Worship

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

I was recently given this perspective from an acquaintance:

'One main reason why Hindus are less cohesive among themselves is becasue of

the way we pray: In Hindu temples, we focus on ourselves or our family only.

On the other hand in Christian and Islamic worships, the focus is on their

respective community.'

[in Buddhist temples, prayers are held for whole universe.]

 

Any views?

 

Regards,

Sathia

[Guest guest]

/vaNakkam Sathia.

 

On the most important day in Christianity, namely Christmas, the focus is on

the family. Sure friends give presents, but the day is entirely with the

family. Any worship is done on Christmas Eve, but the impact is conspicuous

by is absence. In Catholic churches, there is a little more life at midnight

mass. But the community is not present in the prayer in spirit.

 

On the other hand, Dipavali and PongaL are reasonably community oriented.

Holi is the same. In villages, the month of /mArkaZi is community oriented

as people sing /tirup/pAvai.

 

I do not know about muslims. But in Christianity the one-day-per-week

worship can hardly be called a community-minded service. Sure you pray for

the sick and offer special prayers. I do see its benefits.

 

I notice that some of the Sanskrit prayers are specifically called private.

That is the prayer can be addressed only by the person requesting it with

the help of one Guru or father etc., who may help with the recitation. This

appears to have been meant to reduce abuse. If a prayer is very efficacious,

it is surely abused and public prayers tend to be abusive. And Christianity

is very abusive in public. In private it can do and it does wonders like

Hinduism.

 

In Hinduism, people will pray and offer to go to a temple 200 miles away to

get a relative cured. Sure prayer is private and famliy-based. But in a

temple on one evening 30 families may offer prayers and when the individual

prayer is recited and repeated, does it not become public? If 10 people do

/arcanAs on the same evening, is it private or public? The crowd has to wait

until its turn comes. And in on /arcaNa, 20 people may be present and on

Fridays (Equivalent of Sunday in Church) there may be 100 people present.

This is more than the number of people present on a Sunday worship.

 

/vantanam.

Visu

 

>"S T" <ssathia

>[akandabaratam] Worship

>Mon, 22 Jul 2002 01:37:35 +0000

In Hindu temples, we focus on ourselves or our family

>only.

[Guest guest]

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha!

Sathia Swamin,

 

You have raised an important question. It is important

to think about this at length and honestly. Beauty is

in the eyes of beholder. So also perception is in the

mind of the practitioner. It is not that vedic and Vedic

dharma constrains us to self-centered or a narrow view

or myopic view of existence consisting only of family

and kith and kin. Quite to the contrary, our scriptures

talk about loka kshemam... everywhere... For example:

 

Swastee prajabhayah paripaalayantam

Nyaayaena margaena mahee maheesha

gO brahmaNaebhyaha shubhamastu nityam

lOka samasta sukhinO bhavantu

 

Every where our ancestors have beseeched upon the reader

to pursue loka kshemam... even recitation of gayathri

and varna ashramam are all designed to protect the whole

society and places of living. not at all to look down upon

others or fight amongst ourselves.

 

One who respects GOD cannot disrespect anything (thing)

because pursham evadagm sarvam -- purusha sukta -- that

one god fills all and everything There is infinite number

of profound statements that state the importance of

universal well being. We do not apply.

 

Unfortunately we count the trees and ignore the forest.

We do not understand what has been said and do not

find time to clarify our doubts with great mahans and

acharyans who have sacrificed their life to shed some

light to us. I am not well versed in our scriptures..I

have scratched a very fine line on the edges of our

scriptures. Our charama sloka -- where Sriman Narayana

himself assures that HE would come down to this place

to protect all of us. It is by design (seer's design)

that many and important devatas are not entirely human

in form so that we may develop love for all forms of

life. We miss all these messages. unfortunate...

Adiyen is very sure that many learned members of this

list will respond much more than what adiyen has

shared.

Acharyan Thiruvadigale Saranam

 

> "S T" <ssathia

> 'One main reason why Hindus are less cohesive among

> themselves is becasue of

> the way we pray: In Hindu temples, we focus on

> ourselves or our family only.

[Guest guest]

Dear S T,

 

Where else in the world, except in the Vedic Literature

of Bharat, would you find such beautiful and lofty ideals,

such as:

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - The world is my family

or

Amritasyaputraah - you are all Sons of immortality

 

And remember for example the last Sukta of Rik Veda, which

calls for and proclaims Samiti Samani - harmony in society...

And many many others. It is just a matter of preference of

a person.

