Mahabhagavat Das Dietary Needs

Hare Krishna!

This is the diet that I need to follow, especially while travelling far from home. These are a combination of the doctor’s prescriptions, spiritual master’s orders, and personal necessity.

If you do your best according to this document but I still do not take something you prepared or arranged, please don’t feel bad, and please don’t take it personally. I understand my body and its needs better than others and need to do whatever it takes to maximize the service.

First things first:

  1. I take only Krishna Prasadam. This is food specifically cooked according to Vaishnava regulations. This is food lovingly offered to Krishna by a practicing devotee. Unless it is an absolute emergency. I usually travel with some snacks and am able to tolerate hunger.
  2. On Ekadasi days when I am fasting, I usually do not need any Prasadam except water.
  3. I do fast according to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions for Caturmasya in https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/4/169/
  4. Please do not force me on quantity of Prasadam. I can’t take more than I need. I also can’t leave remnants.
  5. Usually I need no more than 2 meals per day, late breakfast and an early dinner.

Excluded from Diet:

  • Meat, Fish, Eggs or any derivatives of these
  • Tea, Coffee, Alcohol, Tobacco
  • Onions, Garlic, Mushrooms, Masoor Dal (Red lentils)
  • Chocolate
  • Rice, Wheat, Sugar
  • Paneer, Cheese
  • Sago, Tapioca Starch, starchy root vegetables
  • Sweet Fruits such as bananas, apples and mango
  • Tomatoes, Potatoes, all varieties, Green and Red Peppers, Capsicum, Brinjal / Eggplant
  • No oily or fatty foods
  • Excessive Chillies

Included in Diet

  • Jowar, Bajri, Pot Barley, Ragi, Millets, Quinoa
  • All dals, beans, and pulses except those listed above
  • Pumpkin seeds, Tofu, Avocado
  • Berries and sour fruits
  • All vegetables except those explicitly listed above
  • Low fat milk
  • Yoghurt made with low fat milk
  • Buttermilk
  • Ghee no more than than 2tsp per day total
  • Almonds, Walnuts, Groundnuts, no more than one serving per day total
  • Usually, I take more vegetables, more dal, and less grains

If possible, all cooking should be done clean by practicing devotees and offered to the local deity. Cooks should be chanting at least 16 rounds daily and sincerely observing the four regulative principles. They should have completed their daily quota of chanting before cooking. If in doubt, please ask before cooking. Simple is perfectly OK. I also love to cook and would love the opportunity to serve you.

Finally, “When you are at home, you get what you want. When you are travelling you get what you get!” 🙂

Thank you! Hare Krishna!