dancing before the Deity

January 11, 2009

--- On Mon, 9/8/08, vinod krishna <vinod_krishna23 wrote:

vinod krishna <vinod_krishna23Fwd: dancing before the Deity"nayar vinod" <nayar.vinodMonday, September 8, 2008, 1:32 AM

In the Dvaraka-mahatmya the importance of dancing before the Deity isstated by Lord Krishna as follows: "A person who is in a jubilantspirit, who feels profound devotional ecstasy while dancing before Me,and who manifests different features of bodily expression can burnaway all the accumulated sinful reactions he has stocked up for many,many thousands of years." In the same book there is a statement byNarada wherein he asserts, "From the body of any person who claps anddances before the Deity, showing manifestations of ecstasy, all thebirds of sinful activities fly away upward." Just as by clapping thehands one can cause many birds to fly away, similarly the birds of allsinful activities which are sitting on the body can be made to flyaway simply by dancing and clapping

before the Deity of Krishna.In the Naradiya Purana there is a statement about bowing down andoffering respect to the Deity. It is said there, "A person who hasperformed a great ritualistic sacrifice and a person who has simplyoffered his respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lordcannot be held as equals." The person who has executed many greatsacrifices will attain the result of his pious activities, but whensuch results are finished, he has to take birth again on the earthlyplanet; however, the person who has once offered respects, bowing downbefore the Deity, will not come back to this world, because he will godirectly to the abode of Krishna.In the Brahmanda Purana it is said, "A person who sees the Lord'sRatha-yatra car festival and then stands up to receive the Lord canpurge all kinds of sinful results from his body."A similar statement is there in the

Bhavishya Purana, in which it issaid, "Even if born of a lowly family, a person who follows theRatha-yatra car when the Deities pass in front or from behind willsurely be elevated to the position of achieving equal opulence withVishnu." It is stated in the Puranas, "Persons who attempt to visit the holyplaces of pilgrimage, like Vrindavana, Mathura or Dvaraka, areactually glorified. By such traveling activities, they can pass overthe desert of material existence."In the Hari-bhakti- sudhodaya there is a statement about the benefit ofvisiting the temples of Lord Krishna. As we have explained previously,in Vrindavana, Mathura and Dvaraka the system is that all the devoteestake advantage of visiting various temples situated in those holyplaces. It is stated in the Hari-bhakti- sudhodaya, "Persons who areimpelled by pure devotional service in Krishna consciousness and

whotherefore go to see the Deities of Vishnu in the temple will surelyget relief from entering again into the prison house of a mother'swomb." The conditioned soul forgets the trouble of living within themother's womb during birth, but it is a very painful and terribleexperience. In order to make an escape from this material condition,one is advised to visit a temple of Vishnu with devotionalconsciousness. Then one can very easily get out of the miserablecondition of material birth.~ N.O.D. (Nectar of Devotion ORBhakti-Rasamrta- Sindhu), end of Ch 9, Further Considerations ofDevotional Principles-- IN LIFE, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don't really have to go looking for them. We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time in this world looking for the bad,

disappointing or annoying when we can look around us, and see the wondrous things before us!jakshan