he will overlook the offenses :) i think her intentions count. there arent any real brahmanas in kali yuga anyway. only those of us that are "brahmana" its so we can worship the temple deities.

except for the meat ;) meat is a problem.... i wouldnt know what to say.

cats arent a problem. many temples keep cats to keep away mice and rats. brooklyn temple has laksmi the cat, toronto has cats. etc....

dont u have marble radha krsna as well? u should post some pics!

Dear Mother Kamalasundari,

This is a very difficult situation. On one hand you have a soul who should be encouraged for trying to make some progress and pursue spiritual life in this hellish age of Kali and on the other hand you have all the rules and regulations that accompany deity worship. Your friend must have a natural attraction for the form of the Lord or she would not choose this service.

There are several homes where there are deities and not all members of the household are following the regulative principles, even in devotee homes. Not all devotee children remain vegetarian and/or follow the regulative principles but yet most devotees have deities at home. Some devotees live in apartments/condos with their deities and meat is being cooked in other units/areas of the complex. This age is very hellish. This is why Srila Prabhupada recommended Gaura Nitai deities for householders mostly. I don’t know if your friend would be happy with this recommendation, I know some devotees have a natural attraction to Radha Krishna.

Myself personally I try to be a little practical and encourage devotees in their service and pray to the deities to accept and forgive our offences. I also recommend that household deities not be installed. At the very least these deities should be kept in a separate clean room where they can be served by your friend. There paraphernalia should be kept clean. Cats should not be allowed to enter this room or touch the deities. I know of several devotees that have pets but don’t really understand their fascination with them. Your friend should gradually work towards not having meat in the home.

These are just my thoughts & feelings on this I am no authority on this matter.

I would like to hear others response to Mother Kamalasundari’s post.

ys,

Hare Krishna das

Haribol! fantastic that the Lord has decided to live with her! This is great, cats are no problem, many temples have cats, i personally know many many devotees that also keep cats, if she feels uncomfortable purchasing meaty cat food for them refer her to VEGGIEPETS.COM my cats live very healthy lives on that for some time now. As for her husband, I think that by seeing the Beautiful frms of the Lord everyday may soften his heart and in time slowly he may refrain from meat all together. They must have been very pious to have Their Lordships stay with them. I now of many Brahmin ladies that also have husbands that consume meat, they keep seperate cooking utensils and flames for cooking. This just shows how merciful the Lord is, despite that there is meat in the household He still came and took up residence there, it's not all these material factors that pleases the Lord, it's the love and devotion that attracts Him! Haribol! Haribol!