Worship is the effort by the Upasaka who does Upasana to reach to the proximity of God or the Supreme Self(Brahman). Upasana is approaching the chosen ideal or object of worship by meditating on it in accordance with the teachings of the Sastras and the Guru. Upasana helps the devotee to sit near the Lord or to commune with Him. It purifies the heart and steadies the mind. It fills the mind with Suddha Bhava and Prema or pure love for the Lord. It gradually transmutes man into a divine being.
Patanjali Maharshi emphasises in various places in his Raja Yoga Sutras on the importance of Upasana. For even a Raja Yogi, Upasana is necessary. He has his own Ishtam or guiding Deity—Yogesvara Krishna or Lord Siva. Self-surrender to God is an Anga (limb) of Raja Niyama and Kriya Yoga. Patanjali says, “One can enter into Samadhi through Upasana.”
Saguna Upasana-Concrete Meditation/Nirguna Upasana- Abstract Meditation
Dve vava brahmano rupe, murtam caivamurtam ca (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.3.1) which means Brahman(Supreme Self) has two forms – Formless as well as form.
Likewise Upasana is of two types – Pratika Upasana and Ahamgraha Upasana. Pratika means symbol. Pratika Upasana is Saguna Upasana. Ahamgraha Upasana is Nirguna Upasana or meditation on the formless and attributeless Akshara or transcendental Brahman. Meditation on idols, Saligram, pictures of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Siva, Gayatri Devi is Pratika Upasana. The blue expansive sky, all-pervading ether, all-pervading light of the sun etc., are also ‘Pratikas’ for abstract meditation. Saguna Upasana is concrete meditation. Nirguna Upasana is abstract meditation.
Hearing of the Lilas of the Lord, Kirtan or singing His Names, constant remembrance of the Lord (Smarana), service of His feet, offering flowers, prostration, prayer, chanting of Mantra, self-surrender, service of Bhagavatas, service of humanity and country with Narayana Bhava, etc., constitute Saguna Upasana.
Chanting of Om with Atma Bhava, service of humanity and country with Atma Bhava, mental Japa of Om with Atma or Brahma Bhava, meditation on Soham or Sivoham or on the Mahavakyas such as ‘Aham Brahma Asmi’ or ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ after sublating the illusory vehicles through ‘Neti, Neti’ doctrine, constitute Ahamgraha Upasana or Nirguna Upasana.
Saguna Upasana is Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga of Devotion. Nirguna Upasana is Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of Knowledge. Worshippers of Saguna (the qualified) and Nirguna (the unqualified) Brahman reach the same goal. But, the latter path is very hard, because the aspirant has to give up attachment to the body (Dehabhimana) from the very beginning of his spiritual practice. The Akshara or the Imperishable is very hard for those who are attached to their bodies to reach. Further, it is extremely difficult to fix the mind on the formless and attributeless Brahman. Contemplation on the Akshara or Nirguna Brahman demands a very sharp, one-pointed and subtle intellect.
An object is used in the outer Puja such as an image (Pratima), a picture or an emblem such as Saligram in the case of Vishnu worship or Linga in the case of worship of Siva.
An image or one of the useful emblems is likely to raise in the mind of the worshipper the thought of a Devata. Saligram stone induces easily concentration of mind. Everybody has got predilection for a symbol, emblem or image. Idol or Murti (Vigraha), sun, fire, water, Ganga, Saligram, Linga are all symbols or Pratikas of God which help the aspirants to attain one-pointedness of mind and purity of heart. These are personal inclinations in the worshipper due to his belief in their special efficacy for him. Psychologically, all this means that a particular mind finds that it works best in the direction desired by means of particular instruments or emblems or images.
The vast bulk of humanity are either of impure or weak mind. Therefore, the object of worship must be pure for these people. In Puja, an image or picture representing some divine form is used as the object of worship. The image is adored. An image, a Sila or a Vigraha or Murti represents the form of the particular Lord who is invoked in it. A Linga represents Siva. It represents the secondless, formless Brahman. The Sruti says, “Ekamevadvitiyam Brahma—the Brahman is one without a second”. There is no duality here. A Lingam is shining and attractive to the eyes. It helps concentration. Ravana propitiated Siva and obtained boons by worshipping the Linga. God reveals Himself to His devotees in a variety of ways. He assumes the very form which the devotee has chosen for his worship. If you worship Him as Lord Hari with four hands, He will come to you as Hari. If you adore Him as Siva, He will give you Darsan as Siva. If you worship Him as Mother Durga or Kali, He will come to you as Durga or Kali. If you worship Him as Lord Rama, Lord Krishna or Lord Dattatreya, He will come to you as Rama, Krishna or Dattatreya.
All the Saiva Nayanars or saints of South India attained God-realisation through worship of the Lingam, the image of Lord Siva. For a devotee, the image is a mass of Chaitanya or consciousness. He draws inspiration from the image. The image guides him. It talks to him. It assumes human form to help him in a variety of ways. The image of Lord Siva in the temple of Madurai in South India helped the fuel-cutter and the old woman. The image in the temple of Tirupati assumed human form and gave witness in the court to help his devotees.
Vedanta and Idol Worship
A pseudo-Vedantin feels himself ashamed to bow or prostrate before an idol in the temple. He feels that his Advaita will evaporate if he prostrates. Study the lives of the reputed Tamil saints, Appar, Sundarar, Sambandhar, etc. They had the highest Advaitic realisation. They saw Lord Siva everywhere and yet they visited all temples of Siva, prostrated before the idol and sang hymns, which are on record now. The sixty-three Nayanar saints practised Chariyai and Kriyai only and attained God-realisation thereby. They swept the floor of the temple, collected flowers, made garlands for the Lord and put on lights in the temple. They were illiterate, but attained the highest realisation. They were practical Yogis and their hearts were saturated with pure devotion. They were an embodiment of Karma Yoga. All practised the Yoga of Synthesis. The idol in the temple was all Chaitanya or consciousness for them. It was not a mere block of stone.
The mind is disciplined in the beginning by fixing it on a concrete object or symbol. When it is rendered steady and subtle, it can be fixed later on on an abstract idea such as “Aham Brahma Asmi”. When one advances in meditation, the form melts in the formless and he becomes one with the formless essence. Image worship is not contrary to the view of Vedanta. It is rather a help.
Bhakti is of two kinds, viz., higher Bhakti or Para Bhakti and lower Bhakti or ritualistic Bhakti. Ritualistic worship is Vaidhi or Gauni Bhakti. It is formal Bhakti. Vaidhi Bhakti is the lower type of devotion depending on external aids. It is lower Bhakti. The mind becomes purer and purer. The aspirant gradually develops love for God through ritualistic worship. He who does ritualistic worship rings bells, adores a Pratika (symbol) or Pratima (image), does Puja, Arati, etc., with flowers, sandal paste, burns incense and waves light before the image, offers Naivedya or food for God, etc.
Mukhya Bhakti or Para Bhakti is advanced type of devotion. It is higher Bhakti. It transcends all convention. A devotee of this type knows no rule. He does not perform any external worship. He beholds his Lord everywhere, in every object. His heart is saturated with love for God. The whole world is Brindavan for him. His state is ineffable. He attains the acme of bliss. He radiates love, purity and joy wherever he goes and inspires all who come in contact with him.
Hinduism leads the aspirants gradually from material images to mental images and from the diverse mental images to the one Personal God and from the Personal God to the Impersonal Absolute or transcendental Nirguna Brahman.
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