worshipping other deities

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Badri wrote:

> 1) Being born as Vaishnavas is it a sin worshipping

> other Gods ,or is it just that we are not required to

> worship other dieties.Is there any harm in worshipping

> them as long as we realize Narayana is supreme.What

> are we supposed to do when we go to temples which have

> many dieties.Should we worship Perumal and

> deliberately avoid other dieties?

 

Dear Badri,

 

Let me offer an alternate point of view.

 

It depends on your state of mind. If you have absolute

faith in the purifying grace of Narayana, your mind by

itself will develop an aversion to worshipping anything

short of this Ultimate. If you settle for worshipping

anything other than the Ultimate, it only demonstrates

lack of faith and lack of resolve in attaining the

highest good. Our acharyas emphatically emphasize that

we should not settle for any of these lesser goals,

and that we must wholeheartedly and single-mindedly

dedicate ourself only to the highest, Narayana.

 

It is not a "sin" to worship other gods, in that you

are not a morally bad person for doing so. It is not

morally wrong like slaughtering a living being or partaking

in such slaughter's fruits. It is, however, detrimental

if you have resolved to focus yourself on the Ultimate,

because you are falling far short of your goal, and you

are not being honest with yourself. Rather than

recognizing your inherent, true nature as a 'sesha' of

Narayana, you are being enslaved by other things, whether

they be sensual pleasures, wealth, or other deities.

Worship of all these other things are not conducive

to the highest spiritual good, because there is no

meeting point between them and your essential nature.

 

If you choose to worship anything other than the our

Blissful Beloved Narayana, you must ask yourself why

you are doing so. If you really do not care for attaining

the highest good in the most direct manner, go ahead and

do as you are doing. But if you are really resolved

to attain nothing other than Narayana, there is nothing

that anything or anyone else can give that will satisfy

you. So, the bottom line is that you must stay focussed.

 

But even here, it is important to understand that not

all people are mentally ready to take the plunge into the

blissful waters of Narayana. As Nammalvar says,

"avar avar tamatamadu arivari vagai vagai..." -- people

worship their gods according to their inclination and

capacity to grasp the truth. What's more, such gods

themselves are not "false" -- "avar avar iraiyavar

kuRaivilar" -- because even within these gods, our Narayana

stands within and is the power that bestows whatever benefits

they may confer.

 

Many such people are simply not ready to become 'ekAntis',

i.e., single-minded in their devotion to Narayana. Perhaps

this is because of their family background or the place they

live; we cannot say. For many such people, worshipping other

divinities is a necessary step for their mind to become slowly

purified, to cross over their mundane desires and realize that

the essential truth of Narayana. We should be careful not

to condemn these people, since their mental outlook is not

conducive to exclusive worship of Narayana. Let them be,

for that is currently the appropriate path for them. Their

worship will slowly purify their mind and eventually it too

will be directed toward Narayana. Yes, it is slower than

the direct path, but this is not our worry.

 

You also ask a more practical question which face many of us.

If you go to a temple with many deities, I have been taught

that respect should be given to all, but worship and adoration

is only to Narayana and his parivAras. There is nothing wrong

in avoiding the other sannidhis. But when confronted by the

other deities installed, we must be respectful. For example, when

walking down the street, if all of a sudden we come across

an utsavam of Siva Perumaan, we are to respectfully

hold our hands together, and let the utsavam pass on our

right side. By no means should we do anything disrespectful.

 

Furthermore, we shouldn't apply our rules and our philosophy

to members of other traditions. The way Advaita has evolved,

for example, they worship Siva, Vishnu, Ganapati, Parvati, etc.,

equally. No matter how wrong we think they are, let them be, is

my opinion. That is the way their acharyas have taught them

for at least a thousand years. Our only quarrel with them

should be if they challenge us.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

Mani