Wednesday, February 24, 2021

This is how.


How to worship him.
Uddhava asks Lord Krishna where He should be worshipped. Where can Krishna be found? What are the places He is in, asks Uddhava. Lord Krishna gives a list of places where Uddhava can offer his pranams, said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse. Lord Krishna says He is in Agni, and so He can be worshipped in the form of Agni. He is present in Vedic scholars and so He can be worshipped by paying respects to them. He is present in cows. He can be worshipped as the sky, the wind, as water, as the Earth. He is present inside everyone as antaryami. He is the atma in all creatures. When worship is done in temples according to Pancharatra Agama, the Lord is invoked in all these sthanas.
Uddhava now has a further question. How is the Lord to be worshipped in these places? Krishna replies that if He is being worshipped as the Sun, the three Vedas should be used. If He is being worshipped as Agni, then havis is the means of worship. Vedic scholars must be respected and honoured. If He is being worshipped as the presence inside cows, then worship is simple: just offer grass to the cows. One must have towards Vishnu bhaktas, the same affection that one has for one’s family. To worship Vayu, one must do praana pratistha in temples. One can worship Him as water, by doing various rites using water. He can be worshipped as the Earth, through the recitation of various mantras and performing bhumi pooja, ankurarpanam etc. As antaryami, He can be worshipped by making offerings to His devotees. One should know that He is present in all creatures.
Uddhava then asks in what form He should be worshipped. Krishna says, “Visualise me with four hands, holding the conch, discus, mace and a lotus flower. Or you can worship Me by building wells, tanks and ponds in temples.”

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