all dead matter is food for live creatures,

all dead matter is food for live creatures,  Let's observe nature for insects, bacteria, worms ,  a manure to trees, plants so this teaches man to leave the dead body to decay  in the most natural way ,  but taking the care that living beings , men , animals  do not decay in the process attacked with diseases to me this suggests that burning deprives food to lowest creatures. so alternatives , natural , in order of merits 1 best to allow it to nature to dry or wet by air sun rain and putrefy and feed to vermin s----if you can afford, without damage to environ  2 leave it in seas oceans, rivers , streams, to be eaten by water creatures 3 bury ,but not in stony, not very deep where life cannot exist,DELETE

4 cover with enough loose earth on a plain ground , not a deep ditch , so that ventilation exists for creaturesDELETE

 

5 burn , if you cannot do aboveREPLYDELETE
6 in any case avoid the foolishness of just being ritualistic, without knowing deep significanceRYDELETE

 

This issue needs some free mind to look fresh, and expertise of ancient knowledge truly, not sentiment

Sindooram is a traditional vermilion red or orange-red coloured cosmetic powder

 Sindooram is a traditional vermilion red or orange-red coloured cosmetic powder from the Indian subcontinent, usually worn by married women along the part of their hairline.[1] In Hindu communities the sindoor is a visual marker of marital status of a woman and ceasing to wear it usually implies widowhood

pradakshina is

 pradakshina is one of the ways to ”come back to home” to bring the out going awareness gradually to one’s nearness finally on to oneself to one’s own self , the enabling atma to reach paramathma inside

by gradually closing down the infinite ways/ options for awareness to go after and fritter away the energies/ time
1 man by entering into temple, he has come away from the market place of life-activities
2 distance is reduced, from miles to a few yards
3 straight travel is reduced to circular
4 direction is set ie dakshina , clock wise
5 number is set , 5 , or 11, or, or 21, or 108
so that mind is engaged in counting the number
6 speed is set, no hurry , no stopping, but uniform speed
7 vision ‘ eyes is not going out towards see any number of objects or scenes outside
8 attention is on the walk,
9 at each step, one is made to see the one’s mind thoughts, body moves,
10 variety is reduced, one circle is enough to know every thing on how the walk is, it is just routine, vairagya sets in
11 next circle, man is looking for some thing unknown, vairagya increases
11 each subsequent circle man is going away and away from samsara and becoming loner and loner
12 at the end of the set number of circles, what he found is ”nothing” …”all this is nothing ”..and now man is totally new , fresh in the mind, relaxed in the body, clear in thoughts, ready to jump into activity with superior wisdom , enhanced energy , as if got charged , the time spent in pradakshina is just in the company of himself, which is so precious, ..for one’s own discoveries
13 this is like writing rama koti, or nama smarana, chanting manthras …………..these are subtler processes , but pradakshina is a grosser process, , simple any ne can just do and get the taste of a different world, superior lokas , an opportunity to have just a peep even for a beginner

mirror in puja

 mirror in puja

we offer mirror ….as in shiva manasa pooja , by shankaracharya, relevant shloka is given here

Chathram Chamarayoryugam vyajanagam, cha ..”adarshakam nirmalam,”
Veena bheri mrudanga kahala kala geetha nruthyam thada,
Sasthangam pranthi sthuthir bahu vidha, hyethat samastham maya,
Sankalpena samapitham thava vibho , poojam gruhana prabho.

