Anya devatha worship / Sri Saraswathi Pooja

July 14, 2004

SrI:

SrimathE Ramanujaya Nama:

Pranams:

Regarding anya devatha worship, adiyen is having a doubt. Adiyen read

a posting (may be a posting dated 2 years back)regarding Saraswathi

pooja. If adiyen remembers correct, in place of Saraswathi pooja

vaishnavites are to do Sri Hayagreeva pooja. Adiyen doubt is - can a

vaishnavite especially who had the baghyam of Saranagathi, keep the

picture of Sri Saraswathi along with Perumal and Thayar? Some one

told adiyen that there is nothing wrong to keep the picture of Sri

Saraswathi with Perumal and Thayar. Adiyen will be very greatful for

clarification.

Dasan Srinivasan

July 15, 2004

Oppiliappan, "malaseenu" <malaseen@o...> wrote:

Regarding anya devatha worship, adiyen is having a doubt. Adiyen read

> a posting (may be a posting dated 2 years back)regarding Saraswathi

> pooja. If adiyen remembers correct, in place of Saraswathi pooja

> vaishnavites are to do Sri Hayagreeva pooja. Adiyen doubt is - can

a

> vaishnavite especially who had the baghyam of Saranagathi, keep the

> picture of Sri Saraswathi along with Perumal and Thayar? Some one

> told adiyen that there is nothing wrong to keep the picture of Sri

> Saraswathi with Perumal and Thayar. Adiyen will be very greatful for

> clarification.

> Dasan Srinivasan

**************

Dear members,

In the past few weeks I've been closely following the thread of

discussion on this subject both on this list as well as 'SriRangasri'

group. The subject of 'anya-devata arAdana' has been debated earlier

also many times in the Bhakti list years ago (often ending in

needless acrimony). Amongst SriVaishnavites everywhere in the world

this topic is very, very controversial -- it's the proverbial red rag

for the bull. The discussions, both past and present, always end up

in more heat than light and in the process many good and kind-hearted

correspondents get slighted or hurt.

Take the case of the above member, for example.

The above correspondent, for example, obviously is a good devotee of

Saraswati. Alongwith other 'arAdana murthi-s' he is probably already

having a portrait of the Goddess in his 'puja' and offering it

worship faithfully for many years.

Now after witnessing the debate on 'anya-devata-arAdana' on the

internet, a serious doubt has arisen in his mind and completely

besieged it ("Should I keep the portrait or 'vigraham' of Sarasvati

in my puja room alongwith the main 'nitya-arAdana-murthi' of say,

Lord Narayana, Rama or Krishna?"). I'm sure now our good friend will

go on worrying about this matter 'ad infinitum' until he gets a

resolution for his doubt. Everytime he now looks at the Sarasvati

idol in his puja, I'm sure the grave doubt festering inside his mind

will simply encroach upon the space within his heart where earlier

there was only pure unalloyed devotion and worshipful attitude.

Furthermore, if at the end of this great debate on the lists, our

good member receives more enlightenment about the perils of "anya-

devata-arAdana' and the grave strictures against it contained in

the 'sAstra', one can be sure, our poor friend will come close to

contemplating the eviction of the portrait of Goddess Sarasvati from

his 'puja'. If such an event were to really come to pass, one can

imagine how heavy with feelings of complex guilt and anxiety his

heart would be... It would be a sad and heart-breaking thing indeed

for a devotee to discard, all of a sudden, an object of worship that

he/she had been tending with loving care all the years...

*************

Bhakti is a rare and precious feeling. It is also extremely fragile.

The feelings of Bhakti residing inside the deepest quarters of a

devotee's heart may be compared to a little sapling. It does not grow

by itself. It needs careful, patient tending. It is seeded by the

Almighty, no doubt, but it is the devotee himself, through his own

efforts, who must cultivate the sapling of Bhakti. It is slow,

painstaking toil akin to farming. It takes years. Objects of worship -

- like an idol or portrait of even a so-called "anya-devata" in one's

home -- all only serve to help the devotee in much the same way as

the plough or sickle serves the farmer. We may look upon them as

simply tools and implements with which the devotee ('upAsaka')

patiently ploughs the field within his heart ("akAsa-hrdaya" is the

special Vedic term for it) in order to reap the final harvest of

Bhakti.

I think it would be useful if paused and asked ourselves what really,

in the final analysis, is the harvest we hope to reap -- Bhakti

itself or the implements that aid in Bhakti-realization?

*************

Whatever may be the sectarian denomination we belong, we should all

know that our faith has one common root -- the Vedas. The Vedas

unequivocally say that there is but One God but his forms and

functions are manifold ("yAni nAmAni gowNaNi vikhyAtAni mahAtmA",

says the Vishnu Sahasranamam). The One God, is not given any special

names; the Upanishads has for Him one name only -- 'Brahman'. But the

same Vedas also reveal the reality of a number of lesser gods and

goddesses that are ensouled by this very Brahman. These gods and

goddesses are never antithetical or antagonistic to Brahman but

subservient to Him. They only carry out the many great and glorious

functions ('vyUhA-s' and 'leelA-s') of the Brahman.

The glory of the Almighty Brahman is not one bit diminished when

praise of His lesser forms -- be they gods or goddesses -- is sung.

The glory of the agent ("dEvata") only adds to, not diminish, the

glory of the principal ("purusha"). This is the reason why the Vedas

pay homage, through wonderful hymns of revelation called "sUktam-s",

to even lesser gods and goddesses. It is the reason why we

find "sUktam-s" in the Vedas being sung in praise for what might seem

to be (for the uninitiated) a rather overcrowded pantheon of gods and

goddesses -- like "vishnu-suktam", "rudram", "navagraha-

suktam", "nakshatra-suktam", "medhA-suktam", "sarasvati-

sUktam", "durga-sUktam", "neelA-sUktam" etc....

When you read these "sUktham-s" you will notice that in each of them

the 'devata' is being hailed as though it were the Supreme Deity.

When you read the "vishnu-sUktam" you see Vishnu being hailed as the

Supreme One. When you read the "rudram" you see Rudra being hailed as

the Supreme One. This does not mean the Veda 'sUktam' is

equivocating. The Vedas must never be mistaken to be saying one thing

one moment and another thing in the other ... The 'suktam-s' must be

understood rather to be celebrating a particular function or facet

(amongst countless others) of the one and same Brahman. Vishnu for

example represents the function of cosmic sustenance. Rudra

represents the function of cosmic destruction. Brhaspati represents

the function of cosmic regulation and order. Varuna represents the

physical forces of the Cosmos. Lakshmi, the Vishnu-patni, represents

the function of cosmic compassion. Sarasvati represents the function

of cosmic intelligence... and so on and so forth...

*************

If we understand well the above essential aspect of the Vedic faith,

we will not have any difficulty in understanding the theological

pitfalls in 'anya-devata-arAdana'.

The worship of a particular 'function, aspect or facet' of the

Almighty is quite valid. As ordinary people keen to cultivate

devotion, our worship of gods/goddesses may serve really well to

kindle Bhakti within our hearts. Such worship surely does help

strengthen in the long-run an attitude of worship and adoration

within us. Such worship in fact leads us slowly but certainly to a

superior form of worship --- the worshipful contemplation of the

Supreme One ("brahmOpAsana"). That indeed is true Bhakti, for it is

directed towards the the One supreme Reality, the Brahman of the

Vedas.

************

All said and done, my humble advice to our good member- friend above

is therefore simply this:

Do not give up your practice of worship or 'upAsana' of Sarasvati. Do

give an important place to the portrait of this Goddess in

your 'puja'. Do not discard Sarasvati who is but a representation of

the power and function of Cosmic Intelligence. Your efforts will not

go in vain. You need have no doubts about this. But while doing so,

please keep in mind constantly (and all our great Vedantic "AchAryAs"

attest to this fact) that there will come a time, a certain moment in

life, when your intense 'upAsana' will have gradually moved to a more

lofty plane ... a plane of experience where you will be enabled to

apprehend the reality of a greater Cosmic Entity -- the One Supreme

Brahman, the One reality the Upanishad describes as "sa ekah"...

Rgds,

dAsan,

Sudarshan

July 15, 2004

SrI:

Dear SrI Srinivasan :

DEvi Saraswathi is a daughter in law of

SrIman NaarAyaNa in our sampradhAyam.

She has an identity of Her own in Vedic

Parlance ( Saraswathi, ILA , BHArathy ) of

which there are postings in the Oppiliappan

Archives .

DEvi Saraswathi and Her role in Kaanchi VaradarAjan's

aavirbhAvam (appearnace ) at Hasthigiri in response to

the Aswamedha Yaj~nam performed by Brahama DEvan

along with His dharma Pathni , Saraswathi is central

to the Sthala PurANam of Kaanchipuram VaradarAja

PerumAL .

