HT 5b: Spiritual Food
Spiritual Food
By His immense transcendental energies, Krsna can actually convert matter to spirit. If we place an iron rod in fire, before long the iron rod becomes red hot and takes on all the essential qualities of fire. In the same way, the material substance of food that is offered to Krsna becomes completely spiritualized. Such food is called prasadam, a Sanskrit word meaning "the mercy of the Lord."
Eating prasadam is a fundamental practice of bhakti-yoga. In other forms of yoga, one is required to restrain the senses, but the bhakti-yogi is free to use his senses in a variety of pleasing spiritual activities. For instance, he can use his tongue to taste the delicious foods offered to Lord Krsna. By such activities, the senses gradually become spiritualized and automatically become attracted to divine pleasures that far surpass any material experience.
The Vedic scriptures contain many descriptions of prasadam and its effects. Lord Caitanya, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord who appeared in India five hundred years ago, said of prasadam, "Everyone has tasted these material substances before. However, in these ingredients there are extraordinary tastes and uncommon fragrances. Just taste them and see the difference in the experience. Apart from the taste, even the fragrance pleases the mind and makes one forget any other sweetness besides its own. Therefore it is to be understood that the spiritual nectar of Krsna's lips has touched these ordinary ingredients and transferred to them all their spiritual qualities."
Eating only food offered to Krsna is the ultimate perfection of a vegetarian diet. After all, even many animals such as pigeons and monkeys are vegetarian, so becoming a vegetarian is in itself not the greatest accomplishment. The Vedas inform us that the purpose of human life is reawakening the soul's original relationship with God, and only when we go beyond vegetarianism to prasadam can our eating be helpful in achieving this goal.
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