Bhagavad Gita 3.13

yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo

mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ

bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpāḥ

ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt

 

“Those who honor what sacrifice bestows,

Are freed from sin and all its woes.

But those who cook for selfish delight,

Consume only sin with every bite.”

My dear Lord, food is the basic source of sustenance for all life forms. While all living beings search for food to survive, it is human beings who can also search for the source from which all food comes. You have given us developed consciousness by which we can  raise our vision from the physical level to the metaphysical level, from the provision to the provider, from the world with its bountiful gifts to the source and sustainer of the world—which is you, my beloved Lord. Help me, O Lord, to appreciate the marvel of the cosmic arrangement by which food comes to me.

 Help me even more to appreciate the divine wisdom and love that have gone into making this arrangement for all living beings—including those who cannot know you as the provider, such as  non-human beings, and even those who can know you but do not care to acknowledge you, such as  non-religious or non-spiritual human beings. Please, O Lord, bless me so that my heart can be filled with gratitude and devotion for you with every morsel of food that I eat. Help me to see it as an expression of your love for me and let it inspire me to offer my food as a sacrifice of love to you—not because you need it, but because I need to and want to acknowledge you.

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03.13 The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.