She is still flowing as Vegavathy river near Kaanchi

and the sthOthram of " VegAsEthu SthOthram " by

Swamy Desikan saluting the Lord teaching His furious

daughter in law a lesson by taking the form of a dam (SEthu)

to stop Saraswathi's angry flow as a river to destroy

the AswamEdha Yaagam of Her husband is linked to

YathOktha Kaari PerumAL"s sthala purANam .

Here at Lord YathOktha Kaari's PerumAL Sannidhi ,

DEvi Saraswathi is sitting at the sacred feet of

the reclining Lord ( as the SEthu) and performing

Kaimkaryams for Her Father-in-Law with folded hands

even today . Therefore , Saraswathi DEvi is in

the Garbagraham there and we recognize Her there .

Saraswathi and Her connection to the birth of

SrImath RaamAyaNam through Her blessings

to Sage Vaalmiki is also an important factor

to recognize Her for Her VidhyA granting powers ,

which was blessed to Her by Swamy Hayagreevan

( SrI HayagrIva SthOthram , where Swamy DEsikan

states clearly that Both SrI DakshiNA Moorthy

and Saraswathi DEvi got their glories as

blessing one with Jn~Anam through a small

portion of the powers of Lord HayagrIvan ,

as the seat and source of all VidhyAs . Saraswathi's

power is therefore derivative of the primary power ).

Sarawathi DEvi has one more aspect as the recognizer

of AchArya RaamAnujA's BhAshyam at Kaanchi

and naming it as SrI BhAshyam . She presented

the ArchA Moorthy of Lord Lakshmi HayagrIvan

to AchArya RaamAnuja , which became the AarAdhana

Moorthy of Swamy Desikan an is worshipped today

by the ParakAla Matam Jeeyars .

We have now come a full circle starting from Saraswathi DEvi

to Lord HayagrIvan . These are the reasons for worshipping

Lord HayagrIvan over Saraswathi DEvi as the AarAdhana

Moorthy for VidhyA GrahaNam .

Having a picture of Saraswathi in Pooja graham with

the Lord is more reminiscent of YathOktha Kaari

Sannidhi , where both the Lord and Sarawathi Devi

are seen together .

As long as one keeps in mind that SrIman NaarayaNan

is Para DEvathi and is the indweller of all including

Saraswathi and other Jeevans , the power of prapatthi

does not diminish .

V.Sadagopan

----- Original Message :

"malaseenu" <malaseen

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 8:41 PM

Anya devatha worship / Sri Saraswathi Pooja

> SrI:

> SrimathE Ramanujaya Nama:

>

> Pranams:

>

> Regarding anya devatha worship, adiyen is having a doubt. Adiyen read

> a posting (may be a posting dated 2 years back)regarding Saraswathi

> pooja. If adiyen remembers correct, in place of Saraswathi pooja

> vaishnavites are to do Sri Hayagreeva pooja. Adiyen doubt is - can a

> vaishnavite especially who had the baghyam of Saranagathi, keep the

> picture of Sri Saraswathi along with Perumal and Thayar? Some one

> told adiyen that there is nothing wrong to keep the picture of Sri

> Saraswathi with Perumal and Thayar. Adiyen will be very greatful for

> clarification.

>

> Dasan Srinivasan

Links

>

July 15, 2004

Dear swamin:

I am answering with a very little knowledge which I obtained from

trivial sources. Please pardon me if it is wrong or misleading.

The short answer for your question is NO.

The long answer can be explained by juxtaposing it with a real life

example (this was also quoted in one of the replies to this thread in

this/other lists).

Saranagathi is kind of wedding, occurring between the baghawathas and

the supreme Lord. This is quite analogous to human wedding were a

kanya is getting married to a purusha. In her post-wedding life,

will it be ethical for ANY reason for the bride to approach any other

purusha for any benefit (Please don’t extend is realistic analogy any

further. This analogy is just given to increase the efficacy of this

communication)?

Just how the kanya will believe and depend only on her pathi to

provide all benefits, all prapannans (those who had surrendered

themselves) should rely only on Sriman Narayanan and her consort AND

NO ONE ELSE…

Secondly, what will be the benefit of worshiping a demigod, when a

more supreme power is available?

Regards,

- Adiyen

>

> malaseenu [malaseen (AT) optonline (DOT) net]

> Thursday, July 15, 2004 06:11

> Oppiliappan

> Anya devatha worship / Sri Saraswathi Pooja