Offering Food: Elaborately

[Govindaram 1]

 

Hare Krishna

 

I saw this site, it says how to offer food, like they do in Temples, would it be ok for me to do, to get some practice in.?..Ps What happens if i make little mistakes, also i heard from another devotee, that it would be best to offer to Lord Caitanya as He does not see the offences of ppls.

 

http://www.krishna.com/newsite/printarticles/Offer_Food.html

 

[livingentity 0]

are mistakes. There is a difference between being lazy and knowing that you are not doing the offering correctly and making innocent mistakes by not knowing.

 

Read and follow the instructions. Make yourself a little step by step "cheat sheet" to follow until you know by heart. Offer with love and devotion.

 

Prabhupada advises to begin with a picture of Lord Caitanya.

[Govindaram 1]

Hare Krishna

 

That was the wrong link i gave out, good mistake i think, heres the Link i was looking at:

 

http://www.deityworship.com/temple_worship/temple_offer.htm

 

Cheat sheet sounds like a good idea, Step-by-Step.

 

 

[livingentity 0]

are actually fairly common practice. You can use them for arati etc also.

 

This site is quite elaborate and appears to be taken from the ISKCON Deity worship books.

[livingentity 0]

I just read this in the first link you posted:

 

"Remember that the real purpose of preparing and offering food to the Lord is to show your devotion and gratitude to Him. Krishna accepts your devotion, not the physical offering itself."

[Govindaram 1]

 

Hare Krishna

 

 

How can you offer somebody food that doesn't require it, i try to prepare food lovingly, but it doesn't seem to work in my mind, i feel Krishna will not accept, it is more mechanical the way i do it, any suggestions?

 

 

 

 

[livingentity 0]

re-read important point post....keywords...devotion and gratitude.

[Govindaram 1]

 

Hare Krishna

 

Yes, i missed that, i remember somebody said to me, that Krishna accepts even a little love you have for Him, at least i can be grateful for the food i recieve. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

 

[livingentity 0]

While I cook for Lord Krishna I place the picture of Srila Prabhupada cooking at the little stove in Philadelphia in my kitchen where I can see it as I prepare Lord Krishna's meal. Not sure where I got this habit from but it is comforting to me and I suggest it to all.

[livingentity 0]

for all the mercy...it is all Lord Krishna's mercy.

[Guest guest]

"Remember that the real purpose of preparing and offering food to the Lord is to show your devotion and gratitude to Him. Krishna accepts your devotion, not the physical offering itself."

 

i don't know that seems a bit strange,the "real" purpose

is to show devotion and gratitude ?

 

No, the purpose is to purify yourself from mundane

concsiousness,all forms of arca vigraha worship

or preparing prasad or any activity of sadhana

bhakti is for the same purpose,elevating our consciousness.

 

Krsna doesn't need you to show your devotion or gratitude,

what is needed is for you to become Krsna conscious,

Krsna is not impressed by a grand display of so called

devotion, You can make big big offering,big big

display of devotion, that is all for ourselves,

for our purification,Krsna doesn't need a show

or a display of devotion ,rather it is our attempt

to follow His recommendations that is appreciated,

the attempt to follow the path of purification

rather then the desire to display our devotion

is what the offering of food is for.

 

Actually Krsna accepts the food ,not just the

devotion,Krsna doesn't need the food ,so the "devotion"

of preparing the food is really devotion to

to please ourselves by gaining from that

"devotion", real devotion is in feeding Krsna,

not in our gratitude or our show of devotion,

it is in the food itself, when the food

is prepared for Radha Krsna so that it will be enjoyed

then that is accepted,not because of a show of gratitude or a show of devotion in the ritual itself,

but because food tastes good and you are offering

the result of your labor for Radha Krsnas pleasure,

then it is accepted ,then it becomes prasadam,of course

Krsna tells us that those who are the devotees of His

devotees ,those are accepted as His real devotees,

so making food for the pleasure of the vaisnavas,

that pleases Krsna more then cooking for Him.

[Govindaram 1]

Hare Krishna

 

Sometimes i see the world as Maya, it is!

 

But it is also Krishna Mercy, so if we look at it that way, maybe i/we can appreciate our position and execute devotional 'the stick' service, how can a person who has no strenght to walk, walk? He need a stick, and a person who can cure his temp illness, jaya gurudeva!!

