A Seminar On Home Deity Worship

A Seminar on Home Deity
Worship
A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath Mandir, ISKCON Chowpatty
Day 1
Purpose of this Seminar
•To share some methods of Deity
worship at home
•To provide a forum where various
doubts related home Deity Worship
can be discussed
Need for Deity Worship
1. Kåñëa’s Desire
2. Accessibility to the Lord
3. Degradation with time
Kåñëa’s Desire
man-manä bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru
mäm evaiñyasi satyaà te
pratijäne priyo 'si me
Always think of Me, become My devotee,
worship Me and offer your homage unto
Me. Thus you will come to Me without
fail. I promise you this because you are
My very dear friend.
BG 18.65
Five manifestations of the Lord
Para-Original form
Vyüha - Quadruple expansions
Vibhava - Pastime incarnations
Antaryämé - The Supersoul
Arcä -The Deity
Five Manifestations of the Lord –
Para
Vyuha
Vibhava
Paramatma
Archa
Five Manifestations of the Lord
Name Place Analogy Accessibility
Para the form of SL in the Ocean water Inaccessible –
spiritual world unable to drink
Vyuha Caturvyuha forms in Water in the Inaccessible
Vaikuntha Cloud
Vibhava Forms in which He River water Accessible to people
appears in different TPC in certain TPC
Paramatma In the heart Ground water Accessible but one
has to endeavor -
meditation
Arca Vigraha Visible to eyes Tap water Accessible for
everyone
II. Accessibility to the Lord
Kåñëa is all pervading and present
everywhere but becomes accessible to
the conditioned soul through His
Deity.
e.g.-
1.Cow & Udder
2.Television Program
3.Tap & Water
III. Degradation with time
dåñövä teñäà mitho nåëäm
avajïänätmatäà nåpa
tretädiñu harer arcä
kriyäyai kavibhiù kåtä
My dear King, when great sages and saintly
persons saw mutually disrespectful
dealings at the beginning of Tretä-yuga,
Deity worship in the temple was
introduced with all paraphernalia.
SB 7.14.39
Intent behind Action
A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

Mandir, ISKCON Chowpatty
Spirit behind Ritual

Connection behind Enaction

Krsna is the Enjoyer & I am the
Servant

Philosophy behind Deity Worship
•Deity worship Vs Idol Worship
•Ritual to Spiritual.
•Prayers for meditation.
Deity worship Vs Idol Worship

Ritual to Spiritual
•Definite procedures and rites used to
perform a prayer, as an of act of
gratitude or request
Why Negative Connotation of
Ritual these days?
•Nobody explains the philosophy or
science behind it. And because of this
it gets carried away
Other Reasons
Time
Waste
of
Energy Money
Other Reasons
Distraction
Cheating Cases
Intolerance
Shackled by one book
One thought process
Blind Faith

Are Only Indians Ritualistic ?
•Every religion and even atheist believe
in some form of Ritual
Indian thought of culture was of
seeking truth
What is the Philosophy behind
Rituals?
•We are spirit souls trapped in human body.
Lord provides us all the necessary items for our
survival.
•As a act of Gratitude and understanding the
Proprietorship of Lord and our Dependence on
Him we offer him thanks and prayers which is
the essence of every ritual.
•Eventually it transforms into Love for the
Supreme Lord.
Important Aspects in Ritual
Realign
Realize Reconnect
Ritual
Reciprocate Request
Transformative
•Spirit +Ritual  Spiritual
•Selfish Passions  Selfless Service
•Arrogance  Humility
•Envy  Appreciation
Can Rituals be Discarded?
•No. Our External Influences our Internal.
•You cannot watch a movie in a talkative
crowd and disturbing moving train. We
need proper ambience.
•Procedures helps us to focus on the
Internal.
Can Rituals be Adjusted?
•Yes. Without Loosing the Essence
and under the proper consultations
and guidance
•Example Arati timings (Although
Arati means before night. We need
to adjust timings according to place
and circumstances)
•Krishna is Bhavagrahi
What will Spirituality Lead to?
Kindness Mercy
Under-
Fraternity
standing
Divine Com-
Love
Qualities passion
What will Spirituality Lead to?
Thanks Satisfaction
Generosity Tolerance
Divine
Charity Forgiveness
Qualities
Result
•When humans properly with

