Source
Texts:
Lord
Krishna's Instructions on the Process of Deity
Worship
Text
1
S'rî
Uddhava said: 'Please explain the yoga of the service of You as
a deity, o Master; who is of that worship, to what form is one
of worship and in what manner does one worship You, o Master of
the Sâtvatas
[see also mûrti
and 11.3:
48-55]?
S'rî
Uddhava said: My dear Lord, O master of the devotees, please
explain to me the prescribed method of worshiping You in
Your Deity form. What are the qualifications of those
devotees who worship the Deity, on what basis is such
worship established, and what is the specific method of
worship?
Text
2
The sages
Nârada, Bhagavân Vyâsa and my preceptor the
son of Angirâ [Brihaspati]
repeatedly say that there is nothing more conducive to
welfare.
All
the great sages repeatedly declare that such worship brings
the greatest benefit possible in human life. This is the
opinion of Nârada Muni, the great Vyâsadeva and
my own spiritual master, Brihaspati.
Text
3-4
From
Your lotus mouth emanated that of which the great lord unborn
spoke to his sons headed by Bhrigu,
to the goddess [Pârvatî]
and the great lord S'iva [see B.G. 3:
9-10];
this [working for the purpose of sacrifice] indeed
approved by all classes and spiritual orders of society, I
think, is the most fortunate way for [even, or to deal
with] women and the working class, o Magnanimous
One.
O
most magnanimous Lord, the instructions on this process of
Deity worship first emanated from Your lotus mouth. Then
they were spoken by the great Lord Brahmâ to his sons,
headed by Bhrigu, and by Lord S'iva to his wife,
Pârvatî. This process is accepted by and
appropriate for all the occupational and spiritual orders of
society. Therefore I consider worship of You in Your Deity
form to be the most beneficial of all spiritual practices,
even for women and s'ûdras.
Text
5
O Lord with the
Lotus Eyes, please, o Controller of All Controllers in the
Universe, speak to your bhakta so full of attachment of the
means of liberation from the being bound to
karma.'
O
lotus-eyed one, O Supreme Lord of all lords of the universe,
please explain to Your devoted servant this means of
liberation from the bondage of work.
Text
6
The Supreme
Lord said: 'There is indeed no end to the innumerable
prescriptions for acting in yoga [see e.g. B.G.
1-6];
so, Uddhava, let me in brief explain it nicely one step at a
time.
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said - My dear Uddhava, there
is no end to the innumerable Vedic prescriptions for
executing Deity worship; so I shall explain this topic to
you briefly, one step at a time.
Text
7
One should
properly be of worship by choosing for one of the three kinds
of processes to sacrifice: to the three of the Veda, the
explanatory literatures [tantras
like the pañcarâtra]
and a combination of them.
One
should carefully worship Me by selecting one of the three
methods by which I receive sacrifice - Vedic, tantric or
mixed.
Text
8
Please hear
with faith in what way a person, who to the for him relevant
sacred precepts [*]
achieved the status of a second birth, with devotion should be
of worship for Me.
Now
please listen faithfully as I explain exactly how a person
who has achieved twice-born status through the relevant
Vedic prescriptions should worship Me with devotion.
Text
9
With the
necessary material must he, connected in bhakti,
free from ulterior motives worship Me, his worshipable guru, in
an image, an altar, a fire, the sun, the water or in the
twiceborn heart itself [**].
A
twice-born person should worship Me, his worshipable Lord,
without duplicity, offering appropriate paraphernalia in
loving devotion to My Deity form or to a form of Me
appearing upon the ground, in fire, in the sun, in water or
within the worshiper's own heart.
Text
10
To the two
kinds of purification one should first should bathe and brush
one's teeth and secondly bathe in mantras with the application
of clay and such [see tilaka,
kavaca
and 6.8:
3-10].
One
should first purify his body by cleansing his teeth and
bathing. Then one should perform a second cleansing by
smearing the body with earth and chanting both Vedic and
tantric mantras.
Text
11
Of ceremonial
respect and such at the three junctures of the day performing
duties as recommended by the Vedas [see also
11.14:
35],
should he who is perfectly fixed in his determination by these
activities perform My ritual worship [pûjâ]
that eradicates the karma.
Fixing
the mind on Me, one should worship Me by his various
prescribed duties, such as chanting the Gâyatrî
mantra at the three junctures of the day. Such performances
are enjoined by the Vedas and purify the worshiper of
reactions to fruitive activities.
