My feelings about worship

Hi folks!



If anyone has read one of my earlier blogs, they can recollect my fondness for the great Bhagavat Gita. It is my endeavour to adopt a life style as deemed to be fit as it has been elucidated in the holy book. Many a time I fail dismally even to achieve the basic of the basic necessity as envisaged, especially to control the senses. I'm fully aware of my shortcomings, my blemishes, my failings and my total ignorance. I don't qualify for a life depicted by the Lord himself, not even by a lightyear, but He doesn't say people like me should desist from such attempts. And that encourages me to continue with my attempts. I don't wish for the final result because, according to Gita, one can only act; never think about the outcome.

Studying Gita has been an experience of pure bliss. It has exploded all my beliefs and myths about worship and rituals sky high. Of these, the first and foremost my concept about God himself. Earlier I visited temples of our various Gods and goddesses, some of them regional, local pertaining to some villages alone, and I also believed in holy men and women. Even now I visit temples because it is more a way of life for an average Hindu, but I also understand what I'm doing is against the teachings of Gita. The great Sage Vyasa has mentioned in the book about the omnipresence of God as against what another great Sage Sri AdiShankara has depicted. While it is difficult to confine God within the four walls of temples and puja rooms of palatial houses, Adisankara not only gave forms for God and sang hymns about Him/ Her! Just read his apolgy to the Almighty before he ascended to heaven: '' Lord, pardon my three sins. I have, in contemplation clothed in form Thou who art formless; I have in praise described Thee who art inaffable, and in visiting temples I have ignored Thine omnipresence''. Today, the first lesson I'm trying to learn is about His omnipresence and to think that He is always there with this sinner that is me, wherever I go, whatever I do. It is not at all easy to perceive that change, so I am trying.

When you read Bhaktiyoga, you can observe that nowhere in this chapter the Lord has described the ways to worship though we practise them in about may be, a thousand different ways! Nowhere it has been mentioned the 'thantras' or 'mantras' as they are chanted now. Nowhere it has been said that the more money you deposit in a temple 'hoondi' the blessings will be couriered to you. I was often a mute witness of how Suma, my wife, frantically searches for coins to put in the hoondi. It is also a common sight to offer money to the temle elephant and get its 'blessing' .We don't realize the money goes to a country liquor shop in the evening, and probably the poor elephant left starving! Instead if only we give some food for that animal, the God would be surely pleased! We have millions of such meaningless customs and rituals which we practise with the fervent hope that god will shower all His blessings on us and not others. One saddening feature is how we put our babies into untold miseries and agony, just because we (the parents or grandparents) make a vow and subject the poor babies to all sorts of discomforts. Temples like Guruvayur are always crowded and hot. A baby of 4to 6 months, is terrified at the noise and literally roasted in the heat, with the result they scream to get them out of the suffocating atmosphere. If they don't scream it's because they are mortally scared of this strange people all around them.We have people there to make them sit for 'thulabharam' make them lie, pose for photos.. but why? Young kids are divinity embodied. Just look into their eyes- it's all writ there. The God while being sympathetic to the children, will certainly be very angry with us, as we are responsible for this cruelty!



I know of the consequences of this blog if read by fiercely orthodox Hindus who might issue a 'fatwa' against me! But this is the fact if you follow Gita. When you offer a 'vazhipadu' the Lord or a 'homam' do it for only for the God and do not hope to get something in return from Him. In short, according to Gita sacrifices have to be made without a bargain. Do we do that? We bargain for anything and we don't exempt Gods and temples!



Sri Aurobindo while explaining about sacrifice in the chapter 'Karmayoga' says: ''....But the highest only comes when the sacrifice is no longer to any gods, but to the one all-pervading Divine established in the sacrifice, of whom the gods are inferior forms and powers....''

The most important and difficult part of our quest is to identify the Divine you in yourself or the 'self'' itself.

This quest will take years or perhps a lifetime to achieve its objective but it is the trials and tribulations in its path that make it an endearing goal.



Interpretations on Gita are varied but they all give one advice: we needn't have any middleman to lead us to God. Many holy men are unholy and the pujaris of temples find the temples a superb source of income. To get a posting in Sabarimala or Guruvayur, the aspirants spend a lot of money which reminds me of the sales-tax personnel spending huge amount to get a posting in some most lucrative checkposts of the state! There are very pious among these people who are really holy in mind and body, but they are surrounded by a coterie which nullifies everything that's pure about them.



People were far more intelligent during the Vedic period of our history at least it appears to me because they didn't believe in idol worship. they didn't have so many gods and goddesses like we have. They worshipped only the nature which is sensible. That amounts to accepting the omnipresence of Almighty.



I'm not against going to temples or worshipping to any God of your choice. We mustn't bargain in the process. Bhakti is not going into a trance or shouting god's name or weeping looking at the idol-all these are emotonal. Real bhakti is dedication, and complete devotion to a shapeless, formless, God who is present among us, within us. To identify that God in ourselves or the true 'self', we have to start from the basics about which I mentioned in the beginning.



Shun anger.

Dump your ego.

Serve without waiting for gratitude.

Do the work; don't expect the fruits of your labour- ( very difficult but worth trying.) If you get rid of your ego half of the battle won.



This is only to start with. I've just started.