If Lord Shiva is Krishna’s devotee, and we are so excited to take the remnants of Krishna’s devotees (maha maha-prasada), isn’t it logical, practical, and advisable to take bhoga offered to Lord Shiva?
Let us see what our acaryas have to say in this regard:
1] When does it become ‘maha-prasada’?
When we take the prasada offered in Lord Shiva’s temples, does it become maha-prasada? Actually, the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Krishna are termed as ‘prasada.’ When the remnants of Krishna’s prasada are given to Krishna’s pure devotees, it becomes maha mahaprasad.
Shrila Prabhupada writes, “It is said that among all the devotees of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Śiva is the greatest. Thus the remnants of foodstuff left by him are accepted by other devotees as mahā-prasāda, or great spiritual foodstuff. The remnants of foodstuff offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa are called prasāda, but when the same prasāda is eaten by a great devotee like Lord Śiva, it is called mahā-prasāda.” SB 3.14.26 P
We can definitely take the maha-prasada of Lord Shiva if it has been offered to Lord Krishna first.
2] Who is offering the bhoga?
We may ask, “On the appearance and disappearance days of our acaryas, sometimes, we offer bhoga directly to them and honor it. Doesn’t this violate the principle?” In the same way, can we not take the bhoga offered directly to Lord Shiva?
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura writes in Jaiva Dharma, “If a māyāvādī (one who considers Lord’s form to be material, or one who considers all kinds of worship to be the same) worships or offers foodstuff to any deva, because his consciousness is polluted by monism, the devas will reject his worship and offering. Truly, the māyāvādīs worship only the devas.”
“Moreover, if one accepts foodstuff offered to devas by māyāvādīs, one’s devotion will be impaired and one will offend Bhaktidevī. However, when a pure Vaiṣṇava offers Śrī Kṛṣṇa prasādam to the devas and devīs, they receive it jubilantly and dance with joy. Then, in turn, when a Vaiṣṇava accepts these remnants, he immediately experiences great bliss.”
Thus, only when Vaishnavas offer bhoga to pure devotees (which includes Lord Shiva), we can accept it.
3] Focus on Exclusive Devotion:
Bhaktivinode Thakura mentions in the Jaiva Dharma, “In the yoga-śāstra, it is mentioned that a yoga practitioner must not take the remnants of a deva. However, surely this does not imply that yogis disrespect deva prasāda. Yet, solitary meditation is improved if such a yogi abstains from eating such prasāda. Similarly, on the path of bhakti, a devotee must accept prasāda offered only to Bhagavān, not to any deva or devī. Otherwise progress in one-pointed śuddha-bhakti is hindered. Similarly, this does not indicate disregard to deva prasāda. The abstinence from deva prasāda as recommended in the scriptures actually helps the sādhakas to advance towards their respective spiritual goals.”
Therefore, sadhakas must decide the most congenial thing for them for advancing in Krishna Consciousness and take the required steps.