Text
12
The figure is
remembered in eight different ways: in stone, wood, metal,
smearable substances [like clay], being painted, in
sand, in jewels and as an image kept in the
mind.
The
Deity form of the Lord is said to appear in eight varieties
- stone, wood, metal, earth, paint, sand, the mind or
jewels.
Text
13
The individual
form thus of two varieties - subject and not subject to change
- does, in a temple installed for permanent, o Uddhava, not
have to be called forth (âvâdana) or sent away
(udvâsa).
The
Deity form of the Lord, who is the shelter of all living
entities, can be established in two ways - temporarily or
permanently. But a permanent Deity, having been called, can
never be sent away, My dear Uddhava.
Text
14
Temporarily
installed is that optional, but assigned a fixed place [as
in sand] do these two occur; not of a smearable substance
[or of paint or wood] is it washed but in other cases
it is cleansed without water.
The
Deity that is temporarily established can optionally be
called forth and sent away, but these two rituals should
always be performed when the Deity is traced upon the
ground. Bathing should be done with water except if the
Deity is made of clay, paint or wood, in which cases a
thorough cleansing without water is enjoined.
Text
15
There is My
worship of the different forms with excellent paraphernalia and
the worship of a devotee free from material desire using
whatever that's readily available, as well as certainly the
worship in the heart by what was mentally
conceived.
One
should worship Me in My Deity forms by offering the most
excellent paraphernalia. But a devotee completely freed from
material desire may worship Me with whatever he is able to
obtain, and may even worship Me within his heart with mental
paraphernalia.
Text
16-18
Customary
bathing and decorating is most appreciated for an idol [in
the temple], Uddhava, for an altar is that an exercise of
respect in mantra's [tattva-vinyâsa] and for the
fire are oblations [of sesame, barley etc.] drenched in
ghee considered the best. For the sun is that a respectful
greeting with a meditation in âsanas [see
sûrya-namskar]
and for the water are offerings of water and such most dear. If
even but some water by My bhakta presented with faith is most
dear [to Me, see also B.G. 9:
26], then
how much more would foodstuffs, flowers, lamps, fragrances and
incense mean; but the many that is being offered by
non-devotees will not bring about My satisfaction [see also
B.G. 16].
In
worshiping the temple Deity, my dear Uddhava, bathing and
decoration are the most pleasing offerings. For the Deity
traced on sacred ground, the process of tattva-vinyâsa
is most dear. Oblations of sesame and barley soaked in ghee
are the preferred offering to the sacrificial fire, whereas
worship consisting of upasthâna and arghya is
preferred for the sun. One should worship Me in the form of
water by offering water itself. Actually, whatever is
offered to Me with faith by My devotee - even if only a
little water - is most dear to Me.Even very opulent
presentations do not satisfy Me if they are offered by
nondevotees. But I am pleased by any insignificant offering
made by My loving devotees, and I am certainly most pleased
when nice presentations of fragrant oil, incense, flowers
and palatable foods are offered with love.
Text
19
Being
clean, having collected the necessary items, with the blades
[of kus'a] of the seat that was arranged to the east,
and sitting down facing the east or the north, or else directly
facing the deity, should he then be of
worship
[compare 1.19:
17,
4.24:
10,
8.9:
14-15].
After
cleansing himself and collecting all the paraphernalia, the
worshiper should arrange his own seat with blades of kus'a
grass whose tips point eastward. He should then sit facing
either east or north, or else, if the Deity is fixed in one
place, he should sit directly facing the Deity.
Text
20
Chanting
mantra's and assigning them to his own and to My deity body
should he with his hand wipe clean [the altar and
deity] and properly prepare the sacred pot and vessel for
sprinkling the water.
The
devotee should sanctify the various parts of his body by
touching them and chanting mantras. He should do the same
for My Deity forms and then with his hands he should clean
the Deity of old flowers and the remnants of previous
offerings. He should properly prepare the sacred pot and the
vessel containing water for sprinkling.
Text
21
With the water
of the vessel sprinkling the area of the deity, the utensils
and his own body, should he next get ready three vessels with
water and arrange the necessary auspicious items available
[like flowers, grains, blades of grass, sesame seeds etc.,
see ***].
Then,
with the water of that prokshanîya vessel he should
sprinkle the area where the Deity is being worshiped, the
offerings that are going to be presented, and his own body.
Next he should decorate with various auspicious substances
three vessels filled with water.
Text
22
The three
vessels there with water for His feet [pâdya],
His hands [arghya], and His mouth
[âcamana] should the worshiper then purify with
the mantra's for [respectively] the heart
[hridayâya namah], the head [s'îrase
svâhâ] and the tuft of hair
[s'ikhâyai vashath] as also with the
gâyatrî.
The
worshiper should then purify those three vessels. He should
sanctify the vessel holding water for washing the Lord's
feet by chanting hridayâya namah, the vessel
containing water for arghya by chanting s'irase
svâhâ, and the vessel containing water for
washing the Lord's mouth by chanting s'ikhâyai
vashath. Also, the Gâyatrî mantra should be
chanted for all three vessels.
Text
23
He should
meditate on the Original Individuality of all Expansions, the
very subtle transcendental form of Mine that, within his body
fully purified by air and fire, is situated on the lotus of the
heart and is experienced in the end vibration of the
pranava
[see also 2.2].
The
worshiper should meditate upon My subtle form - which is
situated within the worshiper's own body, now purified by
air and fire - as the source of all living entities. This
form of the Lord is experienced by self-realized sages in
the last part of the vibration of the sacred syllable
om.
Text
24
By that from
his own realization conceived, meditated form perfectly of
worship within the body, that by His presence pervaded got
charged, should he carry out the worship in detail inviting Him
by [nyâsa] touching His limbs with mantras to
establish Him within the deity and all there to it
respected. [zie ook 2.2].
The
devotee conceives of the Supersoul, whose presence
surcharges the devotee's body, in the form corresponding to
his realization. Thus the devotee worships the Lord to his
full capacity and becomes fully absorbed in Him. By touching
the various limbs of the Deity and chanting appropriate
mantras, the devotee should invite the Supersoul to join the
Deity's form, and then the devotee should worship Me.
Text
25-26
One should for
the achievement of both [enjoyment and liberation], to
both the Vedas and the tantras,
together with the items of worship make the offerings of the
pâdya, arghya and âcamana water to Me, after having
pictured to oneself My seat with the nine s'aktis
and the dharma etc. [*4]
as an effulgent lotus with eight petals within its whorl
saffron filaments.
The
worshiper should first imagine My seat as decorated with the
personified deities of religion, knowledge, renunciation and
opulence and with My nine spiritual energies. He should
think of the Lord's sitting place as an eight-petaled lotus,
effulgent on account of the saffron filaments within its
whorl. Then, following the regulations of both the Vedas and
the tantras, he should offer Me water for washing the feet,
water for washing the mouth, arghya and other items of
worship. By this process he achieves both material enjoyment
and liberation.
Text
27
One after the
other he should respect the Lord His disc-weapon [the
sudars'ana cakra], His conch [the
pâñcajanya], His club [the kaumodaki]
and His arrows and bow [the s'arnga], His
[Balarâma items of the] plow and pestle [hala
and mushala], his gem [the kaustubha], His garland
[the vaijayantî] and His chest mark curl of white
hairs [the s'rîvatsa].
One
should worship, in order, the Lord's Sudars'ana disc, His
Pâñcajanya conchshell, His club, sword, bow,
arrows and plow, His mushala weapon, His Kaustubha gem, His
flower garland and the S'rîvatsa curl of hair on His
chest.
Text
28
Garuda, Nanda,
Sunanda, Pracanda and Canda; Mahâbala and Bala and indeed
Kumuda and Kumudekshana [are the names of His His carrier
bird and eight associates].
One
should worship the Lord's associates Nanda and Sunanda,
Garuda, Pracanda and Canda, Mahâbala and Bala, and
Kumuda and Kumudekshana.
Text
29
Durgâ,
Vinâyaka [Ganes'a], Vyâsa,
Vishvaksena [see 6.8:
29,
9.21:
25-26],
the spiritual masters, the godly, should each in their own
place facing the deity be worshiped with the sprinkling of
water and other rituals [*5].
With
offerings such as prokshana one should worship Durgâ,
Vinâyaka, Vyâsa, Vishvaksena, the spiritual
masters and the various demigods. All these personalities
should be in their proper places facing the Deity of the
Lord.
Text
30-31
Using
waters scented with sandalwood, us'îra root, camphor,
kunkuma and aguru should the worshiper every day bathe [the
deity] as far as his means permit; also he should chant
hymns, such as the one from the vedic chapter known as
svarna-gharma, the incantation called mahâpurusha, the
purusha-sûkta [from the Rig Veda] and songs from
the Sâma Veda such as the râjana and
such.
