Nitya karmas

[roy_utpol 0]

Nitya karmas are very important in our daily life. like when we should wake up in the morning and what is the first thing to start with?

 

If we perform nitya karmas well we can lead a virtous life . can anybody explain in good detail about nitya karmas?

 

Before taking food we should offer it to lord krsna. Can anybody help me telling the nivedan(offering) mantras. or from where I can learn it.

 

hare krsna.

[shuvo 0]

Namaskar,

 

OH! I have the same question too!

Can anyone help me answering it?

 

 

Thank-you

[raga 0]

Hari-bhakti-vilasa gives a good outline of nitya-karma to be observed, and I have a good bunch of related notes, too.

 

Much of it is, however, only relevant after diksha from a sat-guru.

[narayani 0]

Hare Krsna,

This is the way I was taught as a child to offer all food stuffs to Lord Krsna. It can be done to deity forms of the Lord, to a picture, and if none are available it can done in the mind by picturing an image of the Lord:

 

Preparing and offering food to the Lord shows Him our devotion and gratitude. Krishna doesn't need to eat, of course, but He accepts the love with which we offer food to Him.

As far as possible, use fresh, natural ingredients for cooking. Krishna accepts only vegetarian food, and packaged, store-bought products may contain meat, fish, or eggs. So read labels carefully.

Cleanliness is important in cooking for Krishna. Wash your hands before you begin. And don’t taste the food while cooking; the meal is for Krishna’s pleasure, so He should taste it first.

It’s best to have a new set of dinnerware used only for Krishna’s offerings and not used by anyone else.

Place the plate in front of Krishna and ask Him to accept the offering. (There are also prayers one can chant. See below.) Leave the plate there for a few minutes, just as you would if someone else was eating.

Remove the plate, transfer the food to a serving plate, and wash Krishna’s dinnerware. The food is now prasadam, or “mercy” from Krishna.

While you eat, consider the spiritual value of the food; because Krishna has accepted it, it is spiritually identical to Him. Therefore by eating prasadam you become purified.

Everything you offer Krishna becomes spiritualized prasadam—flowers, incense, water, food. All prasadam should be respected and shared with others. Spread the mercy around.

 

Here are the prayers to say. I follow in the teachings of Srila Prabhupada so I say his pranam first. If you have a different teacher or guru you can surely offer respects to them. The Lord is reached through His devotees.

 

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesha-sunyavadi-paschatya-desa-tarine

 

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

 

Then I offer prayers to the Lord in His form of a preacher, Sri Krsna Caitanya

 

namo maha-vadanyaya

krishna-prema-pradaya te

krishnaya krishna-chaitanya-

namne gaura-tvishe namah

 

O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

 

Then I offer to Lord Krsna, Himself.

 

namo brahmanya-devaya

go-brahmana-hitaya ca

jagad-dhitaya krishnaya

govindaya namo namah

 

My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world.

 

I repeat each verse three times while ringing a bell.

 

Before partaking of prasadam I say this prayer:

 

sarira avidya-jal, jadendriya tahe kal

jive phele vishaya-sagare

ta’ra madhye jihva ati-, lobhamay sudurmati,

ta’ke jeta kathina samsare

krishna bada dayamay, karibare jihva jay,

sva-prasadanna dila bhai

sei annamrita pao, radha-krishna-guna gao,

preme dako chaitanya-nitai

 

O Lord, this material body is a lump of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths to death. Somehow, we have fallen into this ocean of material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is most voracious and uncontrollable; it is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. But You, dear Krishna, are very kind to us and have given us such nice prasadam, just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasadam to our full satisfaction and glorify Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, and in love call for the help of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda.

 

The importance is to first offer the foodstuffs to God rather than simply lust after them for one's own sense gratification. By offering them first they become spiritualized. Almost all faiths have this sort of teaching. Christians say grace before a meal.. an offering of thanks to the Lord for providing food. The key is to keep God in our thoughts.

 

Hope this helps some:)