Taking lunch

Expressions researched:
"take lunch" |"taken lunch" |"takes lunch" |"taking lunch" |"took lunch"

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.12.13, Purport:

One may ask how Kṛṣṇa's pastimes could be interrupted by a demon. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura answers this question by saying that although the transcendental pleasure being enjoyed by the cowherd boys could not be stopped, unless they stopped the transcendental pleasure of their various activities they could not eat their lunch. Therefore at lunchtime Aghāsura appeared by the arrangement of yogamāyā, so that for the time being they could stop their activities and take lunch. Changing varieties are the mother of enjoyment. The cowherd boys would continuously play, then stop, and then again enjoy in a different way. Therefore every day a demon would come and interrupt their sporting pastimes. The demon would be killed, and then the boys would engage again in their transcendental pastimes.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 7.151, Purport:

Previously Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had neither mixed nor talked with the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, but now He took lunch with them. It is to be concluded that when Lord Caitanya induced them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and excused them for their offenses, they were purified, and therefore there was no objection to taking lunch, or bhagavat-prasādam, with them, although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu knew that the food had not been offered to the Deity. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs do not worship the Deity, or if they do so they generally worship the deity of Lord Śiva or the pañcopāsanā (Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, Durgā-devī, Gaṇeśa and Sūrya). Here we do not find any mention of the demigods or Viṣṇu, and yet Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted food in the midst of the sannyāsīs on the basis that they had chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and that He had excused their offenses.

CC Adi 7.152, Translation:

After taking lunch among the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is known as Gaurasundara, returned to His residence. Thus the Lord performs His wonderful pastimes.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 3.41, Purport:

In my childhood I have actually seen my father receive not less than four guests every day, and in those days my father's income was not very great. Nonetheless, there was no difficulty in offering prasādam to at least four guests every day. According to Vedic principles, a householder, before taking lunch, should go outside and shout very loudly to see if there is anyone without food. In this way he invites people to take prasādam. If someone comes, the householder offers him prasādam, and if there is not much left, he should offer his own portion to the guest. If no one responds to his call, the householder can accept his own lunch. Thus the householder's life is also a kind of austerity. Because of this, the householder's life is called the gṛhastha-āśrama.

CC Madhya 6.40, Translation:

After bathing in the sea, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees returned very soon. The Lord then washed His feet and sat down on a carpet to take lunch.

CC Madhya 6.42, Translation:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu was offered special rice and first-class vegetables on golden plates. He thus took lunch in the company of His devotees.

CC Madhya 6.47, Translation:

Begging permission from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya then went with Gopīnātha Ācārya to take lunch. After finishing their lunch, they returned to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Madhya 9.18, Translation:

Upon seeing the Deity of Lord Rāmacandra, the descendant of King Raghu, the Lord offered His prayers and obeisances. Then a brāhmaṇa invited the Lord to take lunch.

CC Madhya 9.180, Translation:

After bathing in the river Kṛtamālā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the brāhmaṇa's house to take lunch, but He saw that the food was unprepared because the brāhmaṇa had not cooked it.

CC Madhya 9.296, Translation:

As soon as Śrī Raṅga Purī recalled Navadvīpa, he also recalled accompanying Śrī Mādhavendra Purī to the house of Jagannātha Miśra, where Raṅga Purī had taken lunch. He even remembered the taste of an unprecedented curry made of banana flowers.

CC Madhya 14.92, Translation:

Paramānanda Purī, Brahmānanda Bhāratī and all the other chief devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took lunch at the invitation of Advaita Ācārya.

CC Madhya 16.56, Purport:

The Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Nine) gives the following description. One day Śrīla Advaita Ācārya, having extended an invitation to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, thought that if the Lord came alone He would feed Him to His great satisfaction. It then so happened that when the other sannyāsīs were going to Advaita Ācārya's to take lunch, there was a big rainstorm, and they could not reach His house. Thus, according to Advaita Ācārya's desires, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came alone and accepted the prasādam.

CC Madhya 17.89, Translation:

Tapana Miśra invited Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to take lunch at his home, and he had Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya cook.

