Hindu Vedic Philosophy (Sanatana Dharma, Morals, Rituals and Articles)

Worship
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramanasramam
Tiruvannamalai, South India.
1. The purpose of worshipping the impersonal Supreme Being is never to forget "I am Brahman," (Brahman = the Supreme Reality)because the meditation "I am Brahman" comprises sacrifice, gifts, penance, ritual, yoga, and worship. The only way to overcome any obstruction that may happen to your meditation is to forbid the mind to dwell on it and to introvert the mind into the Self and so witness unconcernedly all that is happening; there is no other method. Do not even for a moment lose sight of the Self. Fixing the mind on the Self or the "I" abiding in the Heart is the perfection of yoga, meditation, wisdom, devotion, japa (repeating one of God’s names or repeating a mantra) and worship. Since the Supreme Being abides as the Self, constant surrender of the mind by absorption in the Self is said to comprise all forms of worship.
If only the mind comes under control, all else is controlled. The mind is itself the life current; the ignorant say that in form it looks like a coiled serpent. The six subtle centres are merely mental pictures and are meant for beginners in yoga. Vedantists consider it a sacrilege to regard the One creating, sustaining and absorbing Supreme Self as a conceptual deity like Ganapati, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Maheswara, and Sadasiva. We project ourselves into the idols and worship them because we do not understand true inward worship. Therefore, the Knowledge of the Self, which knows all, is Knowledge in perfection.
2. Distracted as we are by various thoughts, if we continually contemplate on the Self, which is Itself God, this single thought will in due course replace all distraction and itself ultimately vanish; the pure Consciousness that alone finally remains is the realization of God. This is liberation. Never to be heedless of one’s own all perfect, pure Self is the acme of yoga, wisdom and all other forms of spiritual practice. Even though the mind wanders restlessly, concerned in external matters, and so becomes forgetful of its own Self, one should be alert and think thus, "The body is not I. Who am I?" Enquire in this way, turning the mind backward to its primal state. The enquiry "Who am I?" is the only method of putting an end to all misery and ushering in supreme beatitude. Whatever and however it may be said, this is the whole truth in a nutshell.
 
Real Worship
By Swami Vivekananda
Address at the Rameshwaram Temple
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol III
Published by Advaita Ashram, Mayavati, Himalayas.
It is in love that religion exists and not in ceremony, in the pure and sincere love in the heart. Unless a man is pure in body and mind, his coming into a temple and worshipping Shiva is useless. The prayers of those that are pure in the mind and body will be answered by Shiva, and those that are impure and yet try to teach religion to others will fail in the end. External worship is only a symbol of internal worship; but internal worship and purity are the real things. Without them, external worship would be of no avail. Therefore you must all try to remember this.
People have become so degraded in this Kali Yuga that they think they can do anything, and then they can go to a holy place, and their sins will be forgiven. If a man goes with an impure mind into a temple, he adds to the sins that he had already, and goes home a worse man than when he left it. Tirtha (place of pilgrimage) is a place which is full of holy things and holy men. But if holy people live in a certain place, and if there is no temple there, even that is a Tirtha. If unholy people live in a place where there may be a hundred temples, the Tirtha has vanished from that place. And it is most difficult to live in a Tirtha; for if sin is committed in an ordinary place it can easily be removed, but sin committed in a Tirtha cannot be removed. This is the gist of all worship – to be pure and to do good to others.
He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva; and if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary. He who has served and helped one poor man seeing Shiva in him, without thinking of his caste, or creed, or race, or anything, with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees Him only in temples.
A rich man had a garden and two gardeners. One of these gardeners was very lazy and did not work; but when the owner came to the garden, the lazy man would get up and fold his arms and say : “How beautiful is the face of my master”, and dance before him. The other gardener would not talk much, but would work hard, and produce all sorts of fruits and vegetables which he would carry on his head to his master who lived a long way off. Of these two gardeners, which would be more beloved of his master? Shiva is that master, and this world is His garden, and there are two sorts of gardeners here; the one who is lazy, hypocritical, and does nothing, only talking about Shiva’s beautiful eyes and nose and other features; and the other, who is taking care of Shiva’s children, all those that are poor and weak, all animals, and all His creation. Which of these would be the more beloved of Shiva? Certainly he that serves His children. He who wants to serve the father must serve the children first. He who wants to serve Shiva must serve His children – must serve all creatures in this world first. It is said in the Shastras (scriptures) that those who serve the servants of God are His greatest servants. So you will bear this in mind.
