Science of rituals and customs in Hinduism

THE SCIENCE OF  CUSTOMS AND RITUALS IN HINDU DHARMA

HINDUISM

Hinduism is a not a religion but a way of life, deriving the best from a group of religions. This fact got distorted through the years with different castes and different perspectives. A story from Panchatantra illustrates the present confusion perfectly. 

Once there was a Brahmin who used to live on alms provided by generous villagers.  One day he was offered a calf by a neighboring villager.  The Brahmin was happy and was carrying the calf home.  Three cheats saw the Brahmin carrying the calf and thought that it would make a nice meal for them, while it would be useless to the vegetarian Brahmin. They came up with a plan to cheat the poor Brahmin. One after the other all three pass by the Brahmin and tell him that he was carrying a goat, donkey and a dead pig, respectively.   Although the Brahmin didn’t believe initially, he came to a conclusion that whatever he was carrying was certainly not a calf and it must be demon because it was appearing to various people as various things.  So, he became scared and abandoned the calf.  The three cheats happily had a nice meal of the calf.  This story tells us that persistent misinterpretation gets credibility over a period of time. So, all Indians ought to be proud Hindus whether they follow lord Siva, Krishna, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed. In India there  are only 2 categories of people  - who are  Hindus  and  who were Hindus. Those, who are following the sanathana dharama, even though born and brought up under different culture anywhere in the world, are also Hindus

What is the definition of a Hindu : 

Aa sindho: sinduparyantham yasya bhaaratha bhoomikaa maathru bhoo: pithru bhoo (punya) schaiva sa vai Hindu iti smruthaa:   whomsoever, is considering the land  between the  sapta sindu  ( Indus valley river)  upto Indian ocean  as the  motherland/ fatherland  and holy land, is known  as  Hindu.  This land is known as Hindustanam  which is defined as follows:  Himaalayam samaarabhya yaavath hindu sarovaram tham deva nirmitham desam hindustaanam prachakshate. The land created by God himself  and  which is lying between  Himalayas   and Indian ocean   is  known  as Hindustanam .

·     Unlike other religions, Hindu dharma has many specialties.  This   is not known as a religion, it is known as the dharma -  Either Hindu dharma or sanaathana dharama.  Sanathana  means  according to bhagavath geetha, which cannot be destroyed by fire, weapons, water, air,  and which is present in all living and  non living  being.  Dharma means the way of life which is the ‘total of all aachaaraasas or customs and rituals’.  The aachaaraas which are to be performed by the mother is known as mathru dharma, those of father is known  as pitru dharma.  Similarly   there  are   putra dharma ( dharma of  son)  aachaarya  dharma (dharma of  teacher),  as a continuation  we can say bhraathru (brother) dharma,  bhagini (sister) dharma, poura (citizen) dharma,  raja (king) dharma    and so on.  All these  dharmas   have been described in detail giving the specific importance in the  dharma saastra  and smruthies. 

·         There is no specific English word for dharma, but it  is the  sum of the duties + responsibilities + privileges of that  individual. 

·         Then what is the sanathana/ Hindu dharma?  It is the   total of   mathru dharma  +  pitru dharma +  putra dharma  + putree dharma + acharya dharma  + poura dharma +  …+…etc.  Hence we say Hinduism is not a religion but the way of life. 

One should always  remember  that in each and every  aachaaraas / dharma there  will be  a component of spirituality in it.  Without spirituality, nothing exists in Hindu dharma.  Almost everyone   carries a wrong impression that this spirituality is religion.  No! Spirituality is different in Hindu dharma, where the question a religion does not exist at all, because   Hindu dharma was not created by one individual/prophet/incarnation/….  Hence it is not a religion. Spirituality is a part of every Hindu custom in the life of a Hindu.

What are the rules to be followed while  practicing  the  Hindu customs  and rituals (aachaaraas) ?

This question has to be scientifically analyzed.  Whatever may the aachaaraas  we are practicing in our life, it  has been told that  saakshaath anubhavairdhrushto na srutho na guru darsitha  lokaanaam upakaaraaya ethath sarvam pradarsitham.  Aachaaraas are to be followed based on their merits available from the self experience, one need not blindly follow a teacher or someone who gives advise without reasoning.  All these aachaaraas are mentioned for the prosperity of the human beings and it should be the prime focus for practicing the  Hindu  aachaaraas.

Achaaryaath paadam aadatthe  paadam sishya swamedhayaa paadam sa brahmachaaribhya sesham kaala kramena cha  is another important advice given in smruthies. It means  one can get one quarter of the knowledge  from the teacher, one quarter  by analyzing   oneself, one quarter  by discussing with others  and the  last  quarter  one can get  during the process of living  by the method addition, deletion, correction  and modification  of already known aachaaraas/ new aachaaraas.

It is mentioned that we have to take one quarter from the teacher/ guru.  Now, what is the definition of a  guru or teacher. Aachinothi cha saastraarthaan sishyaan saadhayate sudhee swayam aacharti chaiva sa aacharya iti smruthaa:  who is knowing the scientific  meaning of the purpose of the aachaaraas, who can teach the student  very systematically  and  who is  following  (all what is taught to the students) in ones own life,   that person is  fit to be called as the teacher/guru. Here, one can see the qualification of a teacher who can define   and explain about the aachaaraas.

Can we practice the aachaaraas at all times with the same level of devotion?

This is a common question asked. The answer is also given in our smruthies. Swagraame poornam aaachaaraasasm anya graame thadardhakam pattane tu thath paadam yaatre baalaad aaachaaraasastheth.  In one’s own village,  practice all the aachaaraas,  in other villages (while travelling or staying)  practice one half of the aachaaraas,  in the cities/ towns follow atleast a  minimum of one quarter of them  and while  traveling, like a child one need not practice any of the aachaaraas.

Should we practice the aachaaraas blindly saying that those aachaaraas were   followed by my father or forefathers.? 

Thaathasya koopoyam iti bruvaana kaa purusha kshaarajalam pibathi.  Saying that this well was dug by my father ( and for showing  respect to him) one need not  drink the salt water (if it is present)  in the well. 

Aachaaraas  need not be the same  in Kerala  and Kashmir,  similarly for  a Hindu the  same  customs  cannot be  practiced in  America  and Rajastan desert.  Hence depending upon the place ,  time,  season,  age,  availability of the materials,  financial position of the  individuals,  the  aachaaraas  can be   duly modified. The same principles  one can see in bhagavath geetha  also. Lord Krishna told  Arjuna in the end of Bhagavath geetha, that vimrusya ethath aseshena yathaa icchasi thathaa kuru: Hey Arjuna  all those whatever I have told  you, critically analyze, and   the option  for  accepting  or  rejecting  is  yours.

These are the rules one should follow while  analyzing  and practicing the aachaaraas in Hindu dharma. There are  many words of guidance  given  in dharma saastra  book. 

1.    Saastram pramaanam : scientific results are  the first basis,

2.    aapta vaakyam pramaanam : guidance to be taken from the scholars  is the (next) basis,

3.    prathyaksham pramaanam : the direct  experience  is the next basis, 

4.    anumaanam pramanam   guessing the consequences/results,  if  none of the  above parameters is available.

These are the  steps one should  select for the analyses of the  aachaaraas.

What are the purposes of practicing the aachaaraas? 

It has been described in the smruthies  ( which are also known  as dharmasaastras): aachaaraath labhathehyaayu:  aachaaraath dhanamakshayam  achaaraath labhathe  suprajaa  aachaaro ahanthya lakshanam.  By  following the  aachaaraas  one  gets  health  and longevity,  it leads to prosperity,   it  gives social  relations  and  friends,   and  the followers  of achaaras  are considered  as  the embodiment of  nobility.

Aachaara heenam  na punanthu vedaa:  The person  who does not have the habit of  practicing the good achaaraas,  cannot  even be purified by Vedas.

What are the achaaraas? 

Those  customs  and rituals  which  are  irrelevant in the modern  times  are known  as   anaachaaraas,  those which   leads  to  negatives/ non deleterious results  are  known  as  duraachaaraas  and those  achaaraas  which  give  very positive  and useful results  are known  are  sadaachaaraas  or generally  known  as  aachaaraas.

The sadaachaaraas are followed for any one or more of the following purposes in the Hindu dharma. The  aachaaraas  are those  give  psychological. Physiological,   family relation and bondage, social relations and bondage and national integration based positive results.  Focusing on the above five points; one  can analyze very systematically all  these aachaaraas.

Psychologically beneficial aachaaraas/ customs  and rituals:  

Few examples  are  selected for explaining these type of aachaaraas  The  morning   and evening prayer,  the  positive  songs  and keerthans, the Vedic mantras  which produce  psycho  linguistic  and neuro linguistic  effects, etc  are  psychologically useful aachaaraas. They give   extremely good response in the brain  cells  by way of   producing  curative hormones.  The blessings of the elders  and parents,  the encouragement  given  to the children  and  also  to those who  are  desperately struggling in the life,  the words of consolation, the blessings like vijayee bhava, the  aachaaraas in  social gathering  and family  functions, etc  give  psychologically positive results.  (All these aachaaraas are also spiritually   connected, is the Hindu way)

More examples: Reading a puraana gives the messages of ups and downs/ failures and success/ pains and pleasures in the life.  The stories of Sri Rama in Ramayana and that of Pandavas in  Mahabharatha  inform  us that  there  are sufferings in the life  and everyone  should face them boldly. Reading Bhagavath geetha is for mentally preparing   to face any type of consequences and without failure practicing  the  swadharama (ones own duty). Through puranic story telling for the children, value based messages are given in the form of story capsules to remain in the memory for many years and to get the reminder whenever the abnormal pathway is opted to in their life. Visiting elders on festive occasions is for getting value and experience based advice from their life.  Respecting teachers and elders, is for keeping the values in one’s life and in society for the learned people who continue to guide the society.  Auspicious time  selection  for visits  and   performing  ceremonies, is to  take  extra mental precaution to see that   everything is  carefully / systematically programmed  and planned . Consulting a good   astrologers   is to see that  things  are meticulously planned  and the blessings of  the  Vedic devathaas  are  assured for an optimism in ones endeavor (however this  should not go to the level of superstition  and should be carefully monitored). Performing pooja   is mainly to see that good will come if good is practiced. And to give the feeling that rest is left to the divine mercy/ blessings.  This blessing is directly assured (at least we feel so) by conducting poojas in presence of family and relatives (hence gives an opportunity for the family members to come together also). Worshiping the idols/ images having smiling faces (prasanna vadanam) gives a psychological positive feeling of confidence ( avoid  the worship of weeping/ bleeding/  cruel  images as it gives a negative influence in the mind).  Chant positive manthra/ keerthan/ bhajan for positive effect (neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic) and never chant crying or weeping  songs  which also influence the mind negatively

Physiologically beneficial customs and rituals. You can also analyze these customs and rituals yourself on the  scientific  base.  The soorya namaskaara / sun salutation  performed in the morning  is  a combination of  7 yogaasaanaas practiced in 10 steps, which  give smooth exercise for  all the movable skeletal joints in the body  and hence  this is  also  known  as  ‘ the king of the  exercises’.

Morning prayer  karaagre vasathe lakshmi karamadhye saraswathi karamoole  sthithaa gouri prabhaathe  karadarsanam: Sitting in the  same bed  where  you sleep everyday, without cleaning the  teeth-face-body,  why this manthra  is chanted, because  the body was  horizontal   for the whole night while  sleeping  and it is going to  become  vertical ( suddenly) when you get up.  In  the  vertical position of the body  the   force  exerted by the heart  for pumping the blood is  more, hence  the change of position of the body  from horizontal to vertical level  should be  slow  and  steady. Hence  we are  instructed to  sit on the bed  for few seconds  (it has been   statistically estimated that  23% of the heart  attack deaths  take place  in the heart patients  when they suddenly get up  and stand/walk from the lying position ).  Similarly with  a mantra  we  touch the floor  samudra vasane devi parvatha sthana mandale Vishnu patnee namasthubhyam paada sparsam  kshamaswa me.   The bio static electricity in the body  gets earthed through the  fingers  instead of the  feet, reducing the  chance of  arthritis  and many other  nervous based  disorders.  Before taking the food, pray for a few seconds. This prayer  is  a Hindu aachaaraas and during this prayer time, while looking to the food; the flow of  saliva in the mouth takes place  and this  liquid   activates the generation of other digestive  enzymes also, thus  activating the process of digestion ( a layer of  saliva  and  digestive enzymes  in the bottom  of the stomach before the food comes to the  stomach  is a biochemistry). Fasting leads to cleaning of the intestine, certain fasting (partial) in which change of food   is  instructed in the custom, which leads to getting variety of  micro nutrients  from different types of food sources.  Choodaakarna  the ceremony connected with wearing of the  ear ring is just like giving the  first vaccination  and  annapraasana  the first food giving ceremony  is  like  the first inoculation  to the baby  through the hands  of different  people  (the  ear ring in the former  and  food in the latter carries  little dirt/germs  which leads to   augmenting the immunity in the body of the baby).   These are only very few among thousands of aachaaraas   practiced   by Hindus, for physiological benefit.

