How to prepare 56 bhoga when you have a baby - Life Hacks for new moms in Krishna Bhakti.

After months or years of training into Krishna Conscious lifestyle, when you suddenly become a new mom everything changes from your body to your routine, health, mood, and especially capabilities. This sudden shift can cause emotional havoc on you if you do not have supportive people around you who understand and validate this transition. 

If you are a person with low self-esteem and have less social support then this transition can induce a substantial amount of guilt in you for not being able to serve the Lord in the ways you used to do earlier. 

Way it is important for you to continue essential spiritual practices even during pregnancy and after childbirth to keep you internally strong, it is also significant to not beat yourself down for your lowered capabilities in maintaining the previous routine for the sake of your emotional well being and the overall well being of your newborn and other children.

If you have a baby and you have a deep desire to serve the lord on some special day for making 56 bhoga it may seem like an impossible thing without any help from outside, I can help you make it possible completely on your own.

 Here are the steps that you can follow to make it happen:-

1.  Make a list at least 10-15 days prior to the event.
2. Do not include any item that needs special preparation like rice idli etc.
3. Group items in categories in your list like dry snacks, dry sweets, kheers, shakes, rice dishes, gram flour dumplings, fruits, dry fruits, etc.
4. Before starting cooking every day you can fry a small number of items every day that you need for dry snacks like pressed rice(chivda), puffed rice, soaked daals, peanuts, dry peas, dry fruits, nuts, chips, and papads, etc. And store them properly. 
5. On the eve of the event:-  Buy coconut water and packaged juices and flavored yogurt from the market. Bring all kinds of fruits and salad vegetables and other vegetables in the desired amount, wash and dry and store hygienically in the fridge. Soak a large amount of tamarind in water after washing for making chutney etc. Soak daals that you can grind into a paste for making vadas with individual daals and a mixture of pastes. Bring a large amount of curd and store it in the fridge. Bring paneer and store in the fridge. It can be used for making pakoras and can be added to many bhogas as stuffing or garnishing etc. Cut vegetables for making pakoras and store them in separate boxes.
6. In the morning:-Make ground flour batter for various dumplings(pakoras), suji-curd batter for various dosas, etc. Take out fruits and salad vegetables from the fridge and start preparation salads, shakes, no-cook desserts, juices, chats, etc. Mix roasted and fried dry items to create namkeens and dry snacks. Grate vegetables to make raitas etc.
7. Make sure to ask a family member to bring Tulasi leaves on the eve of the event to avoid the hassle.
8. Buy offering donas(disposable bowls) at least a week in advance because you might need to arrange dry snacks in these donas a few days before the event.
9. Allow your guests to bring any bhogas if they wish to, to the event. It will add to the number and other devotees will also get a chance to serve the Lord.
10. Invite close devotee friends a few hours before the offering time so that they can look after the baby and other kids. while you can do arrangements.
11. Make an easy-filling meal prior to all this so that your other kids can feed themselves when you are busy with 56 bhogas.
12. Ask your spouse and other family members to help and cooperate with other duties like house chores and taking care of baby and other kids because if they don't, then your might get overstressed which can be disadvantageous in many ways especially to your mental health and your relationship with your kids.

Last but not the least, do not feel guilty or ashamed for not being able to all of the above. If you are able to do this then this is an extra service but if you are nor then there is no harm to your spiritual life.

Taking care of your devotee children is also a service to the lord. Krishna doesn't want you to ignore your duties in order to serve him. Remember,  Krsna told the Gopis, “It is very dark now. Also, there are dangerous animals in the forest. You have left your crying children, husbands, parents, and in-laws behind. This is not right.”

He always stressed performing one's duties while thinking of him. Raising these little Jeeves with love and care while constantly thinking Krishna is a form of devotion that Krishna accepts and appreciates. 

Whenever you feel like beating yourself down or facing someone tearing you down for your decreased services, just remember that babies don't remain, and nor do kids or your poor health.

  

Try to meditate on the holy name whenever possible and wait for your children to grow up and then you can resume your desired services to the lord.

Please share in the comments below what else you think can be helpful in such a situation. 

Hare Krishna.

Asht Sakhi Vrind Devi Dasi

Disclaimer: This blog post doesn't intend to force or guilt trip new moms into doing services while ignoring their kids and torturing themselves. As I am getting a lot of such feedbacks after publishing this post and therefore I wish to clarify that If someone is totally determined to serve 56 Bhoga to the lord while having a baby then the tips shared in this blog can make it easier for them. However, just following the regulative principles of your Parampara and chanting your mantras is sufficient at this stage as I already mentioned in the blog.

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