View source for An avaisnava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer Visnu the food he cooks, it cannot be accepted as maha-prasadam. It is better that a Vaisnava abandon such food as untouchable

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{{terms|"An avaisnava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer Visnu the food he cooks, it cannot be accepted as maha-prasadam"}}
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{{compiler|Labangalatika}}
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[[Category:Avaisnava]]
[[Category:May Be]]
[[Category:Vegetarian]]
[[Category:Very]]
[[Category:Clean]]
[[Category:Cooking]]
[[Category:Cannot Be]]
[[Category:Accepted As...]]
[[Category:Prasadam]]
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<div id="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" class="section" sec_index="2" parent="compilation" text="Sri Caitanya-caritamrta"><h2>Sri Caitanya-caritamrta</h2>
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<div id="CC_Madhya-lila" class="sub_section" sec_index="2" parent="Sri_Caitanya-caritamrta" text="CC Madhya-lila"><h3>CC Madhya-lila</h3>
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<div id="CCMadhya953_0" class="quote" parent="CC_Madhya-lila" book="CC" index="1769" link="CC Madhya 9.53" link_text="CC Madhya 9.53">
<div class="heading">Kṛṣṇa can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An avaiṣṇava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer Viṣṇu the food he cooks, it cannot be accepted as mahā-prasādam. It is better that a Vaiṣṇava abandon such food as untouchable.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:CC Madhya 9.53|CC Madhya 9.53, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">Having made their plot, the Buddhists brought a plate of untouchable food before Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and called it mahā-prasādam.</p>
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<div class="purport text"><p>The word apavitra anna refers to food that is unacceptable for a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, a Vaiṣṇava cannot accept any food offered by an avaiṣṇava in the name of mahā-prasādam. This should be a principle for all Vaiṣṇavas. When asked, "What is the behavior of a Vaiṣṇava?" Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, "A Vaiṣṇava must avoid the company of an avaiṣṇava (asat)." The word asat refers to an avaiṣṇava, that is, one who is not a Vaiṣṇava. Asat-saṅga-tyāga,—ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 22.87|CC Madhya 22.87]]). A Vaiṣṇava must be very strict in this respect and should not at all cooperate with an avaiṣṇava. If an avaiṣṇava offers food in the name of mahā-prasādam, it should not be accepted. Such food cannot be prasādam because an avaiṣṇava cannot offer anything to the Lord. Sometimes preachers in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement have to accept food in a home where the householder is an avaiṣṇava; however, if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken. Ordinary food cooked by an avaiṣṇava should not be accepted by a Vaiṣṇava. Even if an avaiṣṇava cooks food without fault, he cannot offer it to Lord Viṣṇu, and it cannot be accepted as mahā-prasādam. According to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):</p>
:patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
:tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
<p>"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it."</p>
<p>Kṛṣṇa can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An avaiṣṇava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot offer Viṣṇu the food he cooks, it cannot be accepted as mahā-prasādam. It is better that a Vaiṣṇava abandon such food as untouchable.</p>
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