Question: Many girls in our group are chanting 16 rounds and reading Bhagavad-gītā, vegetarians and attending regular classes,and are aspiring to take initiation from you, Gurudeva! But when it comes to śikṣā papers, they get stuck in the 8 rounds paper, because it has no onion and garlic. Most of the girls want to leave onion and garlic because of staying with parents and pressure that they get from them; they are not able to leave. Gurudeva, what can we do under such situations?

Jayapataka Swami: This is a big problem in India that although people are vegetarian, they eat onion and garlic. Actually, the onion and garlic, we can’t offer to any – what to speak of Viṣṇu – even Śiva or Durgā, anyone. Because, the śāstra says that...

Question: When a person lives with their family, who are non-devotees and they cook with onion and garlic, and they expect you to eat that food, is it okay to offer to Krsna and have it afterwards? How can I make it less sinful?

Jayapataka Swami: Onion and garlic are not offerable to any deity, what to speak of Visnu deity, even Durga, Siva, Ganesa, Kartikeya, they don’t accept onion and garlic. And also recently I saw on the internet, there was some article, that onion and garlic are bad,...