The Hare Krishna Movement is sometimes called “the kitchen religion” because devotees place great importance on cooking for Krishna, honoring (eating) prasadam, His sanctified remnants, and distributing them to others. However sometimes as aspirant devotees and due to lack of preparation temptation is there to serve grains cooked by non devotees in devotee gatherings. Below are some interesting quotes I find inspiration from in my endeavors to eat and distribute only prasadam.
Grains cooked by nondevotees are particularly contaminated. The Kurma Purana says that all the sins of a man remain in the grain; therefore when one eats the foodstuff offered by another, he eats his sins as well. Once Srila Prabhupada was given bread cooked by nondevotees. Next day he requested, "Please do not give me bread cooked by nondevotees. It gave me nightmares. All the vibrations and thoughts of those who cook grains enter into it." When Srila Prabhupada was asked if sankirtana devotees in Germany could eat karmi bread, he replied that this is not permitted except in an emergency (TD 1 p.330.) This also applies to karmi biscuits, cakes and similar foods.
Other rules are that one should not offer foodstuff which is cooked by a non-Vaisnava, one should not worship the Deity before a nondevotee, and one should not engage himself in the worship of the Lord while seeing a nondevotee.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => NoD 8: Offenses to Be Avoided
Regarding the Christmas Day meal with your family, I do not think you should partake of the food prepared by non-devotees. Better you should prepare your own foodstuffs and offer to Krishna and then, if you like, you may offer these remnants to Lord Jesus. I think that Lord Jesus will also appreciate this. Of course you may sit down with your family and take fruits and milk which they offer but rather than taking the foods which they have prepared, you may prepare and offer your own prasadam for Lord Krishna, and then offer the same to Lord Jesus.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Hrsikesa -- Los Angeles 26 November, 1968
In Bhagavad-gita Krsna describes eating unoffered food as tantamount to eating mouthfuls of sin. And in Caitanya-caritamrta Srila Prabhupada explains that especially contaminating to the consciousness are grains cooked by nondevotees. In fact, he says, you take on the sinful karma of the person who cooked the food. That's an extra burden we'd do well to avoid.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Purity On The Job
Manimanjari Dasi: "The next morning, while we were taking breakfast, Hamsaduta came to the prasadam room and told us that Srila Prabhupada had asked about the devotees' menu on sankirtana. When told that we bought rolls and bread from the bakeries, Prabhupada became concerned. He instructed Hamsaduta to tell us that under no circumstances should we eat grains prepared by nondevotees. Rather, the temple should bake bread or make capatis that the devotees can take with them.
"We didn't think about using yeast to raise the dough. Our first attempts at baking bread were unsuccessful. Because Germans can't live without their daily ration of fresh baked, crunchy bread, Srila Prabhupada was consulted about our using yeast. When he heard that yeast is the dried form of a single-celled fungus, he said it was all right, but that we shouldn't offer the bread to the Deities."
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SPDG 14: Prabhupada at Schloss Rettershof
Lord Caitanya warned that eating the food of materialistic people will pollute the mind; thus we will not be able to remember Krsna and our life will be spoiled. Grains cooked by nondevotees are especially contaminating. If we can take nice prasada, what is the need for anything else? Even when out traveling, we should take care not to sacrifice our standards for the sake of convenience. Srila Prabhupada: "Food prepared by an unclean, sinful man or woman is extremely infectious."
>>> Ref. VedaBase => BIKC 40: Giving Up Nondevotional Attachments
Food prepared by an unclean, sinful man or woman, especially a prostitute, is extremely infectious. Ajamila ate such food, and therefore he was subject to be punished by Yamaraja.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 6.1.67
Jihva-vegam- "The only way to a man's heart is through his stomach" is the old American quotation. The lusty desires of the cook are transferred through the food to the mind of the waiting recipient; the wicked desires of the hotel's cook are also readily available in the fancy prepared dishes. The heart is an open receptacle for the wicked and lusty desires of the cooks who prepare foodstuff's, which encourage sinful activities, save and except the foodstuffs prepared by the hands of the ardent devotee of the Lord for the exclusive pleasure of the Lord, the remnants of which are distributed and shared with great relish after being offered to the Lord by the devotee. One who can, with all the determination at his command, remove all desires for tasting anything but Sri Krsna's divine remnants can alone be called an acarya.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhuvanesvara
May you find inspiration in the above as I have. Hare Krishna.
