Prasadam (a Sanskrit word) is food that has first been offered to the Lord. Meaning “the Lord’s mercy”. Prasadam is prepared by devotees specifically for the Lord and offered to Him with devotional prayers and is thus considered sacred.

Food offered to Lord Krishna is transformed spiritually into prasadam. When we eat food which has been offered to Lord Krishna we receive the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To offer food to Lord Krishna and to take the remnants as prasadam, is a spiritual activity.

We should never consider ordinary food on an equal level with prasadam. Instead of merely eating food offered to Lord Krishna we speak of honouring prasadam. Honouring prasadam helps us to develop love of Lord Krishna. So by eating prasadam we make advancement in spiritual life.

The tongue is very difficult to satisfy since it is always craving different kinds of foods. Due to this desire, we end up eating things that we should not eat. In acquiring such food, we go to great lengths such as killing innocent animals. We become bound up in the material world through our eating and thus have to suffer the results through the laws of karma.

Prasadam is considered “karma-free” food since it is sanctified by the Lord. Prasadam is prepared and offered to satisfy the Lord and not to satisfy our senses. We purify ourselves by remembering that the Lord supplies us everything and that we should aim to please Him instead of ourselves. In preparing and eating prasadam, we thank the Lord for everything He has done for us and we pray that we will always remember Him.

In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna says, “All that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” So offering what we eat to the Lord is an integral part of bhakti-yoga and makes the food blessed with spiritual potencies. Then such food is called prasadam - the mercy of the Lord.

The Lord also describes what He accepts as offerings: “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus, we can see that the Lord does not need anything, but if one offers fruits, grains, and vegetarian foods, He will accept it. The Lord does not accept foods like meat, fish or eggs, but only those that are pure and naturally available without harming others. So we offer what Lord Krishna likes, not those items which are distasteful to Him. We also do not use garlic, onions, or mushrooms when we prepare food for Lord Krishna.

Due to its auspicious nature, prasadam should be distributed to as many people as possible. This sanctified food ignites a spiritual spark in the soul which will eventually reawakens one’s dormant love for the Lord. Vedic literature references many historical incidents where people have had the good fortune of partaking of prasadam, sometimes even by accident, and have had their lives made perfect as a result. It is believed that anyone who regularly partakes of it, will at the very least return as a human being in their next life.

The Lord is fully satisfied in Himself. He is the creator of all, so everything is already His. He supplies us with food through nature, but we give thanks to Him by offering it back in a mood of loving devotion. So if His devotee offers something with love, out of His causeless mercy Krishna accepts it. The Lord is never hungry for our food, but for the love and devotion we offer. And then He reciprocates with that love.

So on the spiritual path eating food that is first offered to the Lord is the ultimate perfection of a vegetarian diet. The Vedic literature explains that the purpose of human life is reawakening the soul’s original relationship with the Lord, and accepting prasadam is the way to help us reach that goal.

The food is meant to be cooked with the consciousness of love, knowing that it will be offered to Lord Krishna. In the spiritual world, Radharani cooks for Krishna and She never cooks the same preparation twice. The temple kitchen is understood to belong to Radharani.

The ingredients are selected with great care and must be fresh, clean and pure vegetarian. Also, in cooking for Lord Krishna we do not taste the preparations while cooking. We leave the first taste for Lord Krishna when it is offered.
After all the preparations are ready, we take a portion of each one and place it in bowls on a special plate and take it to the altar to offer it to the Deities or pictures of Lord Krishna.

Then the preparations are presented with special prayers as we ask that God accept our humble offering. The Lord accepts it with the most important part being the love with which it is offered. The Lord does not need to eat, but it is our love for the Lord which attracts Him to us and to accept our offering. Even if the most sumptuous banquet is offered to the Lord but without devotion and love, Lord Krishna will not be hungry to accept it. It is our love which catches the attention of Lord Krishna who is then inclined to accept our service.

After He glances over and tastes that loving offering of vegetarian preparations, He leaves the remnants for us to honour and relish. Lord Krishna’s potency is absorbed in that food. In this way material substance becomes spiritualized, which then affects our body, mind and soul in a similar way. This is His special mercy for us. Thus, the devotional process becomes an exchange of love between us and the Lord, which includes food. And that food not only nourishes our body, but also purifies our consciousness.

By relishing the sacred food of Lord Krishna prasadam, it purifies our heart and protects us from falling into illusion. In this way, the devotee imbibes the spiritual potency of Lord Krishna and becomes cleansed of sinful reactions by eating food that is first offered in sacrifice to Him. We thus also become free from reincarnation, the continued cycle of life and death. This process prepares us for entering the spiritual world since the devotees there also relish eating in the company of Lord Krishna.

Not only do we make advancement, but also all of the plants that are used in the preparations as an offering to the Lord are also purified and reap spiritual benefit. However, we become implicated in karma if we cause the harm of any living being, even plants, if we use them for food without offering them to the Lord. Thus prasadam also becomes the perfect yoga diet.

Therefore, the cooking, the offering and then the respectful eating or honouring of this spiritualized food all become a part of the joyful process of devotional service to the Lord. Anyone can learn to do this and enjoy the happiness of experiencing prasadam. The Sunday love feast in the Hare Krishna temples is the opportunity in which everyone can participate in this opulence of Lord Krishna.

As you walk down the supermarket aisles selecting the foods you will offer to Lord Krishna, you need to know what is offerable and what is not. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna states, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, I will accept it.” From this verse it is understood that we can offer Krishna foods prepared from milk products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and grains. Meat, fish, and eggs are not offerable. And a few vegetarian items are also forbidden–garlic and onions, for example, which are in the mode of ignorance. Nor can you offer to Lord Krishna coffee or tea that contain caffeine.

While shopping, be aware that you may find meat, fish, and egg products mixed with other foods; so be sure to read labels carefully. For instance, some brands of yogurt and sour cream contain gelatin, a substance made from the horns, hooves, and bones of slaughtered animals. Also, make sure the cheese you buy contains no rennet, an enzyme extracted from the stomach tissues of slaughtered calves.

Also avoid foods cooked by non-devotees. According to the subtle laws of nature, the cook acts upon the food not only physically but mentally as well. Food thus becomes an agent for subtle influences on your consciousness. The principle is the same as that at work with a painting: a painting is not simply a collection of strokes on a canvas but an expression of the artist’s state of mind, which affects the viewer. So if you eat food cooked by non-devotees-employees working in a factory, for example–then you’re sure to absorb a dose of materialism and karma. So as far as possible use only fresh, natural ingredients.

In preparing food, cleanliness is the most important principle. Nothing impure should be offered to the Lord; so keep your kitchen very clean. Always wash your hands thoroughly before entering the kitchen. While preparing food, do not taste it, for you are cooking the meal not for yourself but for the pleasure of Lord Krishna. Arrange portions of the food on dinnerware kept especially for this purpose; no one but the Lord should eat from these dishes.