Why Offer Krishna Vegetarian Food

December 31, 2008

Krishna asks that we offer Him vegetarian food. In Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 9, Text 26, He says, " If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. "

In his commentary A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains,

" …Krishna wants only loving service and nothing more. Krishna accepts

even a little flower from His pure devotee. He does not want any kind of

offering from a nondevotee.…

" If one wishes to engage in devotional service to the Supreme in order to be

purified and to reach the goal of life-the transcendental loving service of

God-then one should find out what the Lord desires of him. One who loves

Krishna will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids offering anything

which is undesirable or unasked.…

" Thus meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Krishna. If He desired

such things as offerings, He would have said so. Instead He clearly requests

that a leaf, fruit, flowers and water be given to Him, and He says of this

offering, 'I will accept it.' …

" Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human

beings and are prescribed by Lord Krishna Himself. Whatever else we eat

cannot be offered to Him, since He will not accept it. Thus we cannot be

acting on the level of loving devotion if we offer such foods.…

" But preparing nice, simple vegetable dishes, offering them before the

picture or Deity of Lord Krishna and bowing down and praying for Him to

accept such a humble offering enables one to advance steadily in life, to

purify the body, and to create fine brain tissues which will lead to clear

thinking.

" Above all, the offering should be made with an attitude of love. Krishna has

no need of food, since He already possesses everything that be, yet He will

accept the offering of one who desires to please Him in that way. The

important element, in preparation, in serving and in offering, is to act

with love for Krishna. " Offering Food to Krishna

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.

If we want to relieved from all anxieties and free to love all living beings with a pure heart, we need to dive deep within the ocean of bhakti, the ocean of pure love of Krishna. This is where we will all find the real nectar of existence. All programs for achieving happiness in this material world will ultimately prove to be a failure because we have nothing to do with these material coverings known as our material bodies. They are simply garments that we wear from some time and then discard when they become worn out. If we hear submissively from the bona fide spiritual master, by his mercy we will be carried deep, deep, deep within the ocean of bhakti where life is inconceivably sublime.

Chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare