Cocoa and chocolate are not to be taken as they are intoxicants.
- Letter to Surasrestha, Los Angeles, June 14 1972

(b) Is it considered bonafide to offer preparations made with chocolate to the dieties?
If it is not intox—can be offered.
- Letter to Paramahamsa, Amsterdam, May 27 1975

If chocolate is not an intoxicant, it can be offered to the Deities.
- Letter to Malati, Honolulu, June 8, 1975

Aside from Vedic standards, even by the standard of Swamiji's New York disciples the devotees in San Francisco were not very strict. Some continued going to the doughnut shop, eating food without offering it to Krsna, and eating forbidden things like chocolate and commercial ice cream. Some even indulged in after-kirtana cigarette breaks right outside the temple door. Some got initiated without knowing precisely what they had agreed to practice.
- SP Lilamrta 3.22

hehe lol
:D

Vedabase has everything, but you, prabhu, you know so much even about softwares and stuff. :D

Original question:

"can you produce a quote about not eating chocolate?"

ok. "Don't eat chocolate."

:)

But devotees eat a lot of chocolate.

me too.

Nothing to be confused about. Prabhupada instructs us that if something is not an intoxicant then it is ok to offer. If chocolate was not an intoxicant then it would be ok to offer.

Prabhupada instructs us that if something is not an intoxicant then it is ok to offer. If chocolate was not an intoxicant then it would be ok to offer. Chocolate is an intoxicant so it is not ok to offer.

:)))) Sorry no loopholes :)))))

better we offer carob and be happy!!!

saryu & shina matajis, here are two posts from sita-pati's blog on chocolate. i find them helpful in considering the question if chocolate really is an intoxicant or not:

http://www.atmayogi.com/node/230
http://www.atmayogi.com/node/225

the question if it can be offered to your deities doesn't really arise unless you made the chocolate yourself: you can't offer things prepared by non-devotees. and if you go through the whole trouble of making chocolate, why not use carob instead, as shina suggested?

to me it seems as if you're a little fixated on this chocolate issue; if that's true, perhaps that should be reason enough to stay away from it?

ys phani.

> doesn't mean that a fixation exists

not necessarily, i was only asking it that's possible.

thing is i don't find the quotes mentioned here confusing. some say "if intox., then no," and others say that it's intox. so the result is 'no.' and there's also scientific evidence that says cocoa contains intoxicating chemicals. where's the doubt?

ys phani.

and if intoxication is not enough...beware of chocolate bars etc as they possibly now contain rennet.

sorry for suggesting you might be glued to chocolate while you don't even eat it; will try to be more careful in the future.

> I would really like to know what Srila Prabhupada meant when he was writing that chocolate was an intoxicant in one letter, and writing that it might or might not be in another.

isn't that rather obvious? he didn't know. he was not omniscient in the same way visnu is: he didn't know all technical and chemical details of the universe. he was trained and working as a pharmacist, but the exact ingredients of cocoa and their effect on the body chemistry have not been analyzed until fairly recently. his pharmacological training didn't include these.

here's a wikipedia-article listing all active ingredients of cocoa, explaining how they influence our bodies and minds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate#As_a_stimulant

i don't think there is any doubt that cocoa contains intoxicating chemicals; milder than coffee in it's stimulating effect, but having other effects as well. and together with SP's letters, saying "if ... then no," that shouldn't leave any room for doubt if we're supposed to eat it or not: we're not.

ys phani.

Is it considered bonafide to offer preparations made with chocolate to the dieties?
If it is not intox—can be offered.
- Letter to Paramahamsa, Amsterdam, May 27 1975

If chocolate is not an intoxicant, it can be offered to the Deities.
- Letter to Malati, Honolulu, June 8, 1975

yes, shot myself in the foot here.

seeing the whole letters these quotes come from i could possibly try to argue that "offering to the deities" refers to "offering and then distributing to the devotees," but it's not worth my effort or your time. there's no real need for chocolate-preparations to be offered.

ys phani.

I heard that Prabhupada said that when you have doubts, better don't offer... so...

and what about white chocolate? is it intoxicant or not? because I never liked chocolate very much but I liked white chocolate and maybe I can eat... oops... offer it and I'm not offering it :P

Shina, that sounds more like a comment applicable to sex, rather than to marriage....

If you follow His Holiness Sivarama Swami, chocolate is no longer banned in ISKCON, according to his podcast from mid-last year.

Another issue that refuses to die. ;)

One thing scarcely mentioned in these chocolate discussions is that there is no guarrantee that chocolate (or any factory-processed food for that matter, but sweets are obviously much more 'vulnerable') is vegetarian. The last article in this newsletter (in Czech language) is about disinfestation (anti-insect and anti-rodent warfare) in food factories:
http://www.agroporadenstvi.cz/poradenstvi/Ecasopisy/PZ8-2004.pdf

Then I specifically asked about this at main Czech agro server's help desk and they admitted there is no way to eliminate such pollution but it's a thing they really don't like to divulge...

Last night my GM gave me a tablet of chocolate in my dreams so I think I should stop commenting here or I will end up eating it!!!!

I'm sorry for bringing up such an old topic, but since there are still some places that still offer chocolate to the deities (like Dallas), I'd like to point out that Ayurveda places chocolate on the same level as garlic and onions.

Chocolate - VPK +; rajasic and tamasic
Good for depression, hypotension, and or a warm/hot drink

Most of the foods we eat are sattvic, with a little bit of rajasic foods like chillies, which should be taken in winter times.

Source: Ayurveda Encyclopedia by Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha

Haribol

I don't have the quote but somewhere I read that Prabhupada states that if there is intoxicant then we can not offer or ingest. Chocolate has caffeine in it.

ISKCON Law Book (2003 version)

8.5 General Guidelines
8.5.1 Prohibition of Chocolate
As it contains various stimulants like caffeine (contained in coffee), theine (contained in black tea) and theobromine (contained in cocoa), chocolate should not be eaten by ISKCON devotees.(93)

(it is actually from 1993 - no.31)

However there is a 'Chocolate proposal' for some years now - it have never gained a majority (give it a few years of recession:)

but what about those quotes by SP on the first post? he said no chocolate.

oh, and what about white chocolate?

It is a GBC resolution. If the a number of GBCs do not follow it themselves and contradict the resolution that is based on Prabhupada's instruction, how can we take them seriously or should they expect it anyway? In a way I have not problem with them being relaxed about it, it will not make me eat it, but how can someone summon respect if he does not follow his own authority? Besides the above any other GBCs eat choc? (BTW choc does contain caffeine, just a little bit). I guess they were not there yet when the resolution was taken... but the point remains, if they choose and pick if they can eat chocolate or not, what about regular members?