I have a friend here in Sacramento who says that. It is not Krishna's House. Let someone say, can I come and do kirtan in your house, he will immediately say, no, it will disturb my space. Ha ha!
In my humble opinion, none of us are maha bhagawatas - we are merely sadhakas trying to put Krsna in the centre of our lives in everything we do. Therefore, if we buy a new house or even our existing house, we would like to make it Krsna's Home. How to do that? By mentally offering that house to Krsna and telling Him, this is a house for You. We are tenants in your house. We are staying here to serve you. That way, we become servants in our own house. And why would we do taht? So that whatever activity we do towards setting up and maintaining the house becomes a Krsna Conscious activity.
For example - cleaning the house becomes equivalent to cleaning the temple. Every house needs to be cleaned - that activity will be undertaken anyways. But to think of that house as Krsna's house and then cleaning it thinking I am keeping Krsna's house clean, the same activity of cleaning the house becomes a purifying devotional service. I have seen devotees hankering to render service in Mayapur. But I have not seen anyone hankering to clean their own house. That way, the act of cleaning the house becomes a Krsna Conscious activity from a chore.
Once you start doing this prabhu, gradually you will realise that a lot of things are falling in place. You will yourself not put on TV, mundane music, unwanted material guests, cooking in the kitchen will be only for Krsna, offered and only then everyone will eat..... isnt that a temple then? Gradually, you will move towards inviting devotees home for kirtan and congregational meetings.... wouldnt that be an ideal situation. The best part is - all this will happen so nicely and gradually taht you will realise it only much later how much things have changed by this one act.
This way, gradually, we clean our consiousness enough for Krsna to accept us as His devotees and achieve the goal of life.
My humble obeisances to all devotees, guru and gauranga..
Temple is a place where Devathas(gods and goddesses) are invoked. In Sanskrit this invocation process is called “Parthista”. During the prathista gods and goddesses are invited to the place where the temple has been built and the specific gods and goddesses are asked to be present in the Vigrahas (idols) that are made of black stone or marble stone. All this process of inviting gods and goddesses to be in the Vigrahas is done with the Veda Mantras, sacred rituals, and Homas(fire sacrifice/prayer). It is the power of the Veda Mantras recited and chanted by learned priests that transform mere stone forms into Devathas.
Many Hindus worship and pray at home. It is usual practice to have small prayer room in any Hindu home. Mostly devathas( gods and goddesses) that are in ones’ prayer room at home are pictures of devathas framed. Also, there are small idols in gold, silvers, brass, panchalohas(made of five metals) in different sizes. Very few people will have the vigrahas that were given pranaprathista by the Acharyas (saints). Most of the people buy the virginals that are sold in markets and directly worshipped at home. Without the pranprathista vigrahas are equivalent to decorative dolls.
When we go to a temple we will see many other devotees who come to worship and pray. Because of devathas’ presence there is already enormous amount of energy that doesn’t exist at home. Every person carries some amount of energy. When enormous energy of devathas and little energy of humans combine at one confined place, the amount of energy that is totaled becomes huge. In addition to this, chanting of Veda Mantras, recitation of sthothras, singing of songs and bhajans, performances of traditional dances, etc. add extra energy to the place. Also, the prasadam cooked in the temple is done cleanly with devotion, only certain types of food is cooked and offered to devathas, and everything is kept clean. Devotees receive Theertham(sacred water) which is nothing but the water that devathas have been bathed. Also, their heads are touched with a silver hat(Shatari, which is nothing but the Holy feet of God). These two blessings take away the sins and purify devotees forever. One aspect that underpins all these activities is to create a sacred environment in the temple, because devathas are there all the time.
At home we are at more liberty. There are rarely any scope of Vedamantras being recited by Veda pandits, many devotees come together to worship and pray, food cooked with sanctity, place is kept clean, etc. Many materialistic activities that are non-sacred take place at home. Watching TV, eating meat, talking loud, using bad language, walking with shoes all over the house, etc. are just some of them. All these humanly activities will not help in creating the energy that we have in a temple.
