What Is Prasad?
Before eating, a lot of Hindus, offer the food first to God before they consume it. But the question is, will God come and eat our offerings?
An attempt is made here to understand the predicament. What follows below is a Guru-Shishya conversation:
The shishya who doesn’t believe in God, asks his Guru: “Does God accept our ‘naivedyam’ (offerings)? If God eats away the ‘prasadam’ then from where can we distribute it to others? Does God really consume the ‘prasadam’, Guruji?”
The Guru doesn’t reply to the shishya’s question. Instead, he asks him to prepare for the day’s classes.
That day, the Guru was teaching his class about the ‘upanishads’.
He teaches his students the mantra: “poornamadam, poornamidam,
poornasya poornaadaaya….”
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते |
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||
and explains it as:
“Everything came out from Poorna or Totality. What is visible is the infinite. What is invisible is also the infinite. Out of the Infinite Being the finite has come, yet being infinite, only infinite remains.” ~ Ishavasya upanishad
Later, everyone is instructed to practice the mantra by heart. So all the boys started reciting and practicing.
After a while, the Guru comes back and asks the very student who had raised his doubt about Naivedyam to recite the mantra without seeing the book. The shishya chants the mantra.
The Guru asks with a smile on his face, “Did you really memorize everything as it is in the book?”
The shishya responds: “Yes Guruji, I’ve recited whatever is written as in the book.”
The Guru asked: “If you have taken every word into your mind then how come the words are still there in the book?”
The shishya smiles.
The Guru explains further:
The words in your mind are in the SOOKSHMA STHITI (unseen form).
The words in the book are there in the STOOLASTHITI (seen).
GOD too exists around us in the ‘sookshma sthiti’. The offering made to Him is done in ‘stoola sthiti’.
Thus, God takes the food in ‘sookshmam’, in sookshma stithi. Hence the food doesn’t become any less in quantity.
While GOD takes it in the sookshma sthiti, We take it as ‘prasadam’ in sthoola sthiti.
Hearing this the shishya felt guilty for his disbelief in God and surrendered himself to his GURU.
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A Vegetarian Meal Offered As Prasad
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From The Physical Realm To Divinity
When Bhakti enters Food,
Food becomes Prasad…
When Bhakti enters Hunger,
Hunger becomes a Fast…
When Bhakti enters Water,
Water becomes Charanamrit…
When Bhakti enters Travel,
Travel becomes a Pilgrimage…
When Bhakti enters Music ,
Music becomes Kirtan…
When Bhakti enters a House,
House becomes a Temple…
When Bhakti enters Actions,
Actions become Seva…
When Bhakti enters in Work,
Work becomes Karma…
When Bhakti enters a Man,
Man becomes Human…
… Eeshwaro rakshath
From The Physical Realm To Divinity
Here’s an excerpt about Prasad from the book: Vegetarianism: Recommended in Vedic Scripture By Stephen Knapp
LORD KRISHNA’S INSTRUCTIONS ON WHAT TO EAT IN BHAGAVADGITA
Many people question what Lord Krishna says, or if He says anything at all, about whether to be vegetarian or not. Actually, He provides some important insights. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita: “The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.” (Bg.3.13)
So, food should be first offered in sacrifice, or ritual, but what ritual is this? He explains quite clearly that all food, as well as anything else, should first be offered to Him. “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me. In this way you will be freed from all reactions to good and evil deeds, and by this principle of renunciation you will be liberated and come to Me.” (Bg.9.2628)
Herein it is clear that food should be first prepared for offering the Lord, but with love. You can often see this in temples wherein the food is cooked with the intention of preparing it with love and then offering it before the Deities of Krishna with love. Thereafter, the devotees take the remnants and distribute amongst them as offered food. This becomes prasadam, or the spiritually surcharged food that is the mercy of the Lord, and which purifies our consciousness by honoring it through the process of respectfully eating it.
Furthermore, what is meant to be offered to the Lord is outlined as a leaf (most vegetables consist of leafy substances), flowers or fruits (which consist of grains, nuts, and fruits and juices), and water.
Gita Chapter 9: Verses 26 To 28
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति |
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: || 26||
patraṁ puṣhpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayachchhati
tadahaṁ bhaktyupahṛitam aśhnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
If one offers to Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water, I delightfully partake of that item offered with love by My devotee in pure consciousness.
यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् |
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् || 27||
yat karoṣhi yad aśhnāsi yaj juhoṣhi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣhva mad-arpaṇam
Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer as oblation to the sacred fire, whatever you bestow as a gift, and whatever austerities you perform, O son of Kunti, do them as an offering to Me.
शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनै: |
संन्यासयोगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैष्यसि || 28||
śhubhāśhubha-phalair evaṁ mokṣhyase karma-bandhanaiḥ
sannyāsa-yoga-yuktātmā vimukto mām upaiṣhyasi
By dedicating all your works to Me, you will be freed from the bondage of good and bad results. With your mind attached to Me through renunciation, you will be liberated and will reach Me.
Food According To Hinduism
Read about it HERE.
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Cited Works: A Whatsapp Forward
The Book: Vegetarianism: Recommended in Vedic Scripture By Stephen Knapp
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