Be First Class

In the Vedic social system there are four classes of men. The brahmanas (priestly, intellectual class) are considered first class. The ksatriyas (warrior, administrator class) are considered second class. The vaishyas (entrepreneurial, productive class) third class, and the sudras (worker class) fourth class. It does not matter where one is situated according to one's occupation, if one is transcendentally situated on the platform of devotional service to the Supreme Person, one is automatically considered to be a brahmana, a first-class human being, because anyone situated in devotional service automatically realizes what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth.

In this connection the Srimad Bhagavatam describes as follows:

yah svakat parato veha
jata-nirveda atmavan
hrdi krtva harim gehat
pravrajet sa narottamah

"He is certainly a first-class man who awakens and understands, either by himself or from others, the falsity and misery of this material world and thus leaves home and depends fully on the Personality of Godhead residing within his heart."
--Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.27

So there is no need to work one's way up the social ladder. All we have to do is become Krishna conscious. Then immediately we become a narottama, a first class human being.

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Offering Hotel Food to Krishna...

You are delivering me out from this material world very fast by your beautiful lessons. After reading the questions and answers about the vegetarian diets that should be first offered to Krishna with love, my doubt is when a person takes vegetarian food from a vegetarian hotel sometimes prepared by nondevotees, can he offer the food to Krishna with love? If he can, what will be his prayer for offering?

Thanking you,

Harikrishnan

Answer: Better to Avoid Such Foods...

As far as possible one should avoid taking even vegetarian food that has been prepared by nondevotees because the consciousness of the cook goes into the foodstuffs. If we eat food cooked by devotees, that food helps us to become Krishna conscious. But, if we eat foods cooked by non-devotees this pollutes our consciousness.

Although I am flying regularly all over the world and the airlines nowadays have vegetarian dinners available, I never take the meal offered to me by the airlines. I am satisfied to eat whatever prasadam* that I am able to bring on the airplane with me.

If under emergency condition you are sometimes forced to eat in a restaurant, it is better to simply take salad because that has not been cooked. If you have no other option for getting your meal, then you should beg Krishna's forgiveness, chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and beg the Lord to accept it. But this must be avoided as much as possible.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

*Editor's note: Prasadam is vegetarian foods that have prepared by devotees and offered to Lord Krishna with love and devotion. Krishna instructs in the Bhagavad-gita that devotees should only eat prasadam.