The above two scenarios indicate the difference between the devathas at temple and devathas at home. So, when we worship at temple we are worshipping not idols, but worshipping devathas. Since the devathas at temple were invoked with Veda Manthras, what one sees in a temple is not a stone idol but actual devathas. On the other hand, what many people at home have are pictures and idols of devathas. The energy that we get in contact with at the temple is far superior to what we get at home.
When we are in the company of devotees and good people, we will have no attachment to this world. When there is no attachment to this materialistic world, our mind will be calm and peaceful. When our mind is calm and peaceful we will be liberated from this world.
"I think it best if everyone centers his attention on the Deity in the temple and in that way the temple worship will pull on nicely. Of course, if the temple is unapproachable, or too far... that is different thing, but if the temple is easily accessible then this is the best program."
When we ave deities in the house, they are our guests and adjust to our timings for bhoga and arati and other seva. In the temple, it is the house of the lord. There the service to the lord, the bhoga, the aratis and other services are as per the schedule of the lord. Typically, the standard of worship is a lot higher in a temple than in the house. In a temple, the deities are served by Brahman initiated devotees, the purity of taking bath, wearing unstiched cloth and then entering the altar is maintained. Is it possible to do so in the house?
When we visit temple, we are guests of the lord. Therefore, if we ask for anything, that is granted sooner. Srila Prabhupada has said that temples are embassies of the spiritual world in this world.
Another very important reason, other devotees also come to the temple. Therefore, by visiting temple, we get association of other devotees. Some of them are senior advanced devotees, so we benefit by their association. There are classes on Gita and Srimad Bhagawatam at regular intervals, so we take advantage of those also.
Ancient temples, esp in South India, were designed in such a manner that they were vaastu perfect. Therefore, by merely visiting a temple everyday and attending aratis, the devotees would be free from mental as well as physical diseases.
There is a natural human tendency for change and to visit places. By visiting temples, that instinct is taken care of and at the same time, we continue to keep Krsna in the centre of our lives.
These are reasons enough for me to visit a temple.
Replies
Association of saintly persons or devotees
This kind of thinking is totally wrong.
I have a friend here in Sacramento who says that. It is not Krishna's House. Let someone say, can I come and do kirtan in your house, he will immediately say, no, it will disturb my space. Ha ha!
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
In my humble opinion, none of us are maha bhagawatas - we are merely sadhakas trying to put Krsna in the centre of our lives in everything we do. Therefore, if we buy a new house or even our existing house, we would like to make it Krsna's Home. How to do that? By mentally offering that house to Krsna and telling Him, this is a house for You. We are tenants in your house. We are staying here to serve you. That way, we become servants in our own house. And why would we do taht? So that whatever activity we do towards setting up and maintaining the house becomes a Krsna Conscious activity.
For example - cleaning the house becomes equivalent to cleaning the temple. Every house needs to be cleaned - that activity will be undertaken anyways. But to think of that house as Krsna's house and then cleaning it thinking I am keeping Krsna's house clean, the same activity of cleaning the house becomes a purifying devotional service. I have seen devotees hankering to render service in Mayapur. But I have not seen anyone hankering to clean their own house. That way, the act of cleaning the house becomes a Krsna Conscious activity from a chore.
Once you start doing this prabhu, gradually you will realise that a lot of things are falling in place. You will yourself not put on TV, mundane music, unwanted material guests, cooking in the kitchen will be only for Krsna, offered and only then everyone will eat..... isnt that a temple then? Gradually, you will move towards inviting devotees home for kirtan and congregational meetings.... wouldnt that be an ideal situation. The best part is - all this will happen so nicely and gradually taht you will realise it only much later how much things have changed by this one act.
This way, gradually, we clean our consiousness enough for Krsna to accept us as His devotees and achieve the goal of life.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
Hare Krsna mataji,
My humble obeisances to all devotees, guru and gauranga..
Temple is a place where Devathas(gods and goddesses) are invoked. In Sanskrit this invocation process is called “Parthista”. During the prathista gods and goddesses are invited to the place where the temple has been built and the specific gods and goddesses are asked to be present in the Vigrahas (idols) that are made of black stone or marble stone. All this process of inviting gods and goddesses to be in the Vigrahas is done with the Veda Mantras, sacred rituals, and Homas(fire sacrifice/prayer). It is the power of the Veda Mantras recited and chanted by learned priests that transform mere stone forms into Devathas.
