Monday 24 January 2022

Friday, January 14, 2022

243 Ave. Rd., Toronto

The Chocolate Question?

Someone sent me a question asking about the status of coco. The sender found out that some Vaishnavas of the bhakti tradition consume chocolate. “So where do we stand?” was his basic question, a question worthy of asking his guru.

My answer to him was that our guru, Prabhupada, was not favourable to chocolate because of its caffeine content. When Prabhupada heard that some of his disciples were consuming hot chocolate in the evening as things were winding down, he wanted a stop to it. My good friend, Mahavir, was in the thick of it.

The medical pandits associate processed chocolate with its sugar content as the cause of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary artery disease, acne, and so on. Headaches are also affiliated with the caffeine and beta-phenylethylamine. So, what to do with such a craving? Also, the above properties don’t look very favorable to being able to offer such commodities to Krishna.

The person asking the question already had the answer. He has been keeping a package of carob in his kitchen. Carob is a great substitute for coco. It comes in a bean form, has fibre and lots of nutrients including magnesium. It is extremely delicious. Cameron, who comes by daily to do janitorial services, whipped up a carob milk for me. It was divine.

After sipping a warm cup of that, I entered the temple room and sang before the deities of Krishna with Karuna Sindhu on harmonium. We were spiritually blissful.

May the Source be with you!



 

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