FOODS THAT SHOULD NOT BE OFFERED TO KRISHNA!
Koena ghosh asked like this:
Hare Krishna Prabhuji. I heard that we can’t offer soyabean or its products but i have been taking it. I can’t offer food to Krishna directly as i live in a non devotee family but i try to offer the food in my mind. So i try to take offerable foods. So should i stop eating soya products? Can you please give a list of the food which can be offered to Krishna? Please hide my name.
REPLY:
In general, we should not offer the doubtful foods like mushrooms, Soyabean, Brinjal, etc to Krishna.
Common forbidden foods: Meat, fish, eggs, onions, mushrooms, garlic, masur-dal (red lentils), burned rice, white eggplant, hemp (marijuana), citron, saps from trees (if not boiled first), buffalo and goat milk products, and milk with salt in it.
(Is Taking Onion and Garlic while Chanting with Tulasi beads permitted? READ HERE!)
Also, Do not offer canned or frozen foods to Krishna (They are old foods)
Avoid offering foods containing prohibited substances such as yeast and white sugar. (Yeast is a microorganism; White sugar is doubted to be added with boons)
Srila Prabhupada says:
“Frozen means nasty. I never take frozen…. All rotten, rather the same vegetable, as we have got in India practice, we dry it and keep it. That is tasteful. So far the cucumber pickles.
As far as possible we should not offer to Krishna things which are prepared by non-devotees. We can accept from them raw fruits, grains, or similar raw things.
So far cooking and preparing, that should be strictly limited to the initiated devotees.
(Why can’t we offer our love instead of Food to Krishna? READ HERE!)
And aside from this, vinegar is not good; it is tamasic, in the darkness, nasty food.
Concerning the use of sour cream in the temple, it should be stopped immediately.
Nothing should be offered to the Deities which is purchased in the stores.
Things produced by the karmis should not be offered to Radha-Krishna.
Icecream, if you can prepare, is O.K., but not otherwise.
Unpolished rice which looks like brown can be used… We do not mind polished or unpolished, but doubly-boiled [siddha rice] mustn’t be used. Doubly-boiled rice is considered impure.
(Why killing plants for food is forgivable, but killing animals is sinful? READ HERE!)
Sunbaked rice (atapa) is all right. Soya beans and lentils are unofferable.
Regarding purchasing things in the market, these items are considered as purified when we pay the price for them. That is the general instruction. But when we know something is adulterated, we should avoid it. But unknowingly if something is purchased, that is not our fault. Things which are suspicious, however, should be avoided.
It is not very good to use yeast in preparing prasadam. Since it is offensive to offer anything to Krsna that He will not accept, one should be extremely cautious not to offer (or eat) anything questionable.”
Hope you are now clear about the foods that should not be offered to Krishna.
(HOW TO OFFER FOOD IN ALL PLACES LIKE HOSTELS, HOTELS, RELATIVE HOUSES, TRAVEL, ETC? READ HERE!)