Worship of Supreme Reality

WORSHIP OF THE SUPREME REALITY

.  In the Shrimad Bhagavad Geetha, ShriKrishna, the celebrated Avataar of  Shriman Narayana, declares in Chapter 15/ Shloka 18, that He is indeed the “Purushothama”or the “Paramaatmaa”- the “Supreme Reality”

यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तम: |
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथित: पुरुषोत्तम: || 18||

yasmāt kṣharam atīto ’ham akṣharād api chottamaḥ
ato ’smi loke vede cha prathitaḥ puruṣhottamaḥ

“ As I transcend the Perishable and even the Imperishable, therefore am I known in the Vedas & in this world as “Purushothama”

Humans, in many situations / stages in life feel an innate need to pray & worship God. ShriKrishna in Shrimad Bhagavad Geetha categorises them into 4 main groups.

 – In Chapter 7 on “Jnana Vijnana Yogam” Shloka 16, He says,

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जना: सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन |
आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ || 16||

chatur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ sukṛitino ’rjuna
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī cha bharatarṣhabha

ShriKrishna tells Arjuna of the 4 types of virtuous men who worship him –

Aarthi (Persons in distress), Jignaasu (Persons seeking real knowledge),

Arthaarthi (Persons seeking wealth), and, Jnaani (Persons of wisdom & discrimination)

Further in the same Chapter in Shlokas 21,22 & 23, ShriKrishna declares that:

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्त: श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति |
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् || 21||

yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ śhraddhayārchitum ichchhati
tasya tasyāchalāṁ śhraddhāṁ tām eva vidadhāmyaham

“ In whatever form the devotee with faith wants to worship Me, to fulfil their desires, I strongly sustain their Faith in that Deity” The devotee is hence free, to worship Him, in any  Archa form of Gods or Devas with Faith, and following any vedic or agama rituals, or in any form of personal God! The Vedas & Agamas also prescribe different rituals & “yagna”s to please different Gods and obtain various powers & benefits.

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते |
लभते च तत: कामान्मयैव विहितान्हि तान् || 22||

sa tayā śhraddhayā yuktas tasyārādhanam īhate
labhate cha tataḥ kāmān mayaiva vihitān hi tān

“The faithful Devotee worships Deities of his chosen form & obtains all his desires fulfilled, through them, though they are actually ordained by Me”  So all the fruits of worship of other Gods like Shiva, Parvathi, Hanuman, Ganesha, Muruga, Surya etc. are ultimately granted by ShriKrishna only!

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् |
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि || 23||

antavat tu phalaṁ teṣhāṁ tad bhavatyalpa-medhasām
devān deva-yajo yānti mad-bhaktā yānti mām api

“The fruits accrues to these persons are however finite, and they reach their Gods, but My ardent devotee comes to Me”.  The intense Bhakthas of The Supreme Reality, ShriKrishna, worship Him, seeking “mukthi” or Liberation from repeated birth & death -  Jnaanis  like  the Azhwars, Acharyas & Mahatmas like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Saint Thyagaraja, Narayana Bhattathri etc -  reach Him ultimately.

Most of His worshippers, fall in the first 3 categories, and generally long for success in their worldly endeavours only, and worship their appropriate chosen celestial Gods, which brings them success quickly & their wishes are also easily fulfilled by these Gods, on this Earth. (Refer Chapter 4 “Jnana karma sanyaasa yogam” Shloka12, below).

काङ् क्षन्त: कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवता: |
क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा || 12||

kāṅkṣhantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣhipraṁ hi mānuṣhe loke siddhir bhavati karmajā

 

. The Supreme Reality (as per Chapter 15 of Shrimad Bhagavad Geetha) willed to manifest a part of Himself as the World, by permeating the whole elements of His exquisite creation. He formed His own manifestations as the Controllers of the Functions of Creation, Sustenance & Annihilation, of the Colossal Universe, as Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva. Each of them derives their Energy from their Consorts - Saraswathi, Lakshmi & Parvathi, respectively – Saraswathi for Knowledge, to help in creation, Lakshmi, for Wealth, to sustain the world & Parvathi for Shakthi, the Power to destroy evil.

There are other Ascetics to worship, who come to the earth as God’s chosen Messengers like - Shri Raghavendraswami, Shirdi SaiBaba, SriRamana Maharishi, Kanchi Paramacharya - whose Divine Powers persist long after their physical demise, and fulfil the dharmic desires of their devotees.

Hence it is said - If you seek “Jnanam” (Wisdom) you worship Lord Shiva or Sankara,

But, if you really desire “Mukthi” or Liberation from Human existence, to reach the

Lord’s Abode, you have to seek it from Shriman Narayana or ShriKrishna only!

                     “ShriKrishna of Guruvayur”

 

Shrimad Bhagavad Geetha: Chapter 8 “Akshara Brahma Yogam” Shloka 12

मामुपेत्य पुनर्जन्म दु:खालयमशाश्वतम् |
नाप्नुवन्ति महात्मान: संसिद्धिं परमां गता: || 15||

mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśhāśhvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ sansiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

Having attained Me, the great souls are no more subject to rebirth in this world, which is transient and full of misery, because they have attained the highest perfection.

 

So Friends, You have abundant choice of worship at different stages of Life – as a student, seek knowledge from  Saraswathi, in the Youth worship Lakshmi for good Career , Wealth & Prosperity, always worship Parvathi / Ganesha/ Hanuman for success in all endeavours and to win over obstacles, & Lord  Shiva to bestow “Jnanam”.

 

If you aspire for “Mukthi” only in the sunset of your life, it would be difficult to become the ardent devotee of ShriKrishna. So whatever Gods you worship over your life, and Whatever are your worldly activities, always attempt to keep in the back of your mind, the enduring Love of the Cowherd of Gokula & the divine music from His flute. Such a “practice of perceiving the presence of God always” is really the basis of a divine life!

Let ShriKrishna become an ever present Supreme Witness of your activities in life!

 “Man-manaa-bhava”  - “Fill your mind with Me”- says  ShriKrishna in His Geetha, Chapter 18/ Shloka 65:

 

मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु |
मामेवैष्यसि सत्यं ते प्रतिजाने प्रियोऽसि मे || 65||

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣhyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo ‘si me

“Always think of me, be devoted to me, worship me, and offer obeisance to me. Doing so, you will certainly come to me. This is my solemn promise to you, for you are very dear to me”.

 

ShriKrishna, the Supreme Reality, shows the way for us, the mortals, to worship Him & He pledges His unconditional love of His devotees, to help them reach the ultimate goal of all human life!

Let us place our faith in Him, with steadfast devotion!