The
worshiper should bathe the Deity every day, as opulently as
his assets permit, using waters scented with sandalwood,
us'îra root, camphor, kunkuma and aguru. He should
also chant various Vedic hymns, such as the anuvâka
known as Svarna-gharma, the Mahâpurusha-vidyâ,
the Purusha-sûkta and various songs of the Sâma
Veda, such as the Râjana and the Rohinya.
Text
32
With clothing,
a sacred thread, ornaments, marks of tilaka, garlands and
fragrant oils should My devotee with love decorate Me as is
enjoined.
My
devotee should then lovingly decorate Me with clothing, a
brâhmana thread, various ornaments, marks of tilaka
and garlands, and he should anoint My body with fragrant
oils, all in the prescribed manner.
Text
33
Pâdya and
âcamana water, fragrances and flowers, whole grains,
incense, lamps and such items should by the worshiper be
presented to Me with faith.
The
worshiper should faithfully present Me with water for
washing My feet and mouth, fragrant oils, flowers and
unbroken grains, along with incense, lamps and other
offerings.
Text
34
To
one's means should one arrange for offerings of foodstuffs like
candy, sweet rice, ghee rice flour cake
[s'ashkulî], sweet cakes
[âpûpa], sweet rice flour dumplings with
coconut [modaka], spicy sweet wheat cake of ghee and
milk [samyâva], yogurt and vegetable
soups.
Within
his means, the devotee should arrange to offer Me sugar
candy, sweet rice, ghee, s'ashkulî [rice-flour
cakes], âpûpa [various sweet cakes],
modaka [steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with sweet
coconut and sugar], samyâva [wheat cakes made
with ghee and milk and covered with sugar and spices],
yogurt, vegetable soups and other palatable foods.
Text
35
Massaging with
ointment, cleaning the teeth using a mirror, bathing, food to
be chewed and not to be chewed, singing and dancing one should
have on special days or else every day.
On
special occasions, and daily if possible, the Deity should
be massaged with ointment, shown a mirror, offered a
eucalyptus stick for brushing His teeth, bathed with the
five kinds of nectar, offered all kinds of opulent foods,
and entertained with singing and dancing.
Text
36
In a
sacrificial area set up as prescribed should one, using a
girdle, a fire pit and an elevation of sacrifice, by hand build
and bring to a blaze a fire equally piled up.
In
an arena constructed according to scriptural injunctions,
the devotee should perform a fire sacrifice, utilizing the
sacred belt, the sacrificial pit and the altar mound. When
igniting the sacrificial fire, the devotee should bring it
to a blaze with wood piled up by his own hands.
Text
37
Spreading
[kus'a grass, mats] and then sprinkling and
ceremonially [anvâdhâna] placing wood in
the fire according the rules should he, having arranged for the
âcamana water, sprinkling the items to offer, meditate on
Me as residing in the fire.
After
spreading kus'a grass on the ground and sprinkling it with
water, one should perform the anvâdhâna ritual
according to the prescribed rules. Then one should arrange
the items to be offered as oblations and should sanctify
them with water from the sprinkling vessel. The worshiper
should next meditate upon Me within the fire.
Text
38-41
Meditating in
worship of Him as being brilliant with a color of molten gold,
His conch, disc, club and lotus, His four arms and tranquility;
His garment with the color of the filaments of a lotus, shining
helmet, bracelets, belt, the ornaments on His arms, the
s'rîvatsa on His chest, the effulgent kaustubha and a
flower garland; throwing pieces of wood soaked in ghee into the
fire and in the course of the arghya ritual making the two
offerings of sprinkling ghee [two ways called
ârgâharas] and [two different]
oblations of ghee [called âjyabhâgas],
should the intelligent one offer into the fire with root
mantras and the [sixteen lines of the]
purusha-sûkta hymn the oblations to Yamarâja and
the other demigods called svisthi-krit
in due order using a
mantra for each [see also 11.14:
36-42,
11.19: 20-24,
11.21:
15].