Many Hindus worship and pray at home. It is usual practice to have small prayer room in any Hindu home. Mostly devathas( gods and goddesses) that are in ones’ prayer room at home are pictures of devathas framed. Also, there are small idols in gold, silvers, brass, panchalohas(made of five metals) in different sizes. Very few people will have the vigrahas that were given pranaprathista by the Acharyas (saints). Most of the people buy the virginals that are sold in markets and directly worshipped at home. Without the pranprathista vigrahas are equivalent to decorative dolls.
When we go to a temple we will see many other devotees who come to worship and pray. Because of devathas’ presence there is already enormous amount of energy that doesn’t exist at home. Every person carries some amount of energy. When enormous energy of devathas and little energy of humans combine at one confined place, the amount of energy that is totaled becomes huge. In addition to this, chanting of Veda Mantras, recitation of sthothras, singing of songs and bhajans, performances of traditional dances, etc. add extra energy to the place. Also, the prasadam cooked in the temple is done cleanly with devotion, only certain types of food is cooked and offered to devathas, and everything is kept clean. Devotees receive Theertham(sacred water) which is nothing but the water that devathas have been bathed. Also, their heads are touched with a silver hat(Shatari, which is nothing but the Holy feet of God). These two blessings take away the sins and purify devotees forever. One aspect that underpins all these activities is to create a sacred environment in the temple, because devathas are there all the time.
At home we are at more liberty. There are rarely any scope of Vedamantras being recited by Veda pandits, many devotees come together to worship and pray, food cooked with sanctity, place is kept clean, etc. Many materialistic activities that are non-sacred take place at home. Watching TV, eating meat, talking loud, using bad language, walking with shoes all over the house, etc. are just some of them. All these humanly activities will not help in creating the energy that we have in a temple.
The above two scenarios indicate the difference between the devathas at temple and devathas at home. So, when we worship at temple we are worshipping not idols, but worshipping devathas. Since the devathas at temple were invoked with Veda Manthras, what one sees in a temple is not a stone idol but actual devathas. On the other hand, what many people at home have are pictures and idols of devathas. The energy that we get in contact with at the temple is far superior to what we get at home.
When we are in the company of devotees and good people, we will have no attachment to this world. When there is no attachment to this materialistic world, our mind will be calm and peaceful. When our mind is calm and peaceful we will be liberated from this world.
Hope this little info helped you mataji.
Hare Krsna.
"I think it best if everyone centers his attention on the Deity in the temple and in that way the temple worship will pull on nicely. Of course, if the temple is unapproachable, or too far... that is different thing, but if the temple is easily accessible then this is the best program."
Srila Prabhupada Letter, May 30, 1969
Hare Krsna Mataji,
PAMHO.
When we ave deities in the house, they are our guests and adjust to our timings for bhoga and arati and other seva. In the temple, it is the house of the lord. There the service to the lord, the bhoga, the aratis and other services are as per the schedule of the lord. Typically, the standard of worship is a lot higher in a temple than in the house. In a temple, the deities are served by Brahman initiated devotees, the purity of taking bath, wearing unstiched cloth and then entering the altar is maintained. Is it possible to do so in the house?
When we visit temple, we are guests of the lord. Therefore, if we ask for anything, that is granted sooner. Srila Prabhupada has said that temples are embassies of the spiritual world in this world.
Another very important reason, other devotees also come to the temple. Therefore, by visiting temple, we get association of other devotees. Some of them are senior advanced devotees, so we benefit by their association. There are classes on Gita and Srimad Bhagawatam at regular intervals, so we take advantage of those also.
Ancient temples, esp in South India, were designed in such a manner that they were vaastu perfect. Therefore, by merely visiting a temple everyday and attending aratis, the devotees would be free from mental as well as physical diseases.
There is a natural human tendency for change and to visit places. By visiting temples, that instinct is taken care of and at the same time, we continue to keep Krsna in the centre of our lives.
These are reasons enough for me to visit a temple.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi