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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, June 4, 2003: Pausing a few minutes to say a prayer of gratitude and upliftment before partaking of a meal is a tradition followed by over 64% of homes in America. During this time of reflection, families are brought closer and grounded. Mark Jurgensmeyer, professor of sociology and religious studies and director of Global and International Studies at UC Santa Barbara says, “It’s not just that the food that is blessed but that the process of eating is itself a renewal. The idea of ingestion is almost universal within religious traditions as a sacramental act.” To show how important the power of prayer at mealtime is to the American people, the book called Graces: Prayers for Everyday Meals and Special Occasions written by June Cotner has sold more than 200,000 copies. Cotner says, “A reverent pause before eating in an edgy world affirms family and teaches reverence.” She also believes that the popularity of her book shows that people are craving spirituality in their lives. Maura Singer, a student in interfaith ministry at the Naropa Institute in Oakland says, “She anticipates the pause that precedes a meal, a ‘magical’ moment when prayer and awe and praise come through. From gratitude springs openness, leading to compassion, then peace, justice and finally action. In much religious thought….the Christian eucharist, the Hindu prasad, among others….the transformational force of food has engendered dense theological discourse for thousands of years.”



A popular Hindu meal prayer is the following chant, which can be done in Sanskrit or English:



Food-Blessing Chant



A Prayer of Gratitude to the Source of Sustenance.



Lines 1-4 are from Shri Adi Sankara’s Annapurnashtakam.

Lines 5-6 are the Isha Upanishad invocation.

Lines 7-8 are a traditional Saivite closing.



Aum annapurne sadapurne shankaraprana vallabhe;

Jnanavairagya siddhyartham bhiksham dehi cha pArvati.

MatA cha pArvatI devI pita devo maheshvarah

bandhavah shiva bhaktashcha svadesho bhuvanatrayam.



Aum purnamadah purnamidam purnAtpurnam udachyate,

PUrnasya purnamAdaya purname vava shishyate.



Aum shantih shantih shantih.

Aum shivarpanamastu.



Translation:



Aum, beloved Shakti of Siva, Fullness everlasting and fully manifest as this food; O, Mother of the universe, nourish us with this gift of food so that we may attain knowledge, dispassion and spiritual perfection. Goddess Parvati is my mother. God Maheshvara is my father. All devotees of Siva are my family. All three worlds are my home.



Aum, Siva is Fullness. Creation is fullness. From Siva’s Fullness flows this world’s fullness. This fullness issues from that Fullness, yet that Fullness remains full.



Aum, peace, peace, peace.

Aum, this I offer unto Siva.



(Note: In this simplified Sanskrit transliteration a capital letter other than at the beginning of a line indicates a long vowel)

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