Esoterics of Worship, Part two
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: As soon as the Hindu goes to a temple, to a pūjā, he is contacting the divine forces. Heaven and hell are states of mind in the here and now, not permanent abodes of the soul. Going to the temple is helpful in getting out of the hellish state of mind. The Hindu may perhaps live several lives within the boundaries of a single lifetime, changing and then changing again, never waiting for the Grim Reaper to come along and usher in the Day of Judgement. Hinduism is a joyous religion free from the notion of a vengeful God, of eternal suffering, of a single spiritual path, of a second coming. The Hindu knows that he is evolving through a succession of lives on the planet, and he is not in a hurry. The devout Hindu accumulates little karma as his subconscious is constantly being brought current by the worship of the Gods. He believes that all mankind are his brothers and sisters, all are created by the same Creator, all destined to the same enlightenment. He doesn’t have the concept of a free will that is answerable to neither man nor God.
Transcription:
Good morning everyone. And as I'm sure some of you thought about already this is Gurudeva's 99th jayanti. Happy jayanti to Gurudeva. Probably be something on TAKA about it today.
And this morning we're continuing "Merging with Siva" Chapter twenty, titled: "The Esoterics of Worship" from 1978. As I mentioned, just a few chapters in the Trilogy from this time and they're all about temple worship. So Gurudeva was focusing on the esoterics of temple worship.
Lesson 136
"Karma and Consciousness
"The Hindu does not have to die to have a final judgment or to enter into heaven, for heaven is a state of mind and being fully existent in every human being this very moment. There are people walking on this Earth today who are living in heaven, and there are those who are living in hellish states as well. All that the Hindu has to do is go to the temple. As soon as he goes to the temple, to a pūjā, he is contacting the divine forces. During the pūjā, he is totally judged by the Deity. All of his karma is brought current and he goes away feeling good. Or he might go away feeling guilty. That is good, too, because then he performs penance, prāyaśchitta, and resolves unseemly karma quickly. (That's a very nice one there: "...resolves unseemly karma quickly."
"It might be said that every day that you go to the temple is judgment day. Isn’t it a wonderful thing that in our religion you can either go to heaven or hell on a daily basis, and the next day get out of hell through performing penance and ascend to heaven? The Hindu sees these as states existing in the here and now, not in some futuristic and static other-worldly existence. There are certainly inner, celestial realms, but like this physical universe, they are not the permanent abode of the soul, which is in transit, so to speak, on its way to merger with Śiva."
So, my comment: If a Hindu is in a hellish state of mind, he or she can get out of it. You don't have to stay there. Going to the temple is quite helpful in getting out of the hellish state of mind. So that's an important point in Gurudeva's teachings is when we end up in a state of mind that we don't want to be in we don't have to stay there. We have the ability to move out of it.
"It is not necessary for the Hindu to wait until the end of life to become aware of the results of this particular life. Because he knows this and does not wait for death for the resolution of the results of his accumulated actions and reactions in life, his evolution is exceedingly fast. He lives perhaps several lives within the boundaries of a single lifetime, changing and then changing again. If he errs he does not worry inordinately he merely corrects himself and moves on in the progressive stream of human evolution. He is aware of the frailties of being human but he is not burdened by his sins or condemning himself for actions long past. To him all actions are the work of the Gods. His life is never static, never awaiting a judgment day; whereas the Western religionist who believes there is an ultimate reckoning after this one life is spent is piling up everything that he has done, good and bad, adding it to a medley in his mind and waiting for the Grim Reaper to come along and usher in the Day of Judgment.
So my comment was on the, Gurudeva's statement. "If he errs he does not worry inordinately. he merely corrects himself and moves on in the progressive stream of evolution." So this reminded me of an idea in one of my Publisher's Desks. It quotes Alexander Popes statement: "To err is human; to forgive is divine" right, that's the normal statement. And adjusted slightly: To err is human; to err only once is divine. So that's what we're trying for. In other words an observant person will not make the same mistake twice; that's the goal. It's not to never make a mistake; it's to be so observant that we don't make the same mistake twice. We give it thought and we figure out not how to repeat it. An unobservant person will continue to make the mistake multiple times.
"Hinduism is such a joyous religion, freed of all the mental encumbrances that are prevalent in the various Western faiths. It is freed of the notion of a vengeful God. It is freed of the notion of eternal suffering. It is freed from the notion of original sin. It is freed from the notion of a single spiritual path, a One Way. It is freed from the notion of a Second Coming. Why, I think some of the devas in this temple are on their, let me see,... 8,450,000 thousandth coming now! (That's a lot; 8.45 million.) They come every time you ring the bell. You don't have to wait 2,000 years for the Gods to come. Every time you ring the bell, the Gods and devas come, and you can be and are blessed by their darshan. They are omniscient and omnipresent, simultaneously there in every temple on the planet as the bell is rung. That is the mystery and the power of these great Gods who exist within the microcosm."
"Oneness with Divine Law"
Lesson 137:
"Because it is relatively free from mistaken doctrines, the Hindu approach to life and the Hindu approach to time and the Hindu approach to worry, and the Hindu approach to the subconscious mind is very different from the Western approach. The Hindu knows that he is flowing through a succession of lives on the planet, and he is not in a hurry. The devout Hindu accumulates little karma, because his subconscious is constantly being brought current by the worship of the Gods. Thus, karma is controlled. The Hindu looks at religion as the most joyous expression life can offer. The Hindu considers all of mankind his brothers and sisters, all created by the same Creator, all destined to the same enlightenment. When he visits the temple, he is seeking to understand the minds of the Gods, seeking their blessings and their guidance. He stands before the Deity in humble awe of the grandeur of a world he can only partially conceive. He inwardly tries to sense the Deity. If he is even slightly clairvoyant, he may see the Deity overshadow the image within the sanctum. At first he may see the image appear to move, thinking it his own imagination. He may observe the expression on the Deity change from day to day and from hour to hour. He may become aware of the Deity’s influence in his life and awaken a love for the Gods whom he once only vaguely thought were plausible.
"The Hindu is not an existentialist. He does not believe that God is unknowable. He does not believe in the dismal fate of mankind alone in the universe, with only himself to depend upon. The Hindu believes that he is born with his destiny, and the patterns are set. He blends his will with the will of his religious community and with the will of the Gods in the temple, because he doesn’t have the concept of a free will that is answerable to neither man nor God.
"Belief is a pattern placed within the mind for a particular purpose, so that awareness will flow through that particular pattern for the rest of the person’s life. Generally, the pattern is put into the mind of a child before he is thinking for himself, or your friends or family or teachers will put beliefs in your mind. You will say, “Yes, I believe that,” without actually thinking it out for yourself. It is from our beliefs that our attitudes arise. Your individual awareness, your ability to be aware, has no way of functioning unless there are patterns within the mind for the prāṇas to flow through and around. You have to have a mind to work through.
"First there are beliefs, and then attitudes. In the Hindu home and culture, beliefs and attitudes are taught very carefully and systematically, with love and attention, so that the individual becomes a productive member of the community even before leaving home. Those first mind impressions are important, and if they are correct and not fraught with misconceptions, they will properly guide the person through life with a minimum of mental and emotional problems. The person will correct himself or herself rather than having to be corrected by society."
Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day.