone with them, Bhatta was blissful."</font color> But what about the statement forbidding the chewing of betel? Read it again: <font color="darkblue">"(24) One should not chew betel before the Deity." (NOD 8) </font color> Even chewing gum you should not chew before the deity, although chewing gum is certainly not an issue outside the temple. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
