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Installation of Vigrahas (Deity)
at the Parashakthi Temple is been done with Prana
Pratheeshta |
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The process of worship in Hinduism invariably involves the
use of 3 basic techniques, namely the mantra, the tantra
and the yantra. Symbolically, they represent the 3 basic
spiritual paths of Hinduism, made hugely popular by the
teachings of Sri Vasudeva Krishna in the famous Bhagavad
Gita. The mantra symbolically represents the use of
Jnanamarg, the path of knowledge, the tantra of Bhaktimarg,
the path of devotion, and the yantra of Karmasanyasmarg or
the path of detached action. Unless these three are
present in some form or combination, the worship is
incomplete.
Images of a deity are just a symbolic representation of
an aspect of eternal Truth which must be energized by
Prana Pratishta. The Prana Pratishta at The
Parashakthi Temple is guided by Divine mother Herself .The
Divine Mother guides the diety to be installed and the
proper auspicious day to install so that the energy can
fully manifest and devotees can benefit from the alive
diety. The Divine mother also then gives mantra to be
chanted for the particular diety at The Parashakthi
Temple. The deities are consecrated at the temple in
India. Dr Krishna Kumar has done a special paryogam-special
pooja for each diety for 48 days, and then brought the
diety to the Temple. |
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The Prateeshta ritual aims at bringing the unmanifest
nirguna Brahman to a manifest form Sagunabrahman in the
murti (diety), giving energy and attributes,fit for
worship and endow Vigrahas with divine powers. |
This is accomplished by the power of the mantras that are
given to Dr Krishna Kumar during deep kundalini meditation and
recited by the priest and when appropriate by devotees. The
yantra, which is a geometric representation of the power of
the deity, is installed in the place where the diety is
installed subsequently. Along with the yantra, precious
metals, precious stones, etc. are also placed.This is followed
by elaborate abhishekams with the sanctified waters from the
kalasas, along with the recitation of appropriate mantras.
After the installation ceremony thus performed, the regular
rituals such as homam, abhishekam, alankaram, archana, etc.
are performed routinely.
We are very fortunate and blessed to be given a very powerful
place of Worship by Divine Mother that is a high vortex of
energy as confirmed by many mystics with so many active
vibrations. Divine Mother has given us the opportunity to
explore and experience “Her” which is something even the
greatest of Gurus like Vashista (Guru of Lord Rama) tried to
achieve after severe penance and She has given this Privilege
to us at our Temple which is “Her” place of Worship.
Several rites are performed at The Parashakthi Temple as
prescribed in the agamas, and the diety is installed. Since
mantras and yantras are so important for Divine Mother
Parashakthi’s earthly manifestation, “SHE” summoned Guruji
Swarna Venkateswara Deekshitar who is a “Master” yantra maker
to our Temple to do the installation properly with mantra,
tantra and yantra rituals. |
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These rites start with Maha Ganapati or Vishwaksena puja and
include several preparatory rituals such as punyahavachanam
(purificatory rite);
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Acharya ritvik varanam (assignment of duties to the priests
performing the ritual and offering of special garments to
them);
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Kalasa sthapana (where the power of the divinities are
invoked in the waters kept in several kalasas (pots);
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Agni pratishta (establishing the fire for performing the
fire oblations – (homams);
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Vastu puja and homam to worship the Vastu Purusha;
ankuraarpanam (seeding of the soil; the growth of plants
from these seeds symbolizes the prosperity of the temple);
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The purificatory rites of the images through various
adhivasams where the images are kept in
dhaanyam (grains of
paddy)- dannyathivasam, jalam
(water) Jaladhivasam, offering flowers-Pushpadhivasam,offering
of ksheeram (milk), and hanam (gold, silver, etc); and the
final adhivasam, called sayanathivasam, which is the resting
of the images in new clothes on beds under blankets. The
moola mantra homams (oblations done while reciting the moola
mantra for each divinity) are performed on several days to
invoke the power of the deities in the images.
Netronmeelanam is
another ritual in which the sthapathi/priests open the eyes
of the murtis.
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The Use of Mantra: A
mantra is an invocation, containing a sacred syllable or set
of syllables. When a mantra is uttered with specific rhythm,
with sincerity of devotion and purity of thought and action,
and with phonetic and grammatical accuracy, in a manner
prescribed by the scriptural injunctions of the Vedas or some
authoritative scripture, it is to invoke a particular deity
and compel the deity and enabled to assist the invoker to
achieve a desired end. When a complicated ritual such as a
soma sacrifice or some other yajna is performed, not one but
many deities are invoked simultaneously by groups of priests
chanting various mantras. Their chanting creates the necessary
vibrations in the atmosphere to awaken the deities and
facilitates their descent to the place of worship. The sound
that is generated by the chanting of the mantras is very
important, but is not the only requirement for the yajna to be
successful. The remaining requirements are the appropriate use
of tantra and yantra, which will be explained later. It is
believed that hidden in each mantra is the energy of a
particular deity which remains normally latent, but becomes
active the moment the mantra is pronounced accurately in the
manner prescribed by the shastras. The divinity awakens only
if the vibrations generated by the chanting matches with its
basic frequency. Besides this, the appropriate use of tantra
and yantra must fit in the overall purpose of the worship and
remain in harmony with the expectations of the divinity to
whom they are directed.
The Use of Tantra: Tantra
is the systematic use of the body and the mind as the
physical instruments of divine realization. The body and the
mind constitute the lower self and together they aim to
indulge in the desire oriented actions of the lower self to
perpetuate the interplay of the triple gunas, namely, sattva,
rajas and tamas. Primarily, they are the chief instruments of
the divine Prakriti, otherwise called Maya, and they play
their dutiful roles quite efficiently and effectively and
succeed mostly in keeping the soul chained to the earth and go
through the ordeal of births and deaths by the inexorable law
of karma. Tantra aims to liberate and transform these two so
as to make them the true instruments of the hidden self. Hindu
scriptures declare unequivocally that transformation of the
body and the mind is the most difficult part of one’s
spiritual journey and that most of our difficulties on the
path come because of our inability to deal with this problem
successfully. Tantra is therefore a very important and
integral part of Hindu spiritualism and equally maintains its
place in the ritual part of the religion.
The Use of Yantra: Yantra
is the use of certain external objects, symbols or some
mechanical means to worship the divine. The act of folding of
hands in front of the deity is but a kind of yantra only. The
manner in which a fireplace is built for the performance of
some vedic sacrifice, the method in which the place is
prepared and the materials (sambhra) are assembled, the manner
in which the oblations are poured into the fire, the way the
priests sit around the altar, and in fact the very act of
chanting of the mantras with mechanical precision form part of
yantric worship. The very design of the temple as an outer
symbol of the existence of the Divine on the material plane,
the act of visiting the temple, circling around the temple,
entering the temple, the lighting of the lamps in front of the
divine, the decorations and the ornamentation so
characteristic of hindu temples and places of worship, the
manner in which the images are built and installed, the
lighting of the lamps, the offerings, the method of worship,
the partaking of prasad, and in short any practice that is
mechanical, symbolic and ritualistic to a degree, form part of
this approach. |
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