People normally find a hundred excuses for Not performing,
doing Spiritual practices like Pūjā, or
Visiting the Mandirā.
‘I am unwell’,
‘I cannot afford rituals’,
‘I have no time’,
‘I do not know the chants’,
there is no place at home where I can worship’
& So on.
Normally,
people feel Pūjā is a mechanical action,
Which has to be ‘got over & done with’ as part of one’s daily routine (Dinacaryā).
People say,
‘pūjā kar ḍālī’ (Hindi),
or
‘pūjā karī nākhī’ (Gujarati),
which indicates, that one has finished it with a sense of relief that it is over, rather than with a sense of fulfilment of having done it well.
Our attitude should be ‘Pūjā kar lī’ ~ completed (with good feelings derived from it).
When one Matures, One realizes that Pūjā
is a continuous process, which happens all through the day,
in & through every Action of Ours.
It does Not remain a particular act done for a particular period of time.
What is d Use of staying in close proximity with a great Master & not gaining any of his Virtues?
Pūjā is a form of Upāsanā – a Spiritual practice.
मम साधर्म्यमागताः।
(गीता-१४.२)
When we practise regularly, We imbibe the divine Virtues of Our altar of Worship,
&
Ultimately become One with the Worshipped.
This is the Highest Result of Pūjā.
To directly Worship Paramātmā,
when He appears in front of Us, is a Joy Unparalleled
& for most of Us, an Unimaginable Occurance.
Rare ones, like Śabarī, enjoyed such Bliss.
For Us,
However,
The ritualistic physical worship is done by invoking the Paramātmā in an Murti or a picture.
Since our Mind is gross, it is easier for us to appreciate the Paramātmā with a form.
We must, However,
Understand that what we worship is Not the Murti, but the ideal behind the Murti
Also, Paramātmā is Not ‘Only in the Murti’, But ‘Also in the Murti'.
He is all-pervading & His Glory is to be seen in all.
यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुिमच्छति। तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम्॥ (गीता-७.२१)
"Đ Paramātmā fortifies our Faith in whichever Form, We desire to worship Him".
that he had commenced his Journey. They had now returned to the presence of the same Baba Vishwanath.
Acharya remembered all the past incidents.
The people of the city welcomes Acharya with great Joy & Devotion. Acharya directly went to the Mandira of Sri Vishwanatha & worshipped
If We Realize, that whatever He ordains, is for Our Best, We would not be
Disappointed,
Dejected,
Or
Plunged into Doubt,
When our Wish is Not Fulfilled.
We should continue to Worship & Pray to Him.
A sick child demands an ice cream, & Screams at his parents for not fulfilling
his Wish, little realizing, What is good for Him.
Many of Our demands are Childish & Contradictory.
To demand that every Wish of Ours be Fulfilled, is illogical.
A Sāttvika person Prays,
‘May I improve myself.’
A Mature person knows,
‘I will get, what I deserve,
in the passage dealing with the concept of the Paramātmān (Paramātmā~Tattva).
Here one is exhorted to "go to the Guru for refuge".
One Qualification for the Guru is that He must be a Śrotrīya.
A Śrotrīya is one who is steeped in the Vedas. Erudition in the Vedas constitutes his
educational qualification.
But as a Guru He must have a 2nd qualification.
That is He must be a Brahmā~Niṣṭhāka :
apart from possessing Knowledge of the Paramātmān to the utmost-limits,
He must have realisation of it in his Heart.
Such personal experience or realisation is not
ISri Adi Śaṅkarācārya-श्री आदि शङ्कराचार्यII
Sōpānaṁ 43 : Teaching the Chārvāka
One day, a Chārvāka by name Bārhaspatya, came before Acharya & said :
"O Acharya Śaṅkarā! I have been obersving you for several days.
Your religion of Advaita,
will cause a lot of harm to the people.
As you are very kind-hearted & generous, people will listen to your words.
Renouncing all the comforts of the world & taking up the Sanyāsa for the sake of “Moksha” that you talk about, is the height of foolishness.
Sanyāsa is the way of
life meant for the bling, lame & the mentally retarded, to live in this world.
The only treasure that we have is this Body.
We must nourish it so that we can enjoy all the comforts & at the same time help others in need.
रणम कृत्वा घ्रतम पिबेत।
‘Even by borrowing money we must
Hidden in the Mass of Rock,
&
Visible Only to the Transcending Vision of the Sculptor,
is the Graceful Form of the Sculptor’s Creation.
Only an Artist can Bring this Hidden Beauty Out of a Common Piece of Rock.
(1/8)
He has the Subtle Intuition to see the Glory & Perfection of the Form Within.
At last it is Done.
Đ Finished Product Emerges in all its Perfection.
The Artist has added Nothing of his Own to Bring about or Heighten the Beauty.
Đ Beauty was always Throbbing in the Secret Womb
of the Rock.
The Sculptor Only Released it from the Encircling Mass of Formless Rock.
Similarly,
Man does Not Realise how Gross he looks as he lives his Worldly Life,
His eyes Ever-ready to Overflow with Tears from the Smart of Suffering.
His Brow is Ploughed with Discontent &