Question: I am a busy man. I start to my office at 7:30 am, travel 26 km to reach my office and return home only after 9:45 pm. As a result I mostly eat in hotels. Keeping this in mind, tell me what type of food I should eat.

You must try to follow principles of purity to the best of your ability. Since your schedule is such, it is not possible for you to always eat pure sanctified food. In such cases you must at least try to find food that is clean. All food carries the consciousness of the person who prepared it, and thus positive and negative energy influences us based on the food we eat. In most hotels, the cooks are not pure or clean – at least from a spiritual perspective. They are simply working for making money. When the consciousness of the cooks are low, it becomes a very negative influence on our spiritual advancement. By reciting “Sri Vishnu, Sri Vishnu, Sri Vishnu” much of the karmic influence will be removed, so never fail to follow this practice.

When eating in hotels and other such places, always eat as a sacrifice to maintain the body, which is the Lord’s instrument. Try to avoid eating for your own enjoyment. Instead eat in the hotel as a duty. You must maintain your body so that you may carry out proper service to the Lord. If you always remember this point, your consciousness can remain unaffected, despite being surrounded by unfavourable circumstances.