WORSHIP - THE HINDU
WAY
The following article is compiled from series of
articles that appeared in the Sai
Vichaar Newsletter weekly newsletter).
(A contribution by P Gopi Krishna, New Delhi, India)
The word Puja came from the Dhathu "Puj",
which means to worship, to
honor, to welcome. The root of the word Puja is
"Yaja" Deva Poojaayaam"
means the service or activities that one cannot avoid
from doing to
propitiate or please God. Every country, state,
religion, caste, family
and even individual has its/their/his/her own belief and
ways of
performing Puja. Whatever may be the method or system or
practice that
one adopts or follows, there are, as per Hindu
scriptures 4, 5
(Panchopachar), 8, 10 (Dasopachar), 13, 16
(Shodashopachar), 24, 32, 64
or 108 types of Upacharas or activities or services to
propitiate God.
The daily worship generally consists of sixteen phases
or items
according to a conventional practice usually referred to
as
Shodasopachara Puja. These sixteen items are not always
necessarily the
same throughout. They differ from occasion to occasion
and may be from
place to place or person to person. But a common
sequence popularly
followed by majority of the devotees is as follows:
1. Avahanam - Invocation
2. Asanam- Offering a seat
3. Padyam- Water for washing the feet
4. Arghyam- Water for washing the hands
5. Achamaneeyam- A few drops of water for sipping
6. Snanam- Bathing with water, milk or honey
7. Vastram- Garments to cover the body
8. Yajnopaveetam- The sacred thread placed across the
left shoulder and
the right bottom part of the trunk
9. Gandham- Sandal paste
10.Pushpam- Flower or flowers
11.Dhoopam- Burning incense for fragrance and to
intensify the feelings
of devotion
12.Deepam- Lighting to remove darkness, symbolizes
enlightenment
13.Naivedyam- Food for nourishment
14.Tamboolam- Betel leaves with nut and other
ingredients, a condiment
that signifies completion of a meal.
15.Neerajanam- Offering of camphor enkindled to have a
better look of
the Supreme both within and without
16.Atma Pradakshina Namaskaram- Prostration before the
Lord as a mark of
self-surrender after making a parikrama.
(1) Aavahan
or Invocation or Praan Prathishta: We
invite the Invisible
Supreme Soul to manifest through the idol or photo that
we keep in front
of us for our prayers or Puja, or we imagine that God is
residing in it
or we imagine that God manifested in and through the
idol or photo
accepting our prayers or imagine that the idol or photo
has life and God
is accepting our prayers through the Idol or photo.
(2) Asan
or Simhasan or Throne: As we cannot and
do not have the
capacity to offer a magnificent throne to Lord, Who is
the owner of the
whole universe, we offer HIM a seat, according to our
capacity, thinking
that HE feels comfortable, and start decorating it
inwardly with all
kinds of precious stones, jewels, gold, flowers,
cushions, etc., the
best we can think of and request the Lord to be seated
to accept our
offerings.
(3) Padyam. This includes the symbolic offering of water for
washing the
feet. This custom dates back since the days when very
few used to wear
shoes or chappals and those days without convenient
transport facility.
Offering water to wash the dust and dirt off the feet.
It is also a sign
of respect to offer water to wash one’s feet. We can see
the references
to this act in our scriptures, especially with reference
to Rishis,
Sages, etc. We also do Pada Puja (worshipping the holy
feet) to Saints
in our houses.
(4) Arghyam: As we imagine God has assumed the shape of a human
being
with two legs, two or four hands, one or more heads,
etc., moved by our
prayer, we offer HIM water with a feeling that HE would
like to wash HIS
hands before accepting our offerings, as we do before
doing something
good or important, sacred or taking food.
(5) Achaman: We do Achaman (i.e., we sip water three times with
mantras
like Om Govindaya Namaha, Om Narayana Namaha, Om
Madhavaya Namaha,
etc.)
facing or sitting towards East to cleanse our inner-self
(Antharangam)
with the water purified with Mantras, so that any
thoughts that we might
have entertained either before or after starting Puja
will vanish from
our mind. Like this, we purify ourselves. As we cleanse
our body by
taking bath, we cleanse our inner-self by taking water
saturated or
purified with Mantras.
