Principles of Spirituality

Spiritual practice according to the Path of Guru’s grace (Gurukrupayoga)

(Continued from issue 290.)

One should conscientiously practice points 'A' through 'D' to be blessed by a Guru, and all points excluding 'A' for the constant bestowal of His grace. Once a Guru blesses one, point 'B' is modified to, 'Chanting* the Name imparted by the Guru' from, 'Chanting The Lord's Name'.

A.	Worship of the principle of the religion we are born into (or family deity - Kuladevata)
B.	Chanting The Lord's Name
C.	Satsang (holy company)
D.	Service of the Absolute Truth (satseva)
E.	Being blessed by a Guru (guruprapti) and service unto the Guru
F.	Sacrifice
G.	Spiritual love (priti) for others
H.	Mission after attaining Self-realization (dnyanottar karya)

Worship of the family deity (Kuladevata) or the principle of the religion of birth

God arranges one's birth in a family that worships the deity (form or Principle of God) necessary for his spiritual progress. The importance of worshipping the family deity is as follows.

There are five principles in the universe namely, the principle of Creation (Prajapati), the Principle of Sustenance (Vishnu), the Principle of Multiplicity (Minakshi), the Principle of Dissolution (Shiva), and the Principle of (or giving) Bliss (Brahma). One attains Final Liberation (Moksha) when he imbibes all of these universal principles, that is, when the entire universe (Brahmanda) gets incorporated in his embodied soul (pinda).

Suppose one is deficient in vitamin A. Then no amount of vitamin B can eliminate the deficiency. Likewise, if one is deficient in the Principle of Dissolution, worshipping the Principle of Sustenance cannot eliminate the deficiency. Such a futile quest could waste a lifetime.

Just as a medical doctor can diagnose and treat one's vitamin deficiency, a saint can diagnose and treat one's spiritual deficiency in any or all of the five universal principles. However, saints cannot accept one for such diagnosis and treatment unless one sacrifices unto the Truth (Sat) the body, mind, and wealth to a large extent. This generally being the case, what recourse does an individual, who is yet to be accepted by a saint, have? When one does not know which vitamins he lacks in, he takes multivitamin supplements that replenish all the vitamins in the body, regardless of his deficiency. The same theory holds true with the worship of the family deity or the principle of the religion of birth. When one commences the spiritual practice of this principle, all five universal principles begin to increase in him. Thus, the spiritual deficiency in any of these principles automatically gets replenished and he need not worry about which spiritual practice to follow.

Worship of the family deity or the principle of the religion of birth also alleviates the intensity of one's destiny. Due to these two main reasons, that is, augmentation of spiritual progress and alleviation of destiny, one should worship the family deity (kuladevata) or the principle of the religion of birth, rather than undertaking any other spiritual practice, in order to be blessed by a Guru. Some of the steps to achieving this end are performing the family deity's ritualistic worship, chanting verses in Its praise, studying relevant holy texts, visiting Its place of worship as often as possible, etc.

Ritualistic worship of God

Ritualistic worship should be performed according to one's religion and with devotion. It is the faith, not the mechanical performance of the ritual, which counts. Details of the Hindu puja are given below.

Puja (Worship) room at home: If one does not have a special worship-room or if there are no photographs or idols of the family deity and Lord Ganesh at home, they should be brought and duly installed in a worship-space somewhere in the house. The idols of the deities should be arranged in the following manner: The idol of Lord Ganesh in the centre with that of the male family deity and other male deities (Hanuman, Balkrishna, etc.) to His right and that of the female family deity and other female deities (Annapurna, etc.) to His left. If a person having a Guru resides alone, he should keep only his Guru's photograph. If there are other family members who do not have a Guru then the Guru's and the male family deity's photograph should be placed to the right of the idol of Lord Ganesh in that order. The photographs or idols of the female family deity or other female deities should be placed to the left of that of Lord Ganesh.
The method of correctly performing puja is given below. It indicates successive stages in performing puja daily.
1. Everyday the worship-room should be cleaned with a cloth. The idols should be cleaned with a cloth after removing the previous day's withered flowers and leaves (nirmalya) from the altar.
2. After removing the previous day's withered flowers and leaves (nirmalya), the idols should be cleaned with a cloth. An offering of flowers should be made to the idols and two incense sticks each in the morning and evening should be lit and waved in a clockwise motion in front of them. Then, two wicks should be rolled into one and placed in a lamp containing ghee (clarified butter). The lit lamp should then be moved in a clockwise motion in front of the idols.
3. The idols should then be bathed and the photographs should be cleaned first with a wet and then a dry cloth. Sandalwood paste (gandha) should be applied to the deities and unbroken consecrated rice (akshata), flowers, turmeric and vermilion (kumkum) should be offered. Moving a lit incense stick and a lamp in a circular clockwise motion should follow this. Finally, an offering of food (naivedya) should be made and one should pray for success in one's practice of Spirituality.

