The mention of Prasadam usually gives us an idea of the deliciously prepared food offered to Lord Krsna in devotion. But it means more than that. It also includes anything offered to the Lord, like flower garlands, clothes used by the Lord, neem twigs, etc.
Usually we are very inattentive about the glories of these items and tend to take them lightly. As Lord Caitanya has said in the prayers of the Sikshastaka:
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah
-- Caitanya Caritamrta Antya Lila 20.16
"My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as "Krsna" and "Govinda," by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not have any attraction for them."
This is our position; although all these paraphernalia are very powerful, we do not have much faith in them. In this regard, there is an incident among the followers of Sri Ramanujacarya. They challenged him on the potency of Prasadam and to prove to them its glories, he took a palmful of rice Prasadam and requested them to follow him. He led them to a tank. In India, most temples have a small reservoir of water for the pilgrims to take bath or to freshen themselves before entering the temple.
There he demonstrated the power of Prasadam by throwing it into the tank. Immediately, the fish in the tank started to partake of it. Immediately after taking the Prasadam, the fish visibly transformed into four-handed forms, similar to those of Lord Vishnu and were seen going upwards to the spiritual world. It was indeed a very wondrous miracle to witness.
The followers of Sri Ramanujacarya were astounded by what they had witnessed and they immediately inquired as to why this had not happened to any of them although they had been honoring the Lord's Prasadam for a much longer period of time. To that, Sri Ramanujacarya replied that they did not have the faith whereas the fish simply ate without any reservation.
There is a similar incident in the Caitanya lila where Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu examined Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya on whether he had given up his attachment for the impersonal teaching that he had been practicing.
The Lord brought him some of Lord Jagannath's Maha Prasadam very early one morning just as the Bhattacarya had risen from his bed. On receiving the Prasadam, the Bhattacarya immediately honored it without rinsing his mouth and finishing his morning rituals. He quoted a verse explaining that if one receives Maha Prasadam, he should immediately honor it as it is non-different from the Lord. This particular behavior of the Bhattacarya pleased the Lord. He was satisfied that the Bhattacarya has then become a Vaisnava – a devotee of Lord Krishna.
If one becomes attached to the Prasadam of the Lord, he becomes cured of the poisonous effect of Mayavada philosophy which promotes oneness with the Supreme Lord, an offensive perception that leads one to a hellish situation.
Narada Muni became a great devotee simply by tasting the remnants of Prasadam left behind by the sages whom he and his mother were taking care of. He mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam that just by tasting those remnants, his heart became purified, similar to those of the pure devotee sages.
We have other incidences like the four Kumaras who smelt the flavor of Tulasi manjaris offered at the lotus feet of the Lord and became pure devotees, giving up their impersonal realization.
All these incidences definitely prove the potency of the Lord's Prasadam but sometime we tend to identify them as some stories of bygone ages and not take them too seriously. To prove to us that this is not true, the Lord enacts His glories time to time to the devotees to strengthen their faith.
Here is one incident that happened in our temple. One day, somewhere in the mid-1990s, a devotee's friend had passed away and to help him further, the devotee decided to place on his body, the Deities' Prasadam garlands to help him on his onward journey. This kind gesture on behalf of the concerned devotee had a profound effect on the departed soul. Usually we do not emphasize much on dreams as they would usually be taken as someone's fantasy. But in this case, however, the departed soul actually appeared in dazzling clothes and was looking very effulgent in a dream to our devotee who had previous helped him with the Deity's Prasadam garland.
He apparently spoke saying that because of the Prasadam garland from the Deities that was placed on his dead body, he had received a higher birth. He thanked him profusely for his kind service of saving him which granted him a promotion to the higher planets instead of degradation to the hellish planets. He was extremely grateful and he thanked him again and again before finally departing in the dream.
Upon awakening, the devotee was stunned by the dream that he just recollected and was surprised by what he had heard. This incident certainly proves the glorious potency of the Lord's Prasadam.
The Nectar of Devotion sheds more light on this topic:
Accepting Flower Garlands
The next instruction is that one should put on flower garlands which are offered to the Deity. In this connection, in the Eleventh Canto, Sixth Chapter, verse 46, of Srimad-Bhägavatam, Uddhava says to Krsna, "My dear Krsna, I have taken things which You have used and enjoyed, such as garlands of flowers, saintly articles, garments and ornaments, and I eat only the remnants of Your foodstuff, because I am Your menial servant. So, therefore, I am sure that I shall not be attacked by the spell of material energy." The purport of this verse is that for any person who simply follows these rules and regulations of decorating the body with the marks of tilaka of gopi-candana or sandalwood pulp, and who puts on the garlands which were offered to Krsna, there is no question of being conquered by the spell of material energy. At the time of death, there is no question of such a person's being called by the constables of Yamaräja. Even if one does not accept all the Vaisnava principles, but still takes the remnants of foodstuff offered to Krsna, or krsna-prasäda, he will gradually become qualified to rise to the platform of a Vaisnava.
Similarly, in the Skanda Puräna, Lord Brahmä tells Närada, "My dear Närada, anyone who puts on his neck the flower garland which was formerly used by Krsna becomes relieved from all disease and reactions to sinful activities, and gradually he is liberated from the contamination of matter."
We are very often caught in the webs of Maya and do not even perceive or believe that there is life after death. We, devotees, should take our devotional lives seriously so that our faith can solidify by remembering these pastimes. We can then be sure of returning to the Lord at the end of this life.
Incidences like these would certainly prove the supreme potency of the Lord which is prevalent at all times. We should not be misled by atheistic philosophies which have scant regards to the very idea of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His pastimes. The only way to understand the Lord and His pastimes is to obtain the mercy of a pure devotee of Lord Krishna. Then we would be able to surely grasp all these pastimes with complete faith.
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah
"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." [Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23]
Thank you very much.
Hare Krsna!
-- By Sundar Gopal Das
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