Prasadam is food prepared with devotion and offered to Krishna. Prasadam effectively immunizes one against the contamination of the material nature and it is considered ecstatic nectar from the lips of Lord Krishna.
The Krishna consciousness movement vigorously approves this practice of preparing food, offering it to the Deity, and distributing it to the general population. Because prasadam is sanctified food and should be eaten with respect, we speak of eating prasadam as “honoring” or “respecting” it.
Prasadam, which literally means “mercy,” nourishes the body, mind, and soul. It can liberate anyone from material bondage and bestow krishna- prema, love of Godhead. Prasadam is so powerful because food offered to the Lord becomes transformed into a spiritual substance nondifferent from Him. In a purport to Bhagavad-gita (4.24) Srila Prabhupada explains how this is so: “The Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality.”
From this quotation we can see how the concept of prasadam extends beyond food to anything with a connection to Krishna. As soon as something or someone is connected to Krishna, it, she, or he becomes spiritualized—Krishna-ized.
The secret of this conversion is love. Krishna is attracted by the humility and love of His devotee. The spice of love is the tasty ingredient that induces the Lord to eat an offering. Devotees therefore try to do everything with love. Their words, thoughts, and actions are heartfelt.
Offering with Love
Srila Prabhupada says that to achieve the same result is very easy. “Even the poorest of the poor, without any kind of qualification,” can offer Krishna something, he says. If anyone offers even a leaf or a little fruit or water in “genuine love,” the Lord will be pleased to accept it.
Eating Our Way Home
We'll be able to “eat our way” home to the spiritual world, where at lunch time Krishna and His cowherd-boy friends sit together on the sandy bank of the Yamuna River, where they have transcendental fun discovering the delicious sweets in their lunch boxes, where they feed one another, steal from one another, pretend to steal from one another, play all kinds of childish pranks, and laugh.
And one day, like these ever young boys and all other inhabitants of the spiritual world, we’ll have no need to eat to live. Our eating will be a way of relishing loving feelings. We will be so fully immersed in and saturated by pure love that we will have no use or need for anything else. Our bodies, composed of pure spiritual essence nondifferent from ourselves, will express our love for Lord Krishna and for one another. We will then know what it means to wear our hearts on our sleeves.
Krishna conscious practices and as often as possible respect prasadam in the company of family and friends. To help us honor Krishna’s prasadam with devotion, before we sit down to eat we can recite the following prayer by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Bengali, English, or both:
sharira avidya-jaljodendriya tahe kaljive phele vishaya-sagoreta’ra madhye jivha ati
lobhamoy sudurmatita’ke jeta kathina samsarekrishna baro doyamoykoribare jivha joy
sva-prasad-anna dilo bhaisei annamata paoradha-krishna-guna gaopreme dako chaitanya-nitai
“O Lord, this material body is a lump of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths leading to death. Somehow or other we have fallen into the ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable. It is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. But You, dear Lord Krishna, are very kind to us. You have given us this nice prasadam just to control the tongue. So now let us take this prasadam to our full satisfaction and glorify Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, and in love call for the help of Lord Chaitanya and Prabhu Nityananda.”
Ingredients should not contain onion, garlic, meat, alcohol, mushroom, vinegar
Please use vessels that are exclusively used for making prasad.
Please do not taste before offering. Try not to smell while preparing.
When offering to Krishna try to have a tulsi leaf on the Bhoga.
Ingredients should not contain onion, garlic, meat, alcohol, mushroom, vinegar
Please use vessels that are exclusively used for making prasad.
Please do not taste before offering. Try not to smell while preparing.
When offering to Krishna try to have a tulsi leaf on the Bhoga.
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