Question that a Sanatani faces is, ‘God is everywhere and omnipresent. Then why does one need a temple to demarcate Godhead?’
It is said that the shape of the ears is that of the foetus in the mother’s womb. In ancient India, both men and women used to have their earlobes pierced. (Image: Ref.)
There are 27 asterisms or Nakshathrams under which each human being is born. On the 28th day the whole cycle starts again. Therefore on the 28th day after birth, parents and family tie a black thread on the child. For those who can afford it, golden bangles, waist chain and anklets are also put on the infant. Some care givers decide, very sensibly, to pierce the earlobes of the child. It is said that the shape of the ears is that of the foetus in the mother’s womb. In ancient India, both men and women used to have their earlobes pierced. It was believed to help facilitate the opening of the Brahmarandhram, or the very top of the skull where the Four quarters of the skull called Fontanels meet.
Prana or Life enters the mother’s womb and after a proper period of gestation a child is born. The place through which the prana exits determines it’s next course of action. Ancient Sanatanis believe that we all contain the same Divinity. It is in fact the Leela or the play of this very spark which has resulted in this vast creation that we perceive as the Universe. What comes from the Parabrahman or the formless, endless Energy has to return there. Our many births facilitate us to complete the journey. There are Seven Chakras in the body. The Sahasraara Chakra is the one on top of the skull. When the prana exits the body through this way, it is poised for Salvation or a higher birth in the very least. The human body is beautiful and complete in itself. Yet the desire to adorn it is almost part of birth.
There are many types of idols in a temple. Daaru is that which is made of wood. Then there are Loha or metal Vigrahams. Mrinmayam or a combination of Earth is also used. In fact the reclining Vigraham of the famous Shri Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram is made of Kadusharkara, as the one in the Shri Madayikkav Bhagavathi temple in Kannur, both in Kerala. Kadusharkara comes under the label of Mrinmayam, thanks to it’s extremely complex mixture of Sixty Four elements. There is a modus operandi in consecrating a temple.
Two of the most common questions a Sanatani faces are the following. God is everywhere and omnipresent. Then why does one need a temple to demarcate Godhead? The second question is this. Are not the rituals in a temple akin to playing with dolls? True that God is omnipresent. Despite the Thirty Three Crores of Deities in the Hindu pantheon, their common source is the mysterious Parabrahman. Parabrahman is pure Energy. Just as there are places where the range of our mobile phone networks are strongest, these temples are centres where these Energies are more accessible than other places.
The images in a temple are very different from similar images being sold in an Indian Emporium. The artist first makes an image of the specified Deity. For example a beautiful male God with a flute is that of Krishna. The elephant headed God is unmistakably that of Ganesha. The fierce form of the Female Energy is Kali and so one and so forth. These follow the prescribed iconography. The primary physical image created by the artist is called Prathima. After a series of esoteric rituals that infuse the prathima with Energy, it graduates to being a Bimbam or something that reflects. Further rituals make it into a Vigraham, that which has the power to emit and absorb Energy. This is the complete shape of the Deity in the temple.
It is very interesting to note that the consecration of a place of worship starts with an apology. The head priest begs forgiveness of the Parabrahman for reducing its vastness into that of a physically limiting Vigraham. When contained in a Vigraham, which is at a human level, the Deity requires being woken up, bathed, fed etc. This is what is mistaken by some for dolls play! In fact there is a sacred contract between the devotees and the Deity concerned. The devotees, led by the chief priest promises to look after the Deity in a way which becomes the rituals of that particular temple. In turn, the Deity promises to protect and look after the devotees.
Most Deities come with clothes and jewelry and other accoutrements. Yet people are fond of giving silks and jewelry to temples. Literally, most Deities wear the drapery carved on the Vigraham as well as the skirts, saris or dhotis given by devotees. The same is the case with jewelry. Rather like a mother adorning her beloved child with ornaments, the Deities are thus decked up with the offerings of the faithful. Whether the Deity - any Deity - requires this or not is a different matter. Traditionally Indians are in love with gold. So very often it is the gold which fills the coffers of temples. This naturally becomes a cynosure for many eyes, some of them unabashedly greedy. They think that it is they who deserve a share of these riches rather than what is to them, an inanimate image in the temple. Until human greed is controlled, it is nearly impossible to secure God’s gold to remain God’s alone.
During ancient times, temples were social centres. Kshethram is one of the words denoting a temple. It literally means area. That which has the capability to transcend hurt ( Kshatha thraana ) is among the defintions of a temple. Temples were also normally situated at the very centre of a settlement which grew around it. The «management» of the temple was in the hands of dedicated devotees. There were people who went to temples just to meditate. They found the circumstances conducive to it. Their very presence augmented the power of the Deity within. People gladly and proudly cleaned the premises, keeping it as pristine as their personal kitchens. Cultivators gave their first and best produce to temples. They considered it their privilege to do so. Seva or service to a Deity was the acme of many lives.
Fast forward to the current status of many temples. From the priests to the flower sellers, most jobs are under contract. Many devotees go to the temple for by far their favourite offering which is “Shathru Samhaaram” or killing or quelling their enemies. Some money is slapped on the Archana counter and the slip of paper given from there is handed over to the priest with some money and the exhortation on what to concentrate on while doing the pooja. There is something crassly transactional about the whole thing.
One of the greatest failures of the Sanatanis is their inability to protect what is theirs from the Government. To take care of the minorities is definitely the job of a government, but not at the cost of the majority. There has to be a two twofold process for this. Management of Sanatani institutions have to be immediately shifted away from the government and governmental bodies. They have to be replaced by responsible, devoted people, who are answerable to the inscrutable and what may seemingly be inanimate Divine Being who is the very reason for the existence of the temple!
Unless the devotees learns not to be silent and passive about their traditions as opposed to conventions, theft from the houses of Gods are going to continue to be limited «punishment» of press conferences, heated debates on the social media and little else. That faith so irretrievably interspersed with temple rituals so dear to our ancestors needs to be revived for the land of Santanis to become a beacon of spirituality once again.
Thiruvathira Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi was born the XII Princess of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore.
