Offering food to Krishna

Preparing and offering food to the Lord shows Him our devotion and gratitude. Krishna doesn't need to eat, of course, but He accepts the love with which we offer food to Him.

As far as possible, use fresh, natural ingredients for cooking. Krishna accepts only vegetarian food, and packaged, store-bought products may contain meat, fish, or eggs. So read labels carefully.

Cleanliness is important in cooking for Krishna. Wash your hands before you begin. And don’t taste the food while cooking; the meal is for Krishna’s pleasure, so He should taste it first.

It’s best to have a new set of dinnerware used only for Krishna’s offerings and not used by anyone else.

Place the plate in front of Krishna and ask Him to accept the offering. Then, in a mood of assisting the pure devotees, offer the preparations to Krishna while reciting the following prayers:

Prayers for Offering Food to Krishna

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesha-sunyavadi-paschatya-desa-tarine

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Chaitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

namo maha-vadanyaya

krishna-prema-pradaya te

krishnaya krishna-chaitanya-

namne gaura-tvishe namah

O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

namo brahmanya-devaya

go-brahmana-hitaya ca

jagad-dhitaya krishnaya

govindaya namo namah

My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world.

You can also chant the Pancha Tattva and Hare Krsna mantras three times:

sri-krishna-chaitanya prabhu-nityananda

sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda

“I offer my obeisances to Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of devotion”

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Leave the plate there for a few minutes, just as you would if a loved one was eating.

Remove the plate, transfer the food to a serving plate, and wash Krishna’s dinnerware. The food is now prasadam, or “mercy” from Krishna.

While you eat, consider the spiritual value of the food; because Krishna has accepted it, it is spiritually identical to Him. Therefore by eatingprasadam you become purified.

Everything you offer Krishna becomes spiritualized prasadam—flowers, incense, water, food. All prasadam should be respected and shared with others. Spread the mercy around.

What do I need a guru for?

Ekendra dasa

Can’t I figure everything out myself? What do I need a guru for? Can’t I just read a book and learn that way?

Teachers help us progress faster. They can see (if we let them) what we’re doing wrong, and help us correct it. Books can’t do that. Plus, you can close a book. A teacher may pursue you.

Krishna consciousness works best when three items are in place: guru (spiritual master or teacher), shastra (scripture), and sadhu (keeping company with other serious students).

The shastra is the knowledge upon which everything is based. It’s the starting point, the guide. It shows us the goal. How we apply that knowledge is another thing. Do we accept some things and not others? Do we consider part three of the scriptures to be of utmost importance while choosing to ignore part four?

The guru, the teacher, can see where the student is at, and help them adjust their course. A good teacher is always a good student also. They can preach because they practice. A sincere student can progress farther and faster with a teacher than without one: it's true for football, piano, and spiritual life as well.

Meditation for a “Nasty and Brutish” World

by Drutakarma Dasa


Dr. John Heider, a psychologist, believes that meditation “is as necessary to a life of growth as regular brushing is to dental hygiene.” Sounds harmless enough. But what if you were to brush your teeth with a harsh abrasive or a corrosive chemical? That would definitely be detrimental to your dental health. In the same way, how much your meditation is helping you spiritually depends on what kind of meditation you’re practicing and why.

When we focus our minds on sensory input from the external world or on thoughts and feelings that arise within us, we are engaged in a type of meditation, in the broadest sense of that word. So you could say that all of us are already meditating at every moment. To help us understand this kind of meditation, let’s enter briefly into the mind of Richard Morland, a college student in Boston, to see what he’s meditating about.

Richard’s on his way to school. Driving on roads slick from freezing rain, he’s concentrating so as not to spin out or slam into someone’s rear bumper. He thinks about meeting his girlfriend, Susan Johnson, for lunch today, and he smiles and feels a touch of desire coming on. But before he gets to see her, there’s the chemistry midterm. That’s on his mind too. Richard is applying to some top medical schools, so he’s determined to finish his premed studies with the highest grade-point average he possibly can. His mind feels fatigued from the couple of hours of sleep he lost studying last night. That’s all right, though: he’ll make it up on the weekend. No proper breakfast this morning either, so Richard’s feeling a little hungry, but then there’s lunch with Susan in just three hours.

For Richard, the only bad thing about the chemistry midterm is that Fred, Susan’s old boyfriend, who had even been thinking of marrying her, is going to be there. Richard’s mind spins out on that for a while and then settles in on the Beach Boys tune on the radio. The song ends with news on the half hour. More hostage trouble in Lebanon. The United States has moved another carrier into the eastern Mediterranean. Richard tries to picture it—it’s a few years from now; he’s married to Susan; he’s taken hostage; Susan, alone at home with their child, pleads for his life.

