Bathing the Blue Throated One
The ceremony soon starts, beginning with a Sankalpam, where devotees who want to get the special pooja done give their names and gotras and their birth stars to the priest. The sanksrit shlokas reconfirm the geographical and horological coordinates, as if God doesn't know when and where we are performing the pooja , heh heh!
Om Gananaam twa Ganpati gum havamahe...... the opening invocation to Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles resounds in the temple as the five or six of us chant along with the priests at the Sidhi Vinayak temple in DLF Phase 4, Gurgaon.
It is the thirteenth day of the lunar month and the occasion of Pradosam the ritual prayer to Lord Rudra. The auspicious time for the abhishekham or ritual bathing starts just before sunset, the godhuli vela or the time for the cows to come home. The Pradosh vrat or fast is said to be a very powerful vrat and can bestow many boons on the devotee.
Just before the ceremony people start trickling in, the regulars will be there, I don't know too many of them by name. I'm a bit of an oddity here anyway, one north Indian amongst so many tambrams. We're all united in our love for Shiva, regardless of differences in language, dress or our dietary preferences.
I love the Shiva aspect of God, after all he is one that I can relate to and identify with. The typical family man, with wife, two kids Ganesha and Kartikeya and some pretty weird friends. He is totally chilled out, my lord, he gives of his love equally to all who approach him. He is easy to please and very simple, does not need any pretences or rituals hence on of his names 'Ashutosh'. He will not turn you away because of your food preferences or your status in life. Shiva worshippers range from the no onion no garlic type staunch vegetarians to the Kashmiri Pandits who offer mutton and rice to Lord Maheshwara. Washed, tilak wearing brahmin types, unwashed, don't have a rupee in your pocket types, no problem, come on in.
In calendar art, Shiva is often depicted as having a faint smile on his lips and his eyes half closed, he's probably laughing, thinking how silly his creations behave most of the time.
In calendar art, Shiva is often depicted as having a faint smile on his lips and his eyes half closed, he's probably laughing, thinking how silly his creations behave most of the time.
Throughout the ages Shiva followers have tried to ape the look, dreadlocks and the chillum to get that stoned effect. Seriously guys, do you really think God is into substance abuse and that any substance can have an effect on him. This is the being that took the most powerful poison in all creation at the time of Samudra Manthan or churning of the ocean and drank it to protect us.
The ceremony soon starts, beginning with a Sankalpam, where devotees who want to get the special pooja done give their names and gotras and their birth stars to the priest. The sanksrit shlokas reconfirm the geographical and horological coordinates, as if God doesn't know when and where we are performing the pooja , heh heh!
On special days we perform the Mahanyasam, this is by itself an over two hour long purification ritual, otherwise we do the laghunyasam, a smaller condensed version.
Then starts the chanting of the Namakam and Chamakam, the verses come from the sixteenth chapter of the Yajurveda. The Namakam has 11 paragraphs which to my understanding are to appease Lord Rudra and get him into a good mood. When I first read the Rudram I was a little upset that Shiva is praised as the Lord of smugglers - 'Taskaranam Pataye Namah', then as I kept on reading I gradually understood that the formless, nameless, takes forms and names in all physical manifestations. He is in the good and in the not so good as we percieve it. Anything that exists, exists because there is some good (GOD) in it. So, he is in everything, in the green leaves and also in the dry leaves and so on.
As each Anuvaka or paragraph is recited the Shiva Lingam is bathed with auspicious ingredients. These include ganga jal or water from the holy Ganges, oil, honey, sandalwood paste, bhasma or ash, sugarcane juice, water from a green coconut, raw milk, curds and yes the Lord gets a fruit facial as well with seasonal fruits including bananas, grapes etc. all mashed to a pulp.
After each ingredient the Shiva Lingam is bathed with water and the priest performs the aarti. Then the devotees begin chanting the Chamakam, this is the prescribed goodies list, since it is ancient, it includes things which you might not be able to accomodate in your appartment. Yep, lots of cows and bulls and calves, guess they figure on the list because for a pastoral people as the ancient Aryans were, hooves were money.
Devotees also ask for a long, healthy and happening life and then a peaceful transition when the time comes. I really love the shloka 'Om Trayambakam yaja mahe..., where the devotee asks to be give a place at the Lord's lotus feet when he is ripe, just like the cucumber leaves the vine when it is ready.
The Purshasuktham follows, this is the Hindu hymn of creation and has some shlokas that i don't feel comfortable with. Then the prayers to Maa Durga and Lakshmi followed by the Shanti Shlokas complete the pooja.