Let me tell you again that you must be pure and help any one who comes to you, as much as lies in your power. And this is good Karma. By the power of this, the heart becomes pure (Chitta-shuddhi), and then Shiva who is residing in everyone will become manifest. He is always in the heart of everyone. If there is dirt and dust on a mirror, we cannot see our image. So ignorance and wicked ness are the dirt and dust that are on the mirror of our hearts. Selfishness is the chief sin, thinking of ourselves first. He who thinks, “I will eat first, I will have more money than others, and I will possess everything”, he who thinks, “I will get to heaven before others, I will get Mukti (liberation) before others” is the selfish man. The unselfish man says, “I will be last, I do not care to go to heaven, I will even go to hell if by doing so I can help my brothers.”
This unselfishness is the test of religion. He who has more of this unselfishness is more spiritual and nearer to Shiva than anybody else, whether he knows it or not. And if a man is selfish, even though he has visited all the temples, seen all the places of pilgrimage, and painted himself like a leopard, he is still further off from Shiva.
1.Garbhagraha (Sanctum Sanctorum) containing the image of God.
2.The Vimana over the Sanctum. 3.Ardhamandap in front of the Sanctum. 4.Prakaras arond the Sanctum. 5.The Gopura, the main gateway of the temple.
Indian temple is only a reflection of the physical form of the human body. According to the Tirumular "our body is a temple". According to the Kathopanishad "This body of ours is a temple of the Divine."
The macrocosm is reflected in the microcosm. The great cosmos is reflected in the human body.
The parts of a temple are identical with the parts of the human body. The vimana is the head, the Sanctum is the neck, the front mandap is the stomach, the prakara walls are the legs, the gopura is the feet and the Lord in the Sanctum is the Soul or the Jiva of the body. There are several versions regarding the comparison of the parts of a temple with the various centres or parts of a body.
The Sanctum Sanctorum is the most important part of a temple. A battery which is charged with current produces a stream of power. Similarly by concentrating on the image with appropriate mantras, the image becomes a storehouse of spiritual power from which flow a stream of grace to the soul of a devotee. According to the latest scientific theory, the sound once produced never dies. The hymns rendered by our great saints before the idols remain immortal by Divine grace. It is to preserve the sound waves that the Sanctum Sacnctorum of our temples are so cleverly built.
Thus we have seen that idols are not mere toys but symbols of God. The temples are not mere museums but centres of spiritual power. They teach us volumes of wisdom more than any number of books, give us a keener insight into the history of India and make us feel the tranquillity of eternal life.
A temple is the house of God, the dwelling place of the Divine, and a place of worship for all. Although God is omnipresent and His worship can be done in all places, still His presence is felt more in a temple than anywhere else. In the world all buildings are constructed for the fulfillment of various desires of men, but the temple is erected solely for man's communion with God. The temple is thus the parlour of the Lord where He receives His devotees and gives audience to all. A temple, in this way, is a bridge between man and God.
The temple provides an environment which helps men to commune with the Divine. By constant and regular worship performed by the devotees of the temple, holy vibrations are created and maintained there which help people. Congregational worship produces a great effect on those who take part in it. If thought has any power, then many hearts and minds tuned to a particular attitude of love and devotion are bound to produce tremendous results.
Man likes to grasp the Infinite in some concrete form. So temples have come into existence to meet his psychological as well as spiritual needs. Thus we find temples everywhere attended by all types of people in all civilisations.
In India temples came into being during the post-Buddhistic period. In the Vedic times when temples were not known, people used to worship fire as the symbol of the Infinite in their prayer rooms. It is only from the Gupta period that we see in India big temples of great architectural beauty coming into existence.
Besides serving as places of worship, temples also stand as centres of learning where the Acharyas preach high philosophies. In temples there are schools to teach the various branches of knowledge like literature, grammar and ethics. Daily recitation and exposition of portions from the Mahabharata and Ramayana are also conducted to impart ethical education to the assembly gathered to listen. Actually it provides an easy way of adult education. Moreover, temples even serve the physical needs of the people by maintaining hospitals and making provisions for medicine.
