Category:Eating Prasadam - Devotional Service to God
The act of honoring prasadam—foodstuffs offered to the Supreme Lord—is not merely a ritual of eating but a fundamental pillar of devotional service (bhakti-yoga). According to the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, eating is a biological necessity that, when spiritualized, becomes a powerful tool for liberation. By accepting only the remnants of sacrifice offered to Lord Krsna, a devotee transforms the mundane act of eating into a transcendental exchange. This process serves multiple functions: it purifies the living entity from sinful reactions, controls the urge of the tongue, and prepares the consciousness for receiving spiritual knowledge. The quotes in this category illuminate that spiritual life begins with the tongue; by engaging this sense in chanting the holy names and tasting sanctified food, even a neophyte can realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Purification from Sinful Reactions: Eating food not offered to the Deity is equated to theft and involves sinful reactions, even in vegetarianism. Honoring prasadam immunizes the devotee against material contamination and vanquishes past karma.
- Control of the Tongue: The tongue is the most difficult sense to control, but it is the starting point of Krsna consciousness. By restricting the tongue to tasting only offered food, the other senses automatically become disciplined.
- Revelation of God: The Supreme Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who submissively chants and eats prasadam. This mutual exchange allows one to understand God not through mental speculation but through direct service.
- Universal Application: The process is so potent that it applies to everyone, from learned scholars like Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya to small children. It is a joyful, practical method that allows anyone to advance in spiritual life simply by eating.
- Strict Standards for Devotees: A serious practitioner avoids eating in restaurants or taking unoffered food, as this can lead to a fall from the spiritual platform. Accepting prasadam is an essential vow for those seeking to escape the fearful condition of material existence.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Eating Prasādam As Essential Devotional Service To God.
Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.
Pages in category "Eating Prasadam - Devotional Service to God"
The following 50 pages are in this category, out of 50 total.
A
- A brahmacari should not eat anything except prasadam, that also when he is called by the spiritual master, - You can come and eat
- A human being should eat prasada offered to the Deity and should enjoy sex life according to the Vedic injunctions. He should engage himself in the business of Krsna consciousness, he should save himself from the fearful condition of material existence
- A person, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily. BG 1972 purports
- Actually, everyone is in need of spiritual understanding. So by distributing the spiritual food, simply by eating he will be in Krsna consciousness, even if he does not do anything
B
- Bhattacarya was freed from all material contamination and attachment, and as he began to eat the prasada, he cited a verse from Padma Purana
- Bhattacarya was very glad to receive this prasada from the hands of Lord Caitanya Himself. Indeed, without taking his bath and without performing his daily duties or even washing his teeth, he began immediately to eat the prasada
- By such action (by eating food that has been offered to Krsna) not only are past sinful reactions in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination of material nature. BG 1972 purports
- By the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the dullness in the mind of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was eradicated. After reciting the following two verses (CC Madhya 6.225 - 6.226), he ate the prasadam offered to him
- By the tongue you can begin. Simply by eating krsna-prasadam, without reading any Vedic literature, without reading even Bhagavad-gita, if you simply think of Krsna, "How nicely Krsna has tasted this foodstuff," you become Krsna conscious
- By worshiping the Deity, eating prasadam and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can always remain on the spiritual platform - BG 14.26
E
- Even you do ordinary killing, vegetable killing, you are killing so many germs. So in higher sense, if you take this principle of Bible, "Thou shall not kill," that means you must eat krsna-prasadam, otherwise you will be killing
- Everyone in the human form of life should be induced to associate with devotees. By rendering a little service, even by eating prasadam, what to speak of chanting and dancing, everyone can be promoted to Vaikunthaloka
H
- He (Arjuna) did not like to fight, but for Krsna's sake he fought. So fight for Krsna, work for Krsna, think of Krsna, eat krsna-prasadam, talk of Krsna, read for Krsna. So Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, Krsna. This is life. This is KC
- He (one who is engaged in devotional service) has to eat krsna-prasada. He has to sleep according to regulated principles. The principle is to reduce the duration of sleep and to reduce eating, taking only what is needed to keep the body fit
I
- I am very glad that you are attending Kirtana and eating prasadam and transcendentally enjoying the association of the devotees in the temple. Kindly continue this method and you will be more and more enlightened
- If one has to imitate the behavior of Rupa Gosvami and all the Gosvamis, it is very difficult. Therefore yukta-vairagya. We must eat krsna-prasadam as much as it is needed for maintaining my body
- If one practices eating prasada, even if there is some little sinful activity involved, one becomes free from the results of sinful acts
