Hindu Rituals and Routines Why do we follow them?
Why do offer food to the Lord before eating it?
The Lord is omnipotent and omniscient. Man is a part, while the Lord is the totality. All that we do is by His strength and knowledge alone. Hence what we receive in life as a result of our actions is really His alone. We acknowledge this through the act of offering food to Him. This is exemplified by the Hindi words "tera tujko arpan"– I offer what is Yours to You. Thereafter it is akin to His gift to us, graced by His divine touch.
Knowing this, our entire attitude to food and the act of eating changes. The food offered will naturally be pure and the best. We share what we get with others before consuming it. We do not demand, complain or criticise the quality of the food we get. We eat it with cheerful acceptance (prasaada buddhi).
Before we partake of our daily meals we first sprinkle water around the plate as an act of purification. Five morsels of food are placed on the side of the plate acknowledging the debt owed by us to the Divine forces (devta runa) for their benign grace and protection, our ancestors (pitru runa) for giving us their lineage and a family culture, the sages (rishi runa) as our religion and culture have been "realised", aintained and handed down to us by them, our fellow beings (manushya runa) who constitute society without the support of which we could not live as we do and other living beings (bhuta runa) for serving us selflessly.
Thereafter the Lord, the life force, who is also within us as the five life-giving physiological functions, is offered the food. This is done with the chant
praanaaya swaahaa,
apaanaaya swaahaa,
vyaanaaya swaahaa,
udaanaaya swaahaa,
samaanaaya swaahaa,
brahmane swaahaa
After offering the food thus, it is eaten as prasaada - blessed food.
- Why do we…….
- Why do we light a lamp?
- Why do we have a prayer room?
- Why do we do Namaste?
- Why do we prostrate before parents and elders?
- Why do we wear marks (tilak, pottu and the like) on the forehead?
- Why do we not touch papers, books and people with the feet?
- To touch another with the feet is considered an act of misdemeanor. Why is this so?
- Why do we apply the holy ash?
- Why do offer food to the Lord before eating it?
- Why do we fast?
- Why do we do pradakshina (circumambulate)?
- Why is pradakshina done only in a clockwise manner?
- Why do we regard trees and plants as sacred?
- Why do we ring the bell in a temple?
- Why do we worship the kalasha?
- Why do we consider the lotus as special?
- Why do we worship tulasi?
- Why do we blow the conch?
- Why do we say shaanti thrice?
- Why do we offer a coconut?
- Why do we chant Om?
- Why do we do aarati?
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