Prasadam – Spiritual Food – bhaktiyogavision.com

Bhakti includes offering everything enjoyable to the Supreme. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that he does eat. Because the Lord is the origin of everything that exists, eating is also present in Him:
“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. 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.” (Bhagavad-Gita 9.26+27)
Bhakti-yoga is the art of connecting all aspects of life, important or small, with the Supreme, and thus convert material energy into spiritual energy. Through a spiritual vision the Lord can be seen directly. There is no other method to see God than through loving devotional service.

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santau sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti

“A devotee who has developed a genuine love for the primeval Lord can always see Him everywhere.” (Brahma-samhita 5.38)

Because the Lord is the proprietor of everything he doesn’t require us to offer Him edibles, but because of the love and the devotion of His devotee He happily agrees to taste the offering. Preparing foodstuff for the Lord is done with so much care, because the main ingredient is love and devotion. Food that has been offered to God becomes spiritual. The quality of the food changes, and whoever eats it doesn’t only experience material satisfaction but also spiritual bliss. This is the proper food for the soul.

Food offered to the Lord with devotion exists in all religious traditions. In the bhakti tradition spiritual food is called prasadam. Because one of its principles is non-violence, foodstuffs in the bhakti tradition are always vegetarian. There are thousands and thousands of wonderful recipes (see links below) how to prepare delicious vegetarian meals, and the blissful experience of eating spiritual food can make us forget about any other culinary experience.

Offering food to the Lord can spiritualise our home and our whole life. Daily we are thinking about what to cook for the Lord, we go shopping for Him, we are cooking with devotion, and later we may share the prasadam with others.

Food that is ready for offering can be placed on an altar before a picture or a symbol of God or something connected to Him, or it can just be offered within one’s mind wherever we happen to be. We say a prayer or chant a holy mantra and ask the Lord to accept our offering. If the offering comes from our heart the Lord will accept and bless it.

Links to some websites with vegetarian recipes:

– Cooking with Kurma

– Manjula’s kitchen – Indian Vegetarian (with videos)

– Vegonline

– The Vegetarian Recource Group

– Veganchef

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