Sunday 17 September 2023

Providing for the Provider

Swami Ramanuja frowned. Something was wrong. Lord Ranganatha did not have His usual radiant look. He looked quite dull, almost ill.

Swami questioned the priest about the prasadam that had been offered to the Lord that day.

“Daddojanam” came the reply, indicating that curd-rice had been the offering.

“And? Anything else?” persisted the great Acharya

“Oh, I forgot! Yes, we also offered Him a few of His favourite Nagapalam fruits!” indicating that the jambhul or Indian blackberry fruit had been fed to the Lord.

Swami Ramanuja was upset.

“No wonder Ranganathar looks ill! The combination of daddojanam and nagapalam must have given Him a cold!”

Immediately the Acharyar sent for the vaidya (physician) and instructed him to prepare a kashayam (herbal decoction) for the Lord!

Only after the kashayam had been offered, and the Lord had regained His usual bright look did Swami Ramanuja leave the temple!


It was time for the Lord’s evening worship. Nadadoor Varadaguru waited inside the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of the Varadaraja temple at Kanchipuram. The priest hurried in with milk to offer to the Lord.

Suddenly, Varadaguru moved forward and snatched the vessel from the priest’s hands. The priest was shocked at this sacrilege, but before he could give words to his ire, a strange sight met his eyes.

Tears were streaming down the face of Varadaguru!

In a trembling voice, Varadaguru questioned the priest, “How can you give such hot milk to the Lord? Will it not burn His tender tongue?”

As Varadaguru proceeded to fan the milk to cool it down, a divine voice called out.

“Amma!”

Both the priest and Varadaguru looked up in surprise.

Moved by the vaatsalya (motherly love) of Varadaguru, it was Lord Varadaraja Himself who had lovingly called out like a child to it’s mother!

And ever since that day, the devout Nadadoor Varadaguru came to be known as Nadadoor Ammal.


We pray to the Lord for all kinds of help. We are always seeking this and that from Him.

Have we ever thought of caring for His needs?

That Supreme Lord has left all the comforts of Vaikuntha and descended to this earth to bless us. That One who is the Master of the Universe resides in the place we create for Him – whether in the temple or in our tiny pooja room – ready to accept whatever we offer Him.

What do we feed Him every day? 

Do we feed Him every day?

In the Bhagavad Geeta (3.13), Lord Krishna says,

यज्ञशिष्टाशिन: सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै: |
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ||

yajña-śhiṣhṭāśhinaḥ santo muchyante sarva-kilbiṣhaiḥ
bhuñjate te tvaghaṁ pāpā ye pachantyātma-kāraṇāt

The spiritually-minded, who eat food that is first offered in sacrifice, are released from all kinds of sin. Others, who cook food for their own enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

Let us cook with the consciousness that it is for the Lord’s pleasure.

Let us offer what we cook to Him first and then consume it as His prasadam, with gratitude for all He has given us.

When we do this consistently, surely the Lord will bless us with the ability to experience Him as a living presence in our life with the same bhaava as Swami Ramanuja and Nadadoor Ammal.

12 comments:

  1. It may sound ridiculous to readers here,..but may mean something tearfilling to some..in my home my god s altar is right infront of my main door,who ever bring any fruit i just received & mentally offer it to lord,. Coz once I forgot to offer & thought l offer after washing,cutting all that,i didn't even see what the package contained...to my surprise,my Antaryami bhagwan said,I love grapes I can't wait to be washed & served & the package just opened on its own pourring about 5 grapes for the lord God ..i had just tears rolling down whole of that day

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    1. How sweet is your faith and devotion

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    2. What a moving experience! Thank you for sharing your anubhuti with us, may we be inspired to have such bhava for the Lord!

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  2. Very profound... Inspiring ... We have to put efforts and pray to feel the presence of God as a REAL ENTITY ... Thank you Anu for this wonderful post.

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  3. Thank you Nivedhitha 🙂🙏

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  4. I went to the temple and the visited a friend living close by. I gave the prasadam from the temple to her 3 year old granddaughter. She immediately went and offered it to the lord . I told my friend it was already offered so don't offer it again. My friend said the child has been taught to offer everything to the lord before consuming. Isn't it a wonderful way to train children.

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    1. Wonderful indeed! Sowing the seed early is the best way to ensure dharmaacharan 🙏🙂

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  5. As periyazhvar said "uduththu kalainda nin peethaka aadai uduththu"
    Wear new clothes after offering them to the Lord, eat His prasadam, wear only those flowers which have adorned the Lord . ,this will help us to develop sattva gunam

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    Replies
    1. Indeed. Thank you for reminding of this aspect 🙏

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