Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

I heard that there is not but it more depends on the gradations of you appreciation of it. More appreciation, greater effect on you.

three factors that make prasadam more or less powerful are the consciouness of the:
- cook
- the one who offers
- the consumer

Ravindra-Swarupa tells a story of how in the early days the devotees used to mix all the leftovers from Sunday feasts, (i.e the prasad that guests left on their plate.) and eat that during the week until it was all finished, trying to imbibe the philosophical understanding that prasad can never be contaminated under any circumstance. Once he found some chewed chewing gum in it and decided he couldnt go on doing this. He approached Prabhupada who said that one should take according to his faith. After that everyone stopped doing it.

Ive read another story in OB.Kapoors (a godbrother of Srila Prabhupada) Saints series of books that a prostitute once offered a feast to the deity and the assembled devotees honoured the feast. During the night all the sadhus lost semen which they attributed to the feast and the consciousness of the prostitute. The pujari, who apparently had an intimate relationship with the Deity, asked the Lord, Your prasad cannot become contaminated, so why has this happened? The Lord replied that (paraphrased) He could accept a contaminated offering without being affected but that the devotees were not so powerful and that they should not have taken it.