I offer you a pretty stage,
I offer you couple of decorative fans,
I also offer you shining mirror,
I offer you Veena, kettledrums, Mrudanga and a very big drum,
I offer you song and dance,
I offer you full prostration,
I offer you several types of prayers,

But all these I offer you my Lord, in my mind
So Lord kindly accept this my worship.

as per measurement theory of physics, and nyaya in vedic science attention falling on the object has the property of ennobling effect on it
in self referral the self sees itself thus making itself more noble moment by moment.

by looking at the mirror the lord is becoming more noble
at physical level, to be more beautiful, be looking at the mirror. defects canbe rectified.

at spiritual level,if you want to be more effective, be looking at your pure self.
any defect will be rectified by the kind attention of the self ,-btw, –hence it is ”kind attention”—-

thus while spending of the rays of consciousness , the rays of attention, utmost utility shall prevail.

attention getter will be thankful, in having the attention bestowed on him.

in fact he will be prayerful, and waiting at the door of the self for perfection.
even a ray of it is enough, in giving high dignity and richness.

lakhmi kataksha, karuna kataksha, a passing brief look by the benign self, ennobles and is worhy of adoration

hence the rays of sight saturated withself become so valuable.
we become— soon after meditation,– ardha nimeeitha nethra,half closed eyes.
we dont like to part with the value gained

when we send out rays we become less, suffer a loss, our mind becomes impure.

we do not like our self touched by the boundaries.
we do not like our self touched by” others”
this is ”madi” madi kattukonuta,
the life is meant to be lived in such pavithratha, being in contact,
yet not being in contact,
like mercurial existence by keeping in tact,
its own integrity and unity, untouched by surroundngs.

this is life in nascent stage.
highly sensitized.all activity gross and subtle,
slow or fast, simple or complex,
will be performed in this level of nascent existence.,
not taking the external impurities, three monkeys eg links here.

these flowers of knowledge are full and independently stand on their own,
yet there is the thread of connection at self level,
these are lively since connected

deity, even the entire place

deity, even the entire place where the temple is located has the divine vibration. One should relate with the 5 elements of that place to get the best benefits.

Earth – We walk inside temple without our footwear

Water – We are given Thirtha

Fire – We are shown the Aarti plate and we take the heat to our eyes and forehead

Air – We breathe the atmospheric air of the place

Sky – Of course, after our Dharshan we sit in an open area within the temple place and meditate.

So every pilgrimage has its own worth.

Maha Shivratri

saaroopyam, saameepyam,saalokyam,saayujyam on mahasivarathri.
upavaasa is symbolic for outwardly tendencies to turn within, –jagarana for going beyond to the 4th state from the sleeplike existence in 3 states--waking dreaming deepsleep.
the sthothra and panchakshari are expressions, ‘live’ ,links, pass words leading to site of siva ,siva kshethra ,kylaash, in the cosmic web, the innernet.
vande for the great bhaaratheeya sanaathana sampradayas, deeply explored and experienced, guiding life for ever, with festivals to remind us to update our lives from time to time in line with ever updating cosmic power.

origin of idols, and idol worship

origin of idols, and idol worship

one example, peace

peace is a potential quality , a law of nature, of the unmanifest absolute, which is the reservoir of all gunas, ie all the laws of nature cognizable by a rishi in the deepest samadhi

so he says shanthi

and he repeats shanthi shanthi shanthihi, to emphasize the profundity

and he may say shaanthaakaram , an embodiment of peace, though there is not any body as such

this is the origin of idol conception.

now to communicate this abstract law of nature, he chooses a concrete . visible media
he chooses his own body , human body as the media / icon

he depicts a word picture of a person with a face, eyes half closed , expressing the calm , restful, posture, shayanam,

this is how the law of nature, takes the visible identity

now this hint is taken by an artist, and he creates a beautiful picture / colorful painting / graceful sculpture / a small or big murthi , idol

this is how the idol gets created

seeing its value, charm, utility, truth, beauty goodness one starts adoring it , calls a form of god, a devatha murthi ,

this is how a devatha murthi comes into existence

and one would like to decorate it, offer food to it , like to bathe it , makes a shade over it , gives vasthra aabharana, mala, sindhoora ,

thus the origin of temples and idolatry starts

and now the common man forgets that it is a law of nature
blind worship continues

and truth of idol is totally covered up and lost to vision, man misses the track , ignorance abounds , rebounds,

that is how idol becomes a obstruction to see the truth, though all happening with the best of intentions,
this continues till the man wakes up , by the call of a realized soul