Mandalam Musings Day 39- A Temple is a Perennial Source of Divine energy-

Mandalam Musings Day 39-

A Temple is a Perennial Source of Divine energy-

Ancient wisdom has it that there are five major aspects of a Hindu Temple, enabling it as a perennial source of divine energy from which a devotee can get inspired to lead a virtuous life and more.  The concept of worship in a temple is that a Vigraham (idol) maintains the source of energy when the following five conditions are maintained regularly, viz. the Chief priest’s (Tantri’s) invocation and dedication, strict adherence to the worship rituals, the study of the Vedas, celebration of festivals and feeding the needy- humans and animals alike. These five are said to contribute, maintain, and retain the temple’s divine energy.  This is the basis by which the system of the idol (deity) worship has been flourishing as an unbroken tradition for the last several centuries in India.

In Hindu philosophy, the Sanathana Dharma, it is well known that God almighty as an all-encompassing, omniscient, omnipotent, entity is not affected by any changes to the rituals conducted by mortal humans. It is also understood that the deterioration in the quality of rituals performed in the temple does not affect the god/goddess represented in the deity worshipped there, but the presence and intensity of the divine energy felt by the devotees could be affected.

Ancient temples are established centuries ago based on a socioeconomic covenant, agreed upon (formally or informally) by a group of devotees led by a head priest (Thantri) and sponsored by the King. In establishing a temple, the society undertook a vow that the divine energy represented by the deity would be maintained through proper conduct of the deity worship and they will ensure that there would be no deterioration to the prescribed rituals. The significance of this agreement is that the same devotees are on both sides. It is like having an ISO certification– they created the rules and they themselves took a wow to abide by them, and the deity had no role in establishing it. Deities are sculptural representation in an idol (vigraham) of a great ideal the society want to establish.  If the society makes deteriorating changes to the conceptual framework associated with the temple’s Vigraham, the effects of such alterations are also expected to be borne by them.

Remember the comparison of a fish growing in a fish tank vs. the fish living in the ocean. The fish tank and the water in it must be taken care of and maintained with regular attention for keeping the fish alive and well. Obviously, no one needs to worry about the oceanic water for the sake of an ocean fish’s welfare, nor anyone is capable to make any meaningful changes.

There are Dharma Sastha temples where the Vigrahas are consecrated in four different gestures, each of them representing the four stages of life viz., Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, and Sanyasa. Only in the world-famous Swamy Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala, the Lord is in the Sanyasa gesture as an ascetic, a yogi with strict adherence to the vow of celibacy and yogic practices. For centuries, Sabarimala temple has been following the prescribed rituals without fail and throngs of people take up the pilgrimage to part take in the spiritual energy that is evident to anyone visiting the Sannidhanam.