Offering Food to The Lord [ISKCON] a Letter by Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of International Society for Krishna Conciousness and Only GURU in ISKCON to various Disciples
…For
offering prasadam simply prayers to the Spiritual Master is sufficient.
The process is that everything is offered to the Spiritual Master, and
the Spiritual Master is supposed to offer the same foodstuff to the
Lord. When a thing is offered to the Spiritual Master, he immediately
offers to the Lord. That is the system, and as we come by parampara
system, it is our duty to go through the right channel—namely, first the
Spiritual Master, then Lord Caitanya, and then Krishna. So when we
chant prayers, we do this, Vande ham Sri Guru . . . and gradually to the
Goswamis, then to Lord Caitanya, and then to Radha Krishna. That is the
praying system. But offering the prasadam to present everything before
the Spiritual Master whose picture is also in the altar, means that the
Spiritual Master will take care of offering the foodstuff to the Lord.
Therefore simply by chanting the prayer to the Spiritual Master,
everything will be complete. (Letter to Harer Nama May 28, 1968)
1. Prayer to Srila Prabhupada:
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhutale
srimate bhaktivedanta-swamin iti namine
namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha shunyavadi pashchatya desha 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 Sarasvati
Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya deva and
delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism
and voidism.”
2. Prayer to Lord Chaitanya:
namo maha-vadanyaya krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-chaitanya-namne gaura-twishe namaha
“O
most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri
Krishna Caitanya 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.”
3. Prayer to Lord Krishna:
namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya cha
jagad-dhitaya krishnaya govindaya namo namaha
“I
offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Krishna, who is the
worshipable Deity for all brahmanas the well-wisher of the cows and the
brahmanas and the benefactor of the whole world. I offer my repeated
obeisances to the Personality of Godhead, known as Krishna and Govinda.”
Letter to Harer Nama
28 May, 1968
Allston, Mass
My Dear Harer Nama,
Please
accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 24,
1968, along with the news article published in the Daily Californian,
p.9, on Wednesday May 22, 1968. The pictures and the statement are very
appropriate and I hope this article will attract the attention of many
students.
Actually this Krishna Consciousness movement is the
greatest need of the present day situation of the world. It is
authorized approved and very old, and practical. It can be accepted by
any person in any part of the world; that is already tested. Now each
one of us has got a great responsibility to spread this movement as far
as possible and that is the greatest service to the suffering humanity.
You are a student of psychology, so you can study this movement more
clearly than others, and try to spread it to your best capacity.
Regarding
your 2 questions: For offering prasadam simply prayers to the Spiritual
Master is sufficient. The process is that everything is offered to the
Spiritual Master, and the Spiritual Master is supposed to offer the same
foodstuff to the Lord. When a thing is offered to the Spiritual Master,
he immediately offers to the Lord. That is the system, and as we come
by parampara system, it is our duty to go through the right
channel—namely, first the Spiritual Master, then Lord Caitanya, and then
Krishna. So when we chant prayers, we do this, Vande ham Sri Guru . . .
and gradually to the Goswamis, then to Lord Caitanya, and then to Radha
Krishna. That is the praying system. But offering the prasadam to
present everything before the Spiritual Master whose picture is also in
the altar, means that the Spiritual Master will take care of offering
the foodstuff to the Lord. Therefore simply by chanting the prayer to
the Spiritual Master, everything will be complete…
*Note: not full letter (page missing)
Hope you are well.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami