Krsna Kirtana Songs est. 2001 www.kksongs.org
Music with Higher Taste
When Srila Prabhupada founded the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness, he instilled the most important principles
in merely few words. For instance, in order for the conditioned spirit soul to
seek happiness, he often said, “Chant and be happy” or “chant Hare Krsna and
live sublime.” In order to convey the simplicity of the process of devotional
service, he would say, “What’s the difficulty?” Likewise, Srila Prabhupada
based the mission of Lord Caitanya as “chanting, dancing, and honoring prasadam.”
For this reason, Sunday feast program first focus on chanting. Then, it focuses
on chanting while dancing. Finally, it ends with honoring prasadam, or remnants
of food initially offered to Lord Krsna.
Of course, a reader visiting KKSongs.org may question
as to why the topic of prasadam is being brought up. By the mercy of the
Vaisnavas, KKSongs.org hosts most than 1,200 devotional songs of various
styles. All of these songs have been chanted by devotees all over the world.
Some of the songs are danced whether in a congregational format or a small
stage performance for a traditional song. However, did KKSongs ever encounter
prasadam? Let this question be a backbone to this discussion. Prasadam
literally comes from the word in Sanskrit meaning “mercy.” When one receives
guru prasada, this means one receives mercy of the spiritual master (guru). In
a slightly more specific sense, it is remnants of whatever is offered to the
Lord for His pleasure. Hence, anything from a flower to ashes that fell of a
burning incense stick is prasada, if offered to Krsna with love. However, when
someone comes to the temple asking where the prasada is being served, they
usually imply the more specific definition of remnants of food that is offered to the Lord’s pleasure. While favorite dishes
of the Lord might not be in abundance here, there are some songs that will
remind of us the Lord’s prasada.
The first song in our discussion is perhaps the most
common bhajan regarding prasadam. This verse, Maha Prasade Govinde
, is well known as the first verse of the “prasadam prayer.” Although the
origin of this song is disputed between Mahabharata and Skandha Purana, there
is no doubt about the true essence of this verse. This verse explains about the
potency of prasadam. It is one of the most straightforward verses, as its
purport is in its translation. The song that usually follows “Maha Prasade
Govinde” is Sarira
Avidya Jal. Sarira Avidya Jal was composed by Bhaktivinoda Thakura
in his book, Gitavali, in the Prasada Sevaya section. There are six songs which
describe the proper mood in honoring prasadam. The first song is the one that
is most commonly rendered.
Also found in the Gitavali is a lengthy bhajan
describing the bhoga enjoyed by Lord Krsna and His associates in Goloka. The
Bhoga Arati, Bhaja Bhakata Vatsala Sri
Gaurahari, sings of the glories of Lord Caitanya and the fact that
Lord Caitanya is, indeed, the same Lord as Govinda who associated with the cows
and the son of Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda. For a good middle portion of
the song, Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes the various bhogas and the mood
experienced by Lord Krsna and His devotees. The last few verses of the song
include a nap and an ecstatic conclusion to the bhoga arati, where Srimati
Radharani and the gopis eat the prasadam. Even though many ISKCON temples do
not conduct a congregational chant of this song, some devotees chose to chant
this while they are offering bhoga to the Deities. In 1970, George Harrison
produced a recording of the Bhoga Arati with the first few verses.
A rare Narottam Das Thakura song captures a higher
mode of servitude while describing the meal of Lord Caitanya and His
associates. Bhajo Patita
Uddharana Sri Gaura Hari sings of worshipping Lord Caitanya. Unlike
Bhaja Bhakata Vatsala (Bhoga Arati), this song deals with Lord Caitanya’s
associates. Narottama Dasa Thakura humbly invites the Lord’s associates to his
home for lunch. Even though he says that he is not a good cook, he humbly
invites Them to try his offerings. After enjoying the bhoga, Narottama Dasa
Thakura describes how He offers betel nuts to Lord Caitanya and how He
reclines. Such service is what he only desires.
Last song in our discussion is the rare Hindi arati
by Candrasekhara Kavi. The tulasi arati with the first words as “Namo Namah
Tulasi Maharani” glorifies Tulasi Devi. Even though the
primary focus is to worship Tulasi Devi, an important line is included in offering
food to the Lord. Lord Krsna enjoys His bhoga with tulasi leaves. Candrasekhar
Kavi sings that Lord Krsna will not accept the fifty-six kinds of offerings,
nor the thirty-six types of curries without the tulasi leaves. In preparing
food for Krsna, it is important to include elements and ingredients that Krsna
is pleased with. Therefore, including the tulasi leave is a standard prasadam
practice followed by devotees worldwide.
In conclusion, we have seen how prasadam and
offering food to the Lord is an integral part of Krsna Consciousness. Through
singing songs about how Krsna enjoys His bhoga or how prasadam is so wonderful,
devotees have sung songs about the honoring and partaking of prasadam.
Ultimately, it is not the puris, the halwa, or even the pastas and pizzas that
Krsna accepts. It is the love and devotion that went behind the preparation of
the bhoga that Krsna will accept. In the Bhagavad-Gita this is confirmed in
Chapter 9 Verse 26. One may argue that giving food to Krsna to remove sin may have
a selfish motive, if one uses Chapter 3 Verse