More examples:  Do not  keep the direction of the  head towards north because the  magnetic meridian of the earth retards  the blood  flow through brain capillaries  and affect  the functioning of  brain cells.  Avoid taking bed coffee to prevent the obnoxious decomposed materials generated by microorganism in the mouth (in the night) going to the stomach to avoid the chance of  stomach cancer. Wake up early morning, because the brain is perfectly active   during that time. Take a bath in the morning itself so that all the decomposed products/ salts/ urea, etc present on the surface of the body gets cleaned which prevents the skin diseases significantly. The cold water/ hot water bath activates the biological process of the body cells to maintain the body temperature   when cold/ hot water bath is taken. Dhyaana / meditation activate brain cells.  Praanaayaama activates the lungs cells and functioning. Taking thulasi water/ theertha gives the medicinal property of the plant in it. Using sandal wood paste in the forehead gives the chance of absorbing the medicinal components in the chandan through the most sensitive part of the body. Visiting a temple (in Hindu worship, the   temples are not merely prayer halls, they are quantum healing centers) gives energy to the body if pancha suddhee is maintained.  Doing pradakshina to aswatha gives an atmosphere/ air through which; traces of ozone produced by the tree goes to the lungs and purifies the lungs. Attending and participating in temple festivals  give  the opportunity for leadership qualities, social gathering, entertainment  and hence  variety of merits including spiritual  benefits.

Customs and rituals beneficial for strengthening the family bondage:   When we look for integrated development of the society, the family relation becomes the first step in the social life. There  are hundreds of  aachaaraasasas in the Hindu  life  which  are  exclusively aimed  at strengthening  the  family relations  and bondage.  Every spiritual and family based customs are to be practiced by the wife and husband together. This strengthens the family relationship. The   message  that  maathru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava : Let the  mother  and father  be  divine to me ( gods to me)  convey  a strong  relation thread  between the children  and parents. The  death  anniversary functions known as   sraardha  are mainly  performed  to  give the demonstration of the  relationship  between the  parents  and  children - The demonstration from generation after  generations. 

 In all the rituals, the individual is expected to tell the gotra (clan) and sootra (thread of connection) which again show the connection with the forefathers.  During festivals,  the parents  were  saluted/prostrated  as  mathru/ pithru namaskaara, to get the feeling for the  children  that ( whatever may be their age)  their  relationship, with the parents  is not merely  that of people living together  in a house. This gives the message that in younger days children were looked after by the parents and in the old age, the parents should be looked after by the children with due respect and care.  Similarly the  relationship  between the wife and husband is not  merely the  relation for  sex, but for  building  a family with culture  and  values in the life.

Through  16 sacraments  known  as  samskaaraas (samskaara means  refining or purification)  the life of the baby is  getting  enriched by the values of the life. During the construction of the house the ground breaking, stone laying, the door fixing   and house-warming ceremonies  are all connected with the  star of birth of the wife, thus giving importance to the wife in the  family.  Without the husband or wife, the other (among the couple) alone cannot perform any of the household achaaras, which again makes it compulsory to build the strong family bondage. The marriage is performed  by tying the thread- putting the garland- holding the right palm ( paanigrahana)- presentation of the cloths or exchanging  the rings-  and by sirodhaara, these five  rituals  in presence of  hundreds of invited guests/ and agni/fire  give the feeling of  strong   wife – husband bondage. It is said that the marriage is conducted as agni saakshi. Thus one can analyze the customs to understand the impact of the family relations.

More examples: If properly performed, matching a horoscope before marriage gives an opportunity for understanding the personality of the individuals who are getting married and suitable corrective measures can be adopted. Inviting relatives and guests for marriage gives an opportunity to share the joy among relatives and social and family relations get strengthened.  After marriage ceremonies are aimed at getting a healthy baby and giving the feeling of love and affection among the couples.  The jaatja karma of the baby is performed to record scientifically the position of the celestial body when the baby was born. It is the bound privilege of the parents to give the name for their baby and hence the name of their choice through naamakarana is given as a part of the samskaaraas.  Dhampati pooja/ couple pooja is performed by other family members to remind their respect and appreciation on strengthening the bondage between the couples. Birthday celebrations are conducted to inform the duty and responsibility of the individuals when they grow and to remind them that the society and relatives are with them for undertaking the responsibility.  Celebration of the  60^th  birth anniversary (shashtipoorti), to remind the time  for  doing  more good  for the society  using the  experience  gained  for the  last 60 years of life,  when the period  of rest starts. 

Customs and rituals  beneficial for the  social bondage:  Inviting guests  for  family  functions  like birthday, marriage,  during the  death  and  after death  rituals,  getting  together during the festival seasons  like holi-deepavali-krishnaashtamai-ramanavami- celebrations  etc.  Temple festivals, village festivals, are all aimed at building social bondage.  Through these social relation building mechanisms the cultural relationship among Indians   was built up for the last many millennia.  Many spiritual and religious  activities  as samooha pooja, samooha bhajan,  mantra aalapan etc  are  all done  in groups  with the leadership  of the common Hindus  themselves,  not  through appointed  priests , which lead to the   cultural integration  of the social bondage  in the Hindu society.

More  examples: Family visits  during  happy  and unhappy occasion  by relatives and friends  ( even without taking appointments)  is to confirm  the family members  that  during  happy  and unhappy incidents  in ones life   we , the relatives  and friends  will be with them.  Get together during festival occasions    is for strengthening social bondage among the society members. Kumbha mela, vaisaaki,  and many other  festival  is  for sharing the joy  and forgetting the negatives of the past  and to build  better relations ship among the members in the society . Group pilgrimage to long distance is to share the joy and difficulties together in the spiritual way to strengthen social bondage.

Customs  and rituals  beneficial   for national integration:  There    are  many customs  which are  followed  exclusively  for  getting the feeling of patriotism  among  the  Indians.  The morning prayer (praathasmarana)  we chant the names of seven holy rivers from  Indian  continent … gange cha yamune chaiva… and seven mountains..  mahendro malaya sahyo…  the  great  women of India… ahalya droupadi seetha… the  great men  aswathaama bali vyaaso…. Seven major cities of India  ayodhya mathuraa maaya…. and so on.  These stanzas were written 3 or 4000 years  ago. This informs  and reminds us that  India  was culturally one  for the  last many thousand years The pilgrimage  to north India  by the south Indians  and  to south India  by the north Indians  are  fine  example of national integration.  The  customs  followed in the immersion of the  ashes (obtained  after cremation)  in kaasi / varanaasi triveni sangam by the south Indians  and  in kanyakumari  triveni sangam   by the north Indians   lead to this national integration through visits  and  experiences of direct contact among  south and north Indians  ( where  the  languages/ food/ dressing/  cultural traits  etc  differ).

It is also important to note a very interesting fact, that for making any curries (food items) in south India, north Indian spices are required and for north Indian curries, south Indian spices are inevitable. Thus even in kitchen of Hindu family, the national integration can be seen.  Learning of Sanskrit language,   chanting of Vedas and related literature, the story of Ramayana and Mahabharatha are all finally aimed at integrating the people of India and giving the message of unity in diversity .

More  examples:   A deep analyses  of the holy places, rivers, mountains  and asramas  given  in Ramayana  and Mahabharatha when  Sri Rama ( in Ramayana)  and Pandavas ( in Mahabharata)  visited during   vanavaasa , gives  familiarity  of the nation  through itihasas  and puraanaas. Puranic  stories do influence  the national integration. Pilgrimage to Asrams, Gangotri, Haridwaar, Kailash, Kanyakumari, etc integrates the mind of all Indians towards the nation.  The concept of  athithi devo bhava  to serve the  people who visits  our home without taking appointment  gives  the opportunity  to know  and help  others.  During the age old customs, anyone who is on pilgrimage has to depend for the food and shelter upon the unknown people. People traveling from north to south and south to north of India, for the pilgrimage could take shelter in the athithi devo bhava concept. Bharath maatha (mother  Bharath) concept of the nation gives  the  relation among  Indians  as the children of the country. In mahasankalpa  names of  different  kshetra in India are given ( as parasurama kshetra ( Keralam) - Sri  Rama kshetra ( Tamil Nadu) - Sreenivasa  kshetra ( Andra) - Jagannatha kshetra  ( Orrissa) - Bhaskara kshetra  ( Karnataka)  and so on, which informs  us that we  are part of the great  nation Bharath. Like this there are hundreds of the aachaaraas  aimed at national integration.

Thus, the aachaaraas  are directly  connected with the  day to day life  of Hindus. Even the spiritual rituals also compel us to pray saha naa  vavathu, saha now bhunakthu  saha veeryam karavaavahe  thejaswinaavadheethamstu maa vidvisha vahai  aano bhadraa .  Let us exist together,  share the results of the  work together, work together,   thorough that path way let us enlighten ourselves,   let us not have hatred towards anyone , let noble thoughts come from all  over the world.  Hindus  always prayed  lokaa: samasthaa: sukhino bhavanthu . let everyone become  happy. Hindus never prayed  haindavaa: samasthaa: sukhino bhavathu  Let (only) Hindus  become happy.  Hindus never said their pathway is the only correct one for attaining god. They always allowed other thoughts also to penetrate/integrate into the minds of the people, if those pathways can also fetch good results.   Hindus are the only people who prayed sarve bhavanthu sukhina: sarve santhu niraamaya  sarve bhdraani pasyanthu maa kaschit  dukhabaag bhveth.  Let sarve- all become happy and glorious,   free from pains and sorrow.  Here, too, Hindus never said only let Hindus get all the benefit.

Where does God reside?

There is a sholka in Sanskrit:  Manushyanam apsu devata. Manishimam divi devata. Balanam toshta rashteshu. Gnanino atmani devata.

Manushyanam apsu devata

·         For humans, God is in the water. For any pooja, a kalash is placed (a pot filled with water). Water means two things – one is water and the other is love.
Manishinam divi devata

·         Divi means brightness intelligence, knowledge.

·         For any ordinary humans being love is God.

·         For an intelligent person God is in intelligence. Therefore, a very intelligent person is known as a devata, there is god in brilliance.

·         Balanam toshta rashteshu

·         Balanam – innocent, ignorant and not with much intelligence.
For them toshta rashteshu – God is in idols, stones and wood.
Gnanino atmani devata

·         For the enlightened one all the gods reside in the enlightened one’s soul. Gods are not some where external.

Why do we fast on Ekadashi

·         It is a common practice in most hindu households to observe fast on ekadashi. What is special about this day?

·         Ekadasi in Sanskrit means eleven. ‘Eka’ means “one” and ‘dasi’ is the feminine form of the word “dasa”, which means “ten”. Ekadasi is thus the eleventh day of both the dark and light fortnight of each month. On these special days, devotees fast from grains and beans and make an extra effort to be in service to the Divine.

·         There is a beautiful story about the origin of Ekadasi fasting. Once, in the Satya-yuga (the golden age) Lord Narayana was enagaged in battle with a demon called Mura. Feeling tired, the Lord decided to rest from the long battle. However, mura wanted to kill the Lord while he was sleeping. Suddenly from the body of the Lord manifested a young girl, who slayed the demon, Mura. This girl was the Mahasakti…. Pleased, Narayana gave her the name Ekadasi( as she appeared on the eleventh day of the waning moon). He also granted her the boon that anyone who fasts on Ekadasi will become free from sin and attain His transcendental abode.

·         There are certain rules regarding fasting on this day. For eg., one must strictly avoid eating grains and beans on Ekadasi. Fasting generally means completely abstaining from both food and drink. If this is difficult, one may eat a single nongrain meal once in the afternoon or in the evening.

·         According to scriptures, one who observes fasting on Ekadasi is freed from all kinds of reactions to sinful activities and advances in spiritual life. These sacred fasting days greatly help any sincere soul achieve, even within this present lifetime, liberation from the cycle of  birth and death, it is said… therefore, Ekadasi gives one a real taste of renunciation, thus helping one give up trying to enjoy illusory sense gratification of this material world.

·         Both western and ayurvedic medicine recommend fasting to maintain and improve health. Indeed modern medial experts and ancient sages agree that fasting benefits one, both physically and mentally. Even from the economic point of view, two such fasting days in a month will save tons of food.

·         The basic principle is not just to fast, but to increase one’s faith and love for the Divine. The real reason for observing fasting on ekadasi is to minimize the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Divine.

What is Pooja, why should one perform it?

God is worshipping us and blessing us every day! Imitating all that God is dong to us, is pooja. An action born out of a blossomed mind is pooja. Honouring from the heart which is full is pooja. Here is some new light on the meaning of the word pooja.

Understand the word ‘pooja’. ‘Poo’ means ‘poornatha’, fullness. ‘Ja’ means ‘born out of’. That which is born out of fullness is pooja. When your consciousness becomes so full and in that state when you do an action that is known as pooja. When heart is full and you are overwhelmed, when an action is done out of that overwhelming state and gratitude is expressed, that is known as pooja.

Refining this more, what is pooja?

·         Imitating all that god is doing to us is pooja. God has given you crops and grains, so you offer rice. God has given you water and you offer water. Perfumes have been given and you offer perfumes. Fruits have been put on trees for you and you offer fruits. He is doing arati to you by (taking) sun and moon everyday and going around you, so you light a lamp and imitate that arati. God is worshipping you everyday! We imitate that. God wishes that you be happy.