A temple is also a treasure house of art. A temple designed with majesty, serenity and beauty at once lifts man to a higher realm where his littleness vanishes, unveiling the infinite horizon of the Divine. So the temple impresses on the minds of the people not only a sense of the beautiful in art but also the beautiful in life. Sometimes also act as socio-religious institutions as they provide a way for a vast population to get together. A temple makes people feel that they belong to one great culture and civilisation.
A temple is a spiritual laboratory too, where spiritual truths are realised and are actually practised in society for the elevation of man from the human level to the Divine. Until the stage is reached when a man realises that his heart has become a shrine where the Divine resides, the importance of the temple in his life can never be questioned.
Swami Vivekananda said: "Why should man build churches in which to worship God? Why not worship Him anywhere? Even if He did not know the reason, man found that the place where people worshipped God became full of good Tanmatras. Every day people go there, and more they go the holier they get, and the holier that place becomes. If any man who has not much Sattwa in him goes there, the place will influence him and arouse his Sattwa quality. Here, therefore, is the significance of all temples and holy places.
This is the gist of all worship- to be pure and to do good to others. He who sees Siva in the poor, in the weak and in the diseased, really worships Siva; and if he sees Siva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary.
Affirmations
Affirmations are one of the simplest and most powerful things we can do to change the quality of our lives, and to create the things we want.
Affirmations are the force of creation.
“Every thought has a counterpart in a word or sound; the word and the thought are inseparable. The external part of a thing is what we may call the thought. The same thought may be expressed by different words or sounds. Though the sounds vary, yet the relation between the sound and the thoughts is a natural one”.
(Swami Nikhilananda  Sri Ramakrishna Math:)
The power of affirmations can be stated very simply: Affirmations are the force of creation. For AUM being the sound symbol of Parmatman (Supreme Reality), it is considered to be the first vibration as sound emanating at the beginning of creation.
“In the beginning was the word….”(John 1:10)
To affirm means to make firm. There is very little mystery about how and why affirmations work, once the principle is understood. An affirmation is simply a spoken declaration, in the present tense, which creates a desired reality.
Affirm what you know to be true in your heart, and you will create that reality. Affirm that you are free, and strong, and attractive, and prosperous, and loving – and you will find, often in a remarkably short time, that your outer world will begin to change as a reflection of your changing inner consciousness.
To understand how an affirmation has the power to create something, we must first understand how creation works. A great many different mythologies, mystical traditions, scientific studies, and religions have investigated the mysteries of creation. Many of these have come up with similar findings.
How is it possible for another person to know what idea or thought I have in my mind? Is it possible for me to make that idea come out of my mind and make it enter the mind of another person? To do that, I will have to summon the help of Mother Saraswati (Vak Devi) the goddess of speech (also known as the goddess of learning), or use the written word to communicate. This power or shakti when combined with the static thought, makes it possible for the thought or idea to travel.
This is a miraculous power or shakti. If I am speaking to an audience of fifty people, this power becomes manifold or multiplies and with my each thought enters the minds of all fifty people. If my talk is broadcast via satellite and if there are a million listeners, this shakti becomes a million fold. Its capacity is unlimited.
This combination of the product of human consciousness (thought) with Shakti makes manifestation of things possible. The clothes we wear, the chair on which we seat, the books we read, the computers we use; all these were first conceived as ideas in the human mind. The chairman of a big corporation conceives of an idea that a fifty-story sky-scraper building should be built. He conveys this idea, using his power (shakti) of speech, to the board of directors who approve it.
The idea is then conveyed with the aid of Mother Saraswati (speech or written words) to the financiers, to the architect, to the contractors, to the labourers on site. The result is the manifestation of a fifty-story building. The thought became a thing. Thoughts are things. Examine everything that surrounds one in the house.
Everything before being made existed as thought or idea before becoming a stove, table, clock, calendar, screwdriver, soap powder.
This is at the human level of microcosm.
At the cosmic level of macrocosm, the combination of Shiva and Shakti (Spirit and Matter) makes possible the manifestation of the universe. The dynamic shakti functions on the static Shiva. The substratum is Shiva and the vibrant manifestation is shakti. Like the screen (the substratum) and the projected image upon the screen (in a movie theatre).