Again here water is offered to God with a view that HE
washes HIS face.
It is the tradition in our houses that whenever any
guest comes from
outside, after ushering him into the house, we give him
water for
drinking as well as washing or at least sprinkling water
on the face so
that the guest feels relieved of the tiredness and
strain of the
journey.
(6) Snanam/Bath: Bath given to the God with Ganga Jal or milk, or
honey,
or with perfumed water, etc.
(7) Vastra
Yugmam: Then we offer good clothes to God
and decorate HIM
with excellent quality clothes, according to our
capacity, as we do to
our children on their birthdays.
(8) Yagnopaveetam: We then offer HIM Yagnopaveetam, a sacred thread
placed across the left shoulder and the right bottom
part of the trunk.
(9) Gandham: We offer God scented chandan (sandal paste) so as to
give
coolness to HIS body. The royal kings used to do this in
the olden days.
We offer Oordhwapundram or decorate God with Tilak or
some such
decoration to God’s face. The next step is Alankar God
with Abharanas or
jewels. As we feel that by wearing such and such
ornaments, we look
beautiful or we beautify ourselves with all kinds of
alankaras, the same
way, we should also feel that the Lord is Self only and
we should
decorate HIM with the same feeling and purpose so that
HE looks
beautiful.
(10) Pushpa
Puja (Archana): We offer flowers
to God with a lot of love
and devotion to please HIM. Of late it has become a
practice to offer
broken or withered flowers, may be due to scarcity and
sky-racketing
prices of flowers, but, in fact, it must not be done so.
God is full of
compassion and mercy and HE does not protest, as HE
understands our
compulsions. We should offer a flower for each one of
HIS sacred and
kalyana name that we recite, whether it is Ashtothra or
Sahasranama.
Here we should always remember one very important point
that most of us
just throw flowers and Akshatas at God, in a routine
way. But, it is not
the right procedure. We should recite the names of our
Lord with a lot
of love and affection and with each name that we recite
with love and
bhava (feeling), we offer a flower to the Lord in such a
way that first
we bring the flower near to our chest or heart and offer
it at the feet
of Lord with a feeling that, Oh God! I am offering my
heart (Colorful
Hridaya Pushp) at Your Lotus Feet. Kindly accept it and
remove all my
Doshas such as Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Mada, Macharya,
Irsha, Dwesha,
Ahankara, etc. Kindly take me into your fold my Lord.
That is the
essence or meaning behind offering colorful flowers to
Lord. Bhava is
very important in all our spiritual (of course, even in
social)
activities. The same method is applicable while offering
Akshitas or
Kumkum or any such offering to Lord. It should always be
humble, and
never routine and mechanical. In other words, Archana is
the heartfelt
offering of Love to God. In Archana a devotee calls God
with a variety
of names as a loved one is called by different names
affectionately.
(11) Dhoopam: Dhoop represents the Gandh (fragrance) aspect of the
senses. A Satvic sense of depicting a pure Gandha sense
is the Dhoop. As
we give Dhoop to babies in our residences, which is
still in vogue in
villages, especially in rainy season, so as to make the
skin dry and
fresh and protect them from diseases like cold, etc.,
due to high
content of water in the air, we offer Dhoop to Lord
also.
(12) Deepam: Deepam is the Tejas or fire aspect. We light the lamp
immediately after Dhoop with a view to see Lord more
clearly and also to
witness the beauty and majesty of the Lord is after
alankaras.
The words Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya, indicate the essence
of bhava behind
keeping a lamp in front of the Lord. The spiritual
significance is: Oh
God! Light my heart with the prakasha of knowledge and
dispel the
darkness of ignorance. It also signifies that the (true)
Atman is
revealed if one lights his heart with the lamp of Pure
Love and Right
Knowledge. With this bhava at heart, we light a lamp
(Diya) or lamps in
front of God. The other angle to this is that the lamp
indicates
auspicious sign. It has an important position in the
Puja of Hindus. The
main reason for keeping the lamp in front of God is that
it is a sign of
good omen (Mangala or Shubha kaarakam). The other reason
is that in the
olden days, where there was no electricity or limited
use of
electricity, our ancestors used to keep lamp(s) in front
of God, so as
to see HIS image or photo or HIS Divya Rupa clearly.