CC Madhya 17.167, Translation:

“While at Mathurā, Śrīpāda Mādhavendra Purī visited my house and accepted me as a disciple. He even took lunch at my home.

CC Madhya 17.177, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Mādhavendra Purī has already taken lunch at your place. Therefore you may cook and give Me the food. That is My instruction."

CC Madhya 18.78, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to sit beneath the old tamarind tree and chant the holy name of the Lord. At noon He would return to Akrūra-tīrtha to take lunch.

CC Madhya 19.59, Translation:

Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya invited the two brothers to take lunch also. The remnants of food from the plate of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were offered to them.

CC Madhya 19.247, Translation:

Tapana Miśra also heard news of the Lord's arrival in Vārāṇasī, and he went to Candraśekhara's house to meet Him. After talking, he invited the Lord to take lunch at his place.

CC Madhya 19.248, Translation:

Tapana Miśra took Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his house and gave Him lunch. Candraśekhara invited Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya to take lunch at his home.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 1.26, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went with them to see the Lord in the temple, and on that day He also took lunch in the company of all those devotees.

CC Antya 10.98, Translation:

It was Govinda's practice to go take lunch when the Lord was asleep. On that day, however, seeing the Lord's weariness, Govinda continued massaging His body.

CC Antya 12.127, Translation:

The Lord said, "Spread another leaf with a helping of rice and vegetables so that today you and I may take lunch together."

CC Antya 15.6, Translation:

Actually, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was always merged in ecstatic emotion, but just as a potter's wheel turns without the potter's touching it, the Lord's bodily activities, like bathing, going to the temple to see Lord Jagannātha, and taking lunch, went on automatically.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 12:

Once the Lord desired to go early in the morning with all His cowherd boyfriends to the forest, where they were to assemble together and take lunch. As soon as He got up from bed, He blew His buffalo-horn bugle and called all His friends together. Keeping the calves before them, they started for the forest in a great procession. In this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa assembled thousands of His boyfriends. They were each equipped with a stick, flute and horn, as well as a lunch bag, and each of them was taking care of thousands of calves. All the boys appeared very jolly and happy in that excursion. Each and every one of them, including Kṛṣṇa, was attentive to his personal calves as he herded them in the different places in the forest.

Krsna Book 13:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī told the King, “Now hear of this secret with attention. After saving His friends from the mouth of Aghāsura and killing the demon, Lord Kṛṣṇa brought His friends to the bank of the Yamunā and addressed them as follows: “My dear friends, just see how this spot is very nice for taking lunch and playing on the soft, sandy Yamunā bank. You can see how the lotus flowers in the water are beautifully blown and how they distribute their fragrance all around. The chirping of the birds along with the cooing of the peacocks, surrounded by the whispering of the leaves in the trees, combine and present sound vibrations that echo one another. And this just enriches the beautiful scenery created by the trees here. Let us have our lunch in this spot because it is already late and we are feeling hungry. Let the calves remain near us, and let them drink water from the Yamunā.

Krsna Book 13:

Kṛṣṇa appeared to be the whorl of a lotus flower, and the boys surrounding Him appeared to be its different petals. The boys collected flowers, leaves of flowers and the bark of trees and placed their lunch on them, as well as in their boxes, and thus they began to eat their lunch, keeping company with Kṛṣṇa. While taking lunch, each boy began to manifest different kinds of relations with Kṛṣṇa, and they enjoyed each other's company with joking words. While Lord Kṛṣṇa was thus enjoying lunch with His friends, His flute was pushed within the belt of His cloth on His right side, and His bugle and cane were pushed in on the left-hand side of His cloth. In his left palm He was holding a lump of food prepared with yogurt, butter, rice and pieces of fruit salad, which could be seen through His petallike finger-joints.

