Hindu Gods & Goddesses
Page 23
APPENDIX THREE
Deity Worship From Thousands of Years Ago
When it comes to understanding the Vedic gods and goddesses, and to the topic of worshiping deities, some question that it was not really a Vedic custom, but was only a recent invention. Thus, they try to push the idea that it is not an authorized Vedic process.
However, if we look into this we can see that there certainly are various references in assorted Vedic texts that do recommend it. Furthermore, there are several famous temples in holy places of India where it is known that the deities were installed or established by Vajranabha, Lord Krishna's great-grandson as far back as nearly 3000 BCE. A few of these can be described as follows:
For example, in the land near Mathura, several kilometers farther south of Gokul is the Dauji temple. Dauji is the deity of Lord Balarama that was one such deity originally installed 5,000 years ago by King Vajranabha, Krishna's great-grandson. In fact, he established a number of other Krishna deities in the area. The present temple was built 200 years ago by Shyama Das of Delhi. Many people attend this temple to get darshan of the single deity of Lord Balarama that stands 6 feet tall. From the other side of the temple you can see the deity of Revati, Lord Balarama's wife. Nearby is the Balabhadra Kund or Kshira (milk) Sagara (sea) where the deity of Lord Balarama had been hidden during the Moghul invasion. Near this kund is a temple to Harideva and in the bazaar is another temple to Banke Bihari.
In Vrindavan is the Radha-Govindaji temple that is another of the seven major temples of Vrindavan. It is across the road and a little farther down the street from the Rangaji temple. It was established by Rupa Gosvami where he discovered the Gopala deity. The beautiful temple is made out of red sandstone and was completed in 1590. The temple is now only two storeys tall but once reached up to seven storeys. The Muslim fanatic Aurangzeb, doing his dirty work once again, dismantled the upper five storeys of the temple due to his envy. While his men were destroying the temple, there was a loud thunderous noise that shook the ground. This put fear into the hearts of the men and they immediately stopped and ran away. Due to fear of the Moghuls, before they arrived the devotees moved the original deities to Jaipur where today many pilgrims go to see them. So, the Vrindavana temple now has pratibhuh deities, or representative expansions, of the original Radha- Govindaji that are worshiped. The original Govindaji deity is said to have been installed thousands of years ago by Vajranabha.
Also in Vrindavan, farther into the eastern part of town are many other temples; including the large and ornate Lala Babu Mandir with Radha, Krishna, and Lalita deities. Then at the corner where we turn off from Loi Bazaar to go toward the Banke Bihari Mandir, we find the Gopishwara Mahadeva Shiva temple with a Shiva linga, said to have been originally installed by Krishna's great-grandson, Vajranabha, and is the place where Lord Shiva did austerities in hopes of entering the rasa- lila dance as a gopi (cow-herd girl). In the morning devotees wash the linga with milk and other items, and then later the pujaris dress the linga in bright colored clothes.
A few miles from Barsana is Nandagram, another place where Krishna performed many childhood pastimes described in the Bhagavatam. On top of the hill is the main temple that has deities of Krishna, Balarama, Nanda Maharaja (Krishna's father), Mother Yashoda, Srimati Radharani, and two of Krishna's friends. There is also a Shiva lingam in a small shrine across from the temple called Nandisvara, said to have been installed by Vajranabha many hundreds of years ago. It is considered that this hill is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. From the top of the walls that surround the temple we can get good views of the area, and someone who is familiar with it can point out other nearby places connected with Krishna's pastimes that we may want to visit.
In the foothills of Girnar Hill is the Radha-Damodara temple with beautiful deities of Krishna's four-armed form. As Lakshmi- Narayana, the deities are formed of the typical black and brown stone, and are described in the Skanda Purana as being self-manifested over 1 2,000 years ago. Next to the main temple is another for Lord Balarama and Revati, His consort. The original temple at this site is said to have been built 4500 years ago by Vajranath, Lord Krishna's great-grandson. Not far away is a place where lived Vallabha, the 16th century Vaishnava acharya.
