Śrīla Prabhupāda Says

Regarding honoring prasādam

Bob: There is some prasāda [food offered to Kṛṣṇa]. It's offered, and then we go and eat, and different prasādams are served. Some I like, and some I find the taste not at all to my liking.

Śrīla Prabhupāda: You should not do that. The perfection is that whatever is offered to Kṛṣṇa you should accept. That is perfection. You cannot say. "I like this, I don't like this." So long as you make such discrimination, that means you have not appreciated what prasāda is.

A devotee: What if there is someone speaking of likes and dislikes? Say someone is preparing some prasāda...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No disliking, no liking. Whatever Kṛṣṇa likes, that's all right.

A devotee: Yes. But say someone prepares something, like some prasāda for Kṛṣṇa, but he does not make it so good, and it is—

Śrīla Prabhupāda: No, if made sincerely with devotion, then Kṛṣṇa will like it. Just like Vidura. Vidura was feeding Kṛṣṇa bananas, but he was so absorbed in thought that he was throwing away the real bananas and he was giving Kṛṣṇa the skin, and Kṛṣṇa was eating. [All laugh] Kṛṣṇa knew that he was giving in devotion, and Kṛṣṇa can eat anything, provided there is devotion. It does not matter whether it is materially tasteful or not. Similarly, a devotee also takes Kṛṣṇa prasāda, whether it is materially tasteful or not. We should accept everything.

A devotee: But if the devotion is not there, like in India...

Śrīla Prabhupāda: If devotion is not there, He doesn't like any food, either tasteful or not tasteful. He does not accept it.

A devotee: In India... Somebody—

Śrīla Prabhupāda: Oh, India, India. Don't talk of India! Talk of philosophy. If there is not devotion, Kṛṣṇa does not accept anything, either in India or in your country. Lord Kṛṣṇa is not obliged to accept anything costly because it is very tasty. Kṛṣṇa has very many tasteful dishes in Vaikuṇṭha. He is not hankering after your food. He accepts your devotion, bhakti. The real thing is devotion, not the food. Kṛṣṇa does not accept any food of this material world. He accepts only the devotion.
 

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ

yo me bhaktyā prayacchati 

tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam 

aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ 

[Bhagavad-gita. 9.26]

 
["If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it."] "Because it has been offered to Me with devotion and love"—that is required. Therefore we do not allow anyone to cook who is not a devotee. Kṛṣṇa does not accept anything from the hands of a nondevotee. Why should He accept? He is not hungry. He does not require any food. He accepts only the devotion, that's all. That is the main point.

So one has to become a devotee. Not a good cook. But if he is a devotee, then he will be a good cook also. Automatically he will become a good cook. Therefore one has to become a devotee only. Then all other good qualifications will automatically be there. And if he is a nondevotee, any good qualifications have no value. He is on the mental plane, so he has no good qualification.

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