Importance of temples and places of worship

"Every individual (embodied soul) is bound by external scenes. When the scenes cease to exist, the individual is free. For instance, one feels tempted to eat his favourite dessert especially when it is in view. The urge to do so is not so strong at other times. An individual is constantly exposed to ever-changing scenes that continue to bind him. When will the scenes cease? If it will happen only upon the dissolution of the universe (pralay), the cessation of the scenes will be meaningless since the embodied soul too, will dissolve at that time. (According to Vedanta, the existence of external objects is due to the viewer.)

Is there no way then of liberating the embodied soul before the dissolution of the universe? There certainly is one path and that is to place before the viewer such scenes that his very bondage to them will assist in his liberation. This means that his attitude (vrutti) would get transformed from being negative or inert (tamasik) into being active or passionate (rajasik) and from rajasik into pure and positive (sattvik). Such scenes, which will liberate the viewer from bondage, are purity dominant such as those of temples or places of worship. Spiritual discourses, songs and stories of the glory of the birth and mission of Incarnations, and that of the Lord's divine play (also those of His devotees), religious sermons, etc. go on at such places. Upon hearing these, contemplation occurs, leading to intense yearning for liberation, which finally culminates into Self-Realization."

- His Holiness (H.H.) Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon, India

How often should one visit temples or places of worship?
Initially, one should pay obeisance at temples or places of worship at least once a week. Later, one should visit everyday and pray for spiritual practice to continue smoothly.
Pradakshina (Circumambulation for Hindus): Initially, one should do pradakshina (circumambulate the idols of deities) at least once and later, several times, depending on the deity of worship; for instance, in even numbers for male deities and in odd numbers for female deities.
Chanting in temples or places of worship: Due to the sattvik environment, chanting is smoother in a temple or a place of worship. Therefore, at such places, one should chant at least one mala (rosary or a string of beads constituting 108 beads).
If the place of worship of the principle of the religion of birth is not close by, one should visit other place of worship and pay obeisance with the spiritual emotion that it is the form of one's revered deity itself.

Continuing the family traditions regarding spiritual practice (kulachar palan)

One should meticulously follow the family traditions regarding spiritual practice. For instance, if the family has been celebrating a particular religious festival/ceremony for generations, it should be continued. In case the temple of the family deity is far, one should visit it at least once a year. If it is near, one should pay obeisance there more often.

Visiting the village deity's (gramdevta's) temple

Every village has the energy of a village deity (a particular principle or form of God) protecting and looking after its welfare. Some people pay obeisance to the village deity only once a year during the village annual festival. During the rest of the year, they leave this detail to the village temple priest to take care of. This attitude is incorrect. A village deity is responsible for the welfare of all the villagers. Hence, it is important to visit Its temple and pay obeisance to It regularly.

*If one is not currently doing any spiritual practice, or to complement one's current spiritual practice, one can begin with the simple, but powerful spiritual practice of chanting or constantly remembering God's Name according to one's religion. Chanting also acts as a useful complement to any spiritual path one may be already following. It is a practice recommended for the current times by Holy texts and Saints of all religions.

Seekers in the initial stages of spiritual practice (less than one year) can repeat The Name of the Lord as per their religion (refer to Issue 3 Clarification of Doubts section for details).
Seekers who have been doing regular spiritual practice for over a year or so can determine the appropriate chant for them from the experiment given in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section.