Then he starts thinking about his uncle Bob. Richard received a call from his mother last night. Uncle Bob had gone into the hospital for what he had thought was pneumonia, but it turned out to be lung cancer. Richard’s father had died from lung cancer just two years before. Aunt Sarah isn’t taking Uncle Bob’s illness too well, so Richard’s mother is going to stay with her for a while. Richard likes Uncle Bob, who was helping pay for his tuition.... God, Richard prays, God, please let him get through this. With proper medical treatment and some luck he might make it a few more years.

Richard steers the car up the ramp of the campus parking garage and parks. As he gets out of the car and starts walking to class, he suddenly feels he’d like to take a break—not just to take a vacation, but to getaway fromthe whole thing. But he keeps walking, and the feeling merges into the stomach numbing anxiety of his last-minute mentalreview for the chemistry midterm.

From the standpoint of the Bhagavad- gita,Richard’s daily flow of thoughts typifies that of a person in bodily consciousness. Such a person constantly thinks of eating, sleeping, sex, and self-protection or of things related to these four basic activities. Richard, for instance, was feeling hungry and tired, thinking about his girlfriend, and worrying about a possible car accident. Bodily consciousness also creates a widening circle of identification based on the body. One’s ownbody is designated by sex, race, age, and so forth. And this body is connected with other bodies in relationships of family, community, and nation. Richard is involved in his own unique complex of relationships: with Susan, Fred, his mother, his relatives, his fellow Americans facing another international crisis.

The Concept of Deity Worship

Our bodies, our names, and pictures of ourselves are related to us, but they’re not us. We’re spiritual, they’re material. Krishna exists in a different way—He is absolute, pure spirit. All features of His existence (name, form, activities, etc.) are the same as Krishna Himself.

Deities (archa vigraha in Sanskrit) are physical forms of the Supreme Person, made of stone, metal, wood, paint, or other materials. God is not wood or stone, but we can’t see spirit. Krishna appears as His name, or as stone or as wood—so we can better see, hear, and serve Him.

Deities (or paintings) of Krishna are based on descriptions of Krishna in the Vedas, which also explain in detail the authorized process for worshipping Them. Idolatry, on the other hand, is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God.

God is omnipotent. All energies, material and spiritual, are completely under His control—He can turn matter into spirit and vice versa. So, if He wants to appear in a form (apparently) made of wood or stone, who can stop Him?

How to Practice Japa Mantra Meditation

How to chant - with Kalakantha dasa

Radharani's Mood of Separation

In this recording, Harinama dasi narrates from Srila Prabhupada'sTeachings of Lord Caitanya and Gour Govinda Swami's The Embankment of Separation, to glorify and emphasize the divine mood of separation from Krishna.

Lord Krishna Steals Butter

Sri Krishna Steals Butter

In the service of the devotees, and in honor of Janmashtami, Harinama Dasi narrates a few of many relishable pastimes of Krishna stealing butter.

Lord Balarama Visits Vrindavan

Krishna and Balarama

In honor of Balarama Jayanti (the appearance day of Lord Balarama) Harinama Chintamani Dasi narrates the pastime of Lord Balarama visiting Vrindavan, from Krsna written by Srila Prabhupada.

Lord Nityananda's Pastimes

Lord Nityananda

Lord Nityananda's Pastimes from the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, by Vrindavan Das Thakura, narrated by Harinam Chintamani dasi.

Lord Nityananda's Pastimes - Part 1

Lord Nityananda's Pastimes - Part 2

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“If You Have No Other Suitable Name, Then Chant Krishna”

A conversation between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada an Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg: If you’re identifying love, however, with the shabda [sound] Krishna, what of those people who identify love with the shabda Allah?

Srila Prabhupada: Well, of course, if that shabda identifies with God, we have no objection. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva- shaktis: God has many names, in which He has invested His transcendental energies. God is attractive, and His name is also attractive, because He’s not different from His name. If you have got a name with exactly the same attractiveness as Krishna, we have no objection. We simply say, “You chant God’s holy name. Then you’ll become purified.” That is our program. We don’t say that you change your Christianity. No. We don’t say that. If you have got a nice name, an all-attractive name, in your scripture—don’t manufacture, but authorized—then you chant that. We simply request, “You chant.”

Allen Ginsberg: Well, then, how would you adapt the Krishna chanting to Christianity? By seeing Krishna as Christ or Christ as Krishna and sounding Christ’s image in Krishna’s name?

Srila Prabhupada: Krishna, Christ. Of course, this question has several times been put to me. I reply that Christ says, “I am the son of God,” and Krishna says, “I am God”—so there is no essential difference between the son of God and God.

