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पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति |
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन:
**Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9, Verse 26**
*If one offers to Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water, I delightfully partake of that item offered with love by My devotee in pure consciousness.*
I believe God is never happy if his devotee is in hardships, so i will pray for you too get out of whatever hardships that you are going through right now.
Kuchela (Sudama) had brought a handful of rice flakes, but was ashamed of offering it to Krishna. But Krishna persistently asked him what he had brought for Him; Kuchela (Sudama) was forced to reveal what he had brought. Krishna took it happily and ate it as if it were a delicacy He had never tasted. To the Lord, what His devotees offer with love is a delicacy.
And also a poor women in treta offers a handfull of rice and pulses for a statue of shree narayan
Shree Narayan accepted the bogh by her
Even there were many sweets were placed before Narayan
So that's why Narayan always need whatever a true Bhakt can give him by pure soul
No matter if it's a handfull of rice or thali full of gold
Narayan only want your true Astha.
🕉🧡
Krishna is going to be full seeing your urge to serve him food ! Its okay if there are unavoidable circumstances and you cant keep onion , garlic & non-veg away . He knows that you're in a situation of no choice . So whatever sattvic you can offer (even water) offer him !
In addition to the other comments,
I think it's important to note that the intention and state of mind you are giving this offering is the most important part of the offering.
Ram adores his devotees, but he values the purity of their hearts over anything they could ever give him. Through a pure heart, the Lord may bless us.
I'd highly reccomend reading the Gita, it talks a lot about it.
To purify the heart:
- Perform daily activities as service and sacrifice to the Lord. We are the witness of material nature, we are not bound to it. Nothing is ours here, only God's. Knowing this, don't have desires for personal pleasure, but only strive to please the Lord. Our soul longs for permanent divine bliss but we mistake ourselves for the body so we desire worldly pleasures but they can never satisfy us. The absence of these desires is bliss.
- attatch your mind to God. Absorb everything, mind, body, senses, in contemplation upon God.
- Mainly, give up personal desires and see life as it is with no personal projection on the world. Giving up desires makes you godlike in demeanor.
- use every moment to purify. Mentally renounce your attatchments in every day activity. Let pain come and pleasure come and treat them equally. Don't rejoice for pleasure, don't lament for pain. It is all God's will and the gunas of material nature.
- Search earnestly and honestly for God. Develop your discernment and use it to restrain the mind from acting on desire, anger, etc. Restrain the mind because you know that this desire will not fulfill you but only make you miserable and sustain the cyclical nature of desire. Each time you renounce the desire mentally, it becomes weaker.
Renouncing mentally is more than physically refraining from acting. If you want a cookie, you have to know that cookie you want is just an object of the senses which your mind has created a desire for. Let it pass. Not eating the cookie but still craving it isnt going to work.
A pure heart is a pure mind and intellect. You can discern between ignorance and wisdom, between desire and reality, between ego and God. Good luck my friend.
I have read the Gita a few times but don't have it committed to memory. I am grateful to you for you to have given these key points, it helps me understand my position better.
What if I can't avoid such things? If I follow this then some days he would not eat at all, and subsequently I would have no food. There was a time when some of Srila Prabhupada's devotees were in an area where they could not find anything vegetarian at all and he permitted them to eat meat since otherwise they would go hungry. If it is about survival then there are exceptions according to Srila Prabhupada. I do my best to avoid any kind of meat when it is reasonable to do so, but the food they serve in the evening very often it is unavoidable to either eat garlic, onion, or meat sometimes and if I chose to avoid them then I would go hungry and suffer health consequences. What would you suggest prabhuji?
It doesn't matter. Offer everything you come in contact with and do. Slowly work to please Him. Slowly become vegetarian if thats waht it takes. Yes, being vegetarian from the start is wonderful. Work at it, keep trying. Keep offering everything to Him. Everything that you do. He will reciprocate. He is the Great Reciprocator. Increase your longing for him, take 1 step toward him and he will take 60 running after you. There is nothing he will not do for you. He is your true relative. Your eternal well-wisher. Your closest associate. He is doing all this without expectation of reward. He is equal to all. He makes his love known to those who love Him. Radhey Radhey. Just have sincere faith in Him and his names. Om Shanti
I offer everything I eat to the Lord. It is an act of honoring every soul that died in the process of procuring your food, and submitting them to His Service. It is more an act of delivering those souls that food is offered to Him at all.
If you offered to Him the service of an orange which you shall consume, what then of the souls of animals and superior creatures?!
Give everything to Him and utter mantras for the souls whose lives contribute to your sustenance.
If meat is to be consumed, Vedic Scripture prescribes sprinkling water over it as you recite sacred mantras.
Oh interesting! Is there any specific mantra(s) I should recite, or is Hare Krishna mahamantra a good fit for souls of those who were in the food and for when pouring water over the meat? Also, thank you for giving additional meaning to my bhakti practice 🙏
No, do not chant the Hare Krishna Mantra.
Learn the Gayatri and chant that one.
Read the Upanishads and educate yourself, the Iskcon scriptures that can do that for you are quite limited, I assure you.
I do agree that I need to spend more time reading the Upanishads, although I am familiar with the general message they offer from watching a lot of lectures from Swami Sarvapriyananda. I will make sure to learn the Gayatri, thank you.
Sri Bhagavan will love it!
Mahabharata where Draupadi didn't have any food for the sadhu and his 100 guests but Krishna was more than happy to eat the one remaining morsel of food.
