Balinese Offering is the important part of rituals and worship within the Hinduism practiced by local Balinese people. The food offering known as Prasada, derived from the Sanskrit word means “mercy” or heavenly grace. The spiritual meaning of the offering is celebrating the food preparing process and Karma related to it. It is also part of a meditative discipline that by offering food to God before eating it, the food will not only become physical nutrition but also spiritual grace, the Prasada.
Prasada Offering preparation must follow these guidelines:
- First, Offering must only consist of vegetarian products gathered without harming any creature.
- Second, Offering must not contain onion, garlic, or mushroom. It is based on Verdict scripture and Ayurveda system that those products promote human psycho-physical constitution.
- Third, the food offered to God must not be tasted beforehand. The preparation of offering is considered as meditative devotion and intended to please God rather than our own satisfaction. God must be the one to taste the product of the offering.
- Fourth, throughout the preparation process, we need to be in a meditative state of mind. The atmosphere on the kitchen must be calm, peaceful, and contemplative.
Finally, cleanliness during the whole process and the food offering must be in the highest standard. That’s including the food materials, the kitchen premise, tools, and utensils used throughout the process. The one prepared the offering must be bathed to clean their body and maintain a clean mind.
How to Food Offering Must be Done:
It would be ideal to already have an altar dedicated to God inside your living space. The altar must contain either a sacred image or picture of any of God’s incarnation. Additional picture(s) of guru, saints, or deva(i)s are allowed but be sure the image of God must be on the center of the altar. In the absence of the altar at your premise, simply place a picture of God at a dedicated place inside your living space.
Once the food is ready to serve, take a small piece of each dish and place those samplings on a specific offering plate along with a small cup of water. Put the plate positioned before the God’s picture with a little piece of burning incense. Sit before the altar in meditation position while reciting several sacred mantras of your choice.
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