Vegetarianism was, and still is, mandatory for Hindu yogis, both for the practitioners of Hatha Yoga and for the disciples of the Vaishnava schools of Bhakti Yoga (especially the Gaudiya Vaishnavas). A "bhakta" (devotee) offers all his food to Vishnu or Krishna as prasad before eating it. Only vegetarian food can be accepted as prasad. According to Yogic thought, "saattvik" food (pure or having good impact on body) is meant to calm and purify the mind "enabling it to function at its maximum potential" and keep the body healthy. Saatvik foods consist of "cereals, fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, sprouted seeds, whole grains and milk taken from a cow, which is allowed to have a natural birth, life and death including natural food, after satiating the needs of milk of its calf".