Probably, even
today one can notice in olden temples, in the sanctum
sanctorum, that
they do not keep or allow electricity bulbs. They show
the God to
devotees with the help of Aarati. Another reason, which
I feel true, is
that after we decorate God we perform Aarati,
immediately after offering
Dhoop with an anxiety or eagerness or desire to see how
the Lord looks
and see the Deity to one’s heart content. The light in
front of the
Deity will help us to see the image more clearly,
especially in the
smoke of Dhoopam.
(13) Naivedyam: Naivedyam is the Rasa (taste) aspect of the senses. We
offer all kinds and varieties of delicious food items,
which include
sweets, fruits, etc., to God, with all love, as if Ma
Yashoda is feeding
Krishna, or Mata Sabari is offering fruits, although
tasted first, to
Lord Rama. See the Bhava here. In fact, I was told that
coconut is not
compulsory in Puja, but somehow it has become a part of
it now. (The
meaning and purpose of breaking a coconut is dealt with
separately and
will follow later).
(14) Thaambulam/Betel
Leaves: As we offer Nut-powder (Supari) or
Paan to
guests at the end of a meal, we offer Lord betel leaves
with supari (nut
powder and spices) so that HE digests easily whatever we
offered to HIM
to eat. Here we should not offer HIM money, as it is
offered only when
we offer Dakshina.
(15) Neeraajanam: After completing all the above Upachaaraas to Lord, we
do Neerajanam with a view to remove any Drishti Dosha
(evil sight) as we
all know that HE has a wonderful personality and added
to it, HE has
been decorated so well and looking so handsome that it
is very difficult
for a devotee to take away his sight from HIM. This we
do with pure love
as we do it to our own small children. It is the
practice in our
houses/temples that immediately after Aarati, we pay our
respects to
that camphor flame by putting our palms over it and
putting those hands
on our eyes. But, I was told that, it is wrong, because
the intention
behind giving Aarati is to remove any evil sight
(Drishti Dosha) and
also to show God more clearly to the devotees, but not
for any other
purpose. As we do not pay respects to such activity when
we do it for
our children, the same way, we should not do it in
temples or at homes
after Aarati. And that flame should be kept aside and
sprinkle a few
drops of water to remove Dosha, as we wash the legs and
hands of our
children and wipe the eyes with water, immediately after
removing
Drishti Dosha.
Neerajanam signifies the end of Sakara or Bahya
(outward) Puja and is at
the end to denote that all the Doshas and impurities
will vanish in thin
air after burning the Ajnan in the Jnanagni or Tapas.
(16) Atma
pradakshina, Mantra pushpam and
Uavasana: We offer flowers and
Akshatas with Mantras to Lord. It is done mainly to
highlight and
explain the divinity, greatness, compassion and love of
God over HIS
subjects or devotees.
After doing all the above, if knowingly or unknowingly
we commit any
mistake, either in the performance of Puja or in our
Bhava, we request
God to forgive us, as we are human beings and our Manas
or mind is
subject to flirtations, and keep us in HIS Karuna
Dhrishi (Merciful
eyes) always so that we will not repeat such mistakes in
future. Also we
request HIM to bless us as we wish to offer all the
above upacharas
every day to HIM. Then we do Pradakshina, not only
around the Lord, but
also around ourselves, to indicate that my Lord you are
in me as Soul
and doing Atmapradakshina means doing Pradakshina around
YOU only. Then
we do pranam (prostration) and then offer Kshama
Prardhana or Aparatha
Kshamapana, with a view to offer all the mistakes at the
Lord’s Lotus
Feet.
Having manifested in and through the idol that we kept
in our Puja
Mandir and accepted our prayers and sevas, now we
request the Lord to
take rest in our hearts and live there forever, so that
the divinity is
manifested through us and ultimately we realize our
innate divinity
within and without, in other words, we merge in HIM thus
removing the
ignorance forever.
