MODES OF WORSHIP

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MODES OF WORSHIP

The

Veda is the most ancient as well

as the most lasting knowledge (or Sastra)

discovered by man. That is to say, man has not invented it; he has only

recollected it in the serene silence of the soul. So, the Veda can lead man into the Vision of the

Truth, unreachable by the senses and unrelated to the material world. It is

inaccessible to human reason because it is transcendent. So, it is described as

Paramam Vyoma, the Great

Protector, also indestructible, Thath,

Truth. These words denote all the four Vedas,

beginning with the Rg Veda.

The

term Veda was originally applied

to the Supreme Lord, Paramesvara, the All-Knowing. (Veththi ithi Vedah - He who knows is Veda). Then it was applied to the

principle of understanding (Vedayathi ithi

Veda), that which makes known is Veda.

The Rg and other Vedas have the all-knowing characteristic.

So this meaning too is appropriate. Later the word was applied to activities in

consonance with the Vedas -

activities promoting the goals laid down, namely, Righteous, Economic,

Volitional and Spiritual.

The

Supreme Lord is All-seeing; He is the person on whom all the hymns of the Vedas converge. The Vedas enable man to get the vision of that

Lord and those who have earned that Vision are the Rshis. They were guided by the Vedas; many psalms, hymns and declarations emerged from

them. As a result, the Supreme Lord Himself is referred to as the Great Sage (Maharshi) in the Brahma Sutra. Among the 108 Names of Siva,

the Supreme Lord, we find Maha-rshi

and Mukhya-rshi (the Chief Sage,

the foremost Sage). Even the Veda

is personified and referred to as Rshi,

for the same reason. Brahmam (the

Vast Expanse) is another word which denotes the Supreme Lord as well as the Veda. Hence, all acts, undertaken with no

other desire than the attainment of Brahmam,

are also known as Brahma activity

- a Brahmayajna. A Rshi yajna is a sacrificial act - with no

desire to earn the fruit ensuing therefrom - designed to gain the Vision of

Truth.

While

performing such sacrificial acts and yajnas,

the expression, Swaaha, is used.

Yajnas are pure, auspicious, sacred acts. This exclamation Swaaha, used while offering oblations or

reciting the Veda, is full of

significance. Kesavaaya Swaaha, Praanaaya

Swaaha, Indraaya Swaaha: the expression is used in this manner. The

meaning generally given is " Let this be duly consumed. May these

materials we are now placing in this holy fire be fully accepted and consumed,

so that through this Fire they can reach the Deity for which it is intended - kesava, Prana, Indra. " Doubts may

arise--why pray to Fire for something which is inevitable, because it is the

very nature of Fire to burn all that is put into it. But the scriptural meaning

is different. Kalidasa in the poem Kumara

Sambhavam describes the Himalayas

as Devathaatma (Divine Souled),

that is to say, the Embodiment of the Divine. The scriptures distinguish the

Divine Body and the Material Body, which each entity and being possess. The

Divine Body of every one cannot be cognised by the senses. When an oblation is

given to it, it becomes sanctified. The Aahuthi

is trans-substantiated into Havis.

 

The

oblation or Aahuthi is thus

described in the Veda. The

offering and offeree become one through the acceptance. (The Attha and the Adya). Who in this case is the offeree, the acceptor? It is Agni, the Divine Power inherent in Fire,

in the Sun, in the warmth of the vital air that sustains life. When with the

recitation of the appropriate ceremonial formulae, material oblations are

placed in Agni with the phrase Swaaha, it is not a mere exclamation; it

is expiation; it is realisation of the prayer, which the ritual represents.

