Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

BG 8.6: Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntuc0u299 , that state he will attain without fail.

Easier said than done.

Do you mean if one does eat it at the exact time of death? That will depend on quantity and on quality... It sounds a bit contradictory to me, if one dedicates an entire life to Krsna, one will eat only prasadam. If one can offer chocolate to Krsna, what is a harm? But why would you offer the chocolate to Krsna... is it because He likes it or you can not live without it?

You dont want to be laying on your death bed thinking about chocolate instead of Krishna. "Oh chocolate! dear sweet chocolate! I desire you!" :)))))))

[quote][cite] ccd:[/cite]Do you mean if one does eat it at the exact time of death? That will depend on quantity and on quality... It sounds a bit contradictory to me, if one dedicates an entire life to Krsna, one will eat only prasadam. If one can offer chocolate to Krsna, what is a harm? But why would you offer the chocolate to Krsna... is it because He likes it or you can not live without it?[/quote]

Exactly! This goes back to something I said in yet another chocolate thread. Are we trying to justify our desire to eat chocolate? Are we rationalizing this? Are we trying to find reasons to bypass Prabhupadas instructions and offer and eat chocolate to satisfy our material senses?

depends on how much you live, how much service you do and the quantity of chocolate you eat... :) Krishna will decide your destination at the end.
Its me or there are two dozen chocolate questions lately?

Out of all the questions we can ask, were talking about the restrictions on chocolate. I find that humurous.

Regardless, just follow the rule and be done with it. There are lots of other sweets out there we can eat anyway.

> Are we trying to find reasons to bypass Prabhupadas instructions and offer and eat chocolate to satisfy our material senses?

"However, if one accepts pras'e4da only because of its palatable taste and thus eats too much, he also falls prey to trying to satisfy the demands of the tongue. 'c7r'e9 Caitanya Mah'e4prabhu taught us to avoid very palatable dishes even while eating pras'e4da. If we offer palatable dishes to the Deity with the intention of eating such nice food, we are involved in trying to satisfy the demands of the tongue. If we accept the invitation of a rich man with the idea of receiving palatable food, we are also trying to satisfy the demands of the tongue." NOI 1,p.

If choc can be called a palatable dish we have a solution...

it was a "joke"... Hare Krsna!!!

what I meant is that I would choose a compassionate, loving, caring, giving devotee who eats chocolate, rather than one who doesnt eat chocolate but has a lot to do with his character.

and one more thing... I dont even like chocolate. Im against focusing on the external. I dont care about chocolate...

If you eat chocolate all your life you reincarnate as the purple milka cow.

This was a funny thread.
I never ate chocolate in ISKCON, since it was a rule. for no other reason.
Nowadays I often eat chocolate and I have found that it does not make me intoxicated and does not affect my consciousness. It actually has no ill effects at all.
Now my reasoning, I follow the other 3 principles strictly, so on the strength of that, a little bit chocolate does not harm me. The harm of these things are kind of additive.

[quote][cite] Prisni dasi:[/cite]Nowadays I often eat chocolate and I have found that it does not make me intoxicated and does not affect my consciousness. It actually has no ill effects at all.
Now my reasoning, I follow the other 3 principles strictly, so on the strength of that, a little bit chocolate does not harm me. The harm of these things are kind of additive.[/quote]
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People say the same thing about alcoholic beverages and smokes as well, mataji. Does that mean we can start drinking and smoking in minute quantities, but follow the other three principals strongly, and be okay? Or how about meat, a little bit of beef wont harm anybody, besides, the cow is already been killed, so we shouldnt waste stuff like this; its okay in minute quantities.
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Or how about a little bit of entertainment at the strip club. Its not like Im touching the prostitues or anything, and I follow the other three principals as well. Or how bout that slot machine, I make a six figure salary, so its not like Im going to bankrupt myself, and its just this once. I could do it for Krsna!
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My apologies if this is a bit shrewd and overboard, but youre presenting weak and cheat(sic) logic, and this is coming from a person whose ate chocolate (and onions) for a good chunk of his life. It [i][b]does[/b][/i] affect you, and the only way to find out is to cease eating chocolate. Its the [i][b]only[/b][/i] way that I found out that chocolate was affecting my consciousness.

How is it that chanting Krishnas name even once can eliminate the reactions to more sins than we can commit, but it cant seem to beat the urge to take a bite of chocolate or stop its reaction?

The only reason I stopped eating chocolate was because of the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is said in the first canto somewhere that reading the Bhagavatam cleanses the heart of all sorts of material diseases. My desire for chocolate was destroyed without me having to do much of anything during the spring break of 2007. All I did for most of spring break was read Bhagavatam all day everyday. I dont miss it and I dont regret it. Thats why I dont recommend eating chocolate because of this very reason. If it wasnt bad, why dont I still have the urge?

[quote][cite] Kyros:[/cite]The only reason I stopped eating chocolate was because of the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is said in the first canto somewhere that reading the Bhagavatam cleanses the heart of all sorts of material diseases. My desire for chocolate was destroyed without me having to do much of anything during the spring break of 2007. All I did for most of spring break was read Bhagavatam all day everyday. I dont miss it and I dont regret it. Thats why I dont recommend eating chocolate because of this very reason. If it wasnt bad, why dont I still have the urge?[/quote]

Im beginning the Sixth Canto now. Maybe I have yet to get to the part that cleanses the heart of its occasional desire for chocolate.

If a perfected being is eating chocolate -- the remains are worshipable:-) Seriously it was not a taboo in 1920... but it is addictive (how would I know;-)

Ive only read the first four cantos. I started the fifth but I didnt feel comfortable with what I knew, so I bought "Unveiling His Lotus Feet" by Bhurijana Das Prabhu who wrote an overview of the first four cantos using commentaries from Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur, Sridar Swami, and the Sat Sandarbhas. Its really nice and helpful.

...the devotee will only eat Krishna prasad,chocolate is never offerd to Krishna, so the devotee will never eat chocolate.

>chocolate is never offerd to Krishna

Obviously it was offered. And it is still offered.

Betel nut is offered to Krsna, but devotees do not eat it, as it is an intoxicant... so...

Hare krishna ,luckily for my self i asked very pertinent questions from my guru ,about this chocolate .He always ate chocolate.Hence chocolate with out caffeine was naturally encouraged and offered to the deities.Infact the intimate sankirtain devottees who built the financial basis in the south pacific including the many temples shared such chocolate amongst our selves for approximately thirty years.Even in our zone big ,leaders sometimes get gifts including chocolate.Krishna is offered pan and betel nut a mild intoxicant in deity worship.But when such behaviour disturbs neophytes,keep it to your self.One guru i new from the old days personally accepted chocolate from us blissfully but when it disturbed several of his disciples,he refrained in the future from taking it.As rupa goswami invites,accept everything favourable for your devotional service,also reject everything unfavourable in your attempts to please krishna.

Try using carob powder in your sweets I think it gives a nice choclate taste and it can be offered to Krsna as well

If someone has dedicated his entire life to Krishna, nothing really matters.

What he eats, what he wears, is immaterial.

Even a meat-eater, if he becomes a Krishna devotee, will be released from the clutches of Maya. But the taste for meat will automatically drop.

By the way, chocolates are vegetarian, arent they? I see no problem, and I am sure Krishna has no problems with chocolates.

If someones bhava is to offer Toblerone or Cadbury chocolates to Krishna; and he does this with pure love, I am sure it will be rated by Krishna as more meaningful than any other prasad.

Ultimately, only the depth of love for Krishna counts. Nothing else matters.