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Palatable dishes (Conversations)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- July 16, 1968, Montreal:

Prabhupāda: So Bhāgavata says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājaṁ nṛloke kāṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). You are working so hard and the end should not be simply sense gratification. Sense gratification you can get in hog society, dog society, without any, I mean to say, extra qualification. That is... Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. Viṣaya means this sense gratificatory business, you will have in any life. In bird's life, in dog's life, in cat's life. So do you think that human life is also meant for that purpose? Then what is the meaning of civilization? Is that civilization? If the end of life is the same, just like cats and dogs, is it civilization? They do not know what is civilization. They have forgotten. They think that eating very nicely in a palatable dish, that is civilization. But eating is eating. And if you eat... If you are hungry, anything satisfies you. That is eating. Finish. You can eat. Sleeping. When you are fast asleep, you do not know whether you are on the nice building in a nice apartment. You are dreaming that you are thrown into the ocean. So sleeping. So simply for nice arrangement for sleeping, is that civilization? (break) Then life is successful. At least, if one understands that "This is my business. My business is not to work hard and end it by sense gratification. This is not my business." That is saṁsiddhi. That is success. If, at least, one understands this aim of life, even little understands, he gets next human body. That is guaranteed.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Dai Nippon -- April 22, 1972, Tokyo:

Prabhupāda: We have got so many nice vegetable preparations. We prepare from milk casein with nice preparations. If you want some of our assistants will teach you. So I think instead of eating meat, if you eat that preparation, it is tasting almost like meat, but it is strictly milk preparation. That is as much nutritious also, full of vitamins. (Japanese)

Dai Nippon representative: Even you catch cold, you don't go to, you don't consult with doctor, medical doctor.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We avoid doctor's bill. Yes. As far as possible. And we, because we are vegetarian, hardly we get sick. If you take strictly vegetarian food, you will avoid so many doctor's bills. Yes. Because our constitution is meant for eating vegetables. Just like this teeth. This is not meant for eating meat. It is meant for eating fruits, vegetables, grains. Our constitution is made like that. In India still 80% population (break) ...grains, milk products, vegetables, fruits, and sugar. You can make hundreds of nice palatable dishes. Sometimes we invite Mr. Tajima. You accept our invitation. You'll see. The other day I invited your assistant. (Japanese)

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes, just like that Dr. Wolfe came also. So gradually they'll come, because they're...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: :But they're more interested in seeing the molecules than in taking prasādam.

Prabhupāda: No...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: :That is their (indistinct).

Devotee (2): So we have to trick them to take prasādam.

Prabhupāda: They will (indistinct) as students not to see molecules, but to see how palatable dishes are there. (laughter)

Devotee: Yeah, they will forget it.

Prabhupāda: At that time they forget their laboratory.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Woman Sanskrit Professor -- February 13, 1975, Mexico:

Prabhupāda: I may tell you two things. The purpose is... That is experienced by every one of us, what is the purpose of life, what is the purpose, anything. That, everyone, we can understand very easily. The purpose is ānanda. Pleasure. That is the purpose. There is no difficulty to understand what is the purpose. The purpose is pleasure-seeking. Or purpose is pleasure. One who hasn't got the pleasure, he's seeking after it. That is the purpose. Purpose is ānanda. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). That is the Vedānta-sūtra. Everyone of us, seeking ānanda. The scientific knowledge, philosophy, or even driving the car or whatever you are doing—the purpose is ānanda. That is a common factor. Purpose is... Why I am eating palatable dishes? I can eat anything, but I am seeking that "This sort of foodstuff will please me." That is ānanda.

Room Conversation with Professors -- February 19, 1975, Caracas:

Professor: By transcendence, I understand it, the universal consciousness. The search for God.

