11.209
nana pitha-pana khaya akantha puriya
madhye madhye ’hari’ kahe anandita hana
SYNONYMS
nana—various; pitha-pana—cakes and sweet rice; khaya—eat; a-kantha puriya—filling up to the throat; madhye madhye—occasionally; hari—the holy name of Krsna; kahe—they speak; anandita hana—in great jubilation.
They ate all kinds of cakes and sweet rice, filling themselves up to their throats, and at intervals they vibrated the holy name of the Lord in great jubilation.
PURPORT
It is the practice of Vaisnavas while taking prasada to chant the holy name of Lord Hari at intervals and also sing various songs, such as sarira avidya-jala.
Those who are honoring prasada, accepting the remnants of food offered to the Deity, must always remember that prasada is not ordinary food.
Prasada is transcendental.
We are therefore reminded:
maha-prasade govinde
nama-brahmani vaisnave
sv-alpa-punya-vatam rajan
visvaso naiva jayate Those who are not pious cannot understand the value of maha-prasada or the holy name of the Lord.
Both prasada and the Lord’s name are on the Brahman platform, or spiritual platform.
One should never consider prasada to be like ordinary hotel cooking.
Nor should one touch any kind of food not offered to the Deity.
Every Vaisnava strictly follows this principle and does not accept any food that is not prasada.
One should take prasada with great faith and should chant the holy name of the Lord and worship the Deity in the temple, always remembering that the Deity, maha-prasada and the holy name do not belong to the mundane platform.
By worshiping the Deity, eating prasada and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can always remain on the spiritual platform (brahma-bhuyaya kalpate).