Govinda's Vegetarian Grill
What is Prashadam?
Food that has been cooked with love and devotion by devotees and offered to Lord Krishna.
Prasadam literally means “mercy”.
Prasadam literally means “mercy” and devotees of ISKCON use this term to describe pure vegetarian food that has been offered to Lord Krishna. Food that has been offered to the Deities in the temple is known as maha-prasadam.
Most Food contains karma which binds us to the cycle of birth and death because although it may be vegetarian one may still harm other living entities in the process of obtaining it: The farmer may accidentally kill insects during the cultivation of crops or the plants may feel some pain when they are uprooted. However, when the food is prepared for the pleasure of Krishna He accepts the love and devotion present in the offering and removes all sins from it. The karma present in the food is therefore transformed into spiritual energy. Honouring (eating) this sanctified prasadam is the basis of bhakti-yoga and helps one to make tangible spiritual advancement. Sharing and distributing prasadam is also very important!
What can we offer to Krishna?
Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that “if one offers me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” Krishna does not accept meat, fish or eggs. Onions, garlic and caffeine are also not offered because they cause disturbance to the mind and are therefore not beneficial for meditation and spiritual life. One should use fresh, natural ingredients as far as possible. One should also pay special attention to all labels of items bought in supermarkets: most cheeses contain non-vegetarian rennet, some yogurts contain gelatin and many non-vegetarian products are hidden behind e-numbers, preservatives, flavours and colours.
“The prasadam accepted by Krishna, offered to Krishna, is also Krishna. So if we give prasadam, then he is getting the opportunity of associating with Krishna.”
-Srila Prabhupada
