Burfi

Expressions researched:
"burfi" |"burfis"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 4.19-25 -- Los Angeles, January 9, 1969:

Devotee: "To him Brahman, the Supreme is the offering, Brahman is the oblation and the sacrificial fire and by Brahman the sacrifice is performed. By performing action in this way one ultimate attains the supreme."

Purport: "A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom through his full contribution to spiritual activities for the consummation is absolute and the things offered are also of the same spiritual nature. How activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can lead one ultimately to the spiritual goal is described here. There are various activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All of them will be described in the following verses. But for the present just the principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is described. The conditioned soul entangled in material contamination is sure to act in the material atmosphere and yet he has to get out of such an environment. The process by which the conditioned soul can get out of the material atmosphere is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For example, a person who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels..."

Prabhupāda: "A patient. A patient. A patient who is suffering."

Devotee: Oh. "For example, a patient who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels due to overindulgence in milk products is cured by another milk product, curd. Similarly, the materially absorbed conditioned soul can be cured by Kṛṣṇa consciousness as is prescribed here in the Bhagavad-gītā."

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is a very good example. Sometimes... In India of course, out of our greediness we take too much milk products—khīr and sweet rice and burfi, pranal(?), so many. So if you take too much milk then there is possibility of dysentery, disorder of the bowel. Ghee. Therefore when you go the physician he will give you some medicine and he will ask you to take this medicine with yogurt. Now what is this yogurt? This yogurt is also milk preparation. Now you can doubt how is that? My disorder of bowel is due to taking too much milk preparation. How it will be cured by yogurt? So this is the way. The yogurt is a, although milk preparation, it's action is different.

Similarly, you will find that these boys and girls acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, what they are doing? They have rented a nice house which is called temple. They are cooking there, eating there, dancing and singing. The outsider they will say, "What is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness? They are living in the nice house and they are eating very nicely, dancing, singing. What is the difference? We also do that. We go to the club and eat very nicely and dance also. What is the difference?" There is the difference. What is that difference? The one milk preparation causes disorder, another milk preparation cures. This is practical. Another milk preparation cures you.

If you go on dancing in the club and eating in the club gradually you become diseased materially. And the same dancing and same eating here you become spiritually advanced. So nothing has to be stopped. Simply it has to be changed by the direction of an expert physician. That's all. The expert physician gives you yogurt mixed with some medicine. Actually medicine is just to bluff the patient. Actually the yogurt will act.

So similarly we have to do everything but because it is mixed up with that medicine of Kṛṣṇa consciousness it will cure your material disease. That is the process. Because it is mixed up with some medicine which is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness therefore your dancing, your eating, your loving affairs—all, whatever you want there is but it is well-treated. It will not entangle you. It will give more and more enlightenment of spiritual understanding. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yes.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.5 -- Mayapur, March 7, 1974:

So Māyāvādī philosophers, they take one side only, that it is one. They do not understand what is the difference, what is the different taste, varieties. They cannot understand the varieties, unity in diversity. They cannot understand. Just like sugar and milk—you prepare so many sweetmeats: "This is rasagullā, this is sandeṣa, this is burfi, this is this, this is that." Hundreds of preparation you can... But what is that? That sugar and milk. So similarly, variety is the mother of enjoyment. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they cannot understand. Therefore they have been described in the Bhāgavata, vimukta-māninaḥ, aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). They are thinking that now they have become one with the Supreme, Nārāyaṇa. They address between themselves, "Namo nārāyaṇa," that "Everyone has become Nārāyaṇa." This is their... "Everyone is Nārāyaṇa," that's all right, but still, different.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Indian Guests -- July 11, 1973, London:

Paramahaṁsa: Śyāmasundara, Śyāmasundara is not in the temple.

Prabhupāda: Oh. What is that?

Devotee: Oh, this is just a little preparation, burfi and a little kheer.

Guest (3): Can't you bring him the plate like that?

Prabhupāda: No, that's all right.

Devotee: I tried to find a plate. There's no... Should I leave it here?

Prabhupāda: Hm. Yes.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 11, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Two energies. Two energies means just like fire. Fire has got two energies, heat and light. Similarly, the whole creation is combination of Kṛṣṇa's energy. Therefore everything is Kṛṣṇa. Is it not? Yes. Just like you take milk. From milk you prepare so many milk preparations. You prepare yogurt, you prepare ghee, you prepare rasagullā, you prepare burfi and so many others. But therefore, actually, all of them are milk. This is... Under different combination only. In the milk, if you put some sour thing, it becomes yogurt. But it is milk. And that sour thing also, which is put into the milk, that is also Kṛṣṇa. (break) Why He is originally person, try to understand. And all these energies are imperson. Just like I am a person, you are a person. But when I... My temperature is imperson. Is it not? I have got temperature, if you put thermometer. That is imperson. So person is the origin, and the impersonal temperature is the energy.

Room Conversation with Monsieur Mesman, Chief of Law House of Paris -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Yogeśvara: Maybe you can also explain that this...

Prabhupāda: What is this preparation, explain. You explain.

Yogeśvara: This is burfi.

Bhagavān: This is cake, cookie.

Prabhupāda: No, not cookie. It is burfi like... What is this made of?

Bhagavān: This is...

Girl: This is sandeśa.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 7, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: If they understand that "I am spirit soul" then he'll advance. Then you can say. The chanting is required.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Paramahaṁsa: And prasādam.

Amogha: Everyone likes prasādam. In these high schools we take maṅgala āratika burfi and they love it. Sometimes the Catholic sisters and nuns come up afterwards and say, "How do you make this? What is the recipe?"

Morning Walk -- May 10, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: And from milk, you know, so many nice preparations, all full of vitamins. So why they should be killed? You are killing; the blood is not utilized, you are taking the flesh. But flesh is transformation of the blood. And milk is also transformation of the blood. So if you take, just like channa, it is as good as flesh. By taste, by benefit—as good as. So why if you can take the flesh and blood in a human way-blood is transformed into milk, and from milk there are so many good preparations-ghee, yoghurt, burfi, channa, so many preparations are available. This panir, channa, and let the animal live peacefully. Why are you cutting his throat? You require some benefit from the animal. Take this benefit. Why should you kill? If he can live and give better service, then why shall I try to kill? What is this human civilization? Is that human civilization, that I am taking service from you, and I am cutting your throat? Is that humanity? What is the answer?

Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes, that may be, but we don't agree with that. We don't agree with that. Everyone has got the right to interpret in a different way, but we have to accept paramparā, the disciplic succession. Just like I have given one burfi. Everyone knows it is burfi, and if somebody interprets, "It is stone," so it will not be accepted. Everyone knows it is burfi, nice sweetmeat. Why shall I call it stone? But if somebody says, "I can interpret in this way," he can say, but it will not be accepted.

Room Conversation with Mr. & Mrs. Wax, Writer and Editing Manager of Playboy Magazine -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: They were killing animals. When man is advanced in his knowledge and education, why they should kill? Especially in America, we see so many nice foodstuffs. Fruits, grains, milk. And from milk, you can get hundreds of nice preparations, all nutritious. In our New Vrindaban we are doing that—rabri, pera, burfi. The other farmers are surprised that from milk such nice preparation can be prepared. So instead of teaching them—you Indian, you know how to utilize milk and prepare so many nice preparation,—you are learning how to eat meat. Why? So if you forget your culture and if you become victimized, that is your fault. You should teach them how to utilize milk. And if the cows are kept jubilant, they will deliver double milk. They know, "We shall be killed." They are always depressed. Therefore milk is not properly supplied.

Walk Around Farm -- August 1, 1975, New Orleans:

Nityānanda: You hear it?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Then how the milk will be utilized?

Nityānanda: We make sweet rice and burfi, we take the cream to make butter and ghee, and all extra milk is made into curd. So it is all used. Thirty gallons a day.

Prabhupāda: One gallon means 6 pounds?

Nityānanda: Eight and a half.

Prabhupāda: Eight and a half pounds. In Vrindaban they get 1,000 pounds daily, New Vrindaban. What is that cottage?

Nityānanda: That what?

Morning Walk -- October 28, 1975, Nairobi:

Prabhupāda: First of all be engaged yourself. Then they will see the example and they'll join. Just like in our New Vrindaban. Other men from other farms, they are coming, and they are offered this milk preparation, burfi, sandeṣa, rasagullā, rabri, so many, halavā. They become: "Oh, so many nice things can be prepared from milk?" They do not know, uncivilized. Cut the animal and eat. A most crude civilization. When people were not civilized, they used to do that. Civilization means you know, you must know how to live very nicely. That is civilization. But they do not know even that. Simply eating meat and wine, meat and wine, that's all. And this is going on as civilization. They do not know what is the meaning of civilization. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Real civilization means to understand God. Here is God.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Still they are eating?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They're still eating. Every piece of burfi we sold cost one dollar.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Just a piece of burfi...

Prabhupāda: Burfi?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, they were charging one dollar for one square.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) That is good.

Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Very nice. Very good preps, sumptuous.

Bali-mardana: Oh, yes. Besides that, we had booths with watermelon, lassi and burfi.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Lassi was selling very big. We could not supply it fast enough.

Bali-mardana: We could not... All the time, those booths, there was a line.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Because this was our first year, we were not expecting such a big turnout, so we did not have sufficient stands to meet everybody's needs.

Prabhupāda: And the police officer has approved.

Morning Walk -- July 19, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They were also selling lassi and lemonade. It was very big.

Bali-mardana: Burfi and lugloos, sweets, everything.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bali-mardana's wife, Taittirīya devī, she was in charge of the sweet table. So she had about four or five sweets, they were all the same, but she made them somehow look different. So everyone was saying, "Oh, which one is which?" And she would say "Each one is different. You have to take one of every one." But they were all the same. So people had to buy two and three kinds. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: She is good saleswoman.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: New Vrindaban also.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: New Vrindaban also. Sandeśa, rasagullā, gulabjamon, burfi...

Prabhupāda: And ghee?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, because...

Prabhupāda: Ghee you take from New Vrindaban?

Room Conversation about BTG the Moon -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Dhṛṣṭadyumna Mahārāja has organized the life membership program to send the Indian members milk sweets in the mail every week from the farm. Burfi, sandeśa.

Prabhupāda: They also like. And in America, the Indians are there, they are all educated. They're not low-class men.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They read your books carefully.

Prabhupāda: This... There are some statements. Just like molten iron, a man can break for illicit sex. What is their objection?

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Yamuna -- Los Angeles 10 April, 1970:

I thank you very much for your burfi. It is so nicely made. Lest it go out of stock, I am eating only a very little quantity daily. But how you have made it, if you send the formula, maybe Nanda Kumar or Devananda may be able to prepare it.

I hope you are taking care of the Deities with greater attention, and teaching your younger God brothers and sisters to follow the Arcana bidhi. As we open many branches, we shall require many devotees like you to take care of the Deities very nicely.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Devamaya -- Bombay 9 January, 1975:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 6th 1975 and have noted the contents. Thank you for your burfis. Regarding your questions, there is no special planet for the Lord in His form of Lord Jagannatha. This particular lila was performed with His brother and sister when They were on this planet. If you are attracted to worshiping this form of the Lord, then you will go to Krishna. Lord Jagannatha is Krishna. You ask about what kind of food He likes to eat most. That you cannot prepare. If you sometimes come to Jagannatha Puri, then you can see. You should not give them any clubs to hold. It is not necessary.