Prabhupāda: Yes, right you are. This life, human life, is distinguished from animal life because the animal cannot inquire about transcendence. The human life, if it is not interested in transcendence, then he is animal. If simply he is interested with the bodily demands of life, namely eating, sleeping, sex and defense, these are bodily demands of life. So if we think that "Dog is eating on the street, and we are eating very palatable dishes, nicely made, very tasteful. That is advancement of civilization," that is not advancement of civilization because it is, after all, eating. Similarly, sleeping; the animals sleep on the street and we sleep in very nice apartment. But in sleeping, we dream horrible things more than the animals. So eating, sleeping, sex life and trying for defense, these are common formulas both for the animals and for the man. Therefore a human being is distinguished from the animal when he enquires about transcendence. And that is explained in the great literature Brahma-sūtra, or the philosophy of Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now we have got this human form of life. We must enquire about the Brahman, or transcendence." So our bodily necessities of life should be simplified as much as it is required. We must save time for enquiring about transcendence. So unless we enquire about the transcendence, then we are two-legged animals. This is culture, this is the aim of life.

Morning Walk -- July 25, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Our philosophy is yato va imāni bhūtāni jāyante: The original source of all these things.

Rāmeśvara: They think if they can make very palatable dishes, what is the need for God?

Prabhupāda: But without God where you get the ingredients?

Rāmeśvara: He is automatically supplying them.

Prabhupāda: Oh, therefore there is no need of God. I supply you everything and you say, "There is no need of you." It is very good intelligence. Ungrateful. The intelligence is ungrateful. So such men should not be given any credit, ungrateful.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 21, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Not voracious. They want very palatable things, the tongue. Tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati, very greedy. So if you supply them kṛṣṇa-prasādam at the same time to satisfy their greediness, then you conquer. This is the secret.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: You conquered a lot of devotees by prasādam.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Yes. Automatically he becomes devotee: "No, we shall become, remain here." This is the secret. Why the woman is liked? Because the woman, if she is trained up to give satisfaction to the tongue, to the belly and the sex, straight line, she becomes favorite immediately. This is woman's business. And people are hankering. The karmīs especially, they are hankering after these three things: palatable dishes, fill up belly, and sex. That's all. If the woman can do it, she conquers over the husband immediately because these three things they want. Take things very practically. Hm? Am I wrong or right?

Jayapatākā: You are always right.

Room Conversation -- April 23, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: So when.... At least in America or any civilized country, there is ample food for human being. Why they should kill? If you can live without killing cows, if you can utilize cows in a different way.... Just like we are maintaining a farm—not one, many. They are maintaining cows and we are getting enough milk. And from milk we can prepare varieties of palatable, vitaminous, nutritious food. And that is very, very enjoyable. So let the animal live and take the milk, and just like we.... None of us, we take meat, but we are not dying. We are having so many nice preparation from milk, from grains, from fruit. Besides that, our another principle is that we offer to God. So God said that "Give Me vegetables, milk," like that. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). So we offer these things, and we take the leftover. That is our principle. We are not after killing or not killing. We are simply after obeying the orders of Kṛṣṇa. That is our. So Kṛṣṇa says, "Give Me food from the vegetables." So we offer Him very nice, palatable dishes and eat. This is our principle. So even while eating, we remember God: "Kṛṣṇa has so nicely eaten this. Let me take the remnants." So while eating, we are remembering God. So if God said that "You remember Me always," we can do it. He has explained how to remember Him. He said, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya: (BG 7.8) "I am the taste of the water." So when you drink.... Who is not drinking water? At least three times, four times we drink water, everyone. So when you drink, and the water quenches your thirst, and you feel some taste nice, Kṛṣṇa says, God says, "I am that taste." So where is my difficulty to remember God? If you simply remember this formula, that "The taste of the water is Kṛṣṇa," immediately you remember Kṛṣṇa. Prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ. "I am the shining of the sun, shining of the moon." So who does not see the shining of the sun and the moon? At night you see the shining of moon, and day you see.... So where is the chance of forgetting God? There is no chance at all. As soon as you see the sunshine even, "Oh, here is Kṛṣṇa." As soon as see the moonshine, "Oh, here is Kṛṣṇa." As soon as you taste water, "Oh, here is Kṛṣṇa." So in this way there is list that you cannot avoid the chance of remembering Kṛṣṇa. Every moment, every time, you can remember Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa, God, says, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ: "You always think of Me." So where is my difficulty to think of Kṛṣṇa? Unless I purposefully do not do it. It is not that when I go to the church and temple I can remember. I can remember Him twenty-four hours. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Evening Darsana -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Surrender to God, there is no fault. That is the highest faultless action. And so long you do not surrender, anything we do there is fault. Anything you eat... That is stated:

yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
(BG 3.13)

