Neivedyam & Bhakthi

Dear Shri Thyagarajan,
You have with Bhakthi distributed the prasad among all Il members.Thank you very much.In almost all the families naivedyam or nivedanam ( just informing) is more a formality.
Whether God eats, If at all He starts eating whether we will stop even this 'showing act' is a question of doubt.Very often we hear of 'missing' kozhakattai and vadai from the Nivedanam plate.
This is our Hindu way of saying “ thank you “, to the Lord who gives us our daily food.


Brahmarpanam brahma havir brahmaagnou brahmanaayutham
Brahmaiva taena gantavyam brahma karma samaadhina
The ladle is God , the oblation is God, it is offered by God in the fire, which is God.
God shall be attained by him who is absorbed in God as the act of such sacrifice.
மூலப் பொருள்களுக்கு மூலம் தந்த பொருளை படைத்து, எல்லாம் அந்த மூலவனின் செயலே என்று அமைதியடைந்தால், அந்த மூலவனை அடையலாம்.
We sprinkle water on the food, place a tulasi leaf and chant

Om bhoorbhuvassuvah amrutho(u)pasvaranamasi
Pranaya svaha apanaya svaha vyanaya svaha
Udanaya svaha samanaya svaha brahmane svaha

I offer this to prana (respiratory system)
I offer this to apana (excretory system)
I offer this to vyana (circulatory system)
I offer this to udana (reversal system)
I offer this to samana (digestive system)
So, we offer food to the Lord, the life force who is within us as the five physiological functions.
Chanting the above, we offer food at the feet of the Lord. Since we offer food to god, we know it is pure and best.

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah"
Especially during festivals like sri jayanthi, when lot of bhakshanams are prepared as neivedyams, everyone murmurs,'all these things are required for not 'sami( God) but only for aasami( human beings).After all God is satisfied with a leaf, flower , fruit or a drop of water.
Many commentators on Gita feel that these words have much deeper meaning than just leaf, flower, fruit and water. Gita is interpreted in multiple different ways but the knowledge that imparts is Truth.

What is the proper offering to God? It is said, a leaf, a flower, a fruit and water (patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam). What are these? The body is the leaf; the heart is the flower, the mind is the fruit ,and the tears of bliss is the water. Instead of attaching undue importance to this ephemeral body, emphasize on the Atmatatwa (Atmic principle). The body is also to be surrendered unto God. How? By acts of worship and other sacred deeds.


The same Bhagavadgita, there is reference to some leaves of a tree therein.
"Oordhwa moolam Adhah shaakha, Ashwatham praturavyavam, Chandamsi yasya Parnaani, Yastam veda sa vedavit".
As you read the commentaries we observe that the Lord refers to a big Ashwatha tree with roots upwards and branches spread out at the bottom. The verses of the Vedas are its leaves. These are the leaves the Lord is referring to. Someone capable of learning and reciting these verses ought to do it and those are the leaves the Lord accepts. Not any ordinary leaf from an ordinary tree.

What are the flowers the Lord mentions here?

"Ahimsa pratham pushpam, Pushpam indriya nigraha, Sarvabhoota daya pushpam, Kshama pushpam visheshataha, Gnana pushpam Tapah pushpam Dhyana pushpam thataivacha, Satyam ashtavidham pushpam Vishnoh preetikaram bhavet".
The Lord is referring to eight flowers: Non-violence, control of senses, compassion to all living beings, tolerance or patience, knowledge, austerity, contemplative meditation and truth. These are the eight flowers that the Lord refers to and not any other flower from a bush or tree.

What is the fruit that is to be offered to the Lord? He has advised to do one's deeds without desiring the fruits of those deeds. But the fruits do chase the doer; the deeds never lapse without yielding fruits. This fruit, "The Karma Phala" is the fruit the Lord mentions to be offered with all love and devotion.

That brings us to the "Drop of Water". A righteous soul travels the length of his or her life (his or her refers to the body probably, for soul is neither he nor she) doing this "Nishkamya Karma". And as the end approaches, the fearless soul is ready to welcome the death of the mortal body with open hands. The tears of love towards the Lord and the final drop of water from the eye, not in sorrow but in joyful acknowledgement of the love showered by the Lord all along one's life is the water drop the Lord mentions.
Sorry for too long a response.
Neivedyam is a topic which is very often talked ill of.You have nicely connected to 'Infinity' or poornam-
Poornaath poornam aadhaya
poornameva avasishyathe.

It is a great blessing( varaprasadam) that we are blessed to read such articles contributed by you Sir)

Jayasala 42

 

@Thyagarajan When we offer to God it is said as Naivedhyam when distributed to People it is Prasadam and when it fills an empty stomach it is Amirtham.Those days Naivedhyam prepared in huge quantity and now prepared in small quantity just for the Archagar's family as this is the only income they get to take care of their family. 50yrs.ago During harvest time sacks of rice grains were given to archagar which is sufficient for them till the next harvest.

 

Yes, I know that your cousin had convinced you to forsake Bhaba Research Lab and go to MIT in Chrompet. As an Engineer, you shouldn't resort to some sanskrit/swahili nomenclature and talk to that boy-X as if definitions of terms in unfamiliar tongues is somehow a higher level of truth. All engineers should remember that "division by ∞" solves as many problems as "division by 0" can create. One of them is the destroyer, the other one the creator, and everything in-between is mere numbers.

Mere humans deal in the in-betweens. Even in the mega projects of weddings or building a house.
I now see that dear Jayasala42 had wrested control of the Neivedhyam thread. Whenever she writes an essay, I feel like a subscriber to a densly article packed magazine: it usually takes me a week or more to get through the whole thing--having to decipher many mysteries using the scant resources on the internet, and understand what dear JS42 could have said.

 

Great

 

Dear Thyagarajan,

If only God appears in reality when the Neivedyam is offered and finishes off the entire thing, just like that, and then even asks for more, do you think, any of us would be making any offerings.
God resides in the heart of every divine soul and whatever we offer to any living thing, in fact is the best Prasadam in life. I don’t know any quotation from Bhagwad Gita or any other scripture, but I only that God resides in every human being. Treat them well and you will earn the infinite love of God.

Agatha83