Prasāda, variantly spelled as Prasadam, Prasad and Prasada, is a material substance of vegetarian food
that is a religious offering in both Hinduism and Sikhism. It is normally consumed by worshippers after worship. Wikipedia
The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word “prasadam” is mercy.
So when we say “Krishna prasadam” we are referring to Krishna’s mercy.
To understand what prasadam is we need to clear up a common misconception.
Generally we are under the impression that we are the owners of the things
that we posses and these things are meant for our enjoyment.
And the materialistic persons are always trying to get more and more possessions
and enjoy them more and more. That is the materialistic concept of life.
The actual fact is that everything is provided by God therefore everything belongs to God.
So prasadam means Krishna’s mercy, and prasadam is the remnants of something that has
been prepared for the pleasure of Krishna with love and offered to Him for His enjoyment.
Because Krishna has tasted it or enjoyed it prasadam is not a material thing.
Once Krishna tastes something it becomes transcendental. Krishna and Krishna prasadam is non-different.
That means for example you can get the same benefits by honoring Krishna prasadam
(eating Krishna prasadam, but devotees don’t say “eating prasadam”–it is honoring prasadam or respecting prasadam)
as you could get by being personally present with Krishna face-to-face. Prasadam is so powerful.
Because as I tried to explain before everything belongs to Krishna therefore everything is meant
for the service of Krishna, for the pleasure of Krishna, so if we take things for ourselves,
for our own pleasure and try to enjoy them without first offering them to Krishna then we become thieves.
If we take something that belongs to Krishna and use it for ourselves then we have stolen it from Krishna and we become sinful thieves.
And there is another aspect to this, and that is karma. It is a big subject but simply put everything
we do in the material world, good or bad, generates a reaction that we will have to enjoy or suffer in the future.
So if we are performing these activities that generate good and bad karma that will force us to continue taking
birth in the material world perpetually so that we can experience the good and bad karma we have accumulated in this life.
So unless we can stop generating karma there is no escape for us from the material world.
Bhagavad Gita 3.13:
"The devotees of the Lord are released from
all kinds of sins because they eat food
which is offered first for sacrifice.
Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment,
verily eat only sin."
PURPORT by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami:
The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in God consciousness, are called santas,
and they are always in love with the Lord. The santas, being always in a compact of love with the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda (the giver of all pleasures), aka Mukunda (the giver of liberation),
aka Krishna (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person.
Therefore, such devotees always perform 'yajnas' in different modes of devotional service,
and these performances of yajnas keep them always aloof from all kinds of contamination of
sinful association in the material world. Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification,
are not only thieves, but are also the eaters of all kinds of sins.
How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible.
Therefore, in order for people to become happy in all respects,
they must be taught to perform the easy process of yajna, in full God consciousness.
Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world.
https://asitis.com/3/13.html
yajnas = sacramental rites
Bhagavad Gita 3.14:
All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain.
Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.
Bhagavad Gita 3.15-16:
Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.
My dear Arjuna, a man who does not follow this prescribed Vedic system of sacrifice
certainly leads a life of sin, for a person delighting only in the senses lives in vain.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Is Holy Communion Equivalent to Prasadam?
The tradition of offering Prasad to the deity may have started with a very logical explanation
that finds its root in the power of positive thought. The Prasad is believed to foster
multiple positive thoughts. Firstly, the Prasad is offered to the deity and His blessing is sort for a wish,
a task in hand, blessing etc. Herein, it is believed that the Supreme Power has accepted our
request in form of the Prasad and given us the approval or the power to move on.
Secondly, this Prasad is considered to be sacred and thus all being receiving it are believed to be blessed.
Thirdly, the most important aspect is that when the primary pray-er gives the Prasad to fellow beings he
(primary pray-er) repeats his wish to the each one of them. Each fellow being in turn accepts the
Prasad and prays that the wish of the primary pray-er comes true. The more the Prasad is
distributed, the more positive thought is concentrated on the wish of the primary pray-er and
this in turn causes the universal power of positive thought or belief to work towards the
fulfillment of the wish of the primary prayer.
https://ephesians511blog.com/2014/0...is-it-safe-for-catholics-to-consume-prasadam/