Even if you prepare vegetable, not meat, still you are sinful. It is not that those who are meat-eaters, they are only sinful, and you are eating vegetable, you are not sinful, no. Anything you cook for yourself without being offered to the Deity or Kṛṣṇa, you are sinful. Bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt. Now, pacanti, you may do whatever you like to eat, but if it is not prasādam, then you are sinful. It is not the question of... Sometimes they mistake the vegetable is good, meat is not good. May be, comparative. But either vegetable or meat, if you simply cook it for your tongue's satisfaction, then it is sinful. And if you offer to Kṛṣṇa, maybe only little patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam (BG 9.26), not very gorgeous, palatable dishes, and if you eat that, then bhuñjate, again. Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ, he becomes free from all sinful actions. As there is sin in cutting the throat of an animal, similarly, there is sin in destroying a vegetable. Maybe more or less sinful. But it is sinful.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: And mix with mustard oil and this, what is called, eggplant. Eggplant roasted in the fire and put with little mustard oil, salt and chilis, it becomes very tasteful. So puffed rice and that, they take in Bengal. That is tiffin, for breakfast. Formerly they were happy simply by eating palatable dishes according to...

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Today they have become so rich they cannot eat.

Prabhupāda: That's it. Simply they can eat meat.

(Morning Walk)

Prabhupāda: Drinking is prohibited.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: No, absolutely not. The modern Muslims drink.

Prabhupāda: Therefore I say drinking is prohibited.

Morning Walk -- August 31, 1976, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Only India. (break) ...every province they have got different dishes. Because the woman, they are trained up how to cook very nice.

Devotee: I even see these boys when I was in Chandigarh, in a dish next door to the temple we were starting there.

Prabhupāda: Woman is meant for that purpose, how to make nice palatable dishes.

Devotee: Just these young boys who were carrying the bricks every morning, they would prepare their own vegetables and cāpāṭis like this, and I was amazed to see this because you would never get anyone doing this...

Prabhupāda: Jaya. In Bengal there is a ceremony after marriage, bahu-bhāta. (?)The newly married girl, she shall cook, and all the relatives, friends, are invited and they appreciate, "Yes, nice cook." Then she is accepted as member of the whole family. Bahu-bhāta.

Room Conversation -- September 4, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: First of all, what is the problem and what is the solution? What is the problem that you require solution?

Indian man: Any problem which comes.

Prabhupāda: No, what is that? That I want to know.

Indian man: Problem is of being happy in the world.

Prabhupāda: These are vague terms. You must distinctly say that this is happiness and this is problem. What is your, what is the idea of happiness and what is the problem? That I want to know.

Indian man: That I'm not very much clear at this stage of life.

Prabhupāda: Happiness, suppose if you can get a nice palatable dish for eating, you'll be happy. But the dog also, if he can get some good eating, he'll be happy. So where is the difference between dog's happiness and your happiness?

Room Conversation -- September 4, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: What is that mental peace?

Indian man: To rest in yourself only. Don't run after worldly things.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But that is not possible for the animal. Therefore to remain happy within yourself, that is a prerogative of the human being. But we are not trying for that purpose. We are trying to be happy by eating, by sleeping, by sex or by defense. This is our platform of happiness. A dog cannot go to the restaurant, but a human being, if he goes to a restaurant and he can eat palatable dishes, he thinks he's happy. But what is that eating? In your standard you feel happiness, whereas on the street you'll find a pig, he's happy by eating stool. One man's food another man's poison. So eating happiness is there but the standard different. Therefore this eating is common affair, and happiness derived from eating is as good by the dog as by the pig and human being.

Page Title:Palatable dishes (Conversations)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Serene
Created:06 of Mar, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=13, Let=0
No. of Quotes:13