- If you become submissive and if you begin this service, chanting and eating prasadam, then svayam eva sphuraty adah, simply by these two kinds of practices, Krsna will Himself reveal Himself before you
- If you become submissive, and if you begin this service - chanting and eating prasadam - Krsna will reveal Himself before you
- If you begin this process (chanting Hare Krsna & eating Krsna prasadam) of service, then it will be possible - one day Krsna will reveal Himself to you: "I am like this." just as Krsna is revealing to Arjuna
- If you simply talk of Krsna and if you simply eat Krsna prasadam, oh, the poisonous effect of tongue will be broken
- If you think that you are unable to give speeches, then you chant Hare Krsna and eat prasadam. So there is no difficulty. So train the tongue. Beginning from the tongue, you shall be able to purify all your senses
- In Padma Purana it is stated that when prasada is brought or received, it must be eaten immediately, even if it has become very dry or old, or even if it is brought from a distant place, or even if one has not completed executing his daily duties
- In this temple, they are worshiping the Lord, so they are enjoying in this life. In this life they are seeing God, they are feeding God, they are offering prasadam to God, they are eating prasadam, they are chanting, glorifying - Krsna conscious life
O
- One who is eating simply krsna-prasadam and simple foodstuff, vegetable, grains, milk - they are not allowed to eat anything and everything; they are not allowed to take anything in the hotel - so practically, they are fasting
- Our Krsna prasadam are so variegated, nice varieties . . . the variety is the mother of enjoyment. How much enjoyment you want with your tongue? You can have simply by eating Krsna prasadam
S
- So many paraphernalia how to engage your mind. Hearing and chanting about Krsna, thinking of Krsna, worshiping Krsna, talking about Krsna, writing about Krsna, selling the books about Krsna, eating Krsna prasadam. In this way you become Krsna-ized
- Strictly speaking, if a devotee ignores the regulative principles and acts according to his whims - if, for example, he does not eat krsna-prasadam but eats anywhere and everywhere, such as in restaurants - there is every possibility of his falling down
- Study, take part with music, eat prasadam. And no one can cheat you by this process. But if you want to be cheated - go to the cheaters
T
- The body can be maintained very easily by eating krsna-prasada
- The functions of the tongue in devotional service are to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and eat prasadam that is offered to the Lord
- The remnants of foodstuff offered to Lord Krsna are called prasada, but when the same prasada is eaten by a great devotee like Lord Siva, it is called maha-prasada
- The sixty-four regulative principles (of devotional service) are as follows: 40) To chant the Lord's name loudly in congregation. (41) To smell incense and flowers offered to the Deity. (42) To eat the remnants of food offered to the Deity
- The tongue should be engaged in chanting and in eating the Lord's prasada so that the other senses will be controlled
- This (seeing God, offering prasadam to God, eating prasadam, chanting, glorifying) is also one type of seeing. And another type of seeing is when I will be finished, everything, my body and possession, everything, I will see God
- This is life of Krsna, worshiping Krsna in the temple, to sell Krsna's books, SB, BG, to think of Krsna - Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna - to eat krsna-prasadam, to take all risk for Krsna, to do work for Krsna, as Arjuna, to fight for Krsna
- Those who are not so interested (in knowledge of spiritual life) may advance themselves and make perfection of their life, simply by hearing our Sankirtana Party, attending our temple activities with association with devotees, and eating Krishna prasadam
- To understand Krsna is so difficult. That Krsna is being delivered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Take Krsna, immediately. Chant, dance, and take Krsna, and eat prasadam, and go home. Just see how much efficient this movement is. Immediate
W
- We can easily see that activities in Krsna consciousness are joyfully done. There is chanting and dancing, eating prasadam (food that has been offered to Krsna) and discussing Bhagavad-gita. These are the main processes
- We first of all must engage the tongue in chanting Hare Krsna and in eating bhagavat-prasada. Nothing else is required. Therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is distributing prasada and engaging people in chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
- We have got a little child, his daughter, only one and a half years. She's also learning how to offer, bow down, how to eat krsna-prasadam, how to clap during kirtana. There is no question of waiting for sixteen years. That is artificial
- We have no quarrel either with the vegetarian or non-vegetarian, because according to Bhagavad-gita both of them are sinful. Anyone who is not eating Krishna Prasadam, either vegetarian or non-vegetarian, he is a sinful person
- We offer prasadam, the same principle. A man does not know about Krsna. But he wants to eat. By eating, he'll be gradually Krsna conscious. Our business is to give opportunity to all forgotten souls to be engaged in Krsna consciousness, today or tomorrow
- When the spiritual master sees that the devotees are satisfied by eating bhagavat-prasadam, he is satisfied. I (Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura) offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master
- Who are cooking for themself without offering to the proprietor, to the master, they're all sinful. Therefore our program is to eat krsna-prasadam, the foodstuff, remnants of foodstuff, left by Krsna