 

So, it is not some inherent fault of the Vedic teachings,

but the insufficient realization of these teachings in the

life of the majority of population.

 

Do not think that the other religions dont have the same

problems. Look at the Christians in Ireland how they fight

each other. Or realize that USA, the so-called christian

country, is at the same time, statistically the most criminal

country of the world. Or Muslims fight in Afganistan, Pak,

Iran against Iraq etc. etc. In many Islam countries, I

heard, exists even slavery...

 

Any man, of any religion, must realise his divinity and

universality within himself. And then he will naturally

radiate love to his surrourndings.

 

Shasa A. Ruzicka

Maharishi Ayurveda Clinic

Badems, Germany

 

> "S T"

> One main reason why Hindus are less cohesive

> among themselves is becasue of the way we pray:

> In Hindu temples, we focus on ourselves or our family

> only.

[Guest guest]

Dear S T,

> 'One main reason why Hindus are less cohesive among

> themselves is becasue of > the way we pray: In Hindu

> temples, we focus on >ourselves or our family only.

 

Hindus as a whole, there is no definite rule and

regulations. Sandhyavandanam can be considered as

a prayer for the whole universe. In Vaishnava aspect,

there is no question of workship is for the community

only, not for any personal benefits.

 

Here is a fine Example:

Kurathalvan lost his eyes due to the Chola Raja. When

Ramanuja meet him, ask him to pray to the Varadharaja

for his eyes and says he will bestow him with eyes.

Kurathalvan rejects his plea, says that i wont workship

for my benefit. This may be caused due to some of my

mistakes. I might have commented on someone's 'thiruman

is Konal', so he might have taken my eyes. Here he

firmly says, a vaishnav should not workship for his

personal benefits. Also not to comment on coleague

vaishanava behaviour, rather than educating him.

 

Adiyen Ramanujadasan,

mohan

[Guest guest]

Srimathe: Ra:ma:nuja:ya Namaha:

 

Dear Devotee,

 

As others have so aptly pointed out, I think that it is important to

recognize that much of what we associate with Hinduism today really

does not reflect the proper teachings of the Vedas as taught to us by

our Acha:ryas. Indeed, one of the key elements of Sri Ramanuja

Darshanam is that service to the devotees of Sriman Na:ra:yana, the

bha:gavathas, is greater than service to Sriman Na:ra:yana Himself.

This idea of service is intended to extend to all levels, from

community prayer and fellowship, to humanitarian support.

 

In pre-British India, this concept of service to devotees as service

to the Lord was fairly easy to define. For much of India's history,

most people lived in rural areas and served various functions in a

largely agrarian society. And, at the center of each of these

villages were the temples. Consequently, it was generally accepted

that all those who settled in a village having a main temple

dedicated to Sriman Na:ra:yana were bha:gavathas. So, it became

relatively easy for devotees to associate in a mood of fellowship and

community with each other, as well as serve and support each other on

social, cultural, and religious levels.

 

With increased urbanization and secularization, what to speak of the

globalization of followers of Vedic tradition throughout the world,

it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the sense of

fellowship and friendship that was once the trademark of Ramanuja's

Vision. So, unfortunately, the lay followers of our faith, along

with many other faiths that have been placed under the label

of "Hinduism", have succumbed to this popularistic notion of going to

the temple or doing a pooja only to seek blessings for ourselves, our

extended family and ocassionally our immediate community of friends.

 

But, I think we have been given a very unique opportunity at this

stage, to go beyond just the village concept of service to devotees

around a single temple or group of temples, to a level where we can

dedicate ourselves to serving all living beings, recognizing that we

are all inhabitants of the same earth. After all, is not every

living being a temple to the Lord who resides within his/her heart,

whether or not one knows it or not?

 

It is my understanding that this philosophy of universal fellowship,

in which a devotee strives to live for the benefit of the world as

whole, is really the heart of what Sri Ramanuja Darshanam is about.

 

Consequently, it can only be best learned from an Acha:rya, such as

our revered Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, who to me, is the very embodiment of

this ideal.

 

adiye:n Ra:ma:nuja da:san

mohan

 

, "S T" <ssathia@h...> wrote:

> Dear Friends,

> I was recently given this perspective from an acquaintance:

> 'One main reason why Hindus are less cohesive among themselves is

becasue of

> the way we pray: In Hindu temples, we focus on ourselves or our

family only.

> On the other hand in Christian and Islamic worships, the focus is

on their

> respective community.'

> [in Buddhist temples, prayers are held for whole universe.]

>

> Any views?

>

> Regards,

> Sathia