The Sevas both in Sakara or Nirakara procedures are
performed with a
view to reach Him ultimately, which is known as Puja. In
the Sakara or
Bahya Puja style, the devotee directly (if he knows the
significance) or
indirectly worships his Ishta Daivam through offer of
sevas in the shape
of external articles to the object of worship, thereby
involving Pancha
Tanmatras (i.e., Sabda, Sparsa, Rupa, Rasa and Gandha)
or Panch
Jnanedriyas (i.e., Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue and Skin)
while offering
Dhoopa, Deepa, Naivedya, Alankaras to the Lord. The
gross aspects of the
Pancha Tanmatras in Puja are the Pancha Upacharas. They
are Pushp,
Dhoop, Deep, Naivedya and Gandh. The corresponding
Pancha Mahabhoothas
(Five Elements) are Sky/Ether (Akasam), Air (Vayu), Fire
(Agni), Water
(Jal) and Earth (Prithvi), which indicate respectively
the vastness of
heart, the fastness of manas, the tejas, the amrit and
the patience
(saburi) aspects of human being. In Manasik Puja, the
devotee mentally
dedicates everything at the sacred feet of his Ishta
Daivam. In fact,
Manasika Puja is considered superior to Bahya Puja.
In other words, Puja should not and cannot be a rigid
and systematic
procedure, without which one cannot offer oneself to
God, but it should
be more of love oriented or bhava pradhana offering to
God. Then only
the heart opens up, otherwise it would be a routine and
mechanical
procedure to be followed. Through Puja, the devotee’s
love and sense of
belonging for his Ishta Daivam grow and thus the Bhava
or relationship
with Ishta Daivam matures and finally the devotee will
succeed in
establishing in his real self (Swa-swarup) through
gradually
experiencing oneness with the Ishta Daivam. Having
understood what Puja
is, now let us try to analyze and understand the essence
behind Sakara
and Nirakara or Bahya and Manasika Pujas.
Arranging the Articles:
First of all, before sitting in front of our
Ista Daivam, we keep all articles that are required for
performing Bahya
Puja wholeheartedly and successfully.
Physical freshness: Purity of body is
conducive in making the mind pure,
so that only purity emanates from us. So, we keep
ourselves fresh before
we start any Puja or any sacred work in order to get
only right feelings
and thoughts while we are performing Puja, and also
emanate only such
statements from us. Freshness also helps us to keep our
concentration on
what we are doing or offering to God. One should wear
vibhuthi, chandan,
namam or kumkum. Then we do Pranayamam before Sankalpam.
Sankalpam: Sankalp or
Sankalpam, literally means, taking a firm decision
or forming a firm opinion. No work can be successfully
accomplished
without dedication. Like-wise, no Puja can be performed
satisfactorily
without invoking HIS blessings through sincere devotion
and complete
surrender. We pray to Lord to bless us to successfully
fulfil our
resolve to worship HIM through performing HIS Puja with
heart, mind,
soul and all senses together. Here in Puja, Sankalpam
means reciting
those words which will indicate what, who and where we
are. Unless one
starts any work, especially the one which is being done
for the society
at large, with pure and sacred sankalpa, the end result
will be
disastrous. Sruti Smruti Puranokta Phalaprapyartham,
which means, that
in Srutis (Vedas), Smrutis (Manu Smriti, etc.) and
Puranas, it has been
said that any karma being done with a desire should be
started with a
pure and sacred Sankalpa to get the expected result. The
idea behind
praying for the Sankalpasiddhi is to eradicate the
feeling of doership
or Ahankar. In other words, the result of Puja is thus
offered to God.