The

Veda is known as Chhandas also. This name means pleasant,

joyous; it is also associated with the kindred meanings - strong, vital,

shielded. Since all the attributes and characteristics can be predicated of the

Vedas, the name referred to above

is very appropriate. The sacred ceremonies and rituals which the Vedas expound confer joy not only on the

participants but on the entire world and even on worlds beyond. The Supreme

Lord who is the source of Bliss, is known in the scriptural text as Yajnaanga (having the Vedic ritual as His

Limbs), Yajna-vahana (using the

Vedic ritual as His Vehicle). When Godhead assumes form the first manifestation

is Hiranyagarbha (the Golden

Womb). This too is embodied Bliss, having as vehicle the bird with wings of

Beauty, or Garuda. The Supreme Lord is also known as Vrsha-ratha. He whose chariot is the bull, the symbol of Dharma (Righteousness). This is the reason

why in temples we find the bird Garuda carved or kept as an idol before the

shrine of Vishnu and the figure of the bull or its idol placed before shrines

of Siva.

Chha or Chhaadana

has as its root meaning another important aspect of the Vedas--shielding, fostering or promoting,

promoting the welfare, the ultimate liberation of humans engaged in the

unceasing round of worldly affairs. Humans are ever caught up in activities

pursued with the profit available as the purpose. They have to be moulded as

righteous men and women at the same time; the Tree of Life has to be guarded to

offer them fruits and shade. The Veda

has to shield from destruction the activist 'doers' (Karma lovers) from the evil temptation to court

unrighteousness and, the inquiry-fond thinkers (Jnana seekers) from the evil temptation to pursue the

pleasure-bound senses. Since the Veda

both guides and shields, these verses are called, in totality, Chhandas. Through their role as armour or

shield, they shower Bliss on all who rely on them. Chhaadanaath chhandasi. By shielding they become chhandas.

There

is a myth about the Vedic rituals, collectively known as Yajna. Once, Yajna fled from the gods

taking the form of a black antelope; the gods went in pursuit, but they

succeeded only in retrieving its skin. That skin became the Yajna, the symbol of the rite. The white,

dark and tawny colours on that skin represent the Vedas, Rg, Yajur and Saama,

and it was adored as sacred for this very reason. It was honoured an

symbolising the Triple Knowledge, that is to say, Mastery of the three Vedas. The skin is used by the officiating

priests and other participants in all Vedic ceremonials in order to invoke the

protecting hymns, called Chhandas.

The three colours are believed to represent the three worlds too and,

therefore, he who is seated on the skin or wears it, benefits the three worlds

by his Vedic recitations and oblations.

The

master of the ceremonials at the Vedic yajna

is described in the vedic scripture as the " Foetus in the Womb. " As

the foetus is safe and secure, with its fingers clasped and body prostrate

enveloped in the mother, the priest initiate must be enveloped in the antelope

skin symbolising Mother Veda. To

human eyes, it is just a skin but during Vedic

rites, it becomes a shield. This is the reason why, before wearing it, the

initiate prays, addressing it, " You are the shield, Charma, shield me as Charma. " Charma since it shields man from grief, injury, and wrong

has come to mean happiness and bliss. Vishnu, the second of the Trinity, Is the

embodiment of Bliss. And Vedic sacrifices

confer bliss. Vishnu is praised as Yajna

itself (Yajno vai Vishnuh). The

Lord Vishnu is the embodiment of the triple Veda.

 

Upasana means the acquisition of the Presence of the Divine,

the achievement of the Bliss of adoration. Vedic

tradition sanctions four paths as legitimate and fruitful to win this

achievement. They are called Sathyavathi,

Angavathi, Anyavathi and Nidaanavathi.

We shall consider these in some detail.

Sathyavathi: The scripture defines the Divine thus: Sarva Vyaapinam Aatmaanam, Ksheere Sarpithiva

Arpitham - - the Aatma

is immanent everywhere, just as ghee interpenetrates every drop of milk. When

the seeker pursues the Truth with this conviction urging his endeavour, his sadhana is called Sathyavathi (Truth-based). " Maayathitham Idam Sarvam, Jagadavyaktha Moorthinaa " ,

the Lord declares. " In My latent form, I am in entire Creation, operating

the mystery. See in Me all this, see all this as Me " . When one succeeds in

this effort the Sathyavathi path

will lead to suceess. " I shall be vlsible to you as all this and in all

this, " the Lord assures. The Lord promises this Vision of Immanence and

Transcendence to whomsoever that persists with sincerity on this Sathyavathi path.

Angavathi: The Universal being is the Fire, the Wind, the Sun,

the Moon and ail else. He is the Breath that sustains life in all beings. He is

the Fire that illumines all. He is the Rain that feeds the plants that provide

sustenance. So, He can be adored either as Fire (Agni) or as Wind (Vayu)

or as Rain (Varuna), as having

graciously assumed all those beneficent forms. This approach through the benign

manifestations or Angas, is the Angavathi path. Anga means a 'limb', a 'fact', a 'feature'.

Anyavathi: Picturing the many faceted Divine and symbolising,

in perceivable ways, the attributes that are evidenced in each facet, the

seeker endeavours to acquire the Presence of the Divine. One Form of the

Divine, the Omnipresent (Vishnu) is pictured as having the Conch (symbol of the

Primeval word or Sound), the Wheel (symbol of Time) and the Mace (symbol of

Might and Majesty). With the facet to which is ascribed the power and

willingness to overcome obstacles (Vighneswara),

the single tusk symbolising sharpness and concentration is associated, Iswara or Siva (the facet of disintegration

and dissolution) has the Soola or

Trident (symbolising in its three prongs, the Past, the Present and the

Future). Rama, the form of righteousness or Dharma

is always pictured with the Kodanda,

the bow which can send the arrow (will) straight to the target, Krishna, the

manifestation of Universal love, has on His crown a peacock feather,

symbolising the thousand-eyed, glance of Grace. He bears a flute on which He

plays enthralling tunes; the flute is the symbol of the ego-less desire-less seeker.

The facet of wisdom pictured as the Goddess Saraswathi, has a Veena in Her

hand; the Veena is a stringed musical instrument, symbolic of heart-strings

responding, with harmony and melody, to the gentle touch of the true, the good

and the beautiful. Seekers meditate on these pleasing personifications and the

significance of the symbols of their attributes and adore the Divine in the

delight that wells up in their hearts. This is named Anyavathi Path - the Path through symbolised Divinity, Anya meaning the other, the adjunctory,

the appurtenance.

Nidaanavathi: This path is slow but progress is always achieved

when each step is successfully negotiated. Sravanam

(Listening to the Glory of God), Kirtanam

(singing joyously His unique graciousness), Vishnoh

smaranam (keeping in memory and recapitulating always the Majesty

and Mercy of the Lord), Paada sevanam

(Aspiring to fall at the Feet of the Lord), Archanam

(offering prayers to the image or idol of the Lord), Vandanam (offering gratitude for blessings received), Dasyam (Surrendering to the Will of the

Lord), Sakhyam (Confiding

completely in Him), Atma Nivedanam

(Dedicating thought, word and deed to Him), Thanmayaaasakthi

(Longing to merge in Him) and Paramaviraha-aasakthi

(Agony at slightest separation from Him) - these are the eleven stages which

the seeker has to pass through to win the final consummation in Bliss. Hence,

the name for this path is 'slow and sure' (Nidaana).

 

These

four paths (Sathyavathi, Angavati, Anyavathi

and Nidaanavathi) are each one

progressively more commendable than the previous ones, as far as simplicity and

practicability are concerned. They award, in the end, Oneness with the

Universal Will. Of the various other Upasanas

or Sadhanas which are mentioned

in the sacred texts and practised by seekers, Pratheekopasana

(Idol Adoration) or Prathiroopopasana

(Image Adoration) is included under Angavathi

Upasana. Sarvathah Paani Paadam

Thath, Sarvathokshi Siro Mukham. " Everywhere His Hand and Feet,

everywhere Head and Face " . The Lord (Madhava) has His Hands everywhere,

for He is in all. He sees through all the eyes. He thinks, plans and resolves

in all heads. He eats through all mouths, hears through every ear. Through one

Form, you can adore Him as all Forms. This is the highest ideal - He is latent

in all beings; He operates unseen in and through all. This is the Prathiroopa-upasana, worshipping Him as

present in each. There are sundry other Upasanas

too mentioned in the texts:

Bhanopasana: Ascribing to the Lord the Highest splendour, the

deepest compassion, the most potent Power, etc. and worshipping Him as such.

Geethopasana : Adoring Him as the Master and Preceptor who

teaches the Geetha and reveals the Way. The epic Mahabharata is revered as a Veda, the fifth one. It sets out the code

of morality that man must adhere to for realising his goal, both here and

hereafter. It is an inexhaustible treasure chest of guidelines for righteous

living and spiritual uplift. Here, the Lord can be seen on the theatrical stage

of Dharmakshetra, with all the equipments and roles, the plots and

counter-plots, the denouements and devices, for the Cosmic Play He is enacting

in His own marvellous way. That play is the epic, the Mahabharata. In this

play, the actors and actresses, the dialogues and texts, the cues and songs,

have been assembled by Him, He is the cast, the director, the audience - all.

It is Madhava who manifests Himself and manipulates in every thing and being.

On one side, boundless material strength - urged on by unrighteous greed, and

on the other, the apparently limited strength of the Atman. the ever righteous. In the Cosmic confrontation and

conflict between these two forces, the Lord stands forth as the arbiter, the

supreme embodiment of the victory of right over might. This is the ultimate

ambrosia available in the Mahabharata --the Bhagavad Geetha, the Song of Divine

Triumph. The core lesson which the epic is bent on teaching is contained in the

Geetha - the seeker surrendering, with the words, Karishye Vachanam thava - Your word shall be obeyed and the

Lord admonishing the seeker, Swadharme

Nidhanam Sreyah - In fulfilling the duty assigned to you lies your

safety and prosperity. All work should be tested on this criterion.

The

path of dedication to the Will of God (Bhakthi)

should not be discarded, for it can lead you to all-round delight and bliss.

Instead, if one closes his eyes and instills into himself the conceit that He

is Brahmam, he will miss the joy

and become a victim of anxiety. When you pound husk you cannot expect rice

grains to result, can you? And, Krishna is no

other than the very Brahmam !

Adwaithopasana: The body of the cow has milk in it. The milk has

ghee in it. But, the ghee cannot be a source of strength to one. The milk has

to be drawn, yeast added to curdle it, butter has to be churned out and

clarified to produce the ghee which, when consumed by one can give one

strength. So, too, though God is omnipresent and omni-motivating He has to be

discovered and cognised in order to realise Bliss, Awareness. Like oil in

mustard, butter in yogurt, like water inside the earth, like fire in timber,

God is present but not patent in everything. God is in the human body and in

the human mind. To become aware of Him there, spiritual effort is necessary.

When that is undertaken, the unity of both can be realised. One will not there

after experience " two " or " difference " . The awareness of

the one without a second is 'Liberation', release from bondage.

Visishta-adwaitha : (Qualifed Monism) Ramanuja

considered the problem whether the God whom one seeks to worship and realise as

real must be conceived as being apart from oneself, or whether God can be

conceived as in oneself. His answer is: Life is the soul of the body; God is

the soul of Life. God is the grantor, the force, the sustainer. Seek Him in

that spirit. The Supreme Sovereign Purusha

in whom all the elements reside, and who is the indweller and inner motivator

of all Creation, can be known and experienced only by winning Grace through

surrender. Understand well His transcendence and immanence and, realising one's

deficiencies. Surrender the ego in order to partake of His Glory. The mental

attitude of the seeker should be Thwam Eva

Sarvam, Mama Deva Deva: Thou alone art all, O my God of Gods. You

are the urge, You are the path, You are the goal. The spiritual effort must be

one-pointed, unwavering, untiring.