The
intelligent devotee should meditate upon that form of the
Lord whose color is like molten gold, whose four arms are
resplendent with the conchshell, disc, club and lotus
flower, and who is always peaceful and dressed in a garment
colored like the filaments within a lotus flower. His
helmet, bracelets, belt and fine arm ornaments shine
brilliantly. The symbol of S'rîvatsa is on His chest,
along with the glowing Kaustubha gem and a garland of forest
flowers. The devotee should then worship that Lord by taking
pieces of firewood soaked in the sacrificial ghee and
throwing them into the fire. He should perform the ritual of
âghâra, presenting into the fire the various
items of oblation drenched in ghee. He should then offer to
sixteen demigods, beginning with Yamarâja, the
oblation called svisthi-krit, reciting the basic mantras of
each deity and the sixteen-line Purusha-sûkta hymn.
Pouring one oblation after each line of the
Purusha-sûkta, he should utter the particular mantra
naming each deity.
Text
42
Thus having
been of worship next offering obeisances unto His associates,
should he present offerings
chanting
the basic mantra for the Deity in question, remembering the
Absolute Truth as being the Original Self of
Nârâyana.
Having
thus worshiped the Lord in the sacrificial fire, the devotee
should offer his obeisances to the Lord's personal
associates by bowing down and should then present offerings
to them. He should then chant quietly the mûla-mantra
of the Deity of the Lord, remembering the Absolute Truth as
the Supreme Personality, Nârâyana.
Text
43
Offering the
âcamana water and giving the remnants of the food to
Vishvaksena, should one then present prepared betel nut and
fragrant water for the mouth [see also 11.3:
48-53,
11.25:
28].
Once
again he should offer the Deity water for washing His mouth,
and he should give the remnants of the Lord's food to
Vishvaksena. Then he should present the Deity with fragrant
perfume for the mouth and prepared betel nut.
Text
44
He should at
times [see kâla,
11.21:
9] become
absorbed in the celebration, listening himself and making
others listen to My stories, acting out actively the
transcendental activities along with loud singing and dancing
[see also e.g. 11.5:
36-37,
11.14:
23-24].
Singing
along with others, chanting loudly and dancing, acting out
My transcendental pastimes, and hearing and telling stories
about Me, the devotee should for some time absorb himself in
such festivity.
Text
45
With prayers
from the purânas, with greater or lesser prayers from
other ancient scriptures and prayers written by others [see
bhajans],
should one prostrating pay homage and say 'O Lord, please show
your mercy' and so also pray from direct experience [and
other common sources].
The
devotee should offer homage to the Lord with all kinds of
hymns and prayers, both from the Purânas and from
other ancient scriptures, and also from ordinary traditions.
Praying, 'O Lord, please be merciful to me! 'he should fall
down flat like a rod to offer his obeisances.
Text
46
Placing one's
head at My feet with one's palms brought together [one may
pray like:] 'O Lord, please protect this one of surrender
afraid of the mouth of death in this material ocean'
[compare B.G. 11:
19].
Placing
his head at the feet of the Deity, he should then stand with
folded hands before the Lord and pray, 'O my Lord, please
protect me, who am surrendered unto You. I am most fearful
of this ocean of material existence, standing as I am in the
mouth of death.'
Text
47
Thus praying
should the remnants granted by Me be put to one's head and in
case the deity respectfully is to be bidden farewell, should
this praying be done once more, so that the light [of the
deity] is placed within the light [of one's heart
*6].
Praying
in this way, the devotee should respectfully place upon his
head the remnants I offer to him. And if the particular
Deity is meant to be sent away at the end of the worship,
then this should be performed, the devotee once again
placing the light of the Deity's presence inside the light
of the lotus within his own heart.
Text
48
Whenever one
develops faith in Me in whatever deity form or other
manifestations should one therein accordingly be of respect
since I, the Original Soul of All, am situated within as well
all living beings as in oneself [see also B.G.
6:
31 and
*7].
Whenever
one develops faith in Me - in My form as the Deity or in
other bona fide manifestations - one should worship Me in
that form. I certainly exist both within all created beings
and also separately in My original form, since I am the
Supreme Soul of all.
Text
49
This way by the
processes of acting in yoga will a person worshiping both in
this life and the next to the Veda and other specialized texts,
from Me achieve the desired perfection.
By
worshiping Me through the various methods prescribed in the
Vedas and tantras, one will gain from Me his desired
perfection in both this life and the next.
Text
50
To properly
establish My deity should he build a strong temple, along with
beautiful flower gardens reserved [to provide flowers]
for daily puja, festivals and yearly occasions.
The
devotee should more fully establish My Deity by solidly
constructing a temple, along with beautiful gardens. These
gardens should be set aside to provide flowers for the
regular daily worship, special Deity processions and holiday
observances.
