Kamya and Parartha Puja

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seventy shrines for Siva. No one knows who consecrated these temples and when.

All these show the great antiquity of the temples and when. Many are svayambhu;

where, in the ages past, Siva manifested Himself of His own will in the form of

just a piece of stone under a tree; the period was beyond human knowledge.

When men happened to see this later, they built a temple round the linga and

the tree became the sthala-vrksa. Other lingas had been installed by rsis, by

the devas and by men. The worship of these lingas in the temple is called

parartha-puja (parartha-for the others, the public). The purpose of

parartha-puja is laid down in the agamas as two fold; one, the long life and

health of the king, his prosperity and victory in battle; and two, the welfare

and prosperity of the village. In modern

times, the ruler and the ruled have merged into one in the name of democracy;

hence the two purposes mentioned have also merged into one. Still, we can find

a second object, namely, the upholding of the nobler values in the life of man

and the training of man in love and compassion to fellow beings, in

selflessness and righteousness. As things are today, temple worship has to

take up this duty as a challenge and carry it on for a long time to come.

Liberation from bonds and attainment of bliss, or inseparable union with Siva,

are said to be the goal of Siva-puja. Training one to lead a good life even,

in this birth has to be added on as a necessary goal now. Man has lost his

moorings and there is no pilot to guide him safely across the turbulent waters

of the ocean of life. Religion and community worship are the forces which can,

in some measure, restore

those moorings. Any one can perform the svatha-puja in his home, provided he

has the initiation; this is purely personal to him. But the parartha-puja, done

in the temple for the welfare of all, can be done only by a Sivacarya.

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