Dwaithopasana : (Dualism) The Dualistic outlook on the

relationship between God and the individual is that of husband and wife.

Vishnu, the Lord, the ever-free, ever-full, has to be adored as the wife adores

the husband. Among such sadhakas,

Chaithanya is most noteworthy. He established a distinct Chaithanyopasana itself. Without the

anguished yearning for the Feet of Lord Krishna liberation cannot he gained.

Why? Even purification of one's intelligence is not possible without that

yearning. This is the assertion of Chaithanya. He declares that sages and

others capable of being immersed in inner bliss can enjoy the ecstasy of the

supreme consciousness through the contemplation of the auspicious, restorative

and cleansing attributes of the Lord, Sri Hari. No text or scripture is needed

for one to realise this bliss. Sunk in the waves of that Divine ecstasy, the

person ignores all the norms of social behaviour and escapes from all

conventions; he sings aloud the names of Hari, sheds streams of joy, dances in

divine delight and experiences unadulterated genuine bliss. He feels that the

Lord's Feet have made every inch of ground holy. Thus they sing the glory of

the Lord fully attuned to Him. This Sadhana

was emphasised, as the easiest and most fruitful, by Chaithanya. His foremost

goal was to attain the absence of body-consciousness in the flood of ecstasy

that surges from melodious group-singing of the majesty and mercy of the Lord.

There

are a few other forms of worship which merit mention. The Gowdeyopaasana is one such. Sri Krishna,

formulated and incorporated in the unmanifest Immanence, as Purushothama and Radha, formulated and incorporated as

unmanifest Universal Energy, are both visualised, and known as Krishna-Radha or

more commonly, Radha-Krishna. Madhava is another name of Krishna,

signifying that He is the master of Cosmos or Prakrthi.

So, the name used in this Upasana

or worship is Radha-Madhava. The recitation of this Name is held by the

adherents of this path of worship to be capable of leading to the ecstasy that

can confer liberation from all forms of bondage. The acharyas or founders of this Upasana declare this to be the attainable goal. The Lord is

the very embodiment of the nectar of delight. Living beings can get immersed in

spiritual delight only when they imbibe that nectar. The Sruthi texts proclaim that those born in Ananda can live only in and through Ananda. The sacred name Radha-Madhava is

the key, it is said, to the treasure-house of that precious nectar.

Radha-Madhava

is Prakrthi-Purusha and this dual

category is assumed to represent the duality of Jivatma and Paramatma,

the individual Soul and the Universal Soul, the Wave and the Ocean. Worship is

offered to both through that Name. Vallabhacharya proclaimed Krishnasthu Bhagavan Swayam (Krishna is the Lord Himself). Attaining Him was explained

to be equal to merging in the Universal, the goal of genuine monists.

Saivopasana is also a notable path. This emphasises the worship

of Siva as formulated in the Lingam

or Symbol. Lingam Sarva Kaalam.

The Infinite Lingam is the symbol

of the Primal Energy which forms the basic cause of the origin, condition and

progress of the 'elements' that compose the Cosmos. The Lingam is the Form of Siva Himself and

realising it as such is asserted as the ultimate goal, liberation.

Virasaivopasana advocates the worship of Siva, the Lord or Isvara, as the one and only, everywhere

and always. The merging of the individual in the splendour of the Linga or Isvara

is the acme of all Sadhana, the

achievement of Liberation.

Paasupathopaasana : The individual entity (Jiva) is tied by the bond (paasa) of the qualities or modalities

arising from nature. Pasupathi

(Siva) is worshipped in order to earn freedom from Bondage.

Saakthopaasana : Sarva Deva

Mayee Devee " Devee is all Gods " . The Primeval Universal

Energy, Aadi Paras Sakthi, is

conceived as the matrix of all forms of Divinity. The Cosmic Urge, the Prakrthi, is the cause of the variety and

multiplicity of expression, the manifold forms. The Maheswara (Supreme Divinity) has this capacity to manifest

and is therefore so named. Maheswara

and Parasakthi are two aspects of

the same force. This dual-faceted force motivates the Universe, from the vast

expanse of the sky to the entire earth. The unmanifest Supreme Person manifests

as the feminine Universal, the Maya,

the Paraa Sakthi. In each

individual, it is experienced as knowledge, strength and activity.

Jainopaasana: (The Marwari community, In worshipping the Lord,

adopt a Vaishnavite slant. Idols of Vishnu, with the traditional equipment of

the Conch, the Wheel, the Mace and the Lotus, are found in Jain temples). The

Jains have as their mantra:

Namo

Arihanthaanaam

Namo Siddhanaam

Namo Ayiriyaanaam

Namo Uvajjhayaanaam

Namo Loye Sabba Saahoonaam',

meaning

Salutations

to the great heroes (Mahavira) who have conquered desire etc. Salutations to

the Siddhas (those equipped with super natural powers) Salutations to the great

Masters of Spiritual Wisdom Salutations to the great Teachers who transmit the

wisdom Salutations to the good persons of all lands. "

This fivefold adoration helps remove the evil effects of all

sinful acts. Experiencing the meaning of this mantra

gives one the sum of prosperity. The Jains declare that when one merges in this

universal adoration, one is liberated and attains Moksha.

Sikh-upaasana: The Preceptor (Guru), who reveals the Atma and makes one conscious of its

Existence as one's Reality, has the highest place in this system of worship.

The collection of the teachings of the Gurus - referred to as Granth Saheb - is extolled and revered by

the Sikhs. It is derived from the spring of Bharathiya spiritual traditions.

Its ideas form the very core of Bharathiya cultural traits.

Christ Upasana: Lord Jesus is the Saviour. Man is by nature prone

to fall into sin, knowingly or unknowingly. Jesus shed his heart-blood on the

Cross to free man from sin and cleanse his soul. Follow this Lord and his

teachings contained in the Bible and worship him--this is Christ upaasana. Sing his glory and adore him

through hymns - this is the mode of worship which this Upaasana envisages.

Muhammadan-upaasana : Imaamdaaree

Khaidaa Mey Ho, Pygambar Mey Bharosa. Acquire self-confidence and

place all burdens on God; have implicit faith in the power of God every moment

of living; recognise it at every step; - these are the rules for meaningful life.

One has to evidence one's rectitude in the Durbar of the Lord, when one lays

down his body. So, one has to follow the straight path laid down by the Lord

until the very end. For this, the Holy Quran is the guide; it has to be revered

and observed down to the very letter. This is the spiritual instruction to be

observed in this Upaasana.

Allaho Akbar; La Illah

Ill Allah. This is the sacred formula of

Islam. It signifies that God is the super-most Sovereign; Allah is the

undisputed unexcelled Ruler of Creation. He alone is worthy of worship. In the

Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says, " There is nothing higher than Me. "

The Quran formula says the same. The Muhammadan

Upasana too is a form of the same spiritual practice, based on the

same Truth.

All

these upaasanas reveal that,

since man initiated his age-long inquiry into his own truth, he has

accumulated, especially in Bharath, a vast spiritual treasure which can save

him from sorrow and bondage. The treasure is so vast and so deep that it has

survived the passage of centuries as vast and as deep as ever it was,

unaffected by the emergence of different modes or the influx of other forms of

worship.

Besides,

the spiritual wisdom of India

is today a triumphant beacon, shining in One resplendent flame in the

thickening darkness, illumining all lands, encompassing all races and

enchanting all mankind.

There

is no fortune more splendid than being born on this sacred land, Bharath,

repository of this magnificent and beneficent culture, which can save the

world. Becoming aware of this blessing is, indeed, a spring of immeasurable Ananda.

 

 

 

[source: Sathya

Sai Vahini]