A Wisdom Archive on Upasana

Upasana: Worship, devotion, meditation practice. Acquisition of the presence of God.

 
(See also: Upasana, Body Mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » upasana dictionary

upasana: (Sanskrit) "Sitting near."
 
Worship or contemplation of God. One of the pancha nitya karmas. "five constant duties."
See: sandhya upasana.

(See also: Upasana, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » upasana dictionary

Upasana - spiritual practices, especially worship of the Deity. Upasana literally means ‘to sit near’. Thus upasana refers to all those activities by which one approaches the Lord in order to offer worship.

 
(See also: Upasana, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » upasana dictionary

Religion and Dharma Are Not Synonymous
Dharma and religion are not the same thing. The terms are used interchangeably for want of an appropriate English word. The Oxford Dictionary defines religion as "A system of faith, especially personal God entitled to obedience".
 
Performing rituals alone is not dharma . Worship or upasana is the method. The mind gets purified by worshipping the Supreme Lord, Bhagwan. It will yield love for the Lord and all living beings. There will be no violence. Therefore, love for the Supreme Lord is the best dharma .
 

Read more here: » Dharma: Religion and Dharma Are Not Synonymous

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.

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

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: Devotional Worship And Service to All  

Bhakti Yoga-Classes Of Worship
At the lowest rung of the ladder of Bhakti Yoga comes the worship of elements and departed spirits. Next comes the worship of Rishis, Devas and Pitris. The third class includes those followers who worship Avataras like Sri Rama, Krishna, Narasimha. Next comes the class of Bhaktas who do Nirguna Upasana on Brahman devoid of attributes. This is the highest form of worship known as Ahamgraha Upasana or Jnana Yoga Sadhana.
 
From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Bhakti Yoga: Classes Of Worship in Bhakti Yoga

There is no reference to worship of idols in the Vedas. The Puranas and the Agamas give descriptions of idol-worship both in the houses and in the temples. Idol-worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The people of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshippers of idols. They keep some image or the other in the mind.

The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one of kind, but only one of degree. All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make the mind dwell on that image.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: An Introduction to Hindu Worship

The Vedas contain revelations of the eternal Truth. The culture of a community or a nation is derived from the values that people live and uphold in their lives. The word Veda is derived from the Sanskrit vid , to know.
 
They contain knowledge in every field of worldly science , under the following broad headings - the sadangas or six limbs: Siksa or phonetics, kalpa or the code of rituals, vyakarana or grammar, nirukta or etymology, chandas or literature, and jyotish or astronomy. Along with these, four upvedas o r subvedas consist of the four sciences: Ayurveda or medicine, dhanurveda or new archery, gandharvaveda or music and sthapatyaveda or architecture

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

Read more here: » Vedas: Vedas As A Guide To Good Living  

The Four Vedas and Their Sub Divisions : The Veda is divided into four great books: the Rig-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, the Sama-Veda and the Atharva-Veda. The Yajur-Veda is again divided into two parts, the Sukla and the Krishna. The Krishna or the Taittiriya is the older book and the Sukla or the Vajasaneya is a later revelation to sage Yajnavalkya from the resplendent Sun-God.
 
Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda
 

Read more here: » Four Vedas: The Four Vedas in the Hindu Scriptures