Understanding Sanatana Dharma- Part 4*

(13)    Question : Isn’t it enough to worship God while sitting in our house, or is it necessary to go to the temples in order to worship Him?

Answer :  It is all right if you are not going to temples. However, if you go to temples, you will benefit because the vibrations there are entirely different from those of a house or other places where worldly dealings are taking place. In a temple, everyone is thinking of God. The power radiating from the statue creates peace and serenity in the mind. The atmosphere is concentrated and impregnated with the one pointed thought of the devotees who gather there. Because all are thinking of God in that atmosphere, it is easy for others also to attain concentration. But we should have the right attitude when we go to a temple.

(14)    Question : It is said that one will get mental peace if one goes to temples and prays sincerely. How does that happen?

Answer : It is true, we can get peace, but as you said, we must have sincerity. We want peace to come after we call “God” once having looked at the image and then closed our eyes. When we meditate on God with form, we are also meditating on our own Self. This means all other thoughts will be restrained and our mind will become concentrated on the image of God. This again means that there are no other thoughts, which cause all our external and internal problems and conflicts, except that one single thought of God. Fewer thoughts mean more peace of mind. More thoughts means less peace of mind. Moreover, when we go to a temple, the atmosphere is calm because everyone stands there with only one thought in mind. All minds will become one-pointed while waiting for the sanctum sanctorum to be opened and to behold God’s image. The atmosphere there becomes peaceful because of that concentrated thought. That is why we get peace when we go to temples.

(15)   Question : Is it necessary to worship trees, snakes and things like that?

Answer :   Everything in God’s creation has a purpose and a benefit, whatever it is. There is a use for everything, whether it is a dog, a cat or a hen. No matter whether it is an animal or a plant, there is a purpose behind its creation. Even if human beings do not have any use for something, other creatures do. The harmony of nature depends on all things which have been created. Take, for example, the changes in weather patterns that have now occurred. Because trees have been needlessly cut down, we do not get the proper rainfall during the monsoon season. Furthermore, the temperature has increased, hasn’t it?

It is the trees which purify the atmosphere, absorbing all the impure air exhaled by human beings. Is it wrong to mentally worship those things which do good to us? For example, some things are considered sacred, so we honor them with due reverence, that’s all. Lord Krishna has told Arjuna, “Among mountains I am the Himalayas, among trees I am the great peepal tree and amongst animals, the lion.” When everything is pervaded by God, which thing is not to be worshipped?

(16)    Question :  Doesn’t Vedanta speak against image worship?

Answer : No, Vedanta doesn’t deny anything. Son, every person has an appropriate path for making the mind concentrated on the Self. Didn’t Sankaracharya renovate temples, install images and compose poetry about gods and goddesses? Even so, don’t get entangled in image worship forever. At a certain stage of sadhana, you will reach the Formless State where all images and forms merge and disappear. Even if one or two people might understand that the world is an illusion, to others the world will still seem to be real. Scriptures and paths are to uplift those who are wandering in ignorance. They are not meant for those who already know the Truth and have attained the Goal.

(17)    Question : Is it possible to attain Liberation through temple worship?

Answer : It is possible, but one must worship with the understanding of the inner significance of the temples. God resides in the temples, but don’t think that He is limited to the four walls of the temple. Have the firm belief that God is omnipresent. A bus will take us to the bus stop nearest to our house; from there we can easily walk the remaining distance. Similarly, the correct way of temple worship will take us to the threshold of Satchidananda (Pure Being-Knowledge-Bliss); from there only a short distance remains before attaining Perfection. You can take birth in a temple, but don’t die there. That is to say that, in the beginning, a seeker can do temple worship as a stepping stone, but the final and real goal is beyond all these things.

*courtesy : Awaken children,MAM Publication.

Understanding Sanatana Dharma- Part 3*

(9)  Question: Why were human sacrifices conducted in temples?

