Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

GRACE OF DIVINITY

GOD “GOD in His absolute state is beyond the ken of mind and speech. He is indefinable. But when He is immanent in the universe, He is denoted as Sat-Chit-Aanandam — Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. There is no other connotation which is as appropriate as this.”

passage. Water, the purifying, fertilising element being present, its current which is the river of life can be forded in inner reali- sation, and the pilgrim can cross over to the other shore. The place of pilgrimage is the end of the journey to the centre; but it is not itself the goal and only the means for cross- ing over to the centre. Temples were also educational institu- tions where devotional songs and scriptures were sung. Moreover all the twelve months of the year were interspersed with various festivals like the ' rathotsavd . The temple is the very hub round which the life of the com- munity is built, and thus the entire life of India is religion based. Here one can meet a variety of life as nowhere else; the yogi seeking the kundalini; the Jeevanmukthi contemplating the divine, the dancer and the musician surrendering their art as an offer- ing to the Lord; the devotee lost in ecstatic contemplation of the divine; the poet pouring his heart out in divine hymns of liquid beauty; the householder submitting his grievances to the Lord for redress; the dis- eased praying for health; the healthy pray- ing for wealth; the wealthy praying for power; the powerful praying for peace. The temple is thus a literal storehouse of the life of the community and without a knowledge of it, a knowledge of life itself is incomplete. Ceremony of tonsure The idea of ceremony of tonsure seems to have its origin in the belief that what- ever sin a man commits it becomes centred in the hair. Pilgrims to Tirumala and other holy centres usually offer the hair on their head to the Lord as a devotional offering. Per- sons in need of the assistance of the Lord usually take a vow and when they visit the temple offer their hair. A bath in the holy river/tank follows the tonsure ceremony; the pilgrims then enter the temple and worship the Lord. Hair is attributed with magical power in early civilizations and ancient culture. Hair-offering has an important place in worship of the Mother goddess. The sev- enth century reliefs of Mahabalipuram near Madras seem to depict hair offering to the Devi by a male devotee. Tonsure is also prescribed in ancient dharmashaastras while going on pilgrim- ages. _____________ _________________ ______ _________: _____________ — Dr. N. Ramesan - "The Thirumala Temple"

— Swami Chidbhavananda

Grace Of Divinity

GOD is Gravitation Of Divinity, Operating through invisible hand of infinity,

GOD is Giver Of Divine energy, Providing help to achieve synergy, GOD is the Garden Of Dreams. That is full with spiritual streams,

TEMPLE AND TEERTHAS The temple is so built and so adorned that a devotee feels an air of sanctity as soon as he enters the temple. The garbha- griha or main shrine is generally semi-dark and is bare of other sculptures, except the figure of the Lord. This is to ensure medita- tion and 'ekaagratha' in the devotee. Ac- cording to one tradition, the gateway of the temple is intended to stand for the universe, and the vigraha of the Lord inside for the supreme spirit. There is always a curtain before the Lord, which according to the Vaishnavite texts should be of three col- ours, white, red and black, representing the three gunas, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. When the veil of the gunas is lifted, the re- splendent Lord is seen. Every part of the temple is conceived of as the body of the Lord and so should be treated as sacred. Life as a pilgrimage from birth to death has many stations. In India death is but another station and in itself does not bring final release ( moksha ). Final release from all conditions of existence, from all limita- tions, is gained through knowledge ( Brah- mavidya); and knowledge, the realisation of Supreme identity, is the means and the end itself; it gives and is release. Some attain it while alive (Jeevanmukthi ), others at death. To the great mass of people who are without the faculties and training to make them fit for the realisation of the Supreme Principle by knowledge other roads lie open which also lead to the centre. Pilgrimage is one; it brings joy ( bhukti ) and release ( moksha) to those who have achieved control of their minds and of the actions of their senses; who have discretion ( vidya ), and who have practised austerities. Teertha is the name of a place of pil- grimage on the bank of a river, the sea- shore or a lake. The meaning of the word is a

GOD is Generation, Operation and Destruction. Revealed through cycles of creations.

GOD is Grace Of Divinity within, Erasing the effects of our sin.

Darshan : A Mystic Experience To all devotees a mere darshan of the Lord is a matter of deep spiritual reflection. The more one thinks about Darshan, the more indefinable does it become. The Ma- habharatha says, "Bathing in sacred wa- ters, or visiting temples with idols of clay and stone, may purify one after a lifetime, but the saints purify one by mere Darshan." It is neither given, nor received. Darshan simply occurs, one experiences Darshan. Darshan is a mystic experience. It has no exact definition. We, with centuries of tradition behind us, take it for granted. It is ingrained in the consciousness of our people, through our culture or by some power of instinct, which ever and again finds a new source, without the slightest fear or hesitation. Darshan can be viewed as a form of happiness induced by being in the presence of some great manifestation of collective consciousness. It may be a person, place or thing, and represent past, present or future so long as it sets up the definite recognis- able glow Of superpersonal happiness; Darshan has therefore to be experienced subjectively. Having tasted the bliss of it, one returns to it again and again. Any Darshan of God leaves one com- pletely transformed and with an indefinable elation of the spirit.