How to Prepare and Offer Prasädam
As you walk down the supermarket aisles selecting
the foods you will offer to Kåñëa, you need to know what
is offerable and what is not. In the Bhagavad-gétä, Lord Kåñëa
states, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit,
or water, I will accept it.” From this verse it is understood that we can
offer Kåñëa foods prepared from milk products, vegetables,
fruits, nuts, and grains. (Write to Temple Services for one of the many
Hare Kåñëa cookbooks.) Meat, fish, and eggs are not offerable.
And a few vegetarian items are also forbidden—garlic and onions, for example,
which are in the mode of darkness. (Hing, or asafetida, is a tasty substitute
for them in cooking and is available at most Indian groceries or from Temple
Services.) Nor can you offer to Krñëa coffee or tea that contain
caffeine. If you like these beverages, purchase caffeine-free coffee and
herbal teas.
While shopping, be aware that you may find meat, fish, and egg products mixed with other foods; so be sure to read labels carefully. For instance, some brands of yogurt and sour cream contain gelatin, a substance made from the horns, hooves, and bones of slaughtered animals. Also, make sure the cheese you buy contains no rennet, an enzyme extracted from the stomach tissues of slaughtered calves. Most hard cheese sold in America contains rennet, so be careful about any cheese you can’t verify as rennetless.
Also avoid foods cooked by nondevotees. According to the subtle laws of nature, the cook acts upon the food not only physically but mentally as well. Food thus becomes an agent for subtle influences on your consciousness. The principle is the same as that at work with a painting: a painting is not simply a collection of strokes on a canvas but an expression of the artist’s state of mind, which affects the viewer. So if you eat food cooked by nondevotees—employees working in a factory, for example—then you’re sure to absorb a dose of materialism and karma. So as far as possible use only fresh, natural ingredients.
In preparing food, cleanliness is the most important principle. Nothing impure should be offered to God; so keep your kitchen very clean. Always wash your hands thoroughly before entering the kitchen. While preparing food, do not taste it, for you are cooking the meal not for yourself but for the pleasure of Kåñëa. Arrange portions of the food on dinnerware kept especially for this purpose; no one but the Lord should eat from these dishes. The easiest way to offer food is simply to pray, “My dear Lord Kåñëa, please accept this food,” and to chant each of the following prayers three times while ringing a bell (see the Sanskrit Pronunciation Guide):
1. Prayer to Çréla Prabhupäda:
nama oà viñëu-pädäya
kåñëa-preñöhäya bhü-tale
çrémate bhaktivedänta-svämin
iti nämine
namas te särasvate deve gaura-väëé-pracäriëe
nirviçeña-çünyavädi-päçcätya-deça-täriëe
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine
Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, who is very dear to Lord
Kåñëa, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful
obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhänta
Sarasvaté Gosvämé. You are kindly preaching the message
of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled
with impersonalism and voidism.”
2. Prayer to Lord Caitanya:
namo mahä-vadänyäya kåñëa-prema-pradäya
te
kåñëäya kåñëa-caitanya-nämne
gaura-tviñe namaù
[Cc. Madhya 19.53]
“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kåñëa
Himself appearing as Çré Kåñëa Caitanya
Mahäprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Çrématé
Rädhäräëé, and You are widely distributing pure
love of Kåñëa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto
You.”
3. Prayer to Lord Kåñëa:
namo brahmaëya-deväya go-brähmaëa-hitäya
ca
jagad-dhitäya kåñëäya
govindäya namo namaù
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Kåñëa, who is the worshipable Deity for all brähmaëas, the well-wisher of the cows and the brähmaëas, and the benefactor of the whole world. I offer my repeated obeisances to the Personality of Godhead, known as Kåñëa and Govinda.”
Remember that the real purpose of preparing and offering food to the Lord is to show your devotion and gratitude to Him. Kåñëa accepts your devotion, not the physical offering itself. God is complete in Himself—He doesn’t need anything—but out of His immense kindness He allows us to offer food to Him so that we can develop our love for Him.
After offering the food to the Lord, wait at least five minutes for Him to partake of the preparations. Then you should transfer the food from the special dinnerware and wash the dishes and utensils you used for the offering. Now you and any guests may eat the prasädam. While you eat, try to appreciate the spiritual value of the food. Remember that because Kåñëa has accepted it, it is nondifferent from Him, and therefore by eating it you will become purified.
Everything you offer on your altar becomes prasädam,
the mercy of the Lord. Flowers, incense, the water, the food—everything
you offer for the Lord’s pleasure becomes spiritualized. The Lord enters
into the offerings, and thus the remnants are nondifferent from Him. So
you should not only deeply respect the things you’ve offered, but you should
distribute them to others as well. Distribution of prasädam is an
essential part of Deity worship.
(The Quest for Enlightenment, 1998 - An Intoduction to Iskcon and Devotee
Life-style - VedaBase)