…mayapur mar 1976

Naturally Kṛṣṇa does not take any chop cutlet, so you cannot offer it. Kṛṣṇa personally says, patraṁpuṣpaṁphalaṁtoyaṁ yo me bhaktyāprayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. So you have to prepare foodstuff for Kṛṣṇa from patraṁpuṣpaṁphalaṁtoyaṁ, nothing else. Although He can eat… Kṛṣṇa can eat fire also or anything, all devour. ButKṛṣṇa prescribes for us that “You can give Me this in bhakti, with devotion and faith, then you’ll be benefited.”

If Kṛṣṇa eats from your hand, then your life is successful. If Kṛṣṇa accepts any bit of service from you, then your life is successful. Immediately you become liberated, because bhakti is not for the conditioned soul. As soon as… Kṛṣṇa therefore adds this word. Kṛṣṇa is not hungry for eating anything from your hand. He’s not hungry. But He wants to teach you how to become abhakta. Mad–bhaktaḥ. Man-manābhavamad–bhaktaḥ. He wants you to become His devotee. Then your life’s problem is solved.
…therefore He comes. Yadā yadā hidharmasya glānir bhavatibhārata [Bg. 4.7]. When we forgetKṛṣṇa, then He comes to convince us that “This is not good. You are trying to satisfy your senses. It will never end. Simply you’ll be complicated from one body to another for satisfying senses, sometimes eating stool also. That is satisfaction of the senses. So this business will never make you happy. Better just surrender unto Me, and what I say, you do. Just begin your service. Surrender. Give Me something eatable.” Patraṁpuṣpaṁphalaṁtoyaṁ yo me bhaktyāprayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. This is the beginning. The Deity worship is the beginning of devotional service.

Therefore arcana, the Deity worship, very essential. Everyone should try. The system is: anyone comes to the temple, he brings something, patraṁpuṣpaṁphalaṁtoyaṁ, just to offer to the Deity. It is the beginning. That is the beginning of love, dadāti, give something. Dadātipratigṛhnātibhuṅktebhojāyate caiva. This is the beginning of love. If I love you, I must give you something, and whatever you’ll give me I shall accept it. Dadātipratigṛhnāti. So give something to Kṛṣṇa and take His instruction. Dadātipratigṛhnāti. This is beginning of love. Therefore the Deity is there. The instruction is here. If people take advantage, automatically he becomes a devotee, a lover of Kṛṣṇa. That is the success of life.

Thank you very much. (end)

(below some of this years squash harvest-food packaged better than any store could
provide-and you can compost the “packages”–the skin

( fresh vine ripened– sliced tomatoes with cheese on top, corn on the cob, subji, etc etc…
this is the practical application of the above philosophy.)