Shiva and shakti are inseparable aspects of the one Reality, like the whiteness in milk; like the brilliance in diamond and like the word and its meaning. Just as heat is inherent in fire, the power inherent in God (Shiva) is maya (shakti). The manifest universe is the display of shakti or maya.
Man is constituted of both Shiva and Shakti. The persisting personality in him is Shiva and the perishing form is shakti. The being in him is Shiva and the becoming in him is shakti. The awareness or consciousness is Shiva and the physique is shakti. The sentient Shiva manifests Himself through the insentient matter viewed as shakti. The insentient physique enshrines and nurtures the sentient in man. In other words, Mother Nature nurtures what is sentient in man. Shakti rears the Shiva in man. Therefore, worshipful attitude towards Shakti is incumbent upon man evolving in Shivahood.
Theology abounds in terms such as Uma-Maheshwar, Lakshmi-Narayana, Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram, Shiva-Shakti, Purusha-Prakriti, Ardhanarishwar, spirit and matter. These are all indicative of the fact that existence is a mixture of the sentient and the insentient.
(The following explanation is by Marc Allen)
I feel that the Kabbala- so-called ‘esoteric’ Judaism – expresses it very clearly and simply. Those who have studied other traditions will see many similarities.
To study the Kabbala is to study the ‘Tree of Life’. All things are contained within the Tree of Life. The creation of the Tree of Life reflects the mysteries of all creation. And the study of the Tree of Life explains the mysteries of ourselves, for we are a microcosm, mirroring the vast macrocosm: ‘As above, so below’.
The Tree of Life begins with emptiness, within the vast, shining void of space. Then it begins as a very subtle ‘spiritual impulse’ – the impulse to create. Then this very subtle spiritual impulse becomes something more tangible: a thought, a clearer, more definite impulse to create something. Once the impulse has become a thought, it gains momentum and becomes a feeling, an emotional impulse. This feeling, supported by a sustained thought, soon becomes manifested in physical form, as an object we can experience with our senses.
The way in which the Tree of Life is formed reflects the way in which everything in our lives is created. Everything has gone through this cycle: it is first a spiritual impulse, then a thought, then a feeling, then it becomes a physical manifestation. Everything we have created in our lives was first a thought, and then a feeling. Anything we consistently hold in our minds to be true or real will become true or real in our physical universe.
This explains why affirmations are so powerful – and why they are not so mysterious. Affirmations are our very thoughts themselves, supported by our emotions. We are saying affirmations all the time – whether consciously or unconsciously. The universe always says ‘yes’ to our affirmations, always supports them, because we are the universe, we are the Tree of Life, and we are creating our own reality, through our thoughts and feelings and spiritual impulses.”
Affirmations
Affirmations are one of the simplest and most powerful things we can do to change the quality of our lives, and to create the things we want.
Affirmations are the force of creation.
“Every thought has a counterpart in a word or sound; the word and the thought are inseparable. The external part of a thing is what we may call the thought. The same thought may be expressed by different words or sounds. Though the sounds vary, yet the relation between the sound and the thoughts is a natural one”.
(Swami Nikhilananda  Sri Ramakrishna Math:)
The power of affirmations can be stated very simply: Affirmations are the force of creation. For AUM being the sound symbol of Parmatman (Supreme Reality), it is considered to be the first vibration as sound emanating at the beginning of creation.
“In the beginning was the word….”(John 1:10)
To affirm means to make firm. There is very little mystery about how and why affirmations work, once the principle is understood. An affirmation is simply a spoken declaration, in the present tense, which creates a desired reality.
Affirm what you know to be true in your heart, and you will create that reality. Affirm that you are free, and strong, and attractive, and prosperous, and loving – and you will find, often in a remarkably short time, that your outer world will begin to change as a reflection of your changing inner consciousness.
To understand how an affirmation has the power to create something, we must first understand how creation works. A great many different mythologies, mystical traditions, scientific studies, and religions have investigated the mysteries of creation. Many of these have come up with similar findings.
How is it possible for another person to know what idea or thought I have in my mind? Is it possible for me to make that idea come out of my mind and make it enter the mind of another person? To do that, I will have to summon the help of Mother Saraswati (Vak Devi) the goddess of speech (also known as the goddess of learning), or use the written word to communicate. This power or shakti when combined with the static thought, makes it possible for the thought or idea to travel.
This is a miraculous power or shakti. If I am speaking to an audience of fifty people, this power becomes manifold or multiplies and with my each thought enters the minds of all fifty people. If my talk is broadcast via satellite and if there are a million listeners, this shakti becomes a million fold. Its capacity is unlimited.
This combination of the product of human consciousness (thought) with Shakti makes manifestation of things possible. The clothes we wear, the chair on which we seat, the books we read, the computers we use; all these were first conceived as ideas in the human mind. The chairman of a big corporation conceives of an idea that a fifty-story sky-scraper building should be built. He conveys this idea, using his power (shakti) of speech, to the board of directors who approve it.
The idea is then conveyed with the aid of Mother Saraswati (speech or written words) to the financiers, to the architect, to the contractors, to the labourers on site. The result is the manifestation of a fifty-story building. The thought became a thing. Thoughts are things. Examine everything that surrounds one in the house.
Everything before being made existed as thought or idea before becoming a stove, table, clock, calendar, screwdriver, soap powder.
This is at the human level of microcosm.
At the cosmic level of macrocosm, the combination of Shiva and Shakti (Spirit and Matter) makes possible the manifestation of the universe. The dynamic shakti functions on the static Shiva. The substratum is Shiva and the vibrant manifestation is shakti. Like the screen (the substratum) and the projected image upon the screen (in a movie theatre).
Shiva and shakti are inseparable aspects of the one Reality, like the whiteness in milk; like the brilliance in diamond and like the word and its meaning. Just as heat is inherent in fire, the power inherent in God (Shiva) is maya (shakti). The manifest universe is the display of shakti or maya.
Man is constituted of both Shiva and Shakti. The persisting personality in him is Shiva and the perishing form is shakti. The being in him is Shiva and the becoming in him is shakti. The awareness or consciousness is Shiva and the physique is shakti. The sentient Shiva manifests Himself through the insentient matter viewed as shakti. The insentient physique enshrines and nurtures the sentient in man. In other words, Mother Nature nurtures what is sentient in man. Shakti rears the Shiva in man. Therefore, worshipful attitude towards Shakti is incumbent upon man evolving in Shivahood.
Theology abounds in terms such as Uma-Maheshwar, Lakshmi-Narayana, Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram, Shiva-Shakti, Purusha-Prakriti, Ardhanarishwar, spirit and matter. These are all indicative of the fact that existence is a mixture of the sentient and the insentient.
(The following explanation is by Marc Allen)
I feel that the Kabbala- so-called ‘esoteric’ Judaism – expresses it very clearly and simply. Those who have studied other traditions will see many similarities.
To study the Kabbala is to study the ‘Tree of Life’. All things are contained within the Tree of Life. The creation of the Tree of Life reflects the mysteries of all creation. And the study of the Tree of Life explains the mysteries of ourselves, for we are a microcosm, mirroring the vast macrocosm: ‘As above, so below’.
The Tree of Life begins with emptiness, within the vast, shining void of space. Then it begins as a very subtle ‘spiritual impulse’ – the impulse to create. Then this very subtle spiritual impulse becomes something more tangible: a thought, a clearer, more definite impulse to create something. Once the impulse has become a thought, it gains momentum and becomes a feeling, an emotional impulse. This feeling, supported by a sustained thought, soon becomes manifested in physical form, as an object we can experience with our senses.
The way in which the Tree of Life is formed reflects the way in which everything in our lives is created. Everything has gone through this cycle: it is first a spiritual impulse, then a thought, then a feeling, then it becomes a physical manifestation. Everything we have created in our lives was first a thought, and then a feeling. Anything we consistently hold in our minds to be true or real will become true or real in our physical universe.
This explains why affirmations are so powerful – and why they are not so mysterious. Affirmations are our very thoughts themselves, supported by our emotions. We are saying affirmations all the time – whether consciously or unconsciously. The universe always says ‘yes’ to our affirmations, always supports them, because we are the universe, we are the Tree of Life, and we are creating our own reality, through our thoughts and feelings and spiritual impulses.”