Krsna Book 82:

After the brāhmaṇas are fed, it is the custom for the host, with their permission, to accept prasādam. Thus, with the permission of the brāhmaṇas, all the members of the Yadu dynasty took lunch. Then they selected resting places underneath big shady trees, and when they had taken sufficient rest, they prepared to receive visitors, among whom were relatives and friends, as well as many subordinate kings and rulers. There were the rulers of Matsya Province, Uśīnara Province, Kośala Province, Vidarbha Province, Kuru Province, Sṛñjaya Province, Kāmboja Province, Kekaya Province, Madras Province, Kuntī Province, Ānarta Province, Kerala Province and many other countries and provinces. Some of the rulers belonged to opposing parties, and some were friends. But above all, the visitors from Vṛndāvana were most prominent.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:

That was the system. In the Kurukṣetra war, the two brothers, I mean to say, cousin-brothers are fighting. But after finishing the fighting there is no enmity. These people are going to their camp, they are coming, talking or taking lunch. Very friendly. Friendly. There was another fight between Bhīma and Jarāsandha. The whole day there was fighting. It was decided that one should be killed. That's a fact. The fighting between kṣatriyas it will not end unless one of them is killed. That is kṣatriya spirit. So they know... Bhīma and Jarāsandha knew it very well that this fighting is going on until one is dead, one of the belligerent parties. But at night Bhīma is the guest of Jarāsandha, eating together, talking friendly. This is brahminical culture. For duty's sake, for some cause, we may fight. That's all right. But that does not mean we shall remain inimical always. Gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akuto bhayam.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.9.10 -- Montreal, July 9, 1968:

There are two kinds of cleanliness: external and internal. External cleanliness by taking bath with soap and other cleansing material... Of course, in India, the brāhmaṇas, they take... They cleanse themselves externally at least three times a day: in the morning, early in the morning; at noon before taking lunch; and in the evening before going to the temple. Tri-sandhyā. There are so many rules and regulations for becoming cleansed. This is external cleanliness. And there is internal cleanliness. The internal cleanliness is this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ (CC Antya 20.12), cleansing the heart.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Bombay, November 2, 1970:

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, or the Bhāgavata-dharma, there is ideal communism. You'll find in Śrīmad-Bhagavatam in the Seventh Canto, Nārada Muni is instructing to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about this communism, that "A gṛhastha, before taking lunch, he must see that every insect, every lizard, every cat, every rat..." (break)...whether a snake in that house must have been fed, must have taken their food. This is so hospitable that the householder, the owner of the house, not only see that his wife, children, servants are well fed, but even the rats, cats, or the insect or the lizard or even the snake has got his food. That is the ideal communism.

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, January 14, 1973:

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, or the Bhāgavata-dharma, there is ideal communism. You will find in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the Seventh Canto, Nārada Muni is giving, instructing to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about this communism that "A gṛhastha, before taking lunch, he must see that every insect, every lizard, every cat, every rat, even a snake in that house must have been fed, must have taken their food. This is so hospitable that the householder, the owner of the house, not only sees that his wife, children, servants are well-fed, but even the rats, cats or the insect or the lizard. Or even the snake has got his food. This is the ideal of communism. Because when you are paṇḍita, learned, you cannot distinguish that "This is animal and this is human being."

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor -- August 13, 1973, Paris:

Professor: Yes.

Yogeśvara: He's taking lunch.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They're taking lunch, and Brahmā is playing trick.

Yogeśvara: You know the story?

Professor: Of what?

Yogeśvara: Lord Brahmā stole away all of Kṛṣṇa's cows and...

Professor: Yes, yes, yes, yes, I know.

Prabhupāda: And Kṛṣṇa again expanded Himself into so many cows, calves, friends. Then Brahmā thought that he is defeated.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Reporter of The Star -- October 16, 1975, Johannesburg:

Prabhupāda: Thank you. Hare Kṛṣṇa. You have taken lunch? So, it is very important movement. Try to study, understand. And it is the duty of the pressmen, journalists, to propagate. They must know the first science of the living force within the body. That is the most important part.

Reporter: I just feel that, in a way, I have enough to write, and I have enough to... Well, I believe in giving a little message of something in those things that I write. I try not to make them negative, and at least, I can present people with what they have and what you are saying. But I feel that within myself, and this concerns myself, that I haven't spoken to you enough, that I haven't heard you enough, and that I have...

