Religious worship and its significance

                          Religious worship and its significance



     It sounds strange but, it is a fact that man always searches for something new, it turns out to be an old only. Inspite of taking recourse to social media sites, cell-phones and other things for peace of mind, man finds himself isolated because these things do not connect him to the core. The root of the malaise lies in his abandoning creative and spiritual pursuits while devoting to materialistic pursuits only. Now , he is retirning to the time tested aveues, namely to Nature, meditation and religious worship. Nature is nothing, but a universal manifestation of the Supreme Power whose nature is eternal bliss and peace. In practical sense, Nature is nearer the truth, that is why it telaxes, gives joy, and peace. Meditation and worship are also intimate contact with that Power only. They can tame the restless mind.

Religion is nothing but a way of life guided by universal moral values and the ultimate goal of which is eternal joy and peace.
Socio-biologists claim that religion, and the concept of God not only helped our human ancestors understand the forces of nature, such as thunder and lightning, but also served an evolutioanr purpose. The cohesive factor of religion was in bonding a clan together, and making it better equipped to overcome competing claims in the struggle for survival. So different religions sprung in different parts of the world with their own rituals and symbols according to their geographical background but with the strong and solid basis of the same universal moral values.
The beauty and significance of religious worship lies in its varied forms.

Indian tradition is strongly cosmo-centric, where man lives as part of a system in which everything is related to everything else. The various forms such as steam, ice, dew are nothing but only water in essence. So plurality of gods is also seen to suit the different temperaments of people as the underlying basic principle and belief is that different forms are nothing but manifestations of one and the same Supreme Power. This variety is seen in the field of worship also. Worship is done in many ways such as observing physical and mental hygiene in keing fasts, festivals and fairs marked by dances, songs and games in groups catering to the gregarious nature of man and worship in temple and worship at home.

The flora and fauna, too, have permeated the natural religious life of the indians in a very intimate way. Birds and animals are vehicles of gods and goddesses. The elephant plays a very important role in religious processions, and the lotus is frequently used in artistic designs and religious symbolism. Various flowers like Jasmine, Roses, Hibiscus, Chrysanthemum, Lotus and others are important ingredient and considered sacred in worship . Leaves like Tulsi ( basil ), Bilva, Durba grass also get a promiment place in worship. Tulsi plant and Pipal tree are worshipped as gods . In fact, each god is associated with a tree making it sacred. Many of the leaves and trees have medicinal properties. Ancient seers realizing this fact, gave them a sacred status so that people can understand them in due course. There are numerous objects in the world, animate and inanimate . Natural objects like stone, wood , metal, minerals are used as such or converted, into particular shapes  modelled after the description of the deities in the Puranas , are used as objects of worship . Likewise picturesof deities are framed and used as objects of worship . It is not unusual to see pilgrims returning from holy places like Varanasi, Prayag, Haridwar fetching waters from the Ganges sealed in a copper vessel amd keeping it in worship . The medicinal properties of the pure water from the river Ganges is well- known and given a place of honor in worship. Agni ( Fire ) is considered as a deity and we make
offerings in Havans ( Sacrifices ). We pay obeisance to Sun god and perform Suryanamaskara . The indispensable part played by Fire and Sun in maintaining the vitality of our health are recognized and are given a sacred status in religious worship as a gesture of gratitude. It is also to be noted that most of the important festivals and religious practices are connected with different seasons and the harvest of grains. Thus  all these religious practices aim at the maintenance of good health and mind .

Our ancestors understood the nature and value of human mind. It is said in the Mahabharata, the great epic of India .

' Mind alone is the cause of bondage as well as freedom.'

Mind is a store house of tremendous energy. Mind works through its power of imagination. Imaginary fears resulting in grief and delusion involve a tremendous loss of energy and weakens man. He needs a support in the form of  Supreme Power who is more powerful and can give him solace. And the Supreme Power is not somewhere, It is within himself . By constantly  meditating upon the immortal, fearless and ever blissful Self within oneself , one can overcome the negative emotions and with positive emotions can achieve anything good he wants .

All can attain the eternal truth, the nature of which is peace and bliss, through the taming of the mind. The Supreme Power is abstract and formless. Not all of us, ordinary human beings as we are, can at one stroke contemplate on the abstract and formless.

Therefore , ordinary men need rituals, but in varying degree and of various kinds to move one step forward . For the ignorant and simple, it should be easy to grasp. The simlest method envisaged by the ancient seers was the constructions of temples where people of all kinds and all walks of life could participate and enable themselves. Temple is a pocket of serenity. This place of worship evokes a sense of peace, and harmony, transcending religion and time boundaries.

Greek biographer and historian Plutarch almost two thousand years ago was struck by the fact. He observed, ' If we traverse the world, it is possible to find cities without walls, without walls, without letters, without wealth,without corn, without schools or theater but a city without a temple, or that practices not worship, prayer and like, no one have ever seen.'

Knowledge is formless but to learn and acquire knowledge we have to depend upon the form of books. Once learnt, we assimilate the knowledge in our mind and we do not require the books. Idol worship is easier to control the mind. It is easy to concentrate on a form otherwise the mind and senses will wander. The worship consists of prayers and meditation. Meditation at home can also aid to calm down the mind. When we sit in a temple or in our Puja room at home and concentrate on the idol, our sense of smell will be satiated by incense and flowers, chanting of mantras and prayers will engage our mouth and sound of mantras and prayers and sound of bells will engage our ears, sight of the idol will control our eyes and tongue will be satiated by the prasada( food or fruit offering which is offered first and partaken afterwards as a blessing ). Hence idol worship is a first step of concentration towards realization of God and knowledge that God is within oneself not as an experienced object but as the experiencing consciousness. This consciousness is nothing but all-pervading cosmos. All negative emotions like anger, jealousy, hatred, violence etc will vanish and positive emotions like love,compassion, discrimination will bloom.The mind will be elevated to the highest stage to such an extent that any place will be a place of worship and any work, an act of worship.

The main object of worship of God, in and through an image, either in temple or at home is for the concentration of mind. Millions of people visit temples, participate in ceremonies, but not many of them are aware of the philosophy , the need for it and its real purpose. Many follow the religious practices mechanically. Piety is in the doing, not in the understanding.

The ignorance coupled with exploitation of people in the name of religion by fake saints and selfish politicians, violence by the indoctrinated poor ignorant youth, and with criticism from the
so called rationalists who brand it as idolatory makes even the educated people shy away from it.

The fault lies not in the religion but with modern people who look for instant solution to heal their fractured psyche so they fall prey to fake godmen of today instead of looking for genuine masters and valid scriptures for solace.
Maintenance of the purity of the body and heart is the essence and goal of worship. Worship has two factors faith and hope. Faith in the Supreme Power as a security and the hope that everything happening in life has some good behind it are great healers of the mind and give immese strength to sail smoothly in and through this life.