[Advaita-l] Naivedya question

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

Shree Sriram answered beautifully. As a side note naivedyam is what you offer and when Bhagavan accepts it and returns it back taking only the bhakti part that you offer, it becomes prasAdam. In principle, whatever you consume you should offer it first to the Lord and consume it with an attitude of prasAda buddhi - which involves a reverential attitude towards what you are consuming since it is now recognized that it is coming from Bhagavan. Hence it is not only food that you take in but whatever you takein with all the five sense should be taken in with that attitude of prasAda buddhi. Hence Krishna says - yat karoshi yat ashnaasi -- whatever you do or whatever you eat.. etc offere it to Me with Bhakti. In essence Bhakti is an essential ingradient of the offer - it is also recognition that He is the one who gives the results for all actions - hence yat karoshi - offer whatever you do - that becomes karmayoga. PrasAda involves acceptance without
 resistance - whether it is sweet, salty, tasty or not tasty, you accept it with referential attitude since it is coming from Him. The attitude involving non-reaction to the results of action should be involved in the prasAda buddhi - All this are meant for purification of the mind.
 
The fact is there is really nothing that belongs to you that you can offer, since you came into the world with nothing and when you leave you cannot take a penny with you - hence attitidue should be - tvadIyam vastu govinda tubhameva samarpaye - Oh Lord this is all yours but I am offering it to you since I have a notion that this is mine. It is your false ownership that you think is real is what you are offering since everything belongs to Him - nay everthing is Him only since He became everything. 
 
PrasAdam also involves sharing with everybody - Hence whatever that comes from the Lord has to be shared with everyone. This becomes a means to develop detachment to the things that come due to praarabda or purushaartha. For the ritual part follow what Sriram wrote.
 
Hari Om!
Sadananda


>________________________________
> From: Venkata sriram P <venkatasriramp at yahoo.in>
> 
> 
>We have to follow our own kulAchAra that has been handed down by our elders at home. 
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>Prof. SK Ramachander Rao wrote a beautiful book *sAlagrAma kOsha* which is available. It details out different types of sAlagrAmAs and the puja paddhati.  
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>Strictly speaking, what we eat everyday have to be offered before the Lord and only then it becomes the prasAda.  Consumption of such bhagavat prasAda gives chitta shuddhi.  
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>Just ponder and think that the poor sAlagrAma is having a couple of coconuts everyday and you are having a sumptual meal with rice, dal etc. If you too are subsisting on those couple of coconuts, then there is nothing wrong in offering the same to Lord.  
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>It is just a matter of bhAvukata which is most important and my guruji used to stress on this sensitivity (bhAvukata) only.  
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>We enjoy all the good food in life whereas the poor panchAyAtana is fed with couple of bananas and coconuts.  There is bhagavat-sAnnidhya in the panchAyAtana.  Utmost care is ensured in worshipping them.  
> 
>regs,
>sriram
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