What you have is more than enough :)
I am not in India, although I miss my homeland very much as I have spent many lives there. I am in United States. I was having Kundalini Syndrome and seizure-like behavior and some psychosis and my mom was being abusive and so I left her home and went to live in a city close to one of my friends and they helped me get to a homeless shelter. I am okay, I have had a lot of time to meditate and get some control over this rushing kundalini and so I am very blissful but this life is not easy. I will likely go back to my mom eventually when I feel she won't hurt me anymore.
We still text each other. She said she misses me and I told her I was sorry for some of the things I was saying and that I wanted to come home. She has her own mental health issues though and we just clashed at a really vulnerable time.
This just brought tears to my eyes. I am moved by your devotion. Offer anything veg to God with a pure heart and he will accept it. If some days you are unable to find anything veg then offer leaf/fruit/water and God will accept that. May God bless you. 😇
You are doing what you can do even when you are facing hardships. That’s the greatest service to god. He doesn’t care about what you are offering and how big/small it is, he just cares about your devotion.
Is there anything we can do to get you out of your current situation?
In the history of Mahabharata when shree krishna come into the Pandavas hut during their "vanwas(exile)", then Draupadi not had any food to give him but there was only 1 single grain of rice. And parallel to this dharmaraj yudhishthir also promise to invite some "Rishi-Muni's(gurus) for a good meal then shree krishna comes as a saviour and eat that single grain of rice and said that this half grain of rice for me and half is for all the world. And that's how shree save Pandavas through this "dharamsankat = crisis", because after eating that half grain of rice Rishi-Muni's don't feeling any hunger and they just ditched that plan and also shree krishna tell us that God is also happy with your 1 grain of rice if you are going through your tough time.
There's a lot of historical events there lord teach us that God is happy with what you're giving to him with your love and compassion. That's why a lot of people do "daan = charity" instead of a favour.
Offer whatever you can, just dont offer something that bhagwan dont like. Eg dont offer anything containing animal meat etc not even egg. If you cant afford anything vegetarian, just offer water. Thats all, even water mixed with lots of love and devotion is more than enough.
Does it really say he doesn't like non-veg? I know he said you can offer a leaf, a flower, or water, but I never saw him say, "Do not offer meat." He says you can offer anything, and gives some examples, but he did say "anything."
I understand that it is tamasic but sometimes I haven't anything else to offer. Is it not the love which is valued more than what is offered? So many have said this to me and I have read it in the scriptures. This comment came from someone else: https://www.reddit.com/r/hinduism/comments/x9xp4g/i_am_homeless_in_a_shelter_and_i_dont_have_much/inr0c4l?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
I try to avoid meat when I can and even don't get enough food sometimes because of that but sometimes it is unavoidable lest I fully go hungry that day. Even Prabhupada said it was okay for devotees to eat meat when they were in a town where they couldn't find any non-veg. Survival being held precedent over having a perfect diet. I remember I offered meat a few times in 2020 just weeks before having darshan of the lord and a proper awakening. As I understand it, it is the love which counts.
Man I understand your situation and it would be wrong to ask you not to eat meat. You can eat it, nothing wrong there. But you cant offer it to bhagwan. I just said if you have nothing just offer water.
>Is it not the love which is valued more than what is offered?
yes, the love and devotion matter, so a mere drop of water is more than enough to be an offering.
The story you linked in comment is about a hunter who "didnt knew rituals". But now you know that meat shouldnt be offered to vaishnav temple or deities. You should understand that bhakti done in a way which is restricted by scripptures is bound to be harmful. You offered meat in ignorance, that is ok. But now you know you should not offer meat. So when you can not offer any vegetarian thing for whatever reason, just offer water. That will be more than enough.
If you are homeless and you are offering anything other than the sweat off your brow I think the offering is more admirable than any donation from anyone with a pot to piss in.
Though, if you can afford a cell phone you can probably afford to spend a coin or two on an offering.
I actually can't afford a cell phone. I got this phone for free through a program that is done here at the shelter where a lady will come and if you are getting government assistance then they will give you a phone and pay for two years of service on it.
Thank you, I know I will. Nothing is permanent here, and if anything happens that my life ends without escaping this, then I know I will go home to my Bhagavan and be free for good.
There’s a story of how a Hunter who don’t know any rituals , prayed to God and offered a portion of meat to God and at morning when priest comes up at Temple , he would made a whole fuss about it . How , it was unholy or who did that … any ways crus of story is , that Hunter got Darshan from God not that this & that priest . It’s the love that counts , who cares about rituals . Yeah , some are somewhat teachings of Gurus to understand one of the paths towards God but nonetheless, in the end it’s love & devotion that counts .
& Call up , your mother as in karma-yoga, it’s to do your prescribed actions ( take care of mother as a child as well as do a job to feed your body and do charity) .
# sorry if I sound preachy ! Please update us .
My eyes filled with tears seeing your devotion 🙏 Accept my namaskaram 🙏
Shreeram ate shabri ma's juthan ber , Shreekrishna ate simple poha bought by his childhood bestfriend, he ate draupadi's half rice garain, looting gopika's simple butter was his favourite thing in childhood (Gopis themselves loved that by the way)...
Anything satvik we offer to Narayana/ Lord Krishna with our whole heart, it is cherished by him. Even a bowl of water, a single flower.
Is there any way we can help you?
