Significance of Rituals

We love to have it packaged. From drinking water to holiday and hospital treatment, everything comes in a package nowadays. Perhaps packaging gives us the sense of contentment; receiving something in an organised manner is so much more convenient. It is always appealing when I come across things, which are presented well, even then, this one had me stumped- Packaged Puja. Yes you read it right, the Puja package is here. 

Prayers, worship, offering of puja and associated rituals require a lot of material inputs besides pure devotion. To perform Hindu pujas exactly as per the scriptures ordain it to be, one needs to buy different items to be used during the puja offering, and also have the sholakas and mantras (prayers in Sanskrit language) ready –either by heart or by reading out from a booklet while offering the puja. This is where a specific puja package comes in handy. The Puja package comprises an attractively packaged Puja Box (you can now perform pujas out of the box) containing agarbatti (incense stick), diya (cup shaped oil lamp), candles, idols for worship, and books containing religious mantras in all Indian languages among the 30 odd items in the box.

This is a world of contrivance, of “consumer convenience”. Comfort and ease in handling tasks is what the consumer wants. However, there remain certain domains and tasks, which when achieved the hard way, provide much more satisfaction. To an adventure enthusiast, trekking to the mountain peak provides lot more satisfaction than being transported in a chopper or an airplane.

This brings us to the crux of this article. Would it not be better if we know why we are following the rituals at all? What is significant about a particular action  we are performing while offering prayers? Let us look at a few facts about our religious customs so that next time, when we offer our prayers, we know why we are doing it.

The mantras and rituals associated with Hindu religion have a lot of depth and philosophy, which is lost to the current generation.

Here are a few “aachaaraas” or customs and rituals, which are commonly performed in Hindu dharma or religion. Understanding the meaning and significance of the same gives one an insight into the actions performed.

Pranam or Namaste

In Sanskrit namah+te = Namaste. ‘Namah’ means to bow, to give obeisance or reverential salute; ‘te’ means - to you. Namaha is also sometimes literally interpreted as “na ma”, meaning – not me. It has a spiritual significance of negating one’s ego in the presence of another. Namo: stu can also means, “let there be salutation to you”. Placing two palms in front of the chest and a head bow denotes Namaste or Pranam. When the hands are higher it signifies reverence and/or worship. When placed straight in front of the chest it is known as the aayushman (blessed with long life) gesture. The expression with hand placed on top of one’s head is usually the sign of utmost respect. Spiritually this means that the divinity, the self or the lord in me is the same in all.

Why do we fast?

Upavaasa or fasting is an integral part of Hindu religion. Upa means ”near” and Vaasa means, “to stay”. Upavaasa thus means staying near the lord to attain close mental proximity. Individuals observe fasts based on personal beliefs, customs and locality. Fasting on certain days of the month like ekadashi (an auspicious day which occurs twice in a Hindu calendar month) and purnima (full moon); on certain days of the week like Mondays (for Lord Shiva) and Friday or Saturday (Lord Vishnu); fasting during festivals like Maha Shivratri, Navratri, Vijayadashami, Diwali and Karwa Chauth are the different fasts practiced in India.

The philosophical take on fasting is that - a lot of time is spent in planning, procuring and executing our meals. If one can stay off food on a particular day or occasion like a festival, then one can devote his mind to spiritual thoughts. Since it is a self-imposed form of discipline it is usually adhered to with joy.

Why do we sound a Shankha (conch)?

The sound of the sankha is the victory call of good over evil. Blowing of the conch is believed to shut out negativities in the atmosphere or in the mind of the worshippers. The sound emanating from the sankha is traditionally known to be auspicious. The conch got its name of sankha from a mythological story- Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Matsya Avataara (an enormous fish) and vanquished Sankhaasura (a demon), to reclaim the Vedas from him. After Sankhasura was killed, Lord Vishnu blew the conch-shaped ear on his head. The auspicious sound of Om emanated from the conch and the Vedas were recovered. It is also believed that in ancient India when the sankha was blown in the temple during a puja, people who could not make it to the temple were reminded to stop whatever they were doing and mentally remember God, even if for a few seconds.

Why do we perform aarati?

“Aa” means “to or towards”, ”rati” means “right or virtue” in Sanskrit. Aarati is one of the sixteen steps (shodasa upachara) of the puja ritual. It is performed by a lighted lamp with the wick soaked in ghee or camphor and is offered to one or more deities. The ritual of aarati is said to have descended from the Vedic concept of fire rituals or homa. During the puja the image of the lord is decorated, fruits and delicacies are offered and then the aarati lamp is lit so that our minds are focused on each limb of the lord. When the priest circulates the ‘aarati lamp’ around the deity the lamp is supposed to acquire the power of the deity. When worshippers cup their down-turned hands over the flame and raise it to their forehead, blessings that is transferred from the lord to the lamp, passes onto the worshipper. The use of camphor in the aarati lamp has significance. Camphor burns itself our completely and is supposed to symbolize the burning out of vasanas (desires) completely by the fire of knowledge. The gesture of lighting an aarati in front of the deity is an expression of humility and gratitude. It epitomizes the five elements of ‘akash (ether)’,’ vayu (wind)’, ‘agni (fire)’,’ jal (water)’ and ‘prithvi (earth)’.