standard ritual and love offer Lord
what he has kindly given us, the
entire world prospers and Lord
bestows more Grace and Supreme
Goal.
Day 2
Definition and Goal of Archana
• Refer Class
Qualifications for Archana?
• Refer Class
Cleanliness and Punctuality
• Refer Class
Only through Spiritual Master
can we approach the Deity
Requirements
•Shelter of a bonafide spiritual master.
•Punctuality & Cleanliness.
The Five aspects of Deity Worship
•Abhigamana
•Upadana
•Yoga
•Ijya
•Svadhyaya
Pancaratrika Vidhi & Bhagavata
• Refer Class
Vidhi
Mood of HH Radhanath Swami
& Srila Prabhapada
• Refer Class
Bhagavat Vidhi & Pancharatriki Vidhi
Worship Procedures
 Vedic
 Tantric
 Pancharatriki
Benefits of Deity Worship for
Beginners in Bhakti
Over 32 Limbs of Bhakti are Covered in DW
Changes Vision
Personal enjoyment to SL’s enjoyment
Inculcates Regulation
Purify the ego, Without Infringing upon it
Purify the ego, Without Infringing upon it
Archana creates a tendency for Worship
Helps take Complete Shelter of Lord
Children grow with Practical Devotional Service
SB - Memories of Rescue a Fallen Devotee
Steady the Unsteady Mind.
(Narada Muni’s instructions to Dhruva)
Transforming a place into holy place.
yatra yatra harer arcä
sa deçaù çreyasäà padam
yatra gaìgädayo nadyaù
puräëeñu ca viçrutäù
Auspicious indeed are the places where there is a temple
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, in
which He is duly worshiped, and also the places
where there flow the celebrated sacred rivers
mentioned in the Puräëas, the supplementary Vedic
literatures. Anything spiritual done there is
certainly very effective.
SB 7.14.29
Purification from Material
Contamination
sa nirgataù kaurava-puëya-labdho
gajähvayät tértha-padaù padäni
anväkramat puëya-cikérñayorvyäm
adhiñöhito yäni sahasra-mürtiù
By his piety, Vidura achieved the advantages of the pious
Kauravas. After leaving Hastinäpura, he took shelter of many
places of pilgrimages, which are the Lord's lotus feet. With a
desire to gain a high order of pious life, he traveled to holy
places where thousands of transcendental forms of the Lord
are situated.
SB 3.1.17
To overcome Non-Devotional
Tendencies
1. Empiricism – Understanding
Kåñëa by logic
2. Callousness
3. Impersonalism
Engagement for all senses
Ambarish Maharaj
Detachment
1.Maharaj Jaisingh
2.Padampat Singhania
Benefits Summary
1. Opportunity to bring up children in an
atmosphere of practical Devotional service
2. Srimad Bhagavatam describes how memories
of Deity Worship rescues a fallen devotee
3. Arcana => Formal and Regulated offering of
worship to the SL.
4. Bhajana => Taking complete shelter of SL
5. CSs do not have a Natural Tendency to
worship SL. Therefore Arcana is important.
Benefits Summary
6. **Out of 64 items of Bhakti majority are
related to the DW. Infact some appear
same. e.g. accepting Incense, Maha
garlands offered to SL
7. Pancaratrika Pradipa: Neophyte is not
on the spontaneous platform, hence he
needs proper place and time etc to
worship the SL
8. The descent of the deity form of SL is a
Causeless Mercy on the Neophyte.
Benefits Summary
9. Neophyte has a general tendency to quarrel
with others.
10.Therefore to purify the ego, without infringing
upon it, DW is required. Because when one is
absorbed in Deity worship, there is no time to
quarrel. And in due course of time, they get
purified and do not quarrel.
11. Helps change Neophyte’s Vision: See objects
not for his own enjoyment but for SL’s
enjoyment
Hare Kåñëa
Hare Kåñëa
Kåñëa Kåñëa
Hare Hare
Hare Räma
Hare Räma
Räma Räma
Hare Hare
Thank You


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A Seminar on Home Deity

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

Shackled by one book

One thought process

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

•When humans properly with

A Seminar on Home Deity Worship, Sri Sri Radhagopinath

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