Hare Krishna,
All glories to srila prabhupadh,
It is forbidden to eat food on ekadashi, so what about the packaged items (Lays, Kurkure, Fivestar) across the world which is prepared on the day of ekadashi and if it is circulated on the other days in the market and if it is consumed by the devotee will it be considered as a sin??
Replies
Hare KRsna Mataji,
PAMHO.
Firstly, it is not considered a sin to eat FOOD on ekadasi, it is considered sinful to eat GRAINS on ekadasi.
Lays - only Classic Salted is allowed to devotees anyways, all other varieties have onion/ garlic. Same with kurkure - out of syllabus for devotees even on normal days. Five Star is choclate - there isa huge section of devotees who will not eat choclate at all. Any it contains maida - how can it be consumed on ekadasi.
Given below is a list of what can be and cannot be consumed on ekadasi - you can take cues from it and make your ekadasi prasadam.
Regarding food that can be had on ekadasi, I will give you a list. With these ingredients, you will know what to do.
1) Cooking medium should be sunflower oil or ghee. Pls do not use soya bean oil, mustard oil or rice bran oil on ekadasi. This oil/ ghee should be kept separately and not used in daily cooking from same container.
2) Salt should be sendha namak. If you cannot get in your locality, then use tata salt, that is kept separately. It should not be used for normal cooking from the same container.
3) Dhania/ coriander seeds should be made powder at home. Similarly, dried red chillies should be made powder at home. Keep separately for ekadasi cooking, donot use from same container for daily cooking. Haldi/ turmeric, raai/ mustard seeds, khatai/ amchoor, hing/ asafoetida aur jeera/ cumin seeds do not use.
4) I make garam masala also at home – long/ clove, elaichi/ cardamom, dalchini/ cinnamon, tej patta/ bay leaf, saunf/ aniseed, star anise (if you have readily at home) dry roast – powder in mixie and keep separately.
5) Allowed sabji – jisme haddi/ beej nahi ho – like aloo/ potato, kumra/ pumpkin, papita/ papaya, lauki/ , gajar/ carrot, parwal, kheera/ cucumber, turai, mooli/ radish, adrak/ ginger, hari mirch/ green chilli, nimbu/ lemon. In ISKCON, patta gobi/ cabbage, capsicum, tamatar/ tomato, phool gobi/ cauliflower is also used. All leaves – dhania patta/ coriander, pudina patta, palak/ spinach patta, kari patta (meetha neem patta) allowed. Methi/ fenugreek patta aur methi seeds use nahi hota hai.
6) Not allowed sabji – beans, bhindi,…..
7) All fruits and dry fruits allowed. Mungfali/ peanuts allowed.
8) Milk, curd, mawa and their preparations allowed. I make paneer at home – I don’t use bazaar ka paneer for ekadasi.
9) Gulab jal, kewra jal, kesar, sugar, gur, khajoor allowed.
10) Kuttu ka aata, rajghire ka aata, Saamak/ Moriya, Sabudana use karte hain. In your SJM temple, I found one ekadasi atta which I bought and used today. You can use that to make rotis – its got maida consistency, though I thought it was exactly like the now banned Radhika aata.
11) No grains – aata, rice, maida, sooji, ragi, jau, daals kuch bhi nahi kha sakte hain.
12) Til – only on one ekadasi, til is allowed. Otherwise all through the year, it is considered as grains. Tilkut ekadasi (near sankrant every year), it is allowed.
13) Tulsi leaves are not to be cooked. They are not to be plucked or tulsi plant watered on dwadasi and on Sundays. These are the days Tulsi maharani rests. So she should not be disturbed.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
Mata Ji, my dad eat somethings with non veg ingredients. He is also inclined to drinking. As such, I feel iffy eating any Prasadam made at my house as the utensils are shared and I am not allowed any private space for my own utensils. From the morning, I have been hungry and have not had anything. Even yesterday, I only ate a bag of chips and 4 chapatis when I could not handle the hunger. I don't have access to a seperate water pipe otherwise I would buy and consume fruit. In this situation, what can I do?
I am very confused as I have heard from some devotees that we should always avoid any and all grains and things cooked or offered to us if they are shared with non veg elements, and on the other hand, I've also heard that it is fine to do so from other devotees. Please help me Mata Ji, my mind doesn't let me live. There is so much noise inside my head and so much self-blame, tension.
Whenever I request my mother for some independence in this matter, she gets very agitated and insults devotees and other enlightened souls. She still loves Lord Krsna, but she considers my concerns for purity a superstition even if I try and observe those concerns in my "own" space.
I have no friends and it is hard for me to talk to devotees.
In this situation, Mata Ji, do you think I should keep the fast as there is no point given my home situation?
I need something steadfast to believe as my mind is very conflicted and I have absolutely no mental peace.
Please forgive my Aparadhas towards all devotees as well as yourself.
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krsna dear prabhuji,
PAMHO.
I think you are very young and thats why parents are naturally concerned about you and want to dominate over you to follow their way of living. Dont worry at all.
Principles have to be followed - as per time, place circumstances. If it is not possible to have separate set of utensils, and you are home, what choice do you have? Please continue to follow as much as possible, continously praying inside to the lord to make your situation more favourable to devotion.
Remember your parents are future devotees. How you behave with them will determine how soon they take to this path. So the thing to do is:
1) Be always respectful fowards parents. You may not agree with everything they say, doesnt matter. Please dont answer back. If possible, become a better son to them than you were before coming to devotion. Parents know us inside out. So when they see the change in you because of your coming to devotion, they will naturally be happy. it will be easier for them to come to devotion.
2) Do your sadhana - follow the 4 regulative principles to the extent possible. You can try to be vegetarian, without onion garlic. Mentally offer to Krsna whatever is on your plate, before you eat.
3) The only sadhana you dont compromise on is your chanting. That has to be done, regardless of anything else. If you cant chant during the day, then chant before sleeping. Make it a point that you will complete your rounds on daily basis.
Things will work out. My experience is - difficulties on the path of devotion come only to make our resolve stronger. So that when the difficulty is removed, we realise the mercy of the lord and continue to remember Him. Have faith.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
Hare Krsna
In addition coconut oil and groundnut oil can be used.
Hare Krsna
Can we use chia seeds Ian's flax seeds on Ekadasi?
Hare Krishna Matajii, Can we use cardamon or elaichi on Ekadashi as you have mentioned using it, I am confused as the following link mentions not to use elachi, http://harekrishnacalendar.com/category/philosophy/ekadashi/. Can you please confirm, Hare Krishna
pamho...
yo8ur last point...you said not to water tulsi plant on dwadashi and sunday...but what if temperature is high and pot has gone dry ?..then also we should not water the plant ?