What is Prasadam?

Informative Page from ISKCON Desire Tree about Prasadam

Another post continuing an idea mentioned in the initial post about composting.  In it, I mentioned that we do our best to treat food with respect.  Truly, it is my Beloved who teaches me every day.  I admit in the past I did not handle food as mindfully as I do now.  It's okay though because I'm learning, and that's what counts.

I do not feel qualified to teach about prasadam as of yet, so to learn more, check out that link above, and I encourage you to do your own research as well.  Look in Vedic scriptures and see what is said about prasadam.  Most I can say is that it is Krishna's mercy that we have food.  Krishna IS the food, and the pan you cook with, and the fire, and the gas used in the stove, and the kitchen you are cooking in, and everything...because indeed Krishna IS Everything!

So, we strive to treat food with respect.  When going for groceries, we are praying as we walk out the door, as we drive, as we park, and walk in.  We pray as we walk through the aisles.  We ask Krishna what is the best to get, if we should get something or not. We then pray as we check out, pack up, and go back home.  Also, we don't just go to any store, we go to the farmers' market, a local supermarcado, the co-op, Whole Foods or the international market.  It is important to buy as close to the source as possible, buy from the bulk section (esp. things like sugar, flour, rice, etc.) to reduce waste.  Invest in a water system to have it delivered, or buy some 3 or 5 gallon jugs of water for refill to reduce waste.  It is also important to think of the money you spend in a spiritual sense: do business with those who are aligned with high ethics and quality for food, with family- and locally-owned businesses.

We do all this because we strive to be spiritually motivated in all our endeavors, not just materially motivated.  That is, we look beyond the simple act of going to the store and look at the karmic impact, the journey that food took to even be at the store.  We seek also to please Krishna, the biggest part of being spiritually motivated.  

Of course, we also are praying when we prepare the food, only doing so when spirits are positive.  Karma can be imparted to food, thus can only be fully cleansed of all karmic imprints and safe to eat when it is prepared in this mindful, prayerful manner.  Prasadam.

The last time I ate fast food was a couple years ago.  I stole away to a Burger King and secretly scarfed down a Whopper with onion rings.  I knew it was wrong, because if it wasn't, why was I trying to be so covert about it?  Because I don't usually eat such food.  Because it's unhealthy.  Because in the end, it's wrong to eat it.

Why is it wrong?  Because many shortcuts are taken to offer such a product at a cheap price.  Thus, from the beginning we are dealing with food that is not handled or given love from the beginning.  It is abused.  What's more, the workers handling the food are most likely also being abused, and that is not a coincidence.  These are the shortcuts it takes to make food so cheap for the consumer.

And, if food is cheap enough, that kind of abuse and karmic imprint is being left at each step of it's journey to the store, even all the way to the cash register.

Then you wonder why you may feel sluggish after eating this food, even though it's healthy, or it says it's "organic" or "Non-GMO": none of that matters if it was made in a very non-spiritual way.  I've even heard of some people feeling depressed after eating fast food.  I ended up feeling stomach-sick for a couple days after eating that Burger King.  I am thankful for that experience, because it's the last time I ever ate in such a way!

The whole reason we are here is to remember our true spiritual selves, and getting back to the Divine.  To do so we must do the spiritual work to be pure, and this means living mindfully...or in short, offering everything up to Krishna, as it is stated in the Bhagavad Gita.

Krishna aparnam

Translates to "I offer everything to Krishna".  As Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda explains, everything comes from Krishna, so we offer everything back to Him.  But it cannot be done superficially, it has to come from deep within. *



*Paraphrasing from Shreemad Bhagavavd Gita: The Song of Love, by Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda