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To provide the need of many devotees to have special pujas (worships) done on behalf of a loved one, the Divine Life Society is providing an "On-Line Puja" link, which allows interested persons to commission special worships in the temples of the Sivananda Ashram. Mahamrityunjaya Japa Yajna, Gayatri Japa Yajna, various havans and pujas can now be requested on-line. For more information, click here for the benefit of mankind as a whole, THE MEANING OF WORSHIP : THE TEMPLE : In the kali yuga and in the material world of busy day-to-day life, the temple of the Lord affords great opportunities for the evolution of man through concentration and devotion. The precincts of the temple are so sacred and give a peace, which no other atmosphere can give. There is a divine vibration in the entire area. By the constant and regular puja during the three sessions of the day, the recitation of the Holy Vedas and chanting of specific Mantras throughout the year, the auspiciousness of the temple increases everyday and the entire atmosphere elevates the soul of man to a very great degree. The shrine in which the murti of the Supreme Lord is installed is a hallowed place, which exerts a powerful spiritual influence that can transform the minds of persons into a state of higher purity. The daily worships through prayers, invocations and abhisheka and archana, performed at the temple, endow the whole environment with a holiness and splendour that infuses into all a feeling of reverence, piety and devotion, whenever they enter its premises. But the sanctity of the temple should be carefully maintained by observing the prescribed rules usually connected with the maintenance of places of divine worship. External and internal saucha are both necessary in the worship of the devata in a temple. The temple dedicated to the archavatara of the Lord is a visible representation of the body of the Virat-Purusha and the rituals of worship in the temple are objective acts expressing the whole process of spiritual Sadhana. The temple is the microcosmic embodiment of the universe indwelt by the Antaryamin, Isvara, whose worship we conduct at the sacred temple. The Lord is invoked by means of the powerful Mantras of the Srutis, Smritis and tantras and the murti in the temple becomes a living manifestation of the force of the Divine, ready to fulfil the noble aspirations of the devout archaka. Archana is the easiest and the safest means of cultivating the love of the Almighty, for it becomes the link between His transcendent being and the world in which the devotee is placed. The one special feature of archana-bhakti is that it seeks to evoke the finer forms of the religious consciousness in man through offering to God articles of devotion by means of the physical forms which are the immediate aspects of the manifestations of God-Being, revealed to the senses here. Hence archana is the foundation on which is constructed the grand edifice of spiritual effort and realisation. It is one among the nine gems of the way in which man aspires to reach God. Worship the Lord with intense faith and aspiration. The Lord will surely bestow His grace upon you all. All are blessed-one who causes the temple to be built, who actually builds it, who assists in it, who is happy about it, who performs worship in it, who prostrates oneself before it with faith and adorns the Lord always in one's heart, with sincerity and love. The Lord is everywhere and He allows Himself to be adored at particular places on account of the supreme compassion that He has for all beings. GLORY OF PRASAD : Prasad is that which gives Peace. During kirtan, worship, puja, havan and arati, badam, kismis, milk, sweets, fruits are offered to the Lord. After offering them to the Lord, they are shared between the members of the house or the bhaktas in a temple. puja is done by bael leaves, flowers, tulasi, vibhuti and these are given as prasad from the Lord. Vibhuti is the prasad of Lord Siva. It is to be applied on the forehead. A small portion can be taken in. Kumkum is the prasad of Sri Devi or Sakti. It is to be applied at the space between the eyebrows (ajna or bhrumadhya). Tulasi is the prasad of Lord Vishnu, Rama or Krishna. It is to be taken in. They are charged with mysterious powers by the chanting of the mantras during puja and havan. The mental bhava of the devotee offering bhog to the Lord has a very great effect. If an ardent devotee of the Lord offers anything to the Lord, that prasad, if taken, would bring very great change even in the minds of atheists. The grace of the Lord descends through prasad. Go through the life of Narada. You will realise the greatness of the sacred leavings of the Lord as well as those of advanced sadhakas and saints. Namdev offered rice, etc., to Panduranga Vittala and He ate the food and shared with Namdev as well. If the food is offered with a yearning heart, sometimes, the Lord takes that food assuming a physical form. In other cases, the Lord enjoys the subtle essence of the food offered and the food remains as it is in the shape of prasad. While feeding mahatmas and the poor people, that which is left behind is taken as prasad. When a sacrifice is performed, the participants share the prasad, which bestows the blessings of the gods. When Dasaratha performed Putrakameshti (wishing for son) sacrifice, he got a vessel full of sweetened rice, which he gave to his queens, by taking which they became pregnant. Prasad is the most sacred object for a devotee. One should consider himself lucky to take the prasad and there is no restriction of any kind in taking prasad. Time and place and the condition in which one is placed-all these do not affect him in any way. prasad is all-purifying. The benefits of prasad and charanamrit are beyond description. They have the power to change entirely the outlook of a man's life. Prasad and charanamrit have the power to cure diseases and even bring back to life dead persons. There have been ever so many instances in the past in this holy land of ours, which bear witness to the potency and efficacy of prasad. Prasad destroys all pains and sins. It is an antidote for misery, pain and anxiety. Faith is the important factor in testing the accuracy of this statement. For faithless persons it brings very little effect. Those who are brought up in modern education and culture have forgotten all about the glory of prasad. Many English-educated persons do not attach any importance to prasad when they get it from the mahatma. This is a serious mistake. Prasad is a great purifier. As they are brought up in the Western style of living, they have imbibed the spirit of Westerners and forgotten the spirit of the true children of Indian Rishis of yore. Live for a week in Brindavan or Ayodhya or Benares or Pandharpur. You will realise the glory and the miraculous effects of prasad. Many incurable diseases are cured. Many sincere devotional aspirants get wonderful spiritual experiences from mere prasad alone. Prasad is a panacea. Prasad is a spiritual elixir. Prasad is the Grace of the Lord. Prasad is a cure-all and an ideal 'pick-me-up.' Prasad is an embodiment of sakti. Prasad is Divinity in manifestation. Prasad energises, vivifies, invigorates and infuses devotion. It should be taken with great faith. Prasad bestows good health, long life, peace and prosperity on all. Glory to prasad, the bestower of Peace and Bliss! Glory to the Lord of the prasad, the giver of immortality and undying happiness! PHILOSOPHY OF HINDU SYMBOLS Bells are rung in temples and while doing puja to shut out the external sounds and to make the mind inward and concentrated. Lights are waved before the Deity. This denotes that the Lord is Jyoti Svarupa. He is all-light. The devotee says, "O Lord! Thou art the self-effulgent Light of the universe. Thou art the light in the sun, moon and fire. Remove the darkness in me by bestowing your divine Light. May my intellect be illumined." This is the significance of waving lights. Dhoop or scented sticks are burnt before the Deity. The smoke spreads in the whole room. It acts as a disinfectant. Burning of dhoop denotes that the Lord is all-pervading, that He fills the whole universe by His living presence. It is to remind this fact that dhoop is burnt. The devotee prays, "O Lord! Let the vasanas and Samskaras dormant in me vanish like the smoke of this dhoop and become ashes. Let me become stainless." Burning of camphor denotes that the individual ego melts like the camphor and the jivatman becomes one with the supreme Light of lights. The pasting of sandal reminds the devotee that he should, in his difficulties, be as patient as the sandal. Sandal emanates sweet odour when it is pasted. So also the devotee should not murmur when difficulties arise, but on the other hand, remain cheerful and happy and emanates sweetness and gentleness like the sandal. He should not hate even his enemy. This is another precept we learn from this. Though the sandalwood is crushed and pasted, it silently wears out emanating