To achieve this object, first one should visualise the
purpose or goal
and plan meticulously what work should be done to
achieve that
particular goal and then start seeing the other points
such as, who is
the doer, where it is being held, when it is being
performed, what is
being done and what is the result of it. Once these have
been identified
and verified, then one needs to take Dhruda Nischay (firm
resolve or
Sankalpam) to do it according to the prescribed rules
and regulations of
that particular karma. These points have been included,
probably, to
make the devotee know and remember the place, the year,
the month, the
gotram, birth star, the thithi (star) or day, etc. I
personally feel
that it was included in our system or tradition in olden
days because
the people from Brahmana varna were ordained to do all
Puja ceremonies,
astrological predictions, ceremonies in temples and
society, etc., and
if they do not remember the important points such as the
time, day and
date, the position of grahas, the name of the month or
year or the
relevant thithi, etc., they may err in their decisions
and calculations
resulting in wrong predictions. Now it has become a part
and parcel of
the Puja so as to tell God every day in which
Kal(time)/Yug we are in,
where (which area) we are offering Puja, which is the
current year (name
of the year -- there 60 names), month, ayana (side),
paksha
(shukla/krishna - i.e., first half or second half of the
month) date and
day (thithi), etc.
Kalasa Sthapanam or Kumbha: This
involves invoking Lords Vishnu, Rudra
and Brahma, four Vedas, Gayathri, waters from all oceans
and sacred
rivers, such as, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna,
Thungabhadra,
Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, Cauvery, etc., in the water
of Panchapatra,
then sanctifying the vessel with Gandham, Kumkum,
Akshata and Pushpam.
After invocation, the Kalasodaka has to be sprinkled on
all Puja
materials and the persons performing Puja for
purification.If
Sankhapooja is to be done, then purified water has to be
filled in the
Sankha, then Puja offered to Sankha add a few drops of
Sankhodaka to the
vessel and then sprinkle the water on Puja materials and
the persons
performing Puja or Self (Atmanam ca Prokshyan). Then,
Ghantanadam is to
be done.
Kumbha means water-pot. It symbolises fullness.
Sanyasins and eminent
persons are welcomed with a Purna-Kumbha (a pitcher
filled with holy
water). All the sacred rivers like Ganta, Yamuna,
Saraswati, Krishna,
Godavari, Kaveri, etc., are supposed to flow into the
Kumbha, filling
it.
The Kumbha stands for generative power. Hence it is
associated with the
Divine Mother, the Grant Creation.
In worship, the deity is invoked to enter the Kumbha,
remain there
throughout the Puja and then go back to His or Her own
abode.
As the Kumbha is meant to serve as a temporary image of
the deity, its
various components are equated with various parts of the
deity. Thus the
jar represents the body of the deity; the water in it
stands for blood;
the nine gems (navaratnas) placed in it represent the
nine-fold
spiritual power (siddhis); the kusha grass in the
pitcher stands for
blood vessels; the triple strands of yarn over the mouth
of the jar
stands for the nerves; the tower wound around the vessel
is the skin,
the coconut placed at the mouth of the jar represents
the face, the
kusha grass over the coconut stands for Lord Siva and
the mango leaves
above everything else stand for the matted locks of
Siva.
During Kumbha-abhishekam the sanctified water in the
vessel is poured
over the pinnacle of the vimana above the garbhagriha of
the deity. The
is the climax of the consecration ceremony and huge
crowds of men, women
and children throng to get a sprinkling of the sacred
water on their
heads (taken from the Vedanta Kesari, February 2000 - A
Monthly Journal
of the Ramakrishna Order)
The absolute God cannot be grasped by the human mind, so
we require
symbols. If the devotee is very philosophical man, his
symbol may be
very abstract in nature: a vast expanse, the infinite
sky, something
unlimited. These are other images and conceptions,
though subtle. A
person who cannot think in an abstract way prefers to
have more concrete
symbols. So he has been given forms of the
anthropomorphic type. This is
consistent with the three major conceptions of God: God
the Absolute;
the personal God with qualities, such as kindness and
love, but no form;
and the personal God with both form and qualities. In
Hinduism, we find
that the personal God has not only qualities, but a
variety of forms as
well. And why should this not be so? From a
psychological point of view,
the ideal needs to be presented according to the
understanding of the
devotee, all the while reminding him that it is through
the worship of
the form that he is to reach the formless aspect of the
divine. This is
the idea behind image worship in India. Image worship
does not mean that
some inert substance such as wood or stone is being
worshipped. The
image is also not a mere icon. It is a symbol of the
lord. It reminds
the devotee of the Lord, just as a photograph reminds us
of the thing
photographed (Ref. "Concept of God in
Hinduism" by Swami Swahananda from
The Vedanta Kesari, February 2000)
The idol is a support for us in spiritual childhood. A
form or image is
necessary for worship in the beginning. It is an
external symbol of God
for worship. It is the reminder of God. The material
image calls up the
mental data. Steadiness of the mind is obtained by image
worship. The
worshipper will have to associate the idea of infinity,
omnipotence,
purity, perfection, freedom, holiness, truth and
omnipresence. It is not
possible for all to fix the mind Absolute. A concrete
form is necessary
for practicing concentration. To behold God everywhere
and to practice
the presence of God is not possible for the ordinary
man. Idol worship
is the easiest form of worship for the modern man.