Answer : The ignorance of people in the olden times prompted them to do this. They believed such sacrifices would please God. Misunderstanding the words of the scriptures, they performed these sacrifices. Look at our present day world. In the name of politics there is so much bloodshed. Atrocities like killing a man who changes political parties, killing the members of different political parties, shootings and stabbings are commonplace. Do any of these party’s by-laws or ideologies sanction murder or such atrocities? The manifesto and ideologies are very good, but the actions of the followers may be entirely different. Similarly, there were some fools in the olden days. Blind devotion and belief prompted them to act like this.

(10) Question : What is the significance of temple festivals?

Answer : The word festival in Sanskrit is utsavam. The original word is utsravam, which means to rise up and flow, or to overflow. All festivals are symbolic of the overflowing of pure bliss and consciousness; especially the festivals that are celebrated in temples symbolize the overflow of spiritual energy and bliss.

The spiritual energy that is created in the temple through prayer, meditation, worship and chanting, fills the temple compound. It then rises above the four walls of the temple and overflows into the entire village or city where it is situated, purifying the whole environment. This is the idea behind the festivals that are celebrated in the temples every year.

(11)  Question: why has the sanctity of the temples been lost?

Answer : In the name of festivals, people collect money and conduct worldly programs in temples. This makes the temple’s atmosphere impure. Instead of cultivating devotion and good thoughts in people, such programs create vulgar thoughts and passions. What nonsense is done in the name of festivals; people getting drunk and engaging in fighting. In the temple surroundings they conduct drama, dance and such activities that arouse worldliness in the minds of the audience. Young children will also be affected by this. At the tender age when good thoughts should be developed, these programs will make them stray from the right path. These kinds of thought waves will make the temple atmosphere unholy.

Children, we alone destroy ourselves. First we should become good. We should see that the temples are kept pure. Only the arts of a divine nature, which increase devotion and faith, should be held in temples. The daily puja should be performed properly. Now that the temple surroundings have been made impure, it makes no sense to accuse the deities. In olden days meditation, reading of the ancient scriptures, yogic postures and other spiritual activities were practiced in temples. Only stories connected with God would be presented as dramas during festivals.

The money collected from the public for festivals should be utilized for humanitarian purposes. There are so many people who are struggling without a house in our villages. We can build houses for them. Clothes and food can be given in charity to the poor. Help can be given to those who are unable to conduct a marriage ceremony due to lack of money. Religious books can be printed and distributed free of charge and used for teaching children. Orphanages can be built enabling more children to be brought up with good culture and character. In this way, there would not be any orphans in the future. All this would help create unity among people.

We should take special care to renovate temples and conduct divine arts during festival seasons. United, we should take care of temples in the proper way. Their holiness should be preserved, otherwise our culture will degenerate.

12)  Question : There are many people who scoff at image worship. Why is this?

Answer : They criticize image worship because of their ignorance about temples and the science behind image worship. To put it in one sentence, the temple represents the body and the image symbolizes Atman, the soul, which is situated in the sanctum sanctorum (inner chamber) of the heart. The complete temple is the seeker’s body in full prostration with all the adharas, including sahasrara.

Ordinary people with gross intellects cannot conceive of a formless or nameless God even though that is His real nature. They need something to hold onto and someone to share their heart with. Being limited individuals, human beings are not satisfied with another limited being. Knowingly or unknowingly one is always in search of an infinite, universal Person to whom one can unburden one’s sorrow and find peace. The ancient sages knew that the people belonging to the forthcoming ages would be unable to grasp these subtle truths unless it was put in a different way. Thus the idea of temples dawned in their hearts to make Truth available even to the grossest. But we misinterpret it and make a mess. Whose fault is this? Who is there to blame? Neither God nor the great forefathers, we can blame only ourselves.

In any case son, why do you care if somebody out of utter ignorance says something about God or image worship? Let him babble. That shows his lack of understanding. Let us pray and work for his upliftment also. But let our faith be unshakable.

courtesy : Awaken children,MAM Publication.