Another interesting story is in regard to Guruvayoor in south India, which has the deity of a four-armed standing Vishnu with a chakra in the right hand, conchshell in the left, and mace and lotus flower in the other two. Sri Krishna showed this form of His only twice during His appearance on earth: once to Arjuna just before the battle of Kurukshetra while speaking the Bhagavad-gita, and once to His parents, Vasudeva and Devaki, at the time of His birth. This deity is said to have been worshiped by Lord Krishna Himself at Dwaraka thousands of years ago. The legend is that when Krishna left this world, He gave the deity to His devotee Uddhava to look after it. He then ordered Brihaspati, the guru or spiritual teacher of the demigods, and Vayu, demigod of the wind, to take care of this Vishnu deity and to install it somewhere for the benefit of humanity. When they arrived at Dwaraka to get the deity, the city of Dwaraka had already sunk into the sea. After searching in the water, they found the deity and went south. Not knowing where to go, they sat down by the side of a lake and began to meditate. Soon, Shiva appeared and after some discussion they decided to start a new temple for the deity of Vishnu near the Rudratirtha Lake. Since that time 5,000 years ago, the place has been known as Guruvayoor (guru for Brihaspati and vayoor for Vayu).
Other examples could be given of the stories and legends of deities that are found in various temples throughout India, or holy places where temples have been established thousands of years ago. (My book Seeing Spiritual India goes into many of these.) But there are additional references we can use as well.
For example, even in the Puranas there are stories that include the importance of worshiping deities. In the Bhagavata Purana (4th Canto, 8th Chapter) there is the popular story of the great sage Narada Muni teaching Dhruva Maharaja the best way to become spiritual realized and explains the form of the Lord upon which to meditate and how to worship the deity of the Lord. The interesting thing here is that the Bhagavata Purana was composed by Srila Vyasadeva about 5,000 years ago, and the incident of Dhruva Maharaja is known to have taken place thousands of years before that. So, this gives some indication of how long deity worship has been going on. Also, in the 11th Canto, Chapter 27 of the Bhagavata Purana, Lord Krishna explains to Uddhava the details of deity worship, how it is important, the benefits of someone installing a deity in the temple, maintaining it, or the harm that comes to one for dishonoring the deity or the temples. So, this has been a serious aspect of the Vedic process for spiritual development for many thousands of years.
REFERENCES
The following is a list of all the authentic Vedic and religious texts that were used, researched, referred to or directly quoted to explain or verify all the knowledge and information presented in this book.
Agni Purana, translated by N. Gangadharan, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1984
Atharva-veda, translated by Devi Chand, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1980
Bhagavad-gita As It Is, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, New York/Los Angeles, 1972
Bhagavad-gita, translated by Swami Chidbhavananda, Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, Tiruchirappalli, India, 1991
The Song of God, Bhagavad-gita, translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, New America Library, New York, 1972,
Bhagavad-gita, translated by Winthrop Sargeant, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1984 Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, (Nectar of Devotion), translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, New York/Los Angeles, 1970
Bhakti-sandarbha sankhya
Brahma Purana, edited by J.L.Shastri, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1985
Brahmanda Purana, edited by J.L.Shastri, Motilal Banarsidass, 1983
Brahma-samhita, translated by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakur, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, N
ew York/Los Angeles, Brahma-Sutras, translated by Swami Vireswarananda and
Adidevananda, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, 1978
Brahma-vaivarta Purana
Brihad-vishnu Purana
Brihan-naradiya Purana
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
Caitanya-caritamrita, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Los Angeles, 1 974
Caitanya Upanisad, translated by Kusakratha dasa, Bala Books, New York, 1970
Chandogya Upanishad
Garbha Upanishad
Garuda Purana, edited by J. L. Shastri, Motilal Barnasidass, Delhi, 1985
Gautamiya Tantra
Gitabhasya of Ramanuja, translated by M. R. Sampatkumaran, M.A., Ananthacharya Indological Research Institute, Bombay, 1985
Hari-bhakti-vilasa
Jiva Gosvami's Tattvasandarbha, Stuart Mark Elkman, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1986
Kali-santarana Upanishad
Katha Upanishad
Kaushitaki Upanishad
Kurma Purana, edited by J. L. Shastri, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1981
Linga Purana, edited by J. L. Shastri, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1973
Mahabharata, translated by C. Rajagopalachari, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, 1972
Mahabharata, Kamala Subramaniam, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1982
Matsya Purana
The Law of Manu, [Manu-samhita], translated by Georg Buhlerg, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1970
Minor Upanishads, translated by Swami Madhavananda, Advaita Ashram, Calcutta, 1980; contains Paramahamsopanishad, Atmopanishad, Amritabindupanishad, Tejabindupanishad, Sarvop anishad, Brahmopanisad, Aruneyi Upanishad, Kaivalyopanishad.
