Dharma related to Temple
In this
chapter, Swami beautifully explains about a devotee's dharma when he visits a
temple.
Functions
of the temple
"Think
deeply over the functions of the temple. Temples are centers of discipline,
where the aspirant is guided step by step to attain a vision of the truth. They
are schools for the training of the spirit, academies for the promotion of
scriptural studies, institutes of super-science, and laboratories for the
testing of the values of life.
They are
hospitals for the treatment and cure not only of the “birth-death disease”,
which has persisted in the individual for ages, but even the much more patent
“mental disorders” that trouble those who do not know the secret of acquiring
peace. Temples are gymnasia where people are reconditioned and their hesitant
faith, waning conviction, and up-surging egotism are all cured. Temples are
mirrors that reflect aesthetic standards and achievements.
The purpose of
the temple is to awaken the Divinity in humanity (Madhavathwa in manavathwa),
inducing people to believe that the physical frames in which they live are
themselves houses of God. Therefore, all the formalities, rites, and rituals of
the temple emphasize and cultivate the spiritual truth (Brahmajnana)
that the individual (jivi) is just a mighty ocean of God.
Devotion
is the queen
The scriptures
teach that all actions and activities must lead ultimately to non-attachment,
for this is the best qualification for the development of knowledge of Brahman.
Of the three, devotion, wisdom, and renunciation (bhakthi, Jnana
and vairagya), devotion is the queen.
The rules and
rites are the maids-in-waiting; the queen treats her maids with kind
consideration and favour, no doubt, but if the ceremonies, which are only
“servants” and “aides”, disregard the queen, they should be mercilessly
dismissed.
Devotion
helps the attainment of the bliss of merger
In the temple,
all the various ceremonies, from the “awakening of God in the early dawn” to
the “laying in bed” late at night, are intended to heighten and promote the
devotional trends of the mind.
In turn, each
incident helps the sublimation of the appropriate emotion, in a peculiarly
charming manner. In the sublimity of that experience, the agitation of the
lower emotions declines and disappears. The vulgar feelings of ordinary life
become elevated to the status of worship and dedication to the Almighty
Presence.
Continued.......
Love.