Text
51
He who donates
land, shops, cities and villages in order to assure the
continuance of the daily worship and the special occasions,
will achieve an opulence equal to Mine.
One
who offers the Deity gifts of land, markets, cities and
villages so that the regular daily worship and special
festivals of the Deity may go on continually will achieve
opulence equal to My own.
Text
52
Installing the
deity brings sovereignty over the entire earth, building a
temple gives rulership over the three worlds and
performing
puja and other such services delivers one the realm of
Brahmâ; with all three will one attain a status equal to
Mine.
By
installing the Deity of the Lord one becomes king of the
entire earth, by building a temple for the Lord one becomes
ruler of the three worlds, by worshiping and serving the
Deity one goes to the planet of Lord Brahmâ, and by
performing all three of these activities one achieves a
transcendental form like My own.
Text
53
He
who free from ulterior motives engages in bhakti-yoga achieves
by bhakti-yoga; he who thus is of worship receives Me
alone [see
also 5.5:
14,
11.12:
24 and B.G.
6:
44].
But
one who simply engages in devotional service with no
consideration of fruitive results attains Me. Thus whoever
worships Me according to the process I have described will
ultimately attain pure devotional service unto Me.
Text
54
He
who from the godly and the learned takes away the livelihood he
gave himself or was given by others, is a stool-eating worm to
take birth for a hundred million years
[compare
10.64:
39].
Anyone
who steals the property of the demigods or the
brâhmanas, whether originally given to them by himself
or someone else, must live as a worm in stool for one
hundred million years.
Text
55
The
perpetrator [of such theft] and his accomplice as also
the prompter and the one approving all share the karmic
reaction in the next life in which they
according their
commitment to that will reap the results.
Not
only the performer of the theft but also anyone who assists
him, instigates the crime, or simply approves of it must
also share the reaction in the next life. According to their
degree of participation, they each must suffer a
proportionate consequence.
*:
The paramparâ says to this that members of the three
higher classes of society all achieve the twice-born status by
initiation into the Gâyatrî
mantra.
To the tradition may brâhmin boys after due preparation
be initiated at age of eight, kshatriya boys when they're
eleven and vais'ya boys when they're twelve.
**
The materialist devotee - almost any person thus - is of
devotion with the help the image of God in the form of a
timetable, the altar in the form of the desk in his office, the
fire in the stove on which one regularly has one's meals
cooked, the sun with the date and the clock one is manipulating
pragmatically, the water with the daily shower one takes and
the dishes one washes, and the twiceborn heart in his daily
contemplations to the wisdom one acquired as an adult from
personal experience and one's teachers. Thus is everyone, more
or less engaged in devotional service to the practices of
devotion mentioned here, be it at an unconscious materialist
and rather impersonal level (see prâkrita).
***:
'S'rîla S'rîdhara Svâmî gives
references from Vedic literature stating that the water meant
for bathing the feet should be combined with millet seeds,
dûrvâ grass mixed in water, vishnukrânta
flowers and other items. The water used for arghya should
include the following eight items - fragrant oil, flowers,
unbroken barleycorns, husked barleycorns, the tips of kus'a
grass, sesame seeds, mustard seeds and dûrvâ grass.
The water for sipping should include jasmine flowers, ground
cloves and kakkola berries' (p.p. 11.27:
21).
*4:
The seat of dharma is here imagined as consisting of the
righteousness, wisdom, detachment and supremacy as its legs,
its opposites as the sides and the three gunas as the three
planks of the base.
*5:
According to S'rîla Jîva Gosvâmî are
the personalities mentioned here eternally liberated associates
of the Lord who reside in the spiritual sky, beyond the
material manifestation. Not so much the Ganes'a that in this
world, as the son of Lord S'iva, is famous for awarding
financial success, and the goddess Durgâ, the wife of
Lord S'iva, who is famous as the external, illusory potency of
the Supreme Lord. ' (p.p. 11.27:
29).
*6
Devotees accepting flowers, food or fire from the deity
customarily take the offering first to their head as a token of
respect.
*7
The paramparâ adds here: 'By regulated, faithful worship
one gradually understands that the Deity is completely
nondifferent from the Supreme Lord Himself. At that stage, on
the strength of Deity worship, one rises to the second-class
platform of devotional service. At this more developed stage
one desires to make friendship with other devotees of the Lord,
and as one becomes solidly established in the community of
Vaishnavas, one completely gives up material life and gradually
becomes perfect in Krishna consciousness' (p.p.
11.27:
48).
