Handling Prasadam [sacramental food]
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
637
The man who has a lot of money and a lot of desires is very poor. The man who is lazy and has no desires is worse. But the man who has the desire to realise God is the richest.
In the shrine when offering food to the Deity, look at His face. Then hold His Lotus feet with your hands. Prostrate. Feel that you are holding His feet. Now look at Him again after He has blessed you. Mentally say to Him: 'Lord, I'll take your Prasad [sacramental food – example pictured]. When anyone eats this prasad may they have pure mind and bhakti [devotion] to you.' Now you take the prasad.
My guru [His Holiness Swami Nischalananda Puri] used to say, 'Don't just go and grab it. It's not just a piece of fruit kept there. It belongs to God.'
If there is a little bit of food left on my plate after I have finished eating and I keep talking, what would you do? You would say, 'Swamiji, are you finished? Can I take that away?' But when you come to God's food you treat it like something dead – you just grab it and walk away.
When you are offering prasad you should not speak because the saliva from your mouth, unnoticed by you, goes onto the prasad and that becomes juta, defiled. Therefore never speak near the altar.
I see some men that visit the ashram [monastery], they walk with such big steps from the back of the shrine. I sometimes tell them, 'Look, this is wrong. Walk slowly in the shrine.' You may think that I am scolding. No. Hatred, honestly, is not in my mind, prejudice is not in my mind. The only thing in my mind is to make you a lovely flower so that one day I will be proud to offer you to Sri Ramakrishna, or Lord Vishnu or Kali or Durga or Bandi or Sitala. Only that is in my heart.
When you walk in the shrine you must remember that God is living. How do you walk at the office in the presence of your boss? You walk with respect. When you walk in front of Sri Ramakrishna, even in your own shrines at home, you must walk with that love, with the feeling of living-ness.
The mothers should see that their saris or dresses do not touch any prayer things. If the lota [little water pot] is touched, even when it is empty, it should be washed.
1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time. 2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.
There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.
Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swami Shivapadananda
Click Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna to read online…
Reference websites (please mouse-over the name to connect): Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of SA, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Ramakrishna Dham, Swami Shivapadananda 2