How to offer food to God

How to offer food to God?

It is helpful if one has an altar already set up somewhere in your home, apartment or dorm. On this altar should be either a sacred image or a picture of God in any of His sacred forms. In addition, you can include images of your guru, saints, or other gods or godess on your altar - Durga, Ganesha, Sarasvati, etc. Images of God, however, should be the central focal-point of any altar used for meditation. If you don’t have an altar, then placing a simple image of God somewhere special will do.

When the food is ready, take a sampling of each preparation, along with a glass or cup of water, and place them all on a special plate that is used only for offering food to God. This plate must never be used for any other purpose than offering food in Prasada Meditation. Place the plate of food before the sacred image. Offer a little incense to God. Then, in a meditative and devotional state of mind, sit with eyes closed in meditation and recite several sacred mantras. And request the Lord to accept your offering. After you have offered the food in this way, the food that you have cooked is now sanctified and considered to be prasada, food transformed into the grace of God. By partaking in such food, we show our devotion to God, and thus make spiritual advancement. The food on the the plate should be re-merged into the food in the pots. Having thanked the Lord for accepting your offering, the prasada can now be eaten. The food should also be eaten with meditative awareness. While eating the prasada, please always be conscious and aware that you are partaking in the special grace of God. Eat with reverence, and enjoy!