 

 

[livingentity 0]

you just said the same thing in many paragraphs that was said in that site in one sentence (a bit of going around in circles but comes back to the same thing). /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

 

[Govindaram 1]

 

Hare Krishna

 

When offering food to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, does He give the food to Krishna directly? and then when it comes back, does it go through the diciplic succession unto srila prabhupada/or your guru, and the food becomes Maha-Maha Prasadam LOL?

 

 

[Guest guest]

 

Sri Caitanya is Krsna,so he doesn't give anything

to anyone else,the food becomes prasadam

by your desire in making the effort to offer

the food,then Krsna accepts,the past acharyas

are offered in a ritualistic sense,it's not

like Bhaktivedanta Swami is sitting somewhere and

everytime some food is offered somewhere Krsna

nudges Him and says 'here,taste this'.

 

the food is transformed into prasad by your act

of devotion,then that food is accepted and tasted

in a trascendental sense,its for your benefit

and is part of sadhana bhakti,smaranam,remembering

Krsna in all your acitivites gradually awakens you

to Krsnas presence everywhere at alltimes.

[livingentity 0]

I just read over the second site link that you posted and it explains all of this quite nicely being totally in line with Srila Prabhupada's instructions. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Guest guest]

I have no devotion or love etc...its very rare...I have some love...when I offer foood to god. WIll the Lord Acept what I do?

[Guest guest]

"Remember that the real purpose of preparing and offering food to the Lord is to show your devotion and gratitude to Him. Krishna accepts your devotion, not the physical offering itself."

.

No, the purpose is to purify yourself from mundane

concsiousness,all forms of arca vigraha worship

or preparing prasad or any activity of sadhana

bhakti is for the same purpose,elevating our consciousness.

••••

these two purposes are not in opposition, a devote thinks that any achievement in consciousness or advancement in devotion is due to the mercy of krsna not for personal effort

 

so, one, serving is showing the desire to be purified and krsna, by his supremely free mercy, gives purification... very often the mercy is given even if the person is not pure or serious in his desire, like us in the west... who were desiring to have vaishnavism in america, europe, australia... no one... but prabhupada came

 

so any result is given by krsna, and to think "i am doing nothing, i am only putting devotion and krsna will give the mercy is correct"

[Guest guest]

"When offering food to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, does He give the food to Krishna directly?"

 

:::basically we do not have any connection with the transcendence if not through the spiritual master..

 

so one offers the food to the spiritual master, the master offers the devotion used in cooking and the offering... to his master, and the master to his master etc.etc. on until this devotion reaches krsna

 

and this is independent by wich murti is in the house and in the temple.. we offer to the spiritual master and the devotion goes to the murti through the parampara

 

in the normal tradition there's no formal offering if one has no brahmana initiation, but prabhupada, acting as a initial siksa guru or vartma pradharshaka guru for everyone who is not initiated, gives the system to offer "officially" the food to krsna even to people who have not a spiritual master

 

so when we offer, we offer to gurudeva not directly to krsna or chaitanya or jagannath

[livingentity 0]

Lord Krsna - Himself instructs us to offer with love and devotion....

 

Bhagavad Gita; Chapter Nine, Verse 26:

 

patram puspam phalam toyam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahrtam

asnami prayatatmanah

 

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.

 

 

[livingentity 0]

First, we pray to our Spiritual Master for His blessings and ask to assist Him in offering to Lord Krsna.

 

Then, we pray to Lord Caitanya for His mercy and then we pray to Lord Krsna and make the offering.

 

All in all, it is really not so complicated. We tend to make things more difficult than necessary with our thoughts and so much word play in the explanations.

 

 

[Guest guest]

yes.. but it is interesting to discuss on it because there's the important subject of the guru tattva..

[livingentity 0]

it is interesting to discuss. I just feel that we often make things so much more complicated than necessary.

[Guest guest]

living entity said

 

 

Actually, Shiva....

 

Lord Krsna - Himself instructs us to offer with love and devotion....

 

Bhagavad Gita; Chapter Nine, Verse 26:

 

patram puspam phalam toyam

yo me bhaktya prayacchati

tad aham bhakty-upahrtam

 

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.

 

 

you were commenting on when i said

 

"Actually Krsna accepts the food ,not just the

devotion"

 

which was a comment on

 

Remember that the real purpose of preparing and offering food to the Lord is to show your devotion and gratitude to Him. Krishna accepts your devotion, not the physical offering itself."

 

 

"

 

 

then yasodanandana said

 

"When offering food to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, does He give the food to Krishna directly?"

 

:::basically we do not have any connection with the transcendence if not through the spiritual master..

 

so one offers the food to the spiritual master, the master offers the devotion used in cooking and the offering... to his master, and the master to his master etc.etc. on until this devotion reaches krsna

 

 

 

You always have a connection to the transcendence,

do you think that your diksa or siksa guru is watching

over you at all times ? That they or He is aware

of you as you prepare food ?

That they are aware of your offering ?

 

God is the only all pervading consciousness, Being present

in your heart only God is conscious of your

activities and mood,as you prepare and offer

food only God is cognizant of these things and only

God is accepting the offering.

 

The concept of offering to the Guru is a ritual to

include Krsna's devotees in the offering,

Krsna's devotees need the food,Krsna does not,

so Krsna is more pleased by His devotees being

offered Food,in this way food offered to the Guru

is done in a ritualistic way as a process of

purification for the practitioner , the Guru

is not an all pervading being able to

receive that offering,it is done to

instill devotion to Krsna's devotees who

are more dear to Krsna then Himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[yasodanandana 0]

do you think that your diksa or siksa guru is watching over you at all times ?

•••yes, the guru is a manifestation of the paramatma and he's empowered by krsna to see in the heart of the disciple.. vaishnavas are omnipotent

 

That they or He is aware of you as you prepare food ?

•••of course, otherwise why to take another conditioned human as a master?

 

That they are aware of your offering ?

•••definitely yes, sri guru is in the heart, in the murti, in the foto... he's a shaktiavesha avatara, he has the shakti by krsna to do this

 

God is the only all pervading consciousness, Being present

in your heart only God is conscious of your

activities and mood,as you prepare and offer

food only God is cognizant of these things and only

God is accepting the offering.

•••yes.. and being the pure vaishnava in his task to act as a master a manifestation of god, god's vision and vaishnava's vision are non different.. so god is CIT, conscious, and the vaishnava is also CIT

 

The concept of offering to the Guru is a ritual to

include Krsna's devotees in the offering,

••definitely NO.... read this:

 

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado

yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi

dhyayan stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam

vande guroh sri-caranaravindam

 

By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the benediction of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. ........

 

------

 

4

krsna se tomara, krsna dite paro,

tomara sakati ache

ami to' kangala, 'krsna 'krsna 'boli',

dhai tava pache pache

 

4) Krsna is yours; you have the power to give Him to me. I am simply running behind you shouting, "Krsna! Krsna!"

 

------

 

1

sri-guru-carana-padma, kevala-bhakati-sadma,

bando mui savadhana mate

jahara prasade bhai, e bhava toriya jai,

krsna-prapti hoy jaha ha'to

 

The lotus feet of our spiritual master are the only way by which we can attain pure devotional service. I bow to his lotus feet with great awe and reverence. By his grace one can cross the ocean of material suffering and obtain the mercy of Krsna.

 

 

----

 

so our service is always directed to the spiritual master, and without him there's no service at all

 

 

in this way food offered to the Guru

is done in a ritualistic way as a process of

purification for the practitioner

•••yes.. but also because he's the only link to krsna, we cannot make direct service, no one make direct service to krsna, only sri radhe who is the "servant" aspect of god... and the spiritual master is the representative of the mercy of srimati radharani in this role of direct servant of krsna. So we essentially serve gurudeva, he offer our service to krsna. When we bow before deities, when we chant hare krishna we recite the obeisances "nama om vishupadaya..." because he's the link to chaitanya and panchatattva ("jaya sri krsna chaitanya, prabhu nityananda..") then to krsna (hare krishna hare krishna...). No hare krishna without guru, no prasadam without guru, no mercy without guru... he's not a marginal, ritual thing.. he's essential

 

the Guru

is not an all pervading being able to

receive that offering,

•••he's pervading because of empowering by krsna, hes saktiavesha avatara, chatya guru manifestated in a human form... he's conscious

 

it is done to

instill devotion to Krsna's devotees who

are more dear to Krsna then Himself.

•••yes, for this purpose and for many other things as explained... in krsna consciousness nothing is ritual or formal, everything is essential, if you offer an apple before the picture of the spiritual master you are offering to him, otherwise why this farce? a spirtual master is not an assistant, hes "janme janme prabhu.." our lord life after life

 

"You always have a connection to the transcendence,"

••••yes.. through the paramatma.. paramatma direct and paramatma in guru form is the same non different thing... otherwise who's the guru?