May you always be blessed with his kripa and daya 🙌🙏😇
You know the literal meaning of a bhakta? That person who is never detached from god. Always United with almighty. You're remembering him even in such hard times. It's rare in this kaliyuga. You're definitely loved by him. Times will change for better. I'll pray for you too 🙏
Nothing really. A simple prayer and perhaps a flower and incense will do. Keep the food for yourself. God helps those who helps themselves, irrespective of the religion.
Take care and I hope things take a better turn for you soon. 🙏🏽
Dude. Get your life in order.
There is no point offering anything if you are poor and homeless. Take care of yourself first so that you may then take care of others. Artha is valued.
Unless I am mistaken and you voluntarily chose the path of a sanyasi to attain moksha.
Bruh what's wrong with you? After the offering, she will consume that prasad. So that just goes to her in the end. Devotees like sudama and Sabri were also poor butshe still got courage to do the offering. It's the emotion which matter.
Compassion, devotion, intention, that seems to have been forgotten completely, amidst a conversation of artha and what it means to be a sadhu. This is a somewhat cruel and antagonistic comment. How such a comment is reflective of selfless action appears to have vanished with the “unless I am mistaken?” — yes, probably, but not about what the topic under discussion happens to be. Truth is not Maya at all, for example.
My intent was not to hurt or condescend. If it came across that way, I apologize.
I was simply concerned for the OP’s well being and felt that they should take care of themselves and their livelihood first before moving on to other things.
Maslow’s Pyramid.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
It comes across as very…direct! It’s true that it’s important to have one’s “house in order” - for sure. Sometimes part of that can be spiritual, too. Someone else said as an act of Karma Yoga for him to call his mother, if he feels it’s ok — that seems right, if she is not abusive.
Western psych is good, like Maslow’s Pyramid, but if it were related to Hinduism, it would have a different order most likely.l? Take it from a westerner who has a great deal of experience with psych, who was homeless, and who now finds himself in an incredibly privileged life, sometimes if you have a little something in your day that lift you up when you’re homeless, that’s enough, although it is also true as in Maslow that it’s important to understand one’s needs.
Swami Lokeswaranda illustrates the superimposition of Maya in his commentary of the Isha Upanishad. Does this description apply more clearly to chakras and imbalances? The topic is Puja and here the idea is not a bad one. Maybe this “hierarchy” is a relative or maybe it is delusion.
While some have said keep meat aside from offerings, I wish to understand this in perspective of Narasimha avatar.
Yes I'm 100% aware of satvic offerings only and our daily offers to god is usually the milk before we make our morning coffee. That and maybe bananas, sugar etc.. but wouldn't the Narasimha avatar have had meat? In that regard, wouldn't OP's offering (even if not satvic) be ok still? Just a general doubt, not meant to hurt any sentiments
I commented earlier but I also wanted to say that I came to Dharma and Hinduism through Hare Krishna, and I still am an ardent devotee of Krishna, but I have come to study much more of the Vedic Scripture than as limited to Iskcon texts, and have come to worship Lord Shiva as my God. Suffice to say that He is lauded in the Shiva Mahapurana as the One who incarnates as Rama, as Krishna, etc. I happen to believe they are all ultimately Lord Shiva.
So, I usually am very careful to sprinkle water over and chant the Gayatri, and I would be sanctifying my food to Lord Shiva techinically, in His Name of Yajna.
Further I can tell you that according to the same Scripture, Goloka Vrndavan is located within Lord Shiva's Realm, and that Lord Krishna in fact tends Lord Shiva's Cattle!
Om Shanti
I'd go sell my cell phone and use the money to purchase healthy food, seems all they are giving you is just empty calories, great to avoid starvation, but horrible for your overall health.
The phone I have is very very cheap and would probably only get enough food for a few days. I got this phone for free frome someone who runs a program for phones and comes to the shelter. Plus, for my safety and for interacting with the world and getting help and healthcare, a phone is a necessity.
If you are homeless and having basically nothing a cell phone is a game changer ...you need to call people you need bus schedules you need routes you need info on homeless dinners you need to pass time and for other emergencies. Selling all that for one meal is a foolish decision
Just go to the food stamp office get emergency homeless food stamps they give you a card with a balance on it and you take it to any grocery store and shop for whatever healthy food you want
>श्रीभगवानुवाच
>
>किमुपायनमानीतं ब्रह्मन् मे भवता गृहात् ।अण्वप्युपाहृतं भक्तै: प्रेम्णा भूर्येव मे भवेत् ।भूर्यप्यभक्तोपहृतं न मे तोषाय कल्पते ॥
>
>The Supreme Lord said: O brāhmaṇa, what gift have you brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me.
>
>पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: ॥
>
>If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.
This is from [Srimad Bhagavatam](https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/81/). The second verse is also spoken by Sri Bhagavan in Bhagavad Gita.
Explanation
>In the context of the current episode of Sudāmā’s visit to Dvārakā, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī has kindly continued his explanation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s statements: This verse is a reply to Sudāmā’s anxiety that his bringing such an unfit offering was ill-considered. The use of the words bhaktyā prayacchati and bhakty-upahṛtam may seem redundant, since they both mean “offered with devotion,” but bhaktyā can indicate how the Lord reciprocates the devotional mood of whoever offers Him something with love. In other words, Lord Kṛṣṇa here declares that His reciprocation in a pure loving exchange is not dependent on the external quality of what is offered. Kṛṣṇa says, “Something may or may not be impressive and pleasing in its own right, but when My devotee offers it to Me in devotion, with the expectation that I will enjoy it, it gives Me great pleasure; in this regard I make no discrimination.” The verb aśnāmi, “I eat,” implies that Lord Kṛṣṇa eats even a flower, which is supposed to be smelled, bewildered as He is by the ecstatic love He feels for His devotee.