Idol worship is not just limited to Hinduism. Christians
worship the
Cross. They have the image of Cross in their mind. The
Muslims keep the
image of the Kaaba stone when they kneel and do prayers.
The people of
the whole world keep some image or the other in their
mind. The mental
image is also a form of idol. Everyone is thus idol
worshipper.
Pictures, drawings, symbols etc. are all forms of idol
only. Idols are
not the idle fancies of sculptors, but are shining
channels through’
which the heart of the devotee is attracted to God and
flows towards
him. Many would say, "Oh God is an all pervading
formless being and how
can God be confined to this idol!" Are these people
ever conscious of
His omnipresence? Do they always see Him alone in
everything? No, It is
their ego that prevents them from bowing to the idols of
God and with
that motive, they put this excuse forward.
The idol is a substitute or symbol. The image in a
temple though it be
made of stone, wood or metal is precious for a devotee
as it bears the
mark of his Lord, as it represents something which he
holds holy and
eternal. A flag is only a small piece of painted cloth,
but to a soldier
it stands something that he holds very dear. He is
prepared to give up
his life in defending his flag. Similarly, the image is
very dear to a
devotee. It speaks to him in its own language of
devotion. The image
arouses devotion in the devotee. A piece of ordinary
white paper or
colored paper has no value. We throw it away. However,
if there is the
stamp of Government on the paper (currency note), we
keep it safe in
pocket. Even, so an ordinary piece of stone has no value
for us. We
throw it away. However, if we behold the stone idol, we
all bow our
heads with folded palms, because there is the stamp of
beloved lord on
the stone. When you worship an image, we do not say;
"this image has
come from Punderpur. It was bought by Shriram. Its
weight is 50 lbs. It
is made of white marble. It has cost me Rs. 500/-"
No! We superimpose
all the attributes of the Lord on the image and pray.
When our devotion
and meditation become intense and deep, we do not see
the stone image.
We behold the Lord only who is pure Consciousness.
Image worship is very necessary for beginners. By
worshipping the idol,
the Lord is pleased. The idol is made up of the five
elements. The five
elements constitute the body of the Lord. The idol
remains an idol, but
the worship goes to the Lord. If you shake hands with a
man, he is
highly pleased. You have touched only a small part of
his body and yet
he is happy. He smiles and welcomes you. Even so, the
Lord is highly
pleased when a small portion of his cosmic body is
worshipped. An idol
is a part of the body of the Lord. The whole world is
His body. The
devotion goes to the Lord. The worshipper superimposes
on the images the
Lord and his attributes. This is one of the easiest
forms of
self-realization. It is one that suits the majority of
people today. A
look at the picture of God will elevate our mind to
divine heights. This
is truly a wonder and a miracle.
The idol or photograph of any God or Goddess is not just
Stone or paper
or whatever other material but is a symbol of the true
deity so that we
can focus our attention to the deity. With constant
Puja, even a
personal photo or idol worshipped by a devotee acquires
a distinct
identity of its own and starts responding to the
devotee. The idol of a
deity in a temple is all the more powerful since the
Deity is invoked by
Mantras and regular Pujas. As prescribed in the AGAMA
SASTRAS, Yantras
are also installed under the idols to increase the power
of the deity
many fold. Thus a powerful aura is built around the
idol. Any object, be
it ARATI, kum kum, turmeric, sandal paste, or holy water
or even the
clothes used to adorn the deity acquire a part of the
aura. Thus we get
a part of the deity’s powerful and beneficial aura when
we bring any of
these sacred objects near to us. Scriptures say that
humans have nine
RANDHRAS, (Navarandhras) i.e., orifices in our physical
as well as
astral bodies. Out of them, seven are in our head
(mouth, two nostrils,
two ears, and two eyes). The other two are meant for
excretion of waste
products from the body situated at the posterior end.
Thus when we bring
the palms, which are placed over the ARATI to our eyes,
not only our
eyes but our nostrils too get charged with the positive
aura. When we
hear the hymns and bells, our ears get purified. When we
take the holy
water our mouth gets purified. When the SATHA GOPURAM
(the bell shaped
piece in a Hindu temple with the feet of the God, placed
on the head of
the devotee by the priest at the end of the worship) is
placed on our
head our SAHASRA CHAKRA gets charged.
Thus ARATI
and other holy articles which are taken into
the close
proximity of the deity and are then given to us act as
carriers or
vehicles of the positive energy from the deity to us.
The purpose is
thus probably different from the ARATI given to small
children to
protect them from evil eye.
The first is of course to do with light. Many temples in
India are dimly
lit and Arati gives an opportunity to get a better view
of the God. Thus
the light is physical and the devotion it evokes in the
mind of the
devotee helps kindle the spiritual light. While Arati is
performed with
many types of lamps, camphor is the most common
ingredient in all
temples. Camphor has excellent medicinal properties;
especially it
protects against many diseases in a hot climate that
pervades most of
India. The camphor and other aromatic substances purify
the atmosphere
and when the devotees place their palms over the Arati
and bring the
palms to their eyes and nose, they absorb the medicinal
benefits. This
is born out by the books on Homeopathy.
The camphor used for Arati lasts for a little time thus
signifying the
short span of human life and the Avidya or Agnana caused
by the
attachment Maya, in the shape of physical and sensual
pleasures. Thus,
Arati inspires the devotee to seek God who is permanent
and all
pervading. "Make hay while the sun shines" is
a popular adage. Since
Arati lasts for a little time only, it compels the
devotee to focus his
attention on the God.
Bells are usually rung
while the Arati is given. The rhythmic sounds of
the bells have a nice soothing and calming effect on our
mind and help
us seeing and sensing the shapeless God in the physical
image that is
being worshipped in front of us. In many temples, the
Arati is also
accompanied by chanting of Vedic Mantras or beautiful
songs, which extol
the virtues of the presiding deity, especially the
all-pervasiveness.
This activity reinforces the devotion of the devotee in
his chosen path
to reach spiritual enlightenment.
Shri Sri Yogananda Paramahansa said, "When an
offering is made of
flowers or incense or flame from oil lamps or candles on
the altar, they
represent the devotion of man to God. The flowers
symbolize the fragrant
love of the devotee; the incense conveys reverence; the
flame typifies
the light of calmness in which is revealed the Divine
Deity, residing on
the altar of the heart"
One may see the ritual of worship not as a mere physical
exercise but as
a real means through a communication between the self
and the supreme is
established. Understanding of such a communication is
essential to reap
the harvest of spiritual benefits.. Rituals may not be
limited to the
act of reinforcing one’s stance on earth, a religious
identity. It
should be the vehicle that leads one to the
understanding of the entity
that is fundamental to the origin of all religions. Such
a communication
can only be unifying and not divisive. This series may
be aptly
concluded by a quote from Ishopanishad, the mention of
which is also
made in Sri Sai Satcharitha:
Isa vasya midam sarvam yatkinch jagatyam jagat tena
tyaktena bhumjidha
ma grudhah kasya cit dhanam
God is omnipresent and HE owns this universe. We should,
therefore,
enjoy it with a feeling of sacrifice, to the extent that
is necessary
for us and the rest should be left to others in the
society and never
ever feel jealous of others.
The readers are also requested to visit
http://www.mantraonnet.com/practices.html. for a good
collection of
explanations for different questions pertaining to the
spiritual
practices followed in Hinduism.
(Concluded.
Contributions to this above series by Sai devotees SV Swamy,
India, and Mala Gupta, UAE are
gratefully acknowledged)
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