Inside Sutras -- 4 - Prasad

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Dear All,

Thanks Sundari/ Shankari Kali /Devi/ Sadhu Maa for your responses. Your questions have been forwarded to Swamiji and I will post them as soon as I hear from him.

Continuing on ... here is an extract from the book "Inside Sutras" . Acknowledgement and thanks to Swamiji/Rami/Srini.

"Prasad: Offered prasad should be distributed immediately so that it does not spoil. After partaking of prasad, devotees should wash their hands and rinse their mouths. Other food and drinks should not be consumed in the temple."

When we visit the Mandir, especially on Sundays, we get the opportunity to participate in a group arati . Typically we join the line forming at the right of the mandir, come forward into the inner sanctum ,and offer the lights to the deities. Once we complete our offering, we give the lamp either to the next person or to a Mandir sevak standing at the front of the line. Then we step away from the inner sanctum to allow the next person to enjoy his/her time doing arati.

After the arati, it is time to get blessings from Maa and Swamiji. Swamiji usually gives a tilak blessing from the ashes from the homa, and blesses everyone with 12 lifetimes of bliss for each grain offered to the fire (and then he jokes that he subtracts for every grain that fell outside).

Maa , the eternal Annapurna, gives a blessing and charanamrit or other sweet. Since usually we lick the charamrit from our palms, the hand becomes 'jhuta'. So we need to immediately wash our hands and mouths, at the wash basin reserved outside the temple for this purpose.

If we are given other prasad by mandir sevaks, then we should take care that we dont leave this prasad lying around in the temple if we dont immediately consume them.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post on some of the rules of Mandir etiquette. Please post and ask if you have any questions.

Jai MAANanda