How to practically cook and offer food to Krishna?

For a working family, how to arrange for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as Krishna Prasadam? How to do this practically?

Wrapoorva, 15 December 2019

Hello everyone,

I very recently have started to recite the maha mantra and read Bhagavad Gita

Slowly stepping towards krishna conscious

As I was reading on quora and other forums I came across Krishna prasadam .

How Bhoga offering can be done at home.

I did understand most of it, but I also have some doubts, I hope people here can

help me and guide me on this subject. Please be patient till I explain my doubt.

So I am Married woman and a family of three, we are normal working class family

We have 3 meals (breakfast ,lunch,dinner) like most of us .

When I cook , I also pack our lunch before we set off to work

So breakfast and lunch is the same

And dinner I cook something different

Sometimes breakfast would be simple oats

So I prepare something for lunch and the same is carried over for dinner .

Either breakfast and lunch is the same or lunch and dinner is the same .

So my question is ,are all 3 meals supposed to be offered to krishna ? Dinner time how do we offer Bhoga (when I cook something different)

And also small snacks in the evening( like potatoes fry or something similar homemade) how to offer that as Bhoga ?

One more question is we place water to krishna during Bhoga , can’t we use this very water while preparing our dish so the prasadam is mixed with the food I cook??

Thank you for your patience

Kindly answer my question and help me

Wrapoorva

Lilamanjari Devi Dasi, 17 December 2019

Hare Krishna Mataji

Please accept my humble obeisance

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

All glories to His devotees. 

First of all glories to you for your enquiry which shows how serious you are to practice Krishna consciousness as perfectly as possible. 

Recently I had asked some queries to my dear Spiritual Master HG Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari, Srila Gurudev, regarding something related to worshipping at home. He had asked me to go through the below links. 

——

Here’s something official from ISKCON:

https://deityworship.com/home-worship.html

Here are some tips from ISKCON Birmingham:

http://iskconbirmingham.org/how-to-practise-krishna-consciousness-at-home#Setting%20Up%20Your%20Altar

——-

As per your queries—–

When I cook , I also pack our lunch before we set off to work 

So breakfast and lunch is the same 

And dinner I cook something different

Sometimes breakfast would be simple oats 

So I prepare something for lunch and the same is carried over for dinner . 

Either breakfast and lunch is the same or lunch and dinner is the same .

So my question is ,are all 3 meals supposed to be offered to Krishna ? 

—— If breakfast and lunch is same, then only once it has to be offered and then pack. So that way you are having prasadam for breakfast as well as lunch. 

Dinner time how do we offer Bhoga (when I cook something different)

And also small snacks in the evening( like potatoes fry or something similar homemade) how to offer that as Bhoga ?

—– I didn’t understand this query properly. Maybe other devotees in the group can understand and help. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita-

BG 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.

 I can only say that even I cook for evening and Sometimes snacks etc and offer it to Krishna. So you can offer snacks etc in Krishna’s plate and then it becomes prasadam and you can mix it with rest of snacks and save it for future use.. Now all of it becomes prasadam so next time you honor the snacks you do not offer it. It’s already prasadam.

One more question is we place water to krishna during Bhoga , can’t we use this very water while preparing our dish so the prasadam is mixed with the food I cook??

—- We do not mix the offered water in the food we cook. The offered water you can transfer to a pot or bottle and use as drinking water. 

Hope it helps to some extent. 

Thank you. 

Hare Krishna

your insignificant servant, 

Lila Manjari devi dasi

Guru Vandana devi dasi , 17 December 2019

Hare Krishna mataji

Please accept my humble obeisance

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

To your query:

Dinner time how do we offer Bhoga (when I cook something different)

And also small snacks in the evening( like potatoes fry or something similar homemade) how to offer that as Bhoga  .

You have to offer Bhoga when you cook something different in the night,the same way you do in the morning. Krishna says, “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.”( Bhagavad gita 9.27).

You have to offer in the evening also when you cook snacks.

If you cook three times , do the offering all the three times. 

Lila Manjari mataji has explained everything in detail.

Thank you

your servant

Guru Vandana devi dasi

Wrapoorva, 18 December 2019

Thank you very much Lila Manjari Mataji for resolving my query

Hare Krishna !!

Wrapoorva

Wrapoorva, 18 December 2019

Thank you Guru Vandana Devi Mataji for resolving my query.

Hare Krishna !!

Wrapoorva

Editor’s note – also see https://krishnaconsciousness.com/at-home

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Different ways to render devotional service

Sunil, Aug 28 2011

Please accept my humble obeisances

Which are the different ways in which one can render devotional service

Regards,

Sunil

Ashutosh Pandey, Aug 28 2011

Hare Krishna

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

*Sravanam kirtanam vishnoh, smaranam pada sevanam*

*archanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam*

*Sravanam* — by *hearing* the glories of Krishna from authorities (bona fide spiritual master or his representatives)

*Kirtanam-*by * congregational melodious chanting* of Hare Krishna Mahamantra

*Smaranam*- by *remembering* the pastimes of Krishna that you heard from authorities

*Pada Sevanam*- by offering *service to the lord’s lotus feet* (serving Vaishnavas, offering flowers, tulasi leaves etc.)

*Archanam – deity worship*(newbies can do the same with Photo-frames of lord or can perform worship of Gaura Nitai if allowed by authorities)

*Vandanam- praying *to lord for mercy (go in front of deities and say in your heart looking at them that you are here to be the object of His pleasure, tell me my lord how can I serve you, I am fallen but please engage me in your service and the service of your devotees, cry like a child…. it helps)

*Dasyam*- being *servant of the lord..*..perform duties of spiritual master…serve Vaishnavas….be humble like a blade of grass…tolerant like a tree..and think yourself to be simply insignificant

*Sakhyam- *being as a *friend *of Krishna glorify His name…tell about Him to others..how beautiful and merciful He is….

*Atma-nivedanam-* share your *thoughts and feelings* with the deities…confess your weakness…ask for mercy and promise yourself to rectify it…..

*As a practical guide::*

*Associate *with the devotees of the Lord Krishna

Read everyday (even one sloka or just two pages) of *Books *of Srila Prabhupada

*Chant *sixteen rounds of Hare Krsna mahamantra

*Diet *on Krsna prasadam——try to offer food to the lord in your home or whenever you get opportunity in temples

*Listen to the lectures* of Srila Prabhupada….or choose a bona fide master authorised by Srila Prabhupada if you like to listen in a particular language as Maharaja or Goswamis of ISKCON are from almost all parts of the world.

Out of this *Listening, Reading and chanting* are very important as these you can do wherever you are and whatever condition in you are living…… Whether in comfortable position or in times of pain….

Hare Krsna

YS

Ashutosh

Sunil, Aug 29 2011

Thank you Ashutosh Prabhu very much for your answer

Mahabhagavat Das SDA, Aug 29 2011

Very nice answers from Ashutosh Prabhu!

It is practically unlimited, in how many practical ways one can render devotional service…

Our collective mission is to take Krishna Consciousness to every living entity on this planet — so anything towards that goal is a service… speak about Krishna, show Krishna, give Krishna, share Krishna… and assist those who are doing it with body, words, and resources including time, money, facility, land, building, etc… whatever one can afford, whatever one has, engage wholeheartedly in service to the devotees of Krishna.

Your servant,

Mahabhagavat Das

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