only very sweet odour. One should not wish evil even to his enemy. FAITH AND IDOL WORSHIP Puran Chand's Guru had initiated him into the Narayana Mantra and given him a small murti (idol) of Lord Narayana for worship. Puran was regular in his worship and did not omit repetition of the sacred Mantra, but there was no sign of the idol blessing him; so he went to his Guru and asked him the reason. The Guru smiled at Puran and said, "Well son, take this idol of Lord Siva. I shall initiate you into the Siva mantra. Worship Lord Siva with faith and devotion. He is considered as Bhole Nath and is easily propitiable; He will bless you soon." The next six months saw Puran Chand immersed in Japa and worship of Lord Siva. The idol of Lord Narayana was placed on a dusty shelf in the puja room. After many months, Puran Chand once more went to his Guru and complained that his worship of Siva had brought him no result. He begged him to give him the Murti and Mantra of a Devata that would bless him. The Guru smiled again; the time for enlightenment had come, yet he felt the disciple would learn from experience. So he said, "Good son, in this yuga, Mother Kali is pratyaksha devata. Worship this image of Her and repeat the navarna mantra and you will obtain Her Grace." This time, Puran Chand had no misgivings whatsoever; he had full faith. Kali worship commenced; Siva joined company with Narayana on the shelf. With devotion, Puran was waving incense before the image of Mother Kali when the fumes rose up and reached the shelf where the other two idols were kept. Puran was enraged. What right had Siva to inhale the incense intended for Mother Kali? He had refused to be propitiated when he had tirelessly worshipped Him; it was Mother Kali whom he now worshipped. In great anger he took down the image of Siva in his hands and began to insert cotton wool in His nose to stop Him from inhaling the incense. Before he could accomplish his task, however, the idol disappeared and before him stood the Lord, smiling in all His mercy and compassion. Speechless with wonder and amazement, Puran prostrated himself before the Lord who told him to ask for any boon, as He was immensely pleased with his devotion. Puran answered, "My Lord, I am much perplexed. You did not deign to bless me when I devoutly worshipped You and repeated the Panchakshara Mantra for six months. But You suddenly chose to reveal yourself to me when I had discarded Your image and given up Your worship. What is this mystery, O Lord?" The Lord answered, "My child, there is no mystery to be explained; how could I reveal Myself when you treated Me as a mere image, as a mere piece of metal worshipped or thrown away according to your whim? Today you treated My image as a living presence when you wanted to plug the nostrils with cotton wool; thus you revealed that you recognised My living presence in the idol and I could no longer withhold Myself from you." Speechless and enlightened, Puran bowed once more and was immersed in His Love. He could ask for no greater boon, for in His love he found fulfilment. PHILOSOPHY OF ABHISEKA Salutations and adorations to the blissful Lord Siva, the lover of Uma or Parvati, the Lord of all beings (Pasupati). "Alankarapriyo Vishnuh, Abhishekapriyah Sivah-Lord Vishnu is very fond of alankara (fine dress, beautiful ornaments, etc.); Siva is fond of abhisheka." In Siva temples, a pot made up of copper or brass with a hole in the centre is kept hanging over the image or Linga of Siva, and water is falling on the image throughout day and night. Pouring over the Linga, water, milk, ghee, curd, honey, cocoanut water, panchamrita, etc., is abhisheka. Abhisheka is done for Lord Siva. Rudra is chanted along with the abhisheka. Lord Siva is propitiated by abhisheka. Lord Siva drank the poison that emanated from the ocean and wore the Ganga and moon on His head to cool His head. He has the fiery third eye. Constant abhisheka cools this eye. The greatest and the highest abhisheka is to pour the waters of pure love on the atmalinga of the lotus of the heart. The external abhisheka with various objects will help the growth of devotion and adoration for Lord Siva and eventually lead to internal abhisheka with pure abundant flow of love. Abhisheka is a part of Siva Puja. Without abhisheka, worship of Siva is incomplete. During abhisheka Rudra, Purushasukta, Chamaka, Maha-mrityunjaya Japa, etc., are chanted in a particular rhythm and order. Monday is very important day for Lord Siva and the thirteenth day of the fortnight (Pradosha) is very sacred. On these days, devotees of Siva worship Him with special puja, abhisheka with Ekadasa-Rudra, archana, offering plenty of prasad, and illumination. In Ekadasa-Rudra abhisheka, every Rudra is chanted with distinctive articles for abhisheka. Ganga water, milk, ghee, honey, rose-water, cocoanut water, sandal paste, panchamrita, scented oil, sugarcane juice and lime juice are made use of for abhisheka. After every abhisheka, pure water is poured over the head of Siva. When Rudra is repeated once, the different articles of abhisheka are made use of after every stanza of the Rudra. The abhisheka water or other articles used for abhisheka are considered very sacred and bestow immense benefits on the devotees who take it as the Lord's prasad. It purifies the heart and destroys countless sins. You must take it with intense Bhava and faith. When you do abhisheka with bhava and devotion, your mind is concentrated. Your heart is filled with the image of the Lord and divine thoughts. You forget your body and its relation and surroundings. Egoism gradually vanishes. When there is forgetfulness, you begin to enjoy and taste the eternal bliss of Lord Siva. Recitation of Rudra or Om Namassivaya purifies the mind and fills it with Sattva. If you do abhisheka with Rudrapatha in the name of a person suffering from any disease he will be soon freed from that disease. Incurable diseases are cured by abhisheka. Abhisheka bestows health, wealth, prosperity, progeny, etc. Abhisheka on Monday is most auspicious. By offering panchamrita, honey, milk, etc., to the Lord, thoughts of your body diminish. Selfishness slowly vanishes. You derive immense joy. You begin to increase your offerings unto the Lord. Therefore, self-sacrifice and self-surrender come in. Naturally, there is an outpouring from your heart, "I am Thine, my Lord. All is Thine, my Lord". Kannappa Nayanar, a great devotee of Lord Siva, a hunter by profession, did abhisheka with the water in his mouth for the Linga at Kalahasti in South India and propitiated Lord Siva. Lord Siva is pleased by pure devotion. It is the mental Bhava that counts and not the outward show. Lord Siva said to the temple priest: "This water from the mouth of Kannappa, my beloved devotee, is more pure than the water of the Ganga". A devotee should be regular in doing abhisheka for the Lord. He should get by heart Rudra and Chamakam. Ekadasa Rudra is more powerful and effective. In Northern India, every man or woman takes a lota of water and pours it on the image of Siva. This also causes beneficial results and brings about the fulfilment of one's desire. Abhisheka on Sivaratri day is very effective. May you all recite Rudrapatha, which describes the glory of Lord Siva and His manifestations in every living being, in every animate and inanimate being! May you do abhisheka daily and thus obtain the grace of Lord Siva! May Lord Visvanatha bless you all! OFFERING OF LOVE We have indicated below the offerings of Love that are required by the Mandir Department in Sivananda Ashram to carry out the worships. Devotees in India Please kindly send cheques to the Accounts Department explaining which worship you are requesting. Please specify particular dates and the purpose for which you want the worship. Kindly allow sufficient time for Ashram sevaks and temple officiants to help you with your requests Devotees from Abroad Please kindly send cheques, international draft orders, or postal orders to the Accounts Department, explaining which worship you require. Please specify particular dates and the purpose for which you require the worship. Kindly allow sufficient time for ashram sevaks and temples officiants to help you with your requests. THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY P.O. SHIVANANDANAGAR 249 192, DISTT, TEHRI GARWAL, UTTARANCHAL (HIMALAYAS) REVISED RATES FOR WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLES WITH EFFECT FROM 1ST APRIL , 2003 I. JAPA YAGNA / HAVAN 1. Mahamrityunjaya Mantra Japa 2. Gayatri Japa 3. Mahamrityunjaya Havan…………………………………………….Rs. 3,000/- 4. Gayatri Havan …………………………………………….....……….Rs. 3,000/- 4. General Havan (any mantra)……………………………………….Rs. 3,000/- II. DAILY WORSHIP 1. Rudrabhisheka at Sri Viswanatha Mandir ………….......……….Rs. 300/- 2. Paduka puja at Samadhi Shrine ………………………….......…..Rs. 300/-
1. For 11 days………………………………………………………… Rs. 500/- 2. For 21 days………………………………………………………… Rs. 900/- 3. For 41 days…….………………………………………..………….
Rs. 1,500/- |
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