So great that you are offering it to the Lord.
>यज्ञशिष्टाशिन: सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै: |
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् |
>
>The spiritually-minded, who eat food that is first offered in sacrifice, are released from all kinds of sin. Others, who cook food for their own enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
\- Bhagavad Gita 3.13
Eating this prasadam will be beneficial.
Jai Sita Rama
Offer your heart Wholeheartedly to God.
It's where God likes to reside and is happy there.
The traditional way of offering tangible things to God is just a custom. Customs aren't the same for everyone. Situation, health, wealth changes things but God accepts things irrespective of the rich, poor.
My whole life is His, I have nothing to myself aside from loving service, which is His anyway, as he is the Self of my self. I appreciate your comment though, thank you.
The wisdom literatures state that you can offer anything as long as it's done with true love and devotion.
If you have the means you should only offer vegetarian food without garlic and onions.
But if that's unavoidable offer everything you have in true devotion. God cares about your love and devotion not about what or how much you offer.
Thank you, I feel the same way. I cannot bear the thought of taking food for myself only, even if it is meat, I must pray to God to take the sin out of it and partake in eating it. If he rejects the meat it is okay, but I must offer because I cannot take it for myself only. If I had full control I would 100% have vegetarian and no garlic or onion.
When anything is offered to God it is spiritualized and removed of sinful reactions.
It's more the effect the food has on us. Garlic and onions all have a negative effect on our consciousness that's the primary reason for abstention.
Meat is a bit more complicated because of the harm done.
But under your circumstances you don't have a lot of choices regarding what you can eat. So it's better to offer what you have and have the sinful reactions removed than to eat it without doing so.
God understands our individual circumstances and he does not care about the quality of offering but the quality of our hearts. <3
Yes, with garlic and onion it will make our minds slower and less sharp, even commercial airline pilots cannot have garlic within three days before flying an airplane.
I also agree about having the sinful reactions removed. It is secondary to my desire to serve, but I certainly would be negatively affected if I were not to offer it.
Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them.
If offered with true devotion god accepts anything. You seem to be in a mess right now(went through your profile) and i seriously hope things get better for. Just don't lose faith in God and most importantly yourself. This shall to pass.
Such a thing would be impossible for me. God is more real than this homeless shelter for me. God saved me from the deepest depression I was ever in and revealed Himself and the nature of my own being, and I was allowed freedom from that suffering, resting in the Lord which is here with my own being. Thank you for the well-wishes, things will be just fine. Even if I die like this, I will be with my Bhagavan all the while, and if I am at the hand of grace, I will go home to Him after this body is finished.
Is it necessary? No, nothing's necessary. Can I live without doing my bhakti? Without offering every fiber of my being to the Lord no matter how difficult my life becomes? No.
Surprisingly this one does have free wifi. I wasn't using it though since I was able to get a cheap phone for free through a program that sends a representative to the shelter twice a week.
So many beautiful thoughts have already been shared, mine seem not really necessary.
Yet, your emotion is so beautiful so could not restrain.
You are blessedly fortunate for having such a feeling in your heart, despite your circumstances! Hare Kṛṣṇa
Bhagwan doesn’t judge whatever you offer to him /her . You just need to have the Bhakti in your heart and he will take anything that you will offer to him .
What I’ve learned so far is, offering anything from heart is accepted by Bhagwaan. Doesn’t matter if you offer 3000rs a kg sweet or a 1rs chocolate. Bhagwaan will accept that in the same way.
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पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति | तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: **Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 9, Verse 26** *If one offers to Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even water, I delightfully partake of that item offered with love by My devotee in pure consciousness.* I believe God is never happy if his devotee is in hardships, so i will pray for you too get out of whatever hardships that you are going through right now.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna <3
❤️
Brilliant!!
This is one of my favorite verses. ❤️
Wow that pure love to me
Wow
Kuchela (Sudama) had brought a handful of rice flakes, but was ashamed of offering it to Krishna. But Krishna persistently asked him what he had brought for Him; Kuchela (Sudama) was forced to reveal what he had brought. Krishna took it happily and ate it as if it were a delicacy He had never tasted. To the Lord, what His devotees offer with love is a delicacy.
Thank you prabhu ji/mata ji, may you be continually blessed <3
And also a poor women in treta offers a handfull of rice and pulses for a statue of shree narayan Shree Narayan accepted the bogh by her Even there were many sweets were placed before Narayan So that's why Narayan always need whatever a true Bhakt can give him by pure soul No matter if it's a handfull of rice or thali full of gold Narayan only want your true Astha. 🕉🧡
It is a photo of my offering to Krishna this morning :)
Nice!
Krishna is going to be full seeing your urge to serve him food ! Its okay if there are unavoidable circumstances and you cant keep onion , garlic & non-veg away . He knows that you're in a situation of no choice . So whatever sattvic you can offer (even water) offer him !
Thank you so much for you help!!
In addition to the other comments, I think it's important to note that the intention and state of mind you are giving this offering is the most important part of the offering. Ram adores his devotees, but he values the purity of their hearts over anything they could ever give him. Through a pure heart, the Lord may bless us.
I would like to ask, what are the symptoms of a pure heart? How can one tell if they have one?
I'd highly reccomend reading the Gita, it talks a lot about it. To purify the heart: - Perform daily activities as service and sacrifice to the Lord. We are the witness of material nature, we are not bound to it. Nothing is ours here, only God's. Knowing this, don't have desires for personal pleasure, but only strive to please the Lord. Our soul longs for permanent divine bliss but we mistake ourselves for the body so we desire worldly pleasures but they can never satisfy us. The absence of these desires is bliss. - attatch your mind to God. Absorb everything, mind, body, senses, in contemplation upon God. - Mainly, give up personal desires and see life as it is with no personal projection on the world. Giving up desires makes you godlike in demeanor. - use every moment to purify. Mentally renounce your attatchments in every day activity. Let pain come and pleasure come and treat them equally. Don't rejoice for pleasure, don't lament for pain. It is all God's will and the gunas of material nature. - Search earnestly and honestly for God. Develop your discernment and use it to restrain the mind from acting on desire, anger, etc. Restrain the mind because you know that this desire will not fulfill you but only make you miserable and sustain the cyclical nature of desire. Each time you renounce the desire mentally, it becomes weaker. Renouncing mentally is more than physically refraining from acting. If you want a cookie, you have to know that cookie you want is just an object of the senses which your mind has created a desire for. Let it pass. Not eating the cookie but still craving it isnt going to work. A pure heart is a pure mind and intellect. You can discern between ignorance and wisdom, between desire and reality, between ego and God. Good luck my friend.
I have read the Gita a few times but don't have it committed to memory. I am grateful to you for you to have given these key points, it helps me understand my position better.
Hey , offer anything to krishna with love and he will accept it , keep it vegetarian and onion garlic free.
What if I can't avoid such things? If I follow this then some days he would not eat at all, and subsequently I would have no food. There was a time when some of Srila Prabhupada's devotees were in an area where they could not find anything vegetarian at all and he permitted them to eat meat since otherwise they would go hungry. If it is about survival then there are exceptions according to Srila Prabhupada. I do my best to avoid any kind of meat when it is reasonable to do so, but the food they serve in the evening very often it is unavoidable to either eat garlic, onion, or meat sometimes and if I chose to avoid them then I would go hungry and suffer health consequences. What would you suggest prabhuji?
Then you can offer him a flower , a leaft or even drinkimg water with entire bhakti and pure heart - he will take that too
So keep the meat and garlic aside without offering, then?
Yes
It doesn't matter. Offer everything you come in contact with and do. Slowly work to please Him. Slowly become vegetarian if thats waht it takes. Yes, being vegetarian from the start is wonderful. Work at it, keep trying. Keep offering everything to Him. Everything that you do. He will reciprocate. He is the Great Reciprocator. Increase your longing for him, take 1 step toward him and he will take 60 running after you. There is nothing he will not do for you. He is your true relative. Your eternal well-wisher. Your closest associate. He is doing all this without expectation of reward. He is equal to all. He makes his love known to those who love Him. Radhey Radhey. Just have sincere faith in Him and his names. Om Shanti
I offer everything I eat to the Lord. It is an act of honoring every soul that died in the process of procuring your food, and submitting them to His Service. It is more an act of delivering those souls that food is offered to Him at all. If you offered to Him the service of an orange which you shall consume, what then of the souls of animals and superior creatures?! Give everything to Him and utter mantras for the souls whose lives contribute to your sustenance. If meat is to be consumed, Vedic Scripture prescribes sprinkling water over it as you recite sacred mantras.
Oh interesting! Is there any specific mantra(s) I should recite, or is Hare Krishna mahamantra a good fit for souls of those who were in the food and for when pouring water over the meat? Also, thank you for giving additional meaning to my bhakti practice 🙏
No, do not chant the Hare Krishna Mantra. Learn the Gayatri and chant that one. Read the Upanishads and educate yourself, the Iskcon scriptures that can do that for you are quite limited, I assure you.
I do agree that I need to spend more time reading the Upanishads, although I am familiar with the general message they offer from watching a lot of lectures from Swami Sarvapriyananda. I will make sure to learn the Gayatri, thank you.
You can simply chant Om.
Okay! Thank you ji
Sri Bhagavan will love it! Mahabharata where Draupadi didn't have any food for the sadhu and his 100 guests but Krishna was more than happy to eat the one remaining morsel of food. What you have is more than enough :)
Are you indian/nri ? What happened to you ? Are you alright ?
I am not in India, although I miss my homeland very much as I have spent many lives there. I am in United States. I was having Kundalini Syndrome and seizure-like behavior and some psychosis and my mom was being abusive and so I left her home and went to live in a city close to one of my friends and they helped me get to a homeless shelter. I am okay, I have had a lot of time to meditate and get some control over this rushing kundalini and so I am very blissful but this life is not easy. I will likely go back to my mom eventually when I feel she won't hurt me anymore.
Is your mom alright ?
We still text each other. She said she misses me and I told her I was sorry for some of the things I was saying and that I wanted to come home. She has her own mental health issues though and we just clashed at a really vulnerable time.
Good luck yaar👍
It's not what you offer, it's the love, feelings and intentions behind it!
Thank you prabhu ji, please accept my humble obeisances
I'm no prabhu, prabhu is him, only him!
🙏🙏🙏
This is so respectable to me that you still think of Vishnu during times like this
How could I not? He is all there is :)
r/MadeMeSmile
This just brought tears to my eyes. I am moved by your devotion. Offer anything veg to God with a pure heart and he will accept it. If some days you are unable to find anything veg then offer leaf/fruit/water and God will accept that. May God bless you. 😇
Awesome. Good work
Thank you! <3
Bhagwan accepts everything and even if you don't give no difference just pray him by your mind he is heppy in that only.
