Srila Prabhupada speaks out about Diety worship at home

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Devotee reading:"Especially for the householder-devotees, the path of Deity

worship is strongly recommended. As far as possible every householder must

install the Deity of Visnu,by the direction of the spiritual master,

especially like Radha-Krsna, Laksmi-Narayana, or Sita-Rama (or any other form

of the Lord, like Nrsimha, Varaha, Gaura-Nitai, Matsya, Kurma, salagrama-sila

and many other forms of Visnu, like Trivikrama, Kesava, Acyuta, Vasudeva,

Narayana, Damodara, etc., as they are recommended in the Vaisnava Tantras or

Puranas). One's family should worship strictly, following the directions and

regulation of arcana-viddhi."

 

Prabhupada: Hm. Now, this is the important point. I understand that some of

our householder devotees are ordering Deities in India. But here is the point.

The point is that they "worship strictly, following the direction and

regulation of arcana-viddhi." Don't make a play. If you follow strictly the

Deity worship method, then you can establish; otherwise, don't establish the

diety worship. It will be an offense.

 

One who is able to manage ... Just like we are showing the example of how to

worship the Deity in the temple.. The idea is, as here in temple , our

devotees are engaged in the worship of the Deity, similarly, a householder,

when all the family members are trained up how to worship the Deity, then they

can establish. Not that they make a farce. Cleanliness, and the rules and

regulation, that must be there.

 

That is the duty of every ... Actually, the higher castes in India still,

everyone--brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya--they must have Deity worship at home.

Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto

'bhijayate.

Anyone who is rich in India still, they have got Deity worship at home. Very

nicely. A separate house, a small house attached to their big buildings, and

there is Deity worship, and the all the members should go there, offer

prayers. Just like we are doing, similarly the same thing there.

 

In Kanpur there is one temple, Dvarakadhisa. The temple belongs to a very rich

man, Singhania. It is order of the lady, the mother of Mr. Singhania, that

"You, all of you, must visit the Deity ." Very rich men, always busy in

business. But still, they have to come to the temple and offer respect, take

caranamrta and prasadam. Then go to office. If one misses one day, then he

will be fined. The head man will be fined ten dollars, and the next man five

dollars, like that, according to position. So if one day somebody misses,

immediately the priest will go with the bill of fine: "Sir, you have to pay

this fine.Yes. You take immediately."

 

Still there are such rules and regulations. So Deity worship... it is the duty

of all householders, this Deity worship. That means automatically all the

members become devotees. But it must be done accordingly... there are

sixty-four kinds of offenses you'll find for Deity worship in The Nectar of

Devotion . For chanting Hare Krsna mantra, there are ten kinds of offenses.

But Deity worship, there are so many offenses. These are described. "You

cannot sit down before the Deity like this, you cannot yawn before the Deity,

you cannot talk nonsense before the Deity." So many things are there.

 

So therefore it is said that "strictly following the direction and regulation

of arcana viddhi." So you are being trained up. In India they are trained up

since centuries. Their culture is different. They automatically can adopt,

immediately. They're trained up. You are not trained up as yet. You are being

trained. So unless you are fully trained, don't establish Deity to make a

farce.

 

Devotee reading:...."Any member of the family who is above twelve years of age

should be initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, and all the members of

the household should be engaged in the daily service of the Lord, beginning

from morning, 4 a.m., till night, 10 p.m. ..."

 

Prabhupada:That is required........ all the members of the household should be

engaged in the daily service of the Lord, beginning from morning, 4 a.m., till

night, 10 p.m. ..." This is Deity worship. Not sleeping up to 9:00 and Deity

worship. This is a farce. That is not allowed. That will be an offense. All

the menbers must rise early in the morning, just like we are doing in the

temple. At 4 a.m. take bath, cleanse, and offer aratrika. That is the

beginning of Deity worship. And all the members should be so trained up ...

Suppose one is absent for some business, the other members should take it.

There will be so many assistants, but the Deity worship must go on very

nicely. Then?

devotee reading:...'' by performing mangala aratrika, niranjana, arcana, puja,

kirtana, srngara, bhoga vaikali, sandhya aratrika, patha, bhoga, sayana

aratrika, etc. , engaging in such worship of the Deity, under the direction of

a bona fide spiritual master, will greatly help the householders to purify

their very existence and make rapid progress in spiritual knowledge.''

 

''Simple theoretical book knowledge is not sufficient for a neophyte devotee.

Book knowledge is theoretical, whereas the arcana process is practical.

Spiritual knowledge must be developed by a combination of theoretical and

practical knowledge, and that is the guaranteed way for attainment of

spiritual perfection. The training of devotional service by a neophyte devotee

completely depends on the expert spiritual master, who knows how to lead his

disciples to make gradual progress towards the path back home, back to

Godhead.''

 

''One should not become a pseudo spiritual master as a matter of business to

meet one's family expenditure, but one must be an expert spiritual master to

deliver the disciple from the clutches of impending death. Srila Visvanatha

Cakravarti Thakura has defined the bona fide qualities of a spiritual master,

and one of the verses in that description reads":

 

sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana

srngara-tan-mandira-marjanadau

yuktasya bhaktams ca niyunjato 'pi

vande guroh sri-caranaravindam

 

"Sri-vigraha is the arca, or suitable worshipable form of the Lord, and the

disciple should be engaged in worshiping the Deity. The spiritual master is

always engaged in the temple worship of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. He also

engages his disciples in such worship. They dress the Deities in beautiful

clothes and ornaments, clean their temple, and perform other similair worship

of the Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a

spiritual master." (End)

© 1991 by Bhaktivedanta Book Trust