In the ancient Vedic literatures, the Supreme object of the love of all beings is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the source of all that exists and the foundation of the entire creation. That Absolute Living Being is known by many thousands of names in many languages. But amongst all of these names one of His most prominent and perfect names is KRSNA (pronounced Krishna), which means the All Attractive and All Beautiful. KRSNA is the source of every living being and all energy and is also the supreme controller of all that exists. He is eternal and has no origin Himself. He is ever existent and has an eternal form full of Bliss and knowledge, Sat, Chit and Ananda. Pure Love and Devotion to Him is the supreme perfection of all living beings and by attaining this, they enter into the eternal spiritual world where they can eternally associate with and serve the All-Love Sri Krsna along with His eternal associates.

The living being in this world, regardless of the present form of bodily manifestation as either a human being, animal, bird, beast, plant, insect or aquatic, is an eternal spiritual particle of transcendental consciousness, known in Sanskrit as Jiva-Atma, or the living entity. In the present condition of material imprisonment, the eternal soul identifies himself with the temporary body which he currently occupies, but in actuality is always separate from and aloof from the physical body, just as a person is separate from a car although riding in it. In this dream-like condition of forgetfulness he forgets his eternal spiritual nature and identity and becomes immersed in the illusion of identifying himself with the temporary material body which is full of suffering and misery ending ultimately in old age and death.

To attain freedom from this condition and to revive the original eternal consciousness of the pure soul, the Vedas describe the most effective process of Bhakti-Yoga, pure divine love and devotion to this absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. By following this process under the expert guidance of a pure realized guru, spiritual master, and learning how to apply the teachings in a practical way in one’s daily life, anyone can become eligible to attain the highest states of Divine Ecstatic Love of God. This is truly the most complete and ultimate system of God Realization presented in all of the Vedic scriptures and the various religious texts in the world. And this is the pathway to attaining the ultimate goal of human form of life.

Prasadam - Spiritual Eating
Offered By Prana Govinda Das Brahmacari

We have all heard the saying 'you are what you eat',and that is why in bhakti yoga we only eat food that has been purified and spiritulized by first being offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead,Lord Sri Krsna..

Anything that comes into contact with Krsna becomes immediately purified of its karma and its nature becomes spiritual.When we are cooking or preparing food we do it in a mood that we are preparing the meal for the pleasure of God.Just like if you had invited a friend round to dinner then you would try to please them by making nice preparations and feeding them nice food,similarly we try to please Krsna by offering Him foods that He likes such as milk products,fresh vegetables,grains,nuts and fruits,in other words a pure lactovegitarion diet.

Once food is offered it is called Prasadam which translates as Gods mercy.

By partaking of Prasadam we can make spiritual progress and purify our mind,body and senses. Also this yogic process helps us to develop a loving relationship with the Supreme Absolute Truth Sri Krsna,which is a eternal and beautiful relationship based on pure love and service. As that relationship becomes more and more established we will start to feel ever increasingly more happy and peaceful

Krsna states in the Bhagavad Gita that all food can be classified according to the three modes of nature,namely the modes of goodness,passion and ignorance.The foodstuffs mentioned above are all in the modes of goodness and they have a nourishing and pleasing affect on the mind and body.However foods in the modes of passion and ignorance such as onions and garlic as well as meat,fish and eggs can be disturbing to the mind and body and can make it very difficult to practice meditation or yoga

How to offer your food

Firstly prepare a nice meal.Remember Krsna only accepts a lactovegitarion diet.We never offer meat,fish,eggs or onions and garlic.While cooking we can think about Krsna and His wonderful qualities and pastimes.

1. Put the food on a plate which is kept only for Krsna's pleasure.You can also keep a cup,bowl and spoon for Him.

2. Place the plate on your alter or if you don't have an alter you can simply place the plate in front of a picture of Krsna.If you don't have a picture of Krsna you can simply say "My dear Lord Krsna,please accept this food."

3. If you have a spiritual master you can first pray to him to offer the food to God.All of us students at the Bhakti yoga center are initiated by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami,a pure devotee in the line of the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradya.You can put a picture of him on your alter or a picture of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj.and pray to him instead.

4. In order to obtain the mercy of Lord Caitanya, you can chant the Pancha-Tattva Mantra:

The offerings we do at our temples and homes are a little more elaborate but the spirit of the offering is the same. Essentially everything we do is done for the pleasure of the Lord and that is Krsna Consciousness.

Incoming weeks we will try to include some nice easy recipes you can cook and offer to Krsna.Be sure to invite your friends and family around to share in the prasadam.

If you have any questions about prasadam,chanting or indeed anything about Bhakti yoga please feel free to write to Prana at pranagovinda@gmail.com

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