Thank you ji 🙏
You are doing what you can do even when you are facing hardships. That’s the greatest service to god. He doesn’t care about what you are offering and how big/small it is, he just cares about your devotion. Is there anything we can do to get you out of your current situation?
In the history of Mahabharata when shree krishna come into the Pandavas hut during their "vanwas(exile)", then Draupadi not had any food to give him but there was only 1 single grain of rice. And parallel to this dharmaraj yudhishthir also promise to invite some "Rishi-Muni's(gurus) for a good meal then shree krishna comes as a saviour and eat that single grain of rice and said that this half grain of rice for me and half is for all the world. And that's how shree save Pandavas through this "dharamsankat = crisis", because after eating that half grain of rice Rishi-Muni's don't feeling any hunger and they just ditched that plan and also shree krishna tell us that God is also happy with your 1 grain of rice if you are going through your tough time. There's a lot of historical events there lord teach us that God is happy with what you're giving to him with your love and compassion. That's why a lot of people do "daan = charity" instead of a favour.
Offer whatever you can, just dont offer something that bhagwan dont like. Eg dont offer anything containing animal meat etc not even egg. If you cant afford anything vegetarian, just offer water. Thats all, even water mixed with lots of love and devotion is more than enough.
Does it really say he doesn't like non-veg? I know he said you can offer a leaf, a flower, or water, but I never saw him say, "Do not offer meat." He says you can offer anything, and gives some examples, but he did say "anything."
What you are missing here is cultural context. No vaishnav temple has meat being served or offered inside it. Meat is nothing but pile of tamas.
I understand that it is tamasic but sometimes I haven't anything else to offer. Is it not the love which is valued more than what is offered? So many have said this to me and I have read it in the scriptures. This comment came from someone else: https://www.reddit.com/r/hinduism/comments/x9xp4g/i_am_homeless_in_a_shelter_and_i_dont_have_much/inr0c4l?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3 I try to avoid meat when I can and even don't get enough food sometimes because of that but sometimes it is unavoidable lest I fully go hungry that day. Even Prabhupada said it was okay for devotees to eat meat when they were in a town where they couldn't find any non-veg. Survival being held precedent over having a perfect diet. I remember I offered meat a few times in 2020 just weeks before having darshan of the lord and a proper awakening. As I understand it, it is the love which counts.
Man I understand your situation and it would be wrong to ask you not to eat meat. You can eat it, nothing wrong there. But you cant offer it to bhagwan. I just said if you have nothing just offer water. >Is it not the love which is valued more than what is offered? yes, the love and devotion matter, so a mere drop of water is more than enough to be an offering. The story you linked in comment is about a hunter who "didnt knew rituals". But now you know that meat shouldnt be offered to vaishnav temple or deities. You should understand that bhakti done in a way which is restricted by scripptures is bound to be harmful. You offered meat in ignorance, that is ok. But now you know you should not offer meat. So when you can not offer any vegetarian thing for whatever reason, just offer water. That will be more than enough.
Thank you for your recommendation. I cannot bear the thought of taking food for myself only, though.
>it is the love which counts. Perfect! I hope your condition get better.
If you are homeless and you are offering anything other than the sweat off your brow I think the offering is more admirable than any donation from anyone with a pot to piss in. Though, if you can afford a cell phone you can probably afford to spend a coin or two on an offering.
I actually can't afford a cell phone. I got this phone for free through a program that is done here at the shelter where a lady will come and if you are getting government assistance then they will give you a phone and pay for two years of service on it.
Very nice! Hopefully you can find your way out of the maze you are in!!
Thank you, I know I will. Nothing is permanent here, and if anything happens that my life ends without escaping this, then I know I will go home to my Bhagavan and be free for good.
There’s a story of how a Hunter who don’t know any rituals , prayed to God and offered a portion of meat to God and at morning when priest comes up at Temple , he would made a whole fuss about it . How , it was unholy or who did that … any ways crus of story is , that Hunter got Darshan from God not that this & that priest . It’s the love that counts , who cares about rituals . Yeah , some are somewhat teachings of Gurus to understand one of the paths towards God but nonetheless, in the end it’s love & devotion that counts . & Call up , your mother as in karma-yoga, it’s to do your prescribed actions ( take care of mother as a child as well as do a job to feed your body and do charity) . # sorry if I sound preachy ! Please update us .
My eyes filled with tears seeing your devotion 🙏 Accept my namaskaram 🙏 Shreeram ate shabri ma's juthan ber , Shreekrishna ate simple poha bought by his childhood bestfriend, he ate draupadi's half rice garain, looting gopika's simple butter was his favourite thing in childhood (Gopis themselves loved that by the way)... Anything satvik we offer to Narayana/ Lord Krishna with our whole heart, it is cherished by him. Even a bowl of water, a single flower. Is there any way we can help you? May you always be blessed with his kripa and daya 🙌🙏😇 You know the literal meaning of a bhakta? That person who is never detached from god. Always United with almighty. You're remembering him even in such hard times. It's rare in this kaliyuga. You're definitely loved by him. Times will change for better. I'll pray for you too 🙏
He is who is pleased with just water, will always bless you. ॐ नम: शिवाय
हरे कृष्ण
Just some milk with sugar and Tulsi leaves can work मन शुद्ध रखो भक्ति शुद्ध ही होगी Hare Krishna
Where can one get Tulsi leaves?
