Disciple: “The Master used to say that Srâddha food (offered at the last funeral rite) is harmful to Bhakti. Why is it so ?”
Swami Saradananda: “The object of food is to build a strong body and a fine intellect. Unless the body and the mind are pure it is not possible to go through spiritual practices. It is the food offered to God that builds a pure body and mind. The Srâddha food is offered to the manes and not to God and as a result instead of building a pure mind and body it affects people otherwise. Food builds the body and the mind and the nature of the food also affects them. In Chaitanya’s life we have a case where an ordinary man who happened to touch him in a state of ecstasy was also overpowered by religious emotions. He was prescribed to take Srâddha food to get over these emotions, and as a matter of fact this food did put an end to that person’s ecstatic moods.” (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)
Disciple: “What restrictions should one observe with respect to food ?”
Mother: “The Master used to advise his devotees to refrain from Shraddha food, for such food is detrimental to Bhakti. With the exception of that you can take any food after offering it to the Lord. Whatever you take, offer it to the Lord first and then take it as His Prasad (consecrated food). If you do that, your blood will be purified and if the blood is purified, your mind will get purified.” (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)