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  • 5 types of sacrifice: ahuta, prahuta (to living entities), huta (burnt oblations), brahmanya huta, scripture study.
  • Householders who are Krishna conscious do not have the ordinary obligations, but they perform all their household duties to please Krishna.
  • To not have duties towards anyone one has to take to the path in all seriousness.

  • If we do not follow rules as devotees, what defines what do we do as devotees?
  • One who performs sacrifices and studies Vedas supports movable and immovable creation.
  • Studying scriptures and performing sacrifices is major focus because guests may come or not, offerings to living beings do not take so much time etc.
  • By sacrifice the whole universe is maintained.
  • We cannot say we don't care for the rules and at the same time not be involved in the sacrifice of sankirtana.
  • The Krishna conscious person avoids the cycle of material sacrifices, but must participate in the mission of Srila Rupa Gosvami.
  • Householders maintain everyone else by facilities they generate.
  • One who does not have determination and energy should not become a grihastha.
  • There are different understanding of 'unending bliss', but it is actually only possible by devotional service.
  • Householder should daily perform either the 5 sacrifices or be very steady in their devotional practices.
  • Sages are worshiped by study of scriptures, demigods by sacrifices, mankind by offering food to guests, ancestors by sraddha, living entities by Balidana.
  • Householder should be kind to all living beings.
  • Men have no problem being satisfied, but they need to work on being sensitive. Living entity in the material world tends to only be focused on oneself, but one has to learn to respect others.
  • Charity given by householders produce the same benefit as student giving dakshina to his teacher.
  • Brahmanya huta charity should be given to those brahmanas who follow their duties. Just feeding any people is prahuta.
  • Top guest is a qualified brahmana who comes on his own.
  • Brahmana who is not properly honored will take away pious credits from the house, even from those who are very strict and austere.
  • The whole world belongs to the Brahmanas. Everybody else have a place due to their mercy.
  • Water, sitting place and kind words is the minimum that anyone could provide for a guest.
  • Athithi is a qualified brahmana who comes uninvited and stays for one day only.
  • One who seeks livelihood by social intercourse is not considered an atithi.
  • The position of atithi is very respectable.
  • Guests are taken care in the front area of the house.
  • Srotriya is one who knows the Vedas and practices them.
  • Householders who seek to live at the cost of others become cattle in their next life.
  • One should not eat more fancy than the guest.
  • A brahmana should not name his family and gotra just to obtain a meal.
  • Vantasi and giving up sannyasa.
  • Small children, sick, pregnant, newly married women etc may be fed before the guests, but the arrangements are separate.
  • Guests other than brahmanas are served after serving brahmanas.
  • Relatives, friends etc help in serving brahmanas and later they may eat with the host.
  • Balidana, offering to various living entities, should be done before each meal by karmi householders. Food should be respectfully placed in various places.
  • Any cultured person in the Vedic times only eats food offered in sacrifice. The most proper is to offer it to Vishnu - then one is freed from material existence. By offering to demigods one is freed of sins.
  • King, officiating priest, snataka, son-in-law, father-in-law and maternal uncle should be honored with Madhuparka if they come after 1 full year.
  • The sraddha rites are the most technical of all rituals. Devotees do not get into much detail about sraddha rites, but one may gain a good idea about the standards of serving food.
  • One should not invite many people - it's about how well one can take care of them. Even taking good care of one qualified person is enough.
  • Too many people invited destroy the respectful treatment of the invited, propriety of place, time, purity, and the selection of virtuous brahmanas.
  • It is better to feed less devotees with better quality.
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