We respect everyone. If I respect your father, I respect you, also. Do you mean to say that if I disrespect your father, you’ll be pleased with me? No. That is our philosophy. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna.” So if anyone perfectly loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus Christ, also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus Christ, he must love Krishna. If he says, “Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love only Jesus Christ,” then he has no knowledge. And if one says, “Why shall I love Jesus Christ? I shall love only Krishna,” then he also has no knowledge. If one understands Krishna, then he will understand Jesus Christ. If one understands Jesus Christ, he’ll understand Krishna.

Allen Ginsberg: Well, then, do you think that the Hare Krishna chant could serve as an intermediary to link the religious tendencies of both the Christian and Muslim religions?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Any religion. That is, if the individual is serious about religion. If he takes religion as a scapegoat, an excuse for doing all sorts of nonsense, that is different. If he wants to understand religion and takes seriously to religion, then he will understand. We want such serious persons.


Now, according to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, religion means the laws created by God. Dharmam tu sakshad bhagavat-pranitam. Religion means the laws of God. Who will deny it? Who will deny it? You may profess any religion—Christian, Muhammadan, or whatever—but who can deny that religion is the laws of God? Simple explanation. If you ask what is meant by religion, the answer is, “Religion is the laws of God.” That’s all. And if you want to know what God is, that is also simply answered: “God is the original source of everything.”


So one should try to understand in this broad-minded way. But if one wants to remain in his compact, sectarian ideas and does not want to go further, then it is very difficult. One should be open-minded and appreciative. Then everything is all right. We say—Caitanya Mahaprabhu says—it is not that you are abitrarily limited to simply chanting Krishna, but if you have no other suitable name, then chant Krishna. Why do you make a differentiation between the Lord’s names? Every name is the same.

Janmashtami Lecture in Montreal

What follows is a transcription of a talk given by Srila Prabhupada in Montreal in observance of Janmashtami in 1968.

Interestingly enough, the Vedabase transcription includes bonus material which the recording omits:

(As Prabhupada is ending his lecture, he asks all the devotees present to stand, one after another, and share their own realizations on the phenomenon of Krishna's appearance.)

Montreal 1968: Prabhupada on Janmashtami

So, today is the birth—appearance ceremony—of Lord Krishna.

In the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says,

janma karma ca me divyam
yo janati tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti kaunteya
[Bg. 4.9]

"My dear Arjuna, any person who simply tries to understand about My transcendental birth or appearance and disappearance and activities,janma karma..."

The Personality of Godhead is not niskriya, without activities. So anyone who can understand what kind of activities the Lord has and what kind of birth He accepts; simply by understanding these two things one gets wonderful result.

What is that? Tyaktva deham. By quitting this body—tyaktva deha punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9]—he does not take any more birth in this material world.

Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti. Some of us may think that “punar janma naiti” means he becomes vanquished. No. Punar janma naiti, butmam eti, "He does not come to this material world, but he comes to Me."Mam eti.

Mam eti means, then...the supreme personality of Godhead has His place, the...abode where we can go, simply by understanding the nature of His appearance and activities.

So today is that auspicious day, Janmashtami, when Lord Krishna appeared—five thousand years ago—in India, Mathura. Those who are Indian ladies and gentlemen present, they know very well where is Mathura. It is about ninety miles south of New Delhi. Mathura is still existing, and it is eternally existing. . .

Krishna appeared in Mathura in His maternal uncle's house in a very precarious condition.

That birthplace, Lord Krishna's birthplace, is now maintained very nicely. One who goes to India, they see.

So anyway, Lord Krishna appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. Now Krishna says, janma karma me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. Divyam means "not ordinary." It should not be understood just like we take our birth.

Krishna does not take his birth like us.

That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita: when Arjuna inquired from Krishna, "My dear Krishna, You are speaking that formerly You spoke this yoga system of Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god. That means it is millions and trillions years ago You spoke. How can I believe it?" Because Krishna was contemporary to Arjuna, so he was thinking that "Krishna is my friend, is my cousin brother. How it is possible that He spoke this Bhagavad-gita yoga to sun-god?"

So what was the reply? The reply was this, that "You also appear many, many times; I also appear many, many times. The difference is that I can remember. You cannot remember."

That is the difference between God and ordinary living creature—that we are also taking birth after birth. . .

There are 8,400,000 species of life, and, so long we are in this material world, we are cycling ‘round this birth after birth. So Krishna's birth is not like that. Therefore Krishna says,

janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah

Tattvatah means “in truth.” Not superficially. Scientifically, one who knows, he can get— immediately—liberation. And how one can understand the same truths? That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita:

Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55].

