Prasadam is MERCY in Sanskrit. Before eating food, we offer it to Lord Krishna. When we eat this kind of offering food which is PRASADAM, we receive the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Offering food to Sri Krishna and take the prasadam is a spiritual activity.
Prasadam is an extraordinary food. When we are offering our foods to Sri Krishna, we speak of honouring prasadam. Honoring prasadam helps us to develop love of Sri Krishna. So by eating prasadam we make advancement in spiritual life.
When we take our prasadam we should practice doing. So, if we are in a prayerful mood its better. Honouring prasadam means to treat the prasadam.
We must remember that to take prasadam is extraordinary. It is the perfection of eating. Prasadam is transcendental to mundane reality. When eating we should consider the spiritual value of the food we take. Sri Krishna has accepted it and it has become spiritually identical to Him. In this way, by eating prasadam, we become purified. Our conciousness and our cells will full with Sri Krishna’s love. So Prasadam is a transcendental food.
Preparing, offering and eating prasadam is DEVOTIONAL SERVICE or BHAKTI YOGA…
What Is Prasadam?
What is Ekadasi?
Ekadasi is a Sanskrit word for number 11. It means the 11th day of each half of the month in the Vedic lunar calendar. So there are two Ekadasi days in each month on the Vedic calendar. One is in the first half of the month whilst the moon is waxing, or growing. This is known as the bright fortnight. The second is in the second half of the month whilst the moon is waning, or shrinking. This is known as the dark fortnight.
Ekadasi has been set aside for us to observe a fast to please Krishna and is a special day for devotees. Bread, pasta, lentils, rice, as well as beans and preparations made from bean flour doesn’t eat on ekadasi.
We can fast on Ekadasi in order to minimize the demands of the body so we can engage more of our time in the service of the Lord by chanting or performing some other devotional service. The best thing to do on these fasting days is to remember the pastimes of Krishna and to hear His Holy name being sung and chanted. On the day of Ekadasi we should plan to chant more rounds and read more devotional literature. If possible we should spend more time with devotees.
So as we can see Ekadasi is a time for us to develope our spiritual capacity. lIt is a time for us to increase our practice and to put a little more effort into our devotional service.
