Hare Krishna!
I'm here to provide my openion about "prasadam".
Any wish or desire & distress we offer to the "God" for materialistic relief (Materialstic Approach),is "prasadam".for them. It is thaught that if we offer this thing to the "God" our wish or desire 'd be fullfilled; & distress 'd be releived.Logic they think is all the distress would be distributed to many as "prasadam".& our distress would end.
Offerings
I think I understand what you are asking. Prasadum is food offered to the Lord in love and devotion. It is very specific. Although we may not have pure devotion we make the attempt to prepare and offering to Krishna for his pleasure at least vegetarian food. It may be food we like, but we are making a sacrifice by trying to put God first.
Look at Bhagavad gita ch. 9 vs 26 and 27 :
26: If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.
27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform—do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.
Those on the path of Bhakti yoga or pure devotion aspire to practice the first verse by offering everything to Krishna, or those specific items in the verse, to Krishna with love and devotion.
The second mentioned verse is more general---just offer it to Krishna---whatever it is even without love---he may or may not accept it---yet you will become purified by offering it to Krishna. This is a generous view of this verse where somethings that may be considered "unofferable" are offered.
Generally we don't imagine that by offering our bad qualities they will become "prasadum" of the Lord. Prasad means mercy and blessings. However, there is a conception that we can present our bad qualities to the Lord to become purified, or pray for them to be removed.
Your friend in Krishna,
Karnamrita
thanks
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
I'm very thankfull as u posted the comment on the the topic which I raised.Bhagwan! sometimes I feel hw fortunate am I to 've u as my buddy & guiding star.
Prabhu ji, it was a petty effort by a plebian devotee to express itself on the great matter like "prasadam".we in india r not so krishna concious,our misery & poverty not let us think beyond selfishness. And to rationalise we say God wd take away our Distresses & dilute them by dispensing to many.
Thanks a lot ! I'll love to have some more assistances..... in future. Radhe-Radhe!
Jnani Bhakta
Hare Krishna
Actually , Arun has answered very well about Prasadam and our relationship with the Lord.
Syam obviously knows this is not pure devotion, and just a materialistic approach.
Since he asked me to comment, i thought it should be in the forum.
----------
One may go to Him when in distress, and He will comfort the person. You may also have desires that He will fulfill. ( I don't understand that part about spreading distress. Does not sound right. )
However , that should not be our goal, and we should try our best to not have any material desires.
This can happen only when we think about Him as our Creator, Shelter, true and dearest Friend, and try to understand what He expects of us by reading His Words and other scripture.
In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says ....
----
BG 7.16:
catur-vidhā bhajante māḿ
janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī
jñānī ca bharatarṣabha
O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me — the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.
BG 7.17:
teṣāḿ jñānī nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate
priyo hi jñānino 'tyartham
ahaḿ sa ca mama priyaḥ
Of these, the one who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me.
------
Out of the 4 - Art, arthArthi, jijnyasu and jnani,
"The jnani Bhakta is My most favorite", He says.
The Jnani Bhakta asks "What does Lord expect me to do ? What should be my disposition ? How does He expect me to be towards others ? How can I serve Him ?.."
Engrossed in such thinking automatically zeroes out any desires of our own and we find that there is nothing left to be distressed about. Only because of His company.
To find the answer to these qns we perform devotional service.
I know this is all a repetition of the major teachings, but it helps us to emphasize it from time to time.
-----------
your servant
The Education Forum
By the way, the forum "Education" is Radhikesh Prabhu's daily compilation of the Bhagavad Gita. Its so way down in the end that some people who may be new to the Gita and Connect may not notice that a new lesson pops up daily.
All that stuff about sorting out Buddhi Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma, akarma, Jnana - its really useful.
harekrsna-to whoevr wrote tis.
haribholo
pamho
Your view s like prasadam s something for those who give to god for using the god according to hi/her wish or desire..or remove their distress. ya that too s ter...but here t e context prasadam tht s it meant for those who love krsna and be with te krsna.....its not given at any time wen a person needs somthing frm krishna, it s given before wen a devotee take or use it..in sense wt evr we consume ,we just offer it before using it.
Thus we devolop love towards krsna. and tht how we show our love towards krsna..
WE SHOULD TAKE KRSNA AS A MEMBER IN THE FAMILY as wt evr we consume shoe to him and its better to deal with him as our friend tht wt i do....
hope u got wt i said
if u need more explanation..
reply
radhe radhe
YHS
arun
materialistic??
i don't think and believe that prasad is in the materialistic platform. first of all it won't be prasadam if you don't offer it with love and devotion..and secondly you offer it because of your devotion..not because you want something in return. that is why prasadam is known as the karma-free food, you're not subjected to karma because Krishna tasted the food first and whatever is offered first to Him becomes trancendental like Him and in that way we are not subjected to karma. actually, if you are properly situated, you don't mind whether you'll get good or bad karma, all you're thinking about is the satisfaction of Lord Krishna and everything is up to His mercy.
hare krishna..
Thanks
Hare ram,
That's very nice of u.I started this discussion just to 've more clear perception 'bout it.u kno in India people are very confused & bewildered, they don't offer anything selflessly,to the Lord even! Just to find out the way to convince them to our point of "nishkam bhakti" , I raise this topic in Forum.May Lord show us some way to convince those gullible masses.
Thanks a lot ! pl keep on helping me Mataji.
At ur "charan-kamal"
Ur devotee.
Offering, receiving and honouring prasadam
Offering, receiving and honouring prasadam is ver personal and subtle yet it is extremely powerful in effect.
It may not seem lke much but for me to offer and honour prasadam encompassed much of what devotional service is about.
Next time you have the opportunity to act slowly and mindfully in your offering and honouring prasadam. Reflect in what you are doing when preparin and offering the food.
When you are honouring prasadam take care to realise that the prasadam is Krishna Himself. In this way you will provide the appropriate level of respect for His mercy which has come in the form of the physical prasadam.
You should treat your food kindly and lightly on the plate and in your mouth. You should think repsectful thoughts about all aspects of the prasadam. You should look at it lovingly, offering your humble obeisances. You should chew carefully and lovingly, tasting the flavours and textures of his mercy. Giving full attention to the act.
What do you think
what has been your experience?
________________________________________
Visit the Food Channel @ Krishna.com