Does the Lord eat chocolate?

[I_love_krishna_ 0]

If Chewing gum is a problem before the deity, aren't we "before the deity" always. I mean, isn't krishna every where, so how can you chew gum in front of krishna in one place and not in front of krishna in the other.

 

Isn't this like , its not okay to do it when krishna is seeing you, but when you don't realize krishna is seeing you then it is okay to cheat.

 

 

[raga 0]

The point is that in the temple you are standing face to face with Him, while in other circumstances we speak of the extension of His omniscience.

 

Take for example sleeping. You can certainly sleep, but you don't go in the temple room and sleep in front of Him. Or what about passing stool. I'm sure you get the idea. It is not a question of cheating, just a question of being considerate of what is appropriate in each circumstance.

[Guest guest]

Donot waste your spritual life on such a minor issues.

If u r not convinced within your heart, dont not try to find excuses.

Hare Krishna

[raga 0]

 

Donot waste your spritual life on such a minor issues.

If u r not convinced within your heart, dont not try to find excuses.

Hare Krishna

 

 

"Case closed?"

 

What excuses? First try to sort out whether there is anything to be convinced of to begin with. Then talk of excuses.

 

IMHO people who propose that someone is "trying to find excuses", or pass any other convicting statement for that matter, ought to <u>sign their posts</u> and stand behind their words.

[stonehearted 0]

"Guest": Donot waste your spritual life on such a minor issues.

If u r not convinced within your heart, dont not try to find excuses.

 

 

First, I hope you don't mind that I corrected your misspelling. I'm not sure what point you think you're making in this post--maybe that you're more advanced than I am because I sometimes offer chocolate to my shilas? I dunno. And what do you think I should be convinced of--that chocolate is equivalent to coffee? The evidence just isn't there, and devotees much more advanced than you and I don't think it's an issue worth discussing. I'm not trying to convince anyone her of anything, nor am I making any excuss for anything.

 

Listen--you don't know anything about me, and I don't know who you are. But if you want to go around harranguing others, at least have enough conviction to sign your name. Otherwise, you seem less like a guest than an intruder.

[livingentity 0]

It is getting tiresome dealing with this.

 

 

IMHO people who propose that someone is "trying to find excuses", or pass any other convicting statement for that matter, ought to sign their posts and stand behind their words.

 

 

[livingentity 0]

If you feel what you say is so important then why don't you get a name like the rest of us? I am more and more inclined to just ignore the guest posts.

 

 

Listen--you don't know anything about me, and I don't know who you are. But if you want to go around harranguing others, at least have enough conviction to sign your name. Otherwise, you seem less like a guest than an intruder.

 

 

[stonehearted 0]

Yeah! I'm with you about that one! And I'm with you, too, about ignoring the "guest" posts, generally. I pay close attention to a couple of "guests" who do sign their names. Mahaksha always signs and has explained why he doesn't log on. And I know why Guess Guest doesn't sign in, but he always signs with his fake name, so I pay attention to him too (otherwise, how would I know what I have to write to pee him off?). Yashodandana and a couple of others, too. But some of these "guests" are clearly abusing the privilege. Perhaps we should ask for a somewhat more stringent guest policy.

[I_love_krishna_ 0]

You seem to compare chewing a piece of gum to "passing stool" in the temple.

 

I understand by your statements that chewing gum is bad in front of Krishna (when you compare it to passing of stool), but now I have another question if you don't mind.

 

Question: why is chewing gum so bad in the temple? its not like we are spitting it.

 

I say this because, I never really paid attention to it in such a detail... and may be I could have chewed gum in the past.

[raga 0]

I replied to this one already in the morning. I wonder what happened to my reply.

 

Anyhow, the idea is that you try to behave as respectfully as you can. When you go into the office of your boss, professor or principal, I think you spit out that chewing gum first. Why, then, should this not be done when you go into a temple?

[I_love_krishna_ 0]

It kind of makes sense to think of giving respect to krishna. but giving all that respect on the outside and making him a friend on the inside is quite confusing.

[raga 0]

 

It kind of makes sense to think of giving respect to krishna. but giving all that respect on the outside and making him a friend on the inside is quite confusing.

 

 

When you are in a temple, you are in the presence of others. What is inside the heart, that is only between you and him. The love of your heart you keep secret, not showing it to anyone and everyone. Hiding it makes it more cherished, more beautiful and more fascinating. Showing it to everyone makes it vanish.

[Guest guest]

There are degrees, just as in the Bhagavad Gita there is confidential knowledge, more confidential knowldedge, and most confidential knowledge.

 

There are examples: the one about chewing gum is good. How about wearing shoes? We all wear shoes outside, but we take them off when entering a Temple. The same with clothing, one might wear a swim suit outside, but at the Temple, one would naturally want to appear presentable before the personal form of the Lord.

 

Yes, the Lord is everywhere, including our hearts. But, it is much more personal and direct when we are seeing Him face to face in the Temple room. Just as in the holy Dhama, one's offenses are magnified 100 times, as is one's service, so also the form of the Lord as arca-vigraha is much more personal and direct than "Krishna everywhere" when we're out shopping in the Mall or whatever.

 

Also, the Temple room is a place restricted for their Lordship's enjoyment only. This helps us develop our Krishna Consciousness and at the same time helps to rid us of our material/enjoying consciousness. Before the Deity, in His own House, if we are aspiring to develop our love for Their Lordships and give up our separatist spirit, then we need to practice following certain rules and regulations. They are there for our benefit, so that we may become Krishna Conscious. We're not supposed to eat in front of the Deity either, for obvious reasons, since the Temple room is a place where we offer food to the Deities for Their enjoyment.

 

These rules and regulations are given by Srila Rupa Goswami in his Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, translated by Srila Prabhupada as The Nectar of Devotion.

 

If we're feeling some objection or hesitation to follow these guidelines (which I'm sure we all do from time to time), then it helps to remind us that we are not yet purified and that we still have the enjoying spirit remaining within us.

 

Hope this helps some.

 

---purple paper clip

[I_love_krishna_ 0]

Muchas gracias, Raga and the Guest.

 

[Gauracandra 1]

I think devotees are said to avoid chocolate due to the caffeine effect. However, I don't know anyone who is literally addicted to chocolate. Usually it is something one takes here and there, and thus is not habit forming. Something like coffee and tea may be habit forming, but chocolate is very mild. Of course this can all be rationaling, but most sweets have an adverse affect on the body. You eat some burfi, or sandesh, and you get a sugar high. In either event, I think it is pretty minor.

[stonehearted 0]

The chemical in chocolate is rather similar to caffiene, but its composition is diferent enough that it has very different effects. It's not addictive and doesn't give the buzz that caffeine gives. It's more likely that people get a buzz from the sugar. I don't advocate eating chocolate, but I think many devotees get far too worked up over whether someone else occasionally eats chocolate. We should be much more concerned with the progress of our own practice.

 

All sweets should be taken occasionally and in small portions.

[atma 0]

Here at Govinda's they sell chocolate and carob cookies, and everything is offered.