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- July 17, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: So tomorrow I shall take lunch at 1:00. That's all. Then, by 3:00 o'clock, I shall be ready. (to Indian man:) (Hindi?) Kṛṣṇa is preparing you to join this movement wholeheartedly. It is very nice. Now you have got it?

Jayādvaita: Yes. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja quotes, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). "All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself." Then he says, "The Bhāgavatam describes the symptoms and deeds of the incarnations in general and counts Śrī Kṛṣṇa among them. This made Sūta Gosvāmī greatly apprehensive. Therefore he distinguished each incarnation by its specific symptoms. All the incarnations of Godhead are plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras, but the primeval Lord is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the fountainhead of all incarnations.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation With Artists and About BTG -- February 25, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: So do it very conscientiously.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? It's time for everybody to take lunch prasāda.

Prabhupāda: Yes, go.

Brahmānanda: Jaya Prabhupāda.

Rāmeśvara: Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)

Showing of Planetary Sketches -- June 28, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: All right.

Bhakti-Prema: The third planetary system, above Mount Meru.

Prabhupāda: Jaya. You have taken lunch?

Upendra: Yes, Prabhupāda. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...there is sun, and above that, there is moon. And they are going to moon. They are going nowhere, simply taking laboratory photo, studio photo, and cheating. Why this cheating can go on? You do not know. That's all. Who is insisting that "We must know"?

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Sacisuta -- Montreal 17 June, 1968:

And Yamuna Acarya says that whenever I think of sex, I spit on it. This is the state of Krishna Consciousness. The more you forget about nonsense material enjoyment, you must know you are advancing in Krishna Consciousness. You haven't got to ask anybody how you are making progress, you will realize yourself by this test. Just like a person taking lunch, he will feel satisfied of hunger and strength, himself. Similarly, the more you serve Krishna, you will forget material hankerings and get spiritual strength. This is the test.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Karandhara -- Tokyo 22 August, 1970:

I thank you very much that you have sent $1,900 to Dai Nippon and they have acknowledged receipt. I heard from Tamala that you have sent further $1,500, but they have not received as yet. I hope by this time you have already sent this check.

I have invited some of the directors of Dai Nippon to take lunch with me today and I may inquire if they have received further money. The bill is already for $32,000 for the books which I have ordered to be printed and over and above this if the amount for KRSNA II and Hindi BTG is added the amount will come to somewhere about $53,000. So kindly go on sending weekly whatever collection you make for the Book Fund.

Letter to Govinda Maharaja -- Calcutta 22 September, 1970:

I am very sorry to learn that your health is deteriorating due to passing of sugar. The best medicine is to starve. I had one very influential doctor friend, the Chief Medical Officer of Vienna. When I was taking lunch with him sometimes in the year of 1955 he was suffering from diabetes and he told me that it is a disease for voracious eating and T.B. is a disease for undereating. If you kindly find some time and see me at your convenience that will be a great pleasure.

You have reminded me of the Janmastami Day and it was pompously observed at our New Vrndavana. We were expecting some guests from India; unfortunately nobody came.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Mathura Prasad Agarwala -- Vrindaban 22 April, 1975:

I have heard from Gopinatha Mahesawari that you came here to see me, but that due to the Governor's coming there was some confusion and you were not able to see me. I am extremely sorry for this. I wish to invite you to come and take lunch with me on the 26th of April at about 11:00 AM if it is convenient for you. I will be awaiting your arrival.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Members of the family of Hirjibhai Gelabhai Baba -- Mayapur 9 February, 1976:

I am very sorry to learn that His Holiness Hirji Baba has recently disappeared from this material world. Last time when I was in Nairobi, I had some talks with him when we were preparing to take lunch at the house of Damji Devji. That was our last talk. So it is a great shock that he is not visible to our eyes. But as we know, the living being does not die. It is said about the saintly persons: moro va jivo va which means that the saintly person devoted to the lotus feet of the Lord is always glorious, either physically present or not present. So I wish that the devotees who took shelter of this saintly person continue to progress in spiritual life. May Krishna bless all of you in spiritual life.