Is Offering love instead of Food to Krishna acceptable?
A Girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
(i) Hare Krishna Prabhuji. I live in a non devotee family. All are meat eaters here. After reading your posts and much fights with my parents i am eating veg. But i am able to offer the food to Krishna. I do not get the time to cook and my mother is working. There is no one else to cook bhoga. I am having quarrels with my mother for offering bhoga to Krishna. My parents are not ready to leave meat and for them i am also not able to offer food to Krishna. My mother thinks that one should love Krishna from heart and should not show it. She also loves Krishna although she does not chant and offer Him bhoga. She just offers him sweets once a day and flowers but that also out of love. She is also concerned about my marriage as she thinks it is difficult to get eligible Vaishnava boys for marriage. And also among bengalis vegetarians are rarely found. All these are leading to problems with my parents. I do not know what to do. Please help me Prabhuji. And please hide my name.
(ii) Hare Krishna. I have a hobby of cooking and want to become a chef. But maybe i have to cook meat at least occasionally if not daily. And even if cook in a vegetarian restaurant i have to cook with onion and garlic and taste it to check the flavours. Should i become a chef? Krishna said to do our duty as an offering to him. So if i cook meat as a chef will i incur sins?
REPLY:
Offering love instead of Food to Krishna is possible, but our Love may not grow fast.
Will a wife lead a satisfactory life with the husband till her death, if he is just saying I LOVE U without offering anything, even a saree to her?
Why? He must show his love by gifting something according to his capacity. It need not be rich. It can be even simple leaves, flowers, water, fruit, etc.
(Which is the best offering to Krishna that one can give? Why? READ HERE!)
You love your husband. What will you do?
You will cook delicious food that HE LIKES and serve him SHOWING YOUR LOVE.
You will give medicine with Love and care if he is affected even with the simple cold or cough.
You will wash his clothes with LOVE.
You will not wash the clothes of your neighbor, but that of your husband. Because you love him and he is yours.
Your husband loves you much. What will he do?
He will buy some flowers THAT YOU LIKE daily for you and wear it in your hairs SHOWING HIS LOVE.
Whenever you are unable to cook, he cooks and gives to you with love.
(Can we use the food and other products containing tulasi? READ HERE!)
Whenever you are unable to walk due to illness, he helps.
What these examples show?
Love is not just a word. It should expressed.
It will naturally reflect in our actions.
Love is an emotion.
Anger is identified only when it is shown.
Similarly, love too is identified only if we show that in action.
By doing service with love to your husband, your love on him increases day by day.
(Should we avoid offering food to Krishna for one year after death in family? READ HERE!)
Love magnifies only when it is shown out or exchanged.
Similarly, we may love Krishna, no doubt.
But, when we show our love for Krishna by preparing delicious foods for Him and offer Him, our love increases day by day and He too reciprocates with His abundant love.
Only if you offer food to Krishna with abundant love, you can FEEL that He too is loving you.
Only a wife can feel the love of husband and vice versa.
Similarly, only a devotee who shows his love by offering delicious foods to Krishna, by decorating Him, etc., can feel that Krishna too is loving him/ her many times than his/ her love.
(Why Annadhaan (Prasadam Distribution) is the best charity among others? READ HERE!)
Offering food to Krishna and other rituals are just a way to show our love for Krishna.
We purify that food from karma also as the food becomes Prasadam after Krishna tasted & blessed it.
Krishna loves exchanging the love between Himself and His devotees in whatever bhawa the devotees approach Him – parental, friendly, revered , child, Prema, etc.
For example, throughout the avatar of Krishna, He has given importance for the exchange of love between Him and Gopis, Him and His Parents, Him and His friends like Arjuna, Him and His devotees like Sudhama and Bhisma, etc.
So, we have to SHOW our LOVE for Krishna.
(Should we spend money to offer food and things to Krishna, instead of poor? READ HERE!)
He too will show His love hundred times more that only those who love Him can feel.
Just try and tell me.
(ii)
As far as non vegetarian chef is concerned, avoid becoming a non veg chef. No objection in becoming vegetarian chef. Using or serving meat in any form for any purpose either personal or professional is against the regulative principles. Can you accept if I say that I am doing a job of the servant of a DON (Gang Leader) just to kill whenever instructed by my owner who employed me to undertake the job of killing his enemies?
Killing and cooking animals for serving to others is also similar to that.
So, avoid that job. Cook and sell only vegetarian foods.
Tasting onion or garlic for your tongue pleasure alone is prohibited. Doing that for the sake of job is acceptable if you don’t get any other job. While tasting, don’t enjoy it, but just check whether the taste is good or not.
(COMPLETE PROCEDURE OF OFFERING FOOD TO KRISHNA! READ HERE!)