nÄnÄ piá¹hÄ-pÄnÄ khÄya Äkaṇá¹ha pÅ«riyÄ
madhye madhye 'hari' kahe Änandita hañÄ
nÄnÄ - various; piá¹hÄ-pÄnÄ - cakes and sweet rice; khÄya - eat; Ä-kaṇá¹ha pÅ«riyÄ - filling up to the throat; madhye madhye - occasionally; hari - the holy name of Kṛṣṇa; kahe - they speak; Änandita haÃ±Ä - in great jubilation.
It is the practice of Vaiṣṇavas while taking prasÄdam to chant the holy name of Lord Hari at intervals and also sing various songs, such as Å›arÄ«ra avidyÄ-jÄla. Those who are honoring prasÄdam, accepting the remnants of food offered to the Deity, must always remember that prasÄdam is not ordinary food. PrasÄdam is transcendental. We are therefore reminded:
mahÄ-prasÄde govinde nÄma-brahmaṇi vaiṣṇave
sv-alpa-puṇya-vatÄá¹ rÄjan viÅ›vÄso naiva jÄyate
Those who are not pious cannot understand the value of mahÄ- prasÄdam or the holy name of the Lord. Both prasÄdam and the Lord’s name are on the Brahman platform, or spiritual platform. One should never consider prasÄdam to be like ordinary hotel cooking. Nor should one touch any kind of food not offered to the Deity. Every Vaiṣṇava strictly follows this principle and does not accept any food that is not prasÄdam. One should take prasÄdam with great faith and should chant the holy name of the Lord and worship the Deity in the temple, always remembering that the Deity, mahÄ-prasÄdam and the holy name do not belong to the mundane platform. By worshiping the Deity, eating prasÄdam and chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra, one can always remain on the spiritual platform (brahma-bhÅ«yÄya kalpate).