Janmashtami Lecture in London

Janmāṣhṭamī

Lord Śrī Krishna’s Appearance Day Lecture
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

London, August 21, 1973

Prabhupāda:
(chants maṅgalācaraṇa prayers) His Excellency, the High Commissioner; ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this ceremony, Janmāṣṭamī, advent of Krishna. The subject matter I’ve been ordered to speak on is advent of Krishna. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā,

janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janmanaiti mām eti kaunteya

This fact, that we can achieve such a stage of life when we can stop our birth and death… Sa ’mṛtatvāya kalpate. This morning, I was explaining this verse:

yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarsabha sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate

Amrtatva means immortality. So the modern civilization, they have no idea, either the great philosopher, great politician or great scientist, that it is possible to attain the stage of immortality. Amṛtatva. We are all amṛta. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mrīyate vā kadācin. We living entities, we never die, never take birth. Nityaḥ śāśvato yaṁ, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre Every one of us, we are eternal, nityaḥ śāśvato; Purāṇa, the oldest. And after annihilation of this body, we do not die. Na hanyate. The body is finished, but I have to accept another body. Tathā dehāntaraprāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati. Dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁyauvanaṁ jarā.

This simple thing, at the present moment, they are lacking knowledge, that we, all living entities, part and parcel of Krishna, we are eternal, we are blissful, and we are cognizant. Krishna is described in the Vedicśāstras:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ Krishnaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥsarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. God, Krishna, when I speak Krishna, that means God. If there is any important name… God, it is sometimes said God has no name. That’s a fact. But God’s name is given by His activities. Just like Krishna accepted the sonhood of Mahārāja Nanda, or Yaśodāmāyī, or Devakī, or Vasudeva. Vasudeva and Devakī were Krishna’s real father and mother. Nobody is real father and mother of Krishna, because Krishna is the original father of everyone. But when Krishna comes here, advents, He accepts some devotees as His father, as His mother. Krishna is the original, ādi-puruṣaṁ. Ādyaṁ Purāṇa-puruṣam nava-yauvanaṁ ca He is the original person. Then must be very old? No. Adyam purāṇa puruṣam nava-yauvanam ca. Always fresh youth. That is Krishna. When Krishna was on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, you have seen the picture, He’s just like a boy of twenty years or, at most, twenty-four years old. But at that time, He had great-grandchildren. Therefore, Krishna is always youth. Navayauvanam ca. These are the statements of Vedic literatures.

advaitam acyutam anādiṁ ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca vedeṣu durlābhaṁ adurlābhaṁ ātmā-bhaktau

So, to understand Krishna, simply if we read as a formality the Vedic literature, it will be very difficult to understand what is Krishna. Vedesu durlābhaṁ. Although all the Vedas are meant for understanding Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo. Aham eva vedyo. What is the use of studying Vedas if you do not understand Krishna? Because the ultimate goal of education means to understand the Supreme Lord, the supreme father, the supreme cause. As it is said in theVedānta- sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Brahma-jijnasa, to discuss about the Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman. What is that Brahman? Janmādy asya yatah. That Brahman means wherefrom everything emanates. So science, philosophy, means to find out the ultimate cause of everything. That we are getting from the śāstras, Vedic literature, that Krishna is the cause of all causes. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam . Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ Krishnaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥsarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

Cause of all causes. Just like try to understand. I am caused by my father. My father is caused by his father. He is caused by his father, his father… Go on searching, then you’ll ultimately come to somebody who is the cause. But He has no cause. Anādir ādir govindaḥ I may be cause of my son, but I am also result of the cause, my father. But the śāstra says that anādir ādir, He is the original person, but He has no cause. That is Krishna. Therefore, Krishna says that janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ . The advent of Krishna, it is very important thing. We should try to understand Krishna, why He advents, why He comes on this material world, what is His business, what are His activities. If we simply try to understand Krishna, then what is the result? The result is tyaktvādehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya . You get that immortality. The aim of life is to achieve immortality. Amṛtatvāya kalpate.

So in the advent of Krishna, we shall try to understand the philosophy of Krishna. His Excellency was speaking of peace. The peace formula is there, spoken by Krishna. What is that?

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

If the politicians, diplomats, they are trying to establish peace in the world… The United Nation is there, and there are many other organizations. They are trying to have real peace and tranquillity, no misunderstanding between man to man, nation to nation. But that is not happening. That is not happening. The defect is that in the root is wrong. Everyone’s thinking “It is my country. It is my family. It is my society. It is my property.” This “mine” is illusion. In the śāstra it is said, janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti This “I and my” philosophy is illusion.