Description
Invocation before food. We should partake food with a sathvic (pure, serene) mind. Our ancestors recommended the offering of food to God before partaking. Food so partaken becomes prasad (consecrated offering). Prayer cleanses the food of the three impurities caused by the absence of cleanliness of the vessel, cleanliness of the food stuff, and cleanliness in the process of cooking. It is necessary to get rid of these three impurities to purify the food, for pure food goes into the making of a pure mind. It is not possible to ensure the purity of the cooking process because we do not know what thoughts rage in the mind of the man who prepares the food. Similarly, we cannot ensure the cleanliness of the food ingredients because we do not know whether it was acquired in a righteous way by the person who sold it to us. Hence, it is essential on our part to offer food to God in the form of prayer so that these three impurities do not afflict our mind.
This verse from the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 4, verse 24) and is traditionally chanted before meals. Brahman is the name of the Lord, the cause of the whole creation. Looking at the whole creation as an effect, Brahman is seen as the cause of everything. The effect does not exist separate from its cause. This verse likens food that is eaten to an oblation poured into the fire during ritual. By chanting this prayer before meals, the food that is eaten is offered to Brahman, the Lord.