Devotees sing the Lingashtakam and the Bilva strotram, this is a fabulous strotra, in essence it is a reminder to us not to get carried away by the wealth and riches that we have. Not to get swayed by our ability to offer the choicest of dishes to Shiva in jewel encrusted dishes, nor to take pride in our ability to host grand ceremonies, for my father, Bholenath is accessible to all and is satisfied with the loving gift of a single Bilva leaf.
Shiva is the simple Lord, so simple that he can be attained by just meditating on his form or chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya' or even sitting and contemplating him in complete silence anywhere in the world. Worshipping him does not require any ceremony, in fact the simple act of lovingly pouring water on the Shiva Lingam, washes away the sins of many lifetimes.
After all amongst the chaos and complexity, the universe is really very simple. We human beings complicate our lives too much, adding layers of complexity. It's not easy to let go, I understand that, for we peg our existence to coordinates on the physical plane. We feel we must exist as positions, net assets,certifications and relationships. On one hand it is really scary to let go, however deep in our hearts we all know that there is something more to life than the mundane.
It is time for the aarti and all of us stand, eagerly awaiting the curtains being drawn open, eager to set eyes on the decorated form of the Shiva Lingam. The temple bells are rung in rhythm and the aarti thali moves clockwise, He has descended into our midst and the whole atmoshphere has become Shiva.
Then starts the chanting of the Namakam and Chamakam, the verses come from the sixteenth chapter of the Yajurveda. The Namakam has 11 paragraphs which to my understanding are to appease Lord Rudra and get him into a good mood. When I first read the Rudram I was a little upset that Shiva is praised as the Lord of smugglers - 'Taskaranam Pataye Namah', then as I kept on reading I gradually understood that the formless, nameless, takes forms and names in all physical manifestations. He is in the good and in the not so good as we percieve it. Anything that exists, exists because there is some good (GOD) in it. So, he is in everything, in the green leaves and also in the dry leaves and so on.
As each Anuvaka or paragraph is recited the Shiva Lingam is bathed with auspicious ingredients. These include ganga jal or water from the holy Ganges, oil, honey, sandalwood paste, bhasma or ash, sugarcane juice, water from a green coconut, raw milk, curds and yes the Lord gets a fruit facial as well with seasonal fruits including bananas, grapes etc. all mashed to a pulp.
After each ingredient the Shiva Lingam is bathed with water and the priest performs the aarti. Then the devotees begin chanting the Chamakam, this is the prescribed goodies list, since it is ancient, it includes things which you might not be able to accomodate in your appartment. Yep, lots of cows and bulls and calves, guess they figure on the list because for a pastoral people as the ancient Aryans were, hooves were money.
Devotees also ask for a long, healthy and happening life and then a peaceful transition when the time comes. I really love the shloka 'Om Trayambakam yaja mahe..., where the devotee asks to be give a place at the Lord's lotus feet when he is ripe, just like the cucumber leaves the vine when it is ready.
The Purshasuktham follows, this is the Hindu hymn of creation and has some shlokas that i don't feel comfortable with. Then the prayers to Maa Durga and Lakshmi followed by the Shanti Shlokas complete the pooja.
Devotees sing the Lingashtakam and the Bilva strotram, this is a fabulous strotra, in essence it is a reminder to us not to get carried away by the wealth and riches that we have. Not to get swayed by our ability to offer the choicest of dishes to Shiva in jewel encrusted dishes, nor to take pride in our ability to host grand ceremonies, for my father, Bholenath is accessible to all and is satisfied with the loving gift of a single Bilva leaf.
Shiva is the simple Lord, so simple that he can be attained by just meditating on his form or chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya' or even sitting and contemplating him in complete silence anywhere in the world. Worshipping him does not require any ceremony, in fact the simple act of lovingly pouring water on the Shiva Lingam, washes away the sins of many lifetimes.
After all amongst the chaos and complexity, the universe is really very simple. We human beings complicate our lives too much, adding layers of complexity. It's not easy to let go, I understand that, for we peg our existence to coordinates on the physical plane. We feel we must exist as positions, net assets,certifications and relationships. On one hand it is really scary to let go, however deep in our hearts we all know that there is something more to life than the mundane.
It is time for the aarti and all of us stand, eagerly awaiting the curtains being drawn open, eager to set eyes on the decorated form of the Shiva Lingam. The temple bells are rung in rhythm and the aarti thali moves clockwise, He has descended into our midst and the whole atmoshphere has become Shiva.
I really enjoyed reading this Blog...looking forward for some more.....very interesting.
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