Mukunda-mala-stotra
Mundaka Upanishad
Narada-pancaratra
Narada Purana, tr. by Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, Banarsidass, Delhi, 1980
Narada Sutras, translated by Hari Prasad Shastri, Shanti Sadan, London, 1963
Narada-Bhakti-Sutra, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Los Angeles, 1991
Padma Purana, tr. by S. Venkitasubramonia Iyer, Banarsidass, Delhi, 1988
Ramayana of Valmiki, tr. by Makhan Lal Sen, Oriental Publishing Co., Calcutta
Hymns of the Rig-veda, tr. by Griffith, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1973
Rig-veda Brahmanas: The Aitareya and Kausitaki Brahmanas of the Rigveda, translated by Arthur Keith, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1971
Samnyasa Upanisads, translated by Prof. A. A. Ramanathan, Adyar Library, Madras, India, 1978; contains Avadhutopanisad, Arunyupanisad, Katharudropanisad, Kundikopanisad, Jabalopanisad, Turiyatitopanisad, Narada-parivrajakopanisad, Nirvanopanisad, Parabrahmopanisad, Paramahamsa-parivrajakopanisad, Paramahamsopanisad, Brahmopanisad, Bhiksukopanisad, Maitreyopanisad, Yajnavalkyopanisad, Satyayaniyopanisad, and Samnyasopanisad.
Shiva Purana, edited by Professor J. L. Shastri, Banarsidass, Delhi, 1970 Siksastaka, of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sixty Upanisads of the Vedas, by Paul Deussen, translated from German by V. M. Bedekar and G. B. Palsule, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1980; contains Upanishads of the Rigveda: Aitareya and Kausitaki. Upanisads of the Samaveda: Chandogya and Kena. Upanisads of the Black Yajurveda: Taittiriya, Mahanarayan, Kathaka, Svetasvatara, and Maitrayana. Upanisads of the White Yajurveda: Brihadaranyaka and Isa. Upanisads of the Atharvaveda: Mundaka, Prasna, Mandukya, Garbha, Pranagnihotra, Pinda, Atma, Sarva, Garuda; (Yoga Upanisads): Brahmavidya, Ksurika, Culik, Nadabindu, Brahma- bindu, Amrtabindu, Dhyanabindu, Tejobindu, Yoga-sikha, Yogatattva, Hamsa; (Samnyasa Upanisads): Brahma, Samnyasa, Aruneya, Kantha-sruti, Paramahamsa, Jabala, Asrama; (Shiva Upanisads): Atharvasira, Atharva-sikha, Nilarudra, Kalagnirudra, Kaivalya; (Vishnu Upanisads): Maha, Narayana, Atmabodha, Nrisimhapurvatapaniya, Nrisimhottara-tapaniya, Ramapurvatapaniya, Ramottaratapaniya. (Supplemental Upanisads): Purusasuktam, Tadeva, Shiva-samkalpa, Baskala, Chagaleya, Paingala, Mrtyu- langala, Arseya, Pranava, and Saunaka Upanisad.
