Hari om Parents,
After our starting prayers. We continued with the next quality in the 'qualities we must have'. We discussed Upasana - Worship.
Upasana in Sanskrit is a conjugate of Upa (near) + Asana (sit) which means sit near. Just like a log of wood near the fire catches fire, the interested student sitting near a knowledgeable master becomes knowledgeable.
Our upasana or worship is usually with an idol or symbol. Association to some symbol helps us to come closer to the essence the symbol expresses.
"Every idol represents an ideal. Idols, murties of Rama, Krishna, and Shiva are the symbols that represent the Lord, the ideal that is present within and without; One who is omnipresent."
- Swami Chinmayananda
There are many instances where our worship of idols is interpreted as idol worship and ridiculed. We read a story where Swami Vivekananda puts a king in place who is mocking idol worship by asking him to disrespect a picture of his ancestor. So, Swami Vivekananda's question to the king was if you respect the picture because of the idea it attempts to convey why can't a Hindu see his ideal in the idol.
A Nike logo conveys the value it provides in good quality sports accessories. The Statue of Liberty conveys the symbol of hope and liberty. We are surrounded by symbols attempting to convey a deeper meaning.
For our upasana, we need to be:
Devoted to the cause
Preoccupied with it all the time
Associated with key sanctified centers like temples or ashrams
We saw a video where Swami Chinmayanada explains why going to temples is important. This is in an answer to the "intellectual" question that when God is everywhere why go to the temple - https://youtu.be/oXQmTX2lAWc
Our prayer or upasana is not about something where we beg the Lord for more. Swami Chinmayananda said " Prayer is not a spare wheel that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a 'steering wheel' that directs the right path throughout.". We saw a video by Swamini Supriyananda who explained true prayer and upasana.
Our traditions also prescribe a 16 step process called 'shoda shopachara' for upasana:
Invite
Offer a seat
Wash the feet
Wash the Lord's
Offer a drink
Offer water for bath
Offer panchamrtam
Offer clothes
Offer Ashes
Offer Sandalwood
Offer 'rice grains'
Offer garland
Offer incense
Offer a lamp
Offer 'naivedyam'
Offer 'aarti'
We then do pradhekshanas or circling clockwise around the diety.
यानि कानि च पापानि जन्मान्तरकृतानि च ।
तानि सर्वाणि नश्यन्ति प्रदक्षिणपदे पदे ॥
yāni kāni ca pāpāni janmāntarakṛtāni ca .
tāni sarvāṇi naśyanti pradakṣiṇa pade pade
O Lord, may all sins committed by me during all my births be destroyed at each step of my circumambulating around.
The last step is to surrender all to the Lord.
कायेन वाचा मनसेंद्रियैर्वा
बुध्यात्मना वा प्रकृतेः स्वभावात् ।
करोमि यद्यत् सकलं परस्मै
नारायणायेति समर्पयामि ॥
kāyena vācā manaseṃdriyairvā
budhyātmanā vā prakṛteḥ svabhāvāt .
karomi yadyat sakalaṃ parasmai
nārāyaṇāyeti samarpayāmi
Whatever I do either by body, speech, mind or sensory organs, either with my personal knowledge or natural trait, I surrender and submit all to that to supreme divine Narayana.
Our class ended early and we continued to another zoom link where second grade students presented their skit.
Other Sunday AM, Grade 9 2021-22 class summaries in https://cmnjparentportal21-22.blogspot.com/search/label/Gr%209%20-%20Sunday%20AM
Regards,
Rukmani & Partha