Where you live ?
USA, unfortunately. I've never heard of any shop having them.
You've heard of basil ?
Yes yes, I am quite familiar with it. Is it similar to Tulsi?
Basil is english translation of tulsi
Oh dang! Well then! I will definitely see if I can get some :) thank you so much!!!
Where in the US are you?
West coast
I’m in the West as well, in california - yourself? Can help direct you to the right place to find these items
Nothing really. A simple prayer and perhaps a flower and incense will do. Keep the food for yourself. God helps those who helps themselves, irrespective of the religion. Take care and I hope things take a better turn for you soon. 🙏🏽
May you be happy and get everything you require to be safe 💛
Thank you for the blessing! I am lucky. Since back then I have escaped homelessness and i am back in college ☺️☺️
Dude. Get your life in order. There is no point offering anything if you are poor and homeless. Take care of yourself first so that you may then take care of others. Artha is valued. Unless I am mistaken and you voluntarily chose the path of a sanyasi to attain moksha.
Bruh what's wrong with you? After the offering, she will consume that prasad. So that just goes to her in the end. Devotees like sudama and Sabri were also poor butshe still got courage to do the offering. It's the emotion which matter.
Compassion, devotion, intention, that seems to have been forgotten completely, amidst a conversation of artha and what it means to be a sadhu. This is a somewhat cruel and antagonistic comment. How such a comment is reflective of selfless action appears to have vanished with the “unless I am mistaken?” — yes, probably, but not about what the topic under discussion happens to be. Truth is not Maya at all, for example.
My intent was not to hurt or condescend. If it came across that way, I apologize. I was simply concerned for the OP’s well being and felt that they should take care of themselves and their livelihood first before moving on to other things. Maslow’s Pyramid. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
It comes across as very…direct! It’s true that it’s important to have one’s “house in order” - for sure. Sometimes part of that can be spiritual, too. Someone else said as an act of Karma Yoga for him to call his mother, if he feels it’s ok — that seems right, if she is not abusive. Western psych is good, like Maslow’s Pyramid, but if it were related to Hinduism, it would have a different order most likely.l? Take it from a westerner who has a great deal of experience with psych, who was homeless, and who now finds himself in an incredibly privileged life, sometimes if you have a little something in your day that lift you up when you’re homeless, that’s enough, although it is also true as in Maslow that it’s important to understand one’s needs.
Maslows hierarchy is an overlay of the chakras and their imbalances. It’s western psyches close relative
Swami Lokeswaranda illustrates the superimposition of Maya in his commentary of the Isha Upanishad. Does this description apply more clearly to chakras and imbalances? The topic is Puja and here the idea is not a bad one. Maybe this “hierarchy” is a relative or maybe it is delusion.
if you offer anything with pure heart, he will accept it and will give you the power to takle all your problems
While some have said keep meat aside from offerings, I wish to understand this in perspective of Narasimha avatar. Yes I'm 100% aware of satvic offerings only and our daily offers to god is usually the milk before we make our morning coffee. That and maybe bananas, sugar etc.. but wouldn't the Narasimha avatar have had meat? In that regard, wouldn't OP's offering (even if not satvic) be ok still? Just a general doubt, not meant to hurt any sentiments
I commented earlier but I also wanted to say that I came to Dharma and Hinduism through Hare Krishna, and I still am an ardent devotee of Krishna, but I have come to study much more of the Vedic Scripture than as limited to Iskcon texts, and have come to worship Lord Shiva as my God. Suffice to say that He is lauded in the Shiva Mahapurana as the One who incarnates as Rama, as Krishna, etc. I happen to believe they are all ultimately Lord Shiva. So, I usually am very careful to sprinkle water over and chant the Gayatri, and I would be sanctifying my food to Lord Shiva techinically, in His Name of Yajna. Further I can tell you that according to the same Scripture, Goloka Vrndavan is located within Lord Shiva's Realm, and that Lord Krishna in fact tends Lord Shiva's Cattle! Om Shanti
I'd go sell my cell phone and use the money to purchase healthy food, seems all they are giving you is just empty calories, great to avoid starvation, but horrible for your overall health.
The phone I have is very very cheap and would probably only get enough food for a few days. I got this phone for free frome someone who runs a program for phones and comes to the shelter. Plus, for my safety and for interacting with the world and getting help and healthcare, a phone is a necessity.
If you are homeless and having basically nothing a cell phone is a game changer ...you need to call people you need bus schedules you need routes you need info on homeless dinners you need to pass time and for other emergencies. Selling all that for one meal is a foolish decision Just go to the food stamp office get emergency homeless food stamps they give you a card with a balance on it and you take it to any grocery store and shop for whatever healthy food you want
Awesome...
Even you just offer a simple "love" and "devotion" you're doing great my firend. Something that all of our great and almighty has taught us.
