46 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 4
SYNONYMS

anna—food grain; ghrta—ghee, or clarified butter; dadhi—yogurt; dugdha—
milk; grame—in the village; yata—as much; chila—as there was; gopalera 4ge—
before the Deity Gopala; loka—all people; aniya—bringing; dharila—placed.

TRANSLATION

The inhabitants of the village brought to the Deity of Gopala as much food

grains, ghee, yogurt and milk as they had in their village.
PURPORT

Anna, ghrta, dadhi and dugdha are food grains, ghee, yogurt and milk. Actually
these are the basis of all food. Vegetables and fruits are subsidiary. Hundreds and
thousands of recipes can be made out of grains, vegetables, ghee, milk and
yogurt. The food offered to Gopala in the Annakiita ceremony contained only
these five ingredients. Only demoniac people are attracted to other types of food,
which we will not even mention in this connection. We should understand that in
order to prepare nutritious food, we require only grains, ghee, yogurt and milk.
We cannot offer anything else to the Deity. The Vaisnava, the perfect human
being, does not accept anything not offered to the Deity. People are often frus-
trated with national food policies, but from the Vedic scriptures we find that if
there are sufficient cows and grains, the entire food problem is solved. The vaisyas
(people engaged in agriculture and commerce) are therefore recommended in
Bhagavad-gita to produce grains and give protection to cows. Cows are the most
important animal because they produce the miracle food, milk, from which we
can prepare ghee and yogurt.

The perfection of human civilization depends on Krsna consciousness, which
recommends Deity worship. Preparations made from vegetables, grains, milk,
ghee and yogurt are offered to the Deity and then distributed. Here we can see
the difference between the East and the West. The people who came to see the
Deity of Gopala brought all kinds of food to offer the Deity. They brought all the
food they had in stock, and they came before the Deity not only to accept
prasada for themselves, but to distribute it to others. The Krsna consciousness
movement vigorously approves this practice of preparing food, offering it to the
Deity, and distributing it to the general population. This activity should be ex-
tended universally to stop sinful eating habits as well as other behavior befitting
only demons. A demoniac civilization will never bring peace within the world.
Since eating is the first necessity in human society, those engaged in solving the
problems of preparing and distributing food should take lessons from Madha-
vendra Puri and execute the Annaktita ceremony. When the people take to eating
only prasada offered to the Deity, all the demons will be turned into Vaisnavas.
When the people are Krsna conscious, naturally the government will be so also. A
