Re: worshipping other deities
From the Bhakti List Archives
• August 23, 2000
Badri wrote: > 1) Being born as Vaishnavas is it a sin worshipping > other Gods ,or is it just that we are not required to > worship other dieties.Is there any harm in worshipping > them as long as we realize Narayana is supreme.What > are we supposed to do when we go to temples which have > many dieties.Should we worship Perumal and > deliberately avoid other dieties? Dear Badri, Let me offer an alternate point of view. It depends on your state of mind. If you have absolute faith in the purifying grace of Narayana, your mind by itself will develop an aversion to worshipping anything short of this Ultimate. If you settle for worshipping anything other than the Ultimate, it only demonstrates lack of faith and lack of resolve in attaining the highest good. Our acharyas emphatically emphasize that we should not settle for any of these lesser goals, and that we must wholeheartedly and single-mindedly dedicate ourself only to the highest, Narayana. It is not a "sin" to worship other gods, in that you are not a morally bad person for doing so. It is not morally wrong like slaughtering a living being or partaking in such slaughter's fruits. It is, however, detrimental if you have resolved to focus yourself on the Ultimate, because you are falling far short of your goal, and you are not being honest with yourself. Rather than recognizing your inherent, true nature as a 'sesha' of Narayana, you are being enslaved by other things, whether they be sensual pleasures, wealth, or other deities. Worship of all these other things are not conducive to the highest spiritual good, because there is no meeting point between them and your essential nature. If you choose to worship anything other than the our Blissful Beloved Narayana, you must ask yourself why you are doing so. If you really do not care for attaining the highest good in the most direct manner, go ahead and do as you are doing. But if you are really resolved to attain nothing other than Narayana, there is nothing that anything or anyone else can give that will satisfy you. So, the bottom line is that you must stay focussed. But even here, it is important to understand that not all people are mentally ready to take the plunge into the blissful waters of Narayana. As Nammalvar says, "avar avar tamatamadu arivari vagai vagai..." -- people worship their gods according to their inclination and capacity to grasp the truth. What's more, such gods themselves are not "false" -- "avar avar iraiyavar kuRaivilar" -- because even within these gods, our Narayana stands within and is the power that bestows whatever benefits they may confer. Many such people are simply not ready to become 'ekAntis', i.e., single-minded in their devotion to Narayana. Perhaps this is because of their family background or the place they live; we cannot say. For many such people, worshipping other divinities is a necessary step for their mind to become slowly purified, to cross over their mundane desires and realize that the essential truth of Narayana. We should be careful not to condemn these people, since their mental outlook is not conducive to exclusive worship of Narayana. Let them be, for that is currently the appropriate path for them. Their worship will slowly purify their mind and eventually it too will be directed toward Narayana. Yes, it is slower than the direct path, but this is not our worry. You also ask a more practical question which face many of us. If you go to a temple with many deities, I have been taught that respect should be given to all, but worship and adoration is only to Narayana and his parivAras. There is nothing wrong in avoiding the other sannidhis. But when confronted by the other deities installed, we must be respectful. For example, when walking down the street, if all of a sudden we come across an utsavam of Siva Perumaan, we are to respectfully hold our hands together, and let the utsavam pass on our right side. By no means should we do anything disrespectful. Furthermore, we shouldn't apply our rules and our philosophy to members of other traditions. The way Advaita has evolved, for example, they worship Siva, Vishnu, Ganapati, Parvati, etc., equally. No matter how wrong we think they are, let them be, is my opinion. That is the way their acharyas have taught them for at least a thousand years. Our only quarrel with them should be if they challenge us. aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan, Mani -------------------------------------------------------------- - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list@eGroups.com Visit http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/ for more information