Devotee (2): Prabhupāda? Your Divine Grace? I have a question. I was always under impression or understanding from your teachings, that one never eats in front of the Deities. Can you please explain that? Cause I understand you are pure devotee.

Śyāmasundara: He says that he always understood that one should not eat in front of the Deity. What is the difference?

Prabhupāda: Difference is generally we should not eat before the Deity. But there is another injunction, prasādaḥ prāptir mātreṇa bhoktavyaḥ. As soon as we get prasāda you should immediately eat (laughter. Sound of Prabhupāda eating prasāda.) Take this.

(Room conversation-------Tokyo).

Bernard Manischewitz: You know I'm in the food business, so my first question deals with my food business. I'm familiar with the Kṛṣṇa cookbook—I've read the recipes—but I do not see any suggested menus or nutritional information, and I'm wondering if there's any thought that's been worked on that. Is there any background of menus or nutritional information?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Nutritional information means that we require for balance food: starch, carbohydrate, protein, fat. What else? Starch, carbohydrate, protein, fat. These are necessary nutrition, but these things are there in vegetable diet. Rice, starch; wheat, protein; dahl, protein; then vegetable, carbohydrate; and milk, fat. So if we take food and test it within these four, five groups... Eat according to our conception, sattvikaḥ. Sattvikaḥ means foodstuff in goodness. There are three qualities in the material world—goodness, passion and ignorance. So they are described: these are goodness foods, these are passion, these are ignorance. So these items: rice, wheat, vegetables, dahl and milk is sufficient for nutrition. Above that, you take little fruit, it is very good. And in India this foodstuff is taken by the learned circle—brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas—and they keep very good health, very good life.

(Room conversation------New York).

Prabhupāda: But have you tasted that tasteless water? (laughter)

Gurukṛpā: If it is so tasteless, why is it quenching?

Karandhara: If someone gives you a glass of water and you drink it, you immediately know what it is.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They'll say the taste of water depends on the amount of chemicals contained in the water.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. So that is Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa. The tastefulness. Tastefulness of water is Kṛṣṇa. Not the water.

(Morning walk-------Los Angeles).