Prasada: Divine Food Offering

Food plays an important role in Hindu rituals, and the food offered to the gods is called "prasada." The Sanskrit word "prasada" means "mercy," or the divine grace of God.

We can make the preparing of food, the offering of food to God, and the eating of the food offered, into a powerful devotional meditation. If, as a meditative discipline, we can offer our food to God with devotion before eating it, Stephen Knapp writes, not only are we not implicated in the karma involved in acquiring the food, but we can actually make spiritual progress by eating the offered food. Our devotion, and God's grace, subtly transforms the food offered from material nutrition to spiritual mercy... Read more