Does the consciousness of the cook affect the prasad?

Does the consciousness of the cook affect the prasad?

Answer :

Yes it is true that the consciousness of the cook enters the food, hence devotees take care that the food made is offered to God as well as cooked properly, by proper people. Consciousness is subtle at the level of mind, and it is expressed through thoughts, desires, cravings and emotions, and this is put in a subtle way into the food.

अन्नमशितं त्रेधा विधीयते तस्य यः स्थविष्ठो धातुस्तत्पुरीषं भवति यो मध्यमस्तन्मासं योऽणिष्ठस्तन्मनः ॥६.५.१ ॥

annam ashitam tredha vidhiyate tasya yah sthavishtho dhatuh tat purisham bhavati yah madhyamah tad mansam yah anishthah tad manah ||6.5.1||

When food is digested, it becomes three-fold. What is coursest becomes excretion, what is medium becomes flesh and what is the subtlest becomes mind.

It depends on the devotional sentiment and the degree of it, that God decides to manifest fully or partially.

God’s Katha is enriching like Nectar, but if it is spoken by a non-devotee, it becomes like poison. Similar is in the case of food. The Prasad is not contaminated, but God chooses not to manifest from it. So when one is consuming impure food, meaning that the food is cooked by impure persons, it shows that the person eating it doesn’t become completely pure. God doesn’t accept all kinds of food offered by all kinds of people with equal delight.

[9.26 & 9.27] When we offer to God, he accepts, but it gradually increases with our bhakti. If Hari Katha doesn’t cause complete purity if delivered by an impure person, then what to speak of food? The purity and potency of Prasad offered by a neophyte devotee as against an advanced devotee will surely have different effects. At one level we need to see if the cooks are pure or not, or if they have pure intention or not, but we need not go into a hair splitting analysis among devotees. One should be following the basic principles, and should be following basic purity of body.

In case of Hari Katha, if heard by impure sources, it won’t become sinful, but it will hurt our aspiration for pure devotional service. We will start aspiring for mixed and adulterated devotion.