Skanda Purana
Sri Bhakti-ratnakara, by Sri Narahari Cakravarti Thakura
Sri Brihat Bhagavatamritam, by Sri Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Sree Gaudiya Math, Madras, India, 1987
Sri Caitanya Bhagavat, by Sri Vrindavan dasa Thakura
Sri Isopanisad, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, New York/Los Angeles, 1969
Srimad-Bhagavatam, translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book trust, New York/Los Angeles, 1972
Srimad-Bhagavatam, translated by N. Raghunathan, Vighneswar Publishing House, Madras, 1976
Srimad-Bhagavatam MahaPurana, translated by C. L. Goswami, M. A., Sastri, Motilal Jalan at Gita Press, Gorkhapur, India, 1982
Svetasvatara Upanishad
Taittiriya Upanishad
Twelve Essential Upanishads, Tridandi Sri Bhakti Prajnan Yati, Sree Gaudiya Math, Madras, 1982. Includes the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Svetasvatara,and Gopalatapani Upanishad of the Pippalada section of the Atharva-veda.
Upadesamrta (Nectar of Instruction), translated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, New York/Los Angeles, 1975
The Upanishads, translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester, New American Library, New York, 1957; contains Katha, Isha, Kena, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, B rihadaranyaka, Kaivalya, and Svetasvatara Upanishads.
The Upanisads, translated by F. Max Muller, Dover Publications; contains Chandogya, Kena, Aitareya, Kausitaki, Vajasaneyi (Isa), Katha, Mundaka, Taittiriya, Brihadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Prasna, and Maitrayani Upanisads.
Varaha Purana, tr. by S.Venkitasubramonia Iyer, Banarsidass, Delhi, 1985
Vayu Purana, translated by G. V. Tagare, Banarsidass, Delhi, India, 1987
Veda of the Black Yajus School: Taitiriya Sanhita, translated by Arthur Keith, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1914
Vishnu Purana, translated by H. H. Wilson, Nag Publishers, Delhi
Vishnu-smriti
Vedanta-Sutras of Badarayana with Commentary of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, translated by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu, Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 1979
White Yajurveda, translated by Griffith, The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi, 1976
Yajurveda, translated by Devi Chand, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1980
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Other references that were helpful are listed as follows:
Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, Reese, Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, 1980
Elements of Hindu Iconography, by T. A. Gopinatha Rao, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1985
The Gods of India, by Alain Danielou, Inner Traditions, New York, 1985
Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism, by Margaret and James Stutley, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1917
Hindu Gods and Goddesses, Swami Harshananda, Sri Ramakrsihna
Math, 16, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, India
Puranic Encyclopaedia, Vettam Mani, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1964
Vedanta: Its Morphology and Ontology, by Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, Vrindaban, India, 1998
GLOSSARY
Acharya--the spiritual master who sets the proper standard by his own example.
Acintya-bhedabheda-tattva--simultaneously one and different. The doctrine Lord Sri Caitanya taught referring to the Absolute as being both personal and impersonal.
Advaita--nondual, meaning that the Absolute is one with the infinitesimal souls with no individuality between them. The philosophy of Sankaracharya.
Agni--fire, or Agni the demigod of fire.
Agnihotra--the Vedic sacrifice in which offerings were made to the fire, such as ghee, milk, sesame seeds, grains, etc. The demigod Agni would deliver the offerings to the demigods that were referred to in the ritual.
Ahankara--false ego, identification with matter.
Ananda--spiritual bliss.
Ananta--u
nlimited.
Aranyaka--sacred writings that are supposed to frame the essence of the Upanishads.
Arati--the ceremony of worship when incense and ghee lamps are offered to the Deities.
Arca-vigraha--the worshipable Deity form of the Lord made of stone, wood, etc. Aryan-- a noble person, one who is on the path of spiritual advancement.
Asana--postures for meditation, or exercises for developing the body into a fit instrument for spiritual advancement.
Asat--that which is temporary.
Ashrama--one of the four orders of spiritual life, such as brahmachari (celibate student), grihastha (married householder), vanaprastha (retired stage), and sannyasa (renunciate); or the abode of a spiritual teacher or sadhu.
Asura--one who is ungodly or a demon.
Atma--the self or soul. Sometimes means the body, mind, and senses.
Atman--usually referred to as the