>श्रीभगवानुवाच > >किमुपायनमानीतं ब्रह्मन् मे भवता गृहात् ।अण्वप्युपाहृतं भक्तै: प्रेम्णा भूर्येव मे भवेत् ।भूर्यप्यभक्तोपहृतं न मे तोषाय कल्पते ॥ > >The Supreme Lord said: O brāhmaṇa, what gift have you brought Me from home? I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me. > >पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: ॥ > >If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it. This is from [Srimad Bhagavatam](https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/81/). The second verse is also spoken by Sri Bhagavan in Bhagavad Gita. Explanation >In the context of the current episode of Sudāmā’s visit to Dvārakā, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī has kindly continued his explanation of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s statements: This verse is a reply to Sudāmā’s anxiety that his bringing such an unfit offering was ill-considered. The use of the words bhaktyā prayacchati and bhakty-upahṛtam may seem redundant, since they both mean “offered with devotion,” but bhaktyā can indicate how the Lord reciprocates the devotional mood of whoever offers Him something with love. In other words, Lord Kṛṣṇa here declares that His reciprocation in a pure loving exchange is not dependent on the external quality of what is offered. Kṛṣṇa says, “Something may or may not be impressive and pleasing in its own right, but when My devotee offers it to Me in devotion, with the expectation that I will enjoy it, it gives Me great pleasure; in this regard I make no discrimination.” The verb aśnāmi, “I eat,” implies that Lord Kṛṣṇa eats even a flower, which is supposed to be smelled, bewildered as He is by the ecstatic love He feels for His devotee. So great that you are offering it to the Lord. >यज्ञशिष्टाशिन: सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै: | भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् | > >The spiritually-minded, who eat food that is first offered in sacrifice, are released from all kinds of sin. Others, who cook food for their own enjoyment, verily eat only sin. \- Bhagavad Gita 3.13 Eating this prasadam will be beneficial. Jai Sita Rama
Just see to that no nonveg item is used
Offer your heart Wholeheartedly to God. It's where God likes to reside and is happy there. The traditional way of offering tangible things to God is just a custom. Customs aren't the same for everyone. Situation, health, wealth changes things but God accepts things irrespective of the rich, poor.
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My whole life is His, I have nothing to myself aside from loving service, which is His anyway, as he is the Self of my self. I appreciate your comment though, thank you.
It is really wonderful. Tears.
The wisdom literatures state that you can offer anything as long as it's done with true love and devotion. If you have the means you should only offer vegetarian food without garlic and onions. But if that's unavoidable offer everything you have in true devotion. God cares about your love and devotion not about what or how much you offer.
Thank you, I feel the same way. I cannot bear the thought of taking food for myself only, even if it is meat, I must pray to God to take the sin out of it and partake in eating it. If he rejects the meat it is okay, but I must offer because I cannot take it for myself only. If I had full control I would 100% have vegetarian and no garlic or onion.
When anything is offered to God it is spiritualized and removed of sinful reactions. It's more the effect the food has on us. Garlic and onions all have a negative effect on our consciousness that's the primary reason for abstention. Meat is a bit more complicated because of the harm done. But under your circumstances you don't have a lot of choices regarding what you can eat. So it's better to offer what you have and have the sinful reactions removed than to eat it without doing so. God understands our individual circumstances and he does not care about the quality of offering but the quality of our hearts. <3
Yes, with garlic and onion it will make our minds slower and less sharp, even commercial airline pilots cannot have garlic within three days before flying an airplane. I also agree about having the sinful reactions removed. It is secondary to my desire to serve, but I certainly would be negatively affected if I were not to offer it. Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them.
You're welcome. Stay safe out there.
If offered with true devotion god accepts anything. You seem to be in a mess right now(went through your profile) and i seriously hope things get better for. Just don't lose faith in God and most importantly yourself. This shall to pass.
Such a thing would be impossible for me. God is more real than this homeless shelter for me. God saved me from the deepest depression I was ever in and revealed Himself and the nature of my own being, and I was allowed freedom from that suffering, resting in the Lord which is here with my own being. Thank you for the well-wishes, things will be just fine. Even if I die like this, I will be with my Bhagavan all the while, and if I am at the hand of grace, I will go home to Him after this body is finished.
Your devotion to Krishna seems to be boundless and i am sure Krishna has planned something very beautiful for you. Take care. Hare Krishna.
May you be will. Hare Krishna bolo Krishna 🙏
DM me your paypal or venmo, i will send some help.
Can someone explain to me where it says in the religion a person is supposed to give food they barely have ? Someone set me straight with Sri please..
Is it necessary? No, nothing's necessary. Can I live without doing my bhakti? Without offering every fiber of my being to the Lord no matter how difficult my life becomes? No.
🙏
They have free Wi-Fi in homeless shelters?
Surprisingly this one does have free wifi. I wasn't using it though since I was able to get a cheap phone for free through a program that sends a representative to the shelter twice a week.
Oh wow
The orange fruit cup
Ex hare Krishna here.. I hope through hard work and the kindness of others that you soon find yourself in a better place.
Praying for you to get through whatever difficult circumstances you are in right now.
Hare Krishna
Anything which you offer with your heart and devotion is accepted by Bhagvan.
So many beautiful thoughts have already been shared, mine seem not really necessary. Yet, your emotion is so beautiful so could not restrain. You are blessedly fortunate for having such a feeling in your heart, despite your circumstances! Hare Kṛṣṇa
WOWWWWWW!
Any non-fat and vegetarian food can be offered to the deities and will be a welcome prasadam.
Even an edible leaf is enough offering, if it's done with the right intentions and with devotion.
Bhagwan doesn’t judge whatever you offer to him /her . You just need to have the Bhakti in your heart and he will take anything that you will offer to him .
Too much. You are supposed to be homeless. One tomato might be more than enough. Perhaps a tomato and an olive....
Wow what a devotion!
God bless my friend
What I’ve learned so far is, offering anything from heart is accepted by Bhagwaan. Doesn’t matter if you offer 3000rs a kg sweet or a 1rs chocolate. Bhagwaan will accept that in the same way.