·         “We have created so many varieties for you. There is so much diversity in the creation for you. Even then why do you remain sad? Only one type of vegetable was no created. Creation of flowers was not stopped at one variety. Varieties of flowers, vegetables, people, colours! When such a diverse creation has been created, by looking at something so beautiful, waves of beauty should arise in you everyday! You should live in love and celebration. Instead you are sad, bothering about small little things. Awake.” This voice is heard form the consciousness everyday. When one can have this message of the Creation, one is filled with so much of gratitude and that which arises out of the gratitude knows as pooja.

·         Honouring from the heart which is full is known as pooja. It is very difficult to expresses the emotions. How can they be expressed? However you express an emotion, you will still feel that the expression has fallen short of the emotion felt inside and the expression is never complete. Worship, feeling joyful inside.

The meaning of Aarti

·         First important ritual in a pooja is to establish god in your body parts. Divine is seen in every part of the body. It is said that you have to become God in everyway to worship god. The end of the pooja ritual is known as aarti.

·         What does aarti mean? It means complete happiness. “Rati” means joy. ‘Aarti’ means complete joy, which does not have sadness as its tail. Behind every joy there is a tail of sadness. The tail of every sadness is joy. Even in misery, there is some flow of joy. Even if no joy is present in sadness, then at least the satisfaction of having got pity for the sadness exists. When people express pity for the sadness suffering, people tend to enjoy the pity. That happiness which does not have sadness as its tail and that happiness which is complete in it, is known as aarti.

·         How is aarti done? A lamp is list and taken round God in all the four directions.

·         What does this lamp signify? It signifies that, life is a light. In whatever manner you tilt the fire its direction is always upward. Similarly life’s direction too should always be upward. And where should it move around? It should always move around the Divine. This is known as aarti.

Significance of Aarti, Teertha, Prasad, Mirror & Keeretam

Aarti
Aarti to somebody is a reminder to the self that I am the light. Light is the symbol of knowledge here, and let there be the same light all around you. Let not even a princh of darkness come near you. God is doing aarti to us with the sun and the moon for thousands of centuries.

Aarti signifies that like the light of the lamp’s flame, let my life always be around the Divine. Let it not be away from the Divine. And then you put your hand to your eyes signifying your acceptance of the light, of the wisdom into your life. Move around like a fire. Even if you dip it down, it stays right up. And that’s why the flame in an aarti is so important. Let your life become like this flame of knowledge.

When lord is in His bhagwatta swarup(in Divine form and in full glory), he is not aware of our sukh-dhukh. So we say aarti utaro utaro means to bring down so that he can relate to our problems.

Holy water

Holy, sanctified water is given to all during pujas in temples or in homes. This holy water is called teertha. It gives peace, calmness and love to our mind.

Prasad
Prasad gives prasannata blissful happiness.

Mirror
Whenever, someone comes to you, you show a mirror. When you see yourself in a mirror, do you frown? If you show a mirror to an angry person, the anger goes away immediately, because when we have to see our own face, we only like to see a happy face! That’s why we show the mirror to all visitors it is belived that by this all our distortions go away anger, greed and jealousy. And then the kalasha follows, signifying the fullness in you. The mirror removes your distortions, and then your fullness is revealed! Meaning be happy, come what may!

Japa
When you are in love, you like taking the name of the one you love. You take joy in saying, writing, associating yourself with that name often. This happens in japa as well. When you adore and love somebody so much, you repeat his name again and again. Even in japa the same thing happens. You immerse yourself with the name.

Kreedam
When the kreedam or silver crown is placed on the devotee’s head in Hindu temples, it means ‘surrender everything to the lord and be crowned!’

Why do you offer flowers in pooja?

It is to indicate blossoming of the mind also called as ‘mantra pushp’. Purification of the mind is done by the mantra and the mind blossomed like a flower. And that blossomed mind is offered to the divine. By performing aarti mind blossoms and becomes like a flower. Such a mind is offered… by this act of offering, ego in you is vanquished.

What is Homam?

·         Homams are pujas performed for a particular deity by invoking Agni - the God of fire.

·         It is said that when Lord Brahma (the creator among the Trinity) created man, he also created "Homam" for man's livelihood and his attainment of spiritual desires. The fundamental premise of Homam is derived from the Vedams, although, according to "Purusha Sooktham", it is the other way around - Vedams originated from Homam! Anyhow, Vedams and Homam are eternal truths having neither beginning nor end, and are "Apourusheyam" (divine, not the creation of humans). Karmam (work or action) is an integral part of living. Right and wrong Karmams can hardly be discerned by human intellect, and has to be guided by knowledge. Vedams, indeed, contain the highest form of knowledge. The singular goal of Vedam is to guide man through the correct path. And Homam forms the essence of all the Karmams prescribed in the Vedams

·         The goal of all Homams is the prosperity of the people at large by energizing and protecting the environment. The Sun is considered as the main source of energy supply, and fire is considered as a representation of the Sun's energy. According to the ancient texts on Homam, any offer to Fire as a god, is actually an offer to Sun. Any such offer is either to enrich energy in the environment or to destroy the undesirable elements in the environment, and thus, in both ways, environment is protected. Attaching divine nature to such rituals (like Homam) induced people to practice them. Thus, the ancient texts proclaim that "Such Vaidika Karmams are result-oriented, and meant to lead to Sreyass or spiritual attainments".

How is Homam performed?

·         Each Homam is performed strictly according to scriptures. These are conducted by fully learned and experienced vedic scholars.The ingredients recquired for these homams are different for each homams.Each homam is performed after praying (Shankalpa) for the specific relief / benefit desired for each individual.After each homam, pundits are fed with vedic prayers.

What is ego?

The feeling that ‘I am something; I am separate from the creation’. ‘There exist mountains, trees and rivers on this earth and so I too exist’ – this knowledge is absent. ‘I am different from this creation. I am special’ this feeling is ego. Moving from I am something’ to ‘ I am…’  Everything exists, I too exist; mountains exist and so do I.  I am not separate’. Surrender helps you move towards this oneness from separate. In reality, surrender is an illusion. What is there to offer and to whom? When everything belongs to him, then what is there to surrender and to whom to surrender? Till you become aware that everything belongs to Him, not just on the physical level, but also on an experiential level, the act of surrender becomes essential. In surrender there happens a balance between bhakti [devotion] and advaita [the knowledge of non-duality]. You realise that dvaita [duality] and advaita [non duality] are one and the same.

You recite God’s name not to make God happy. By reciting God’s name your consciousness become pleasant. Therefore you recite God’s name. God never desires that you recite His name. What differences can that make to Him? It is better that you do not call Him. He can sleep in peace, you repeatedly call Him and trouble Him. By reciting a name, the qualities present in that name blossom in your consciousness. What happens if you sit and think about your enemy?  There is such a sense of discomfort happening in your nervous systems then you are filled with restlessness and an intolerable feeling arises in you and you feel suffocated. If you keep thinking of your enemy for 15 to 20 days constantly, all your nervous system becomes like your enemy. 

Similarly, if you keep thinking of a nice person, one who is always happy, then your consciousness too becomes happy.  Whatever feeling you contain, your body shapes up accordingly. A person in too much worry expresses his worry through his face. Blood pressure rises in such a person’s body and it is full of restlessness – the vibration around such a person changes. The vibrations around a sad person are so heavy. If a person is happy, you feel the vibrations of happiness around such a person. Therefore, God’s name is recited not to make God happy. God does not desire that you recite His names. Therefore you have been given a desire to recite or not to recite the names of God. If it was God’s desire that you recite His name, then you would not have had any choice, you should have recited His name.

Ancient and yet new

Surrender, sharangati or namaha is the same. What is namaha?  Where mid does not exist. Mind means consciousness is outward bound. Mind views the scene through the eyes. It is the mind which sees. Even if the eyes are open and mind is else where, then is it possible for you to see? Even if the waves of sound are dashing against the eardrum and your mind is elsewhere, then can you hear? You cannot listen. It is the mind, which communicates with the external world via the eyes, ears, nose and skin. The same mind, which is already, in touch with the intellect, vies the impressions and thought is the dream. It is the same and one consciousness which is outwardly bound through the sense in the form of the mind, If you reverse the word ‘man’ it becomes namaha. Mamaha becomes namaha. That mind which is inward bound is namah.

What is the need to utter the age old mantras?

·         Mantras are ancient and old but whenever you recite it, it is new. Mind too is ancient. But, then your mind is then, twenty thousand years old. The body is new every moment. In the same way, mind is ancient, but at the same time it is new. It is like the river Ganges which is flowing from thousands of years, but the water in it is fresh. In the same way, mind is very ancient, but at the same time it is new. The body too is, similarly. You assume that your body is old, forty, fifty years old… in spite of the age it is still new. In spite of having your body from fifty years, this body of yours is fresh. You have just eaten bread and vegetables in the morning and the energy obtained out of it is new. It is ancient and yet new.