Hindu Worship: Devotional Worship And Service to All  

By Shammi Paranjape  

The Tamil Alvar saint Andal was the daughter of Periyalvar, a priest. Even as a child, she was deeply devoted to God. Daily, a special garland of fresh flowers was offered by Periyalvar to Lord Vishnu.

Unknown to her father, little Andal would first adorn her tresses with the garland, picturing herself as the Lord’s bride. Then she would return the garland to its place for use in the evening worship. One day, Andal was discovered by her father - outraged, he did not offer the used garland that day to Vishnu.

That very night Vishnu appeared in Periyalvar’s dream and said that Andal’s garland was especially dear to him as it had an added fragrance (of devotion). Periyalvar realised that Andal was no ordinary child. She led an extraordinary life of devotion. To this day, in South India, a used garland from Andal’s shrine is offered daily to Lord Vishnu. He, who is the repository of all aishwarya - glory and splendour, has no need of flower garlands; what he really needs is the attention and love of devotees.

So He readily accepts any mode of worship as long as it comes straight from the heart. Archanam or puja and Padasevanam or service of His feet are two kinds of bhakti for getting close to God through worship of His consecrated images, symbols of the divine, to help orient our minds towards God, taking us from the perceptible to the imperceptible, on to the formless and to the infinite.

If we meet no Gods, its because we harbour none, said Emerson. For us, God is not a remote, abstract figure; He is a living, loving Presence. The nirguna or formless God of Shankara’s Advaita is difficult to relate to - but give Him a sweet form and through saguna upasana or worship He can become your very own because of the wonderful ease it creates in human divine encounter.

The predominant religious motif of practising Hinduism is this archanam andpadasevanam - the worship and adoration of a God made visible to our eyes in beautiful images, in homes and in temples. It is the ornamental centrepiece of the Vaishnav bhakti tradition set in motion by acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhava and Vallabha.

They promoted the theistic concept of a personal God who can be adorned and pampered like any loved one. Our gods and goddesses surround us, they live with us. We make them swing on silver jhoolas, take them out in processions for sacred immersions, and celebrate their epic victories.

We dress them in rich silks, adorn them with bright flowers, drown them in incense and feed them the choicest delicacies during naivaidya. We wave auspicious lights or arati, we put them to sleep with lullabies, then awaken them at dawn with haunting hymns like the suprabhatam.

We bathe the holy feet of the Lord in pure water sprinkled with rose petals and have the tirth as holy prasad. Padasevanam in its wider sense means service to humanity. The feet of the Lord become a potent symbol for the devout. The holy feet take you across the treacherous ocean of samsara and are the seat of all bliss.

However, enchanting the ritual we must not stop at the externals, because, every ritual has a spiritual significance. Also, puja has no meaning if simultaneously, the heart is not getting purified.

Offer with devotion the patram-pushpam-phalam-toyam (leaf-flower-fruit-water), says the Gita, but also remember what God really wants: The leaf of your body in service to humanity, the flower of your purified heart, and the fruit of your good actions and tears of devotion. In time, reliance on outer modes of worship ceases for there is constant integrated awareness of one’s kinship with the Inner Divine.

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See also: Hindu Worship, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)