I have heard it said by some devotees that the Deities eat with Their Lotus Eyes. I was wondering if anyone could please explain more on how Lord Krishna accepts our Bhoga and leaves the Prasadam when we offer to Him?
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Thank you so very much for your kind responses! It is very true that when I eat the Prasadam cooked at the temple, the taste truly is "Divine". Krishna is so merciful to give us everything that we could ever want or need in this life! Hare Krishna Hare Rama!
Prasadam is so powerful that food offered to the Lord becomes transformed into a spiritual substance non-different from Him.
In a purport to Bhagavad-gita (4.24) Srila Prabhupada explains how this is so: “The Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality.”
From this quotation we can see how the concept of prasadam extends beyond food to anything with a connection to Krishna. As soon as something or someone is connected to Krishna, it, she, or he becomes spiritualized—Krishna-ized.
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita that “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it”. (BG 9.26) The Chaitanya-charitamrita relates that the great devotee Madhavendra Puri saw his Deity, Gopala, eat a large offering of food and replace it with spiritual food, prasadam. Although the prasadam looked the same, the unoffered food had become transformed.
Many people, after eating prasadam, realize that the taste of food offered to God is different from the food not offered to God. There is a touch of divinity in prasadam. Hence, we can indirectly conclude that the food really becomes purified by the association of deity.
I hope that I could satisfy your doubt. In case you still feel unsatisfied, please feel free to ask.
The lord's senses are different from ours. We can only see with our eyes, hear with our ears etc, whereas the lord can do the work of all the senses with any one sense. For example, He can eat with His glance, He can impregnate with His glance, He can smell from His eyes, He can talk with His ears etc. There is a shloka of Brahma Samhita which we sing during the darshan arati (most temples have the recorded voice of Yamuna Mataji singing that song at that time) - angani yasya sakalendriya vrittimanti - it means that one whose each limbs posseses in Himself, the full fledged functions of all the organs.
Actually the lord is not dependent on our offerings. Its not that if we dont offer food to the lord, He will go hungry. What He wants is the loving exchanges with His devotees. Therefore, He only accepts the love and devotion with which the food is offered.
How that food becomes sanctified - by the very glance of the lord, by the acceptance of our love by the lord, by the sincerity of our act of offering food for the pleasure of the lord.
Replies
Dear Coleton Prabhuji,
Haribol!
You have asked a very good question!
Prasadam is so powerful that food offered to the Lord becomes transformed into a spiritual substance non-different from Him.
In a purport to Bhagavad-gita (4.24) Srila Prabhupada explains how this is so: “The Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality.”
From this quotation we can see how the concept of prasadam extends beyond food to anything with a connection to Krishna. As soon as something or someone is connected to Krishna, it, she, or he becomes spiritualized—Krishna-ized.
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita that “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it”. (BG 9.26) The Chaitanya-charitamrita relates that the great devotee Madhavendra Puri saw his Deity, Gopala, eat a large offering of food and replace it with spiritual food, prasadam. Although the prasadam looked the same, the unoffered food had become transformed.
Many people, after eating prasadam, realize that the taste of food offered to God is different from the food not offered to God. There is a touch of divinity in prasadam. Hence, we can indirectly conclude that the food really becomes purified by the association of deity.
I hope that I could satisfy your doubt. In case you still feel unsatisfied, please feel free to ask.
Your servant,
Veeral Gandhi
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
The lord's senses are different from ours. We can only see with our eyes, hear with our ears etc, whereas the lord can do the work of all the senses with any one sense. For example, He can eat with His glance, He can impregnate with His glance, He can smell from His eyes, He can talk with His ears etc. There is a shloka of Brahma Samhita which we sing during the darshan arati (most temples have the recorded voice of Yamuna Mataji singing that song at that time) - angani yasya sakalendriya vrittimanti - it means that one whose each limbs posseses in Himself, the full fledged functions of all the organs.
Actually the lord is not dependent on our offerings. Its not that if we dont offer food to the lord, He will go hungry. What He wants is the loving exchanges with His devotees. Therefore, He only accepts the love and devotion with which the food is offered.
How that food becomes sanctified - by the very glance of the lord, by the acceptance of our love by the lord, by the sincerity of our act of offering food for the pleasure of the lord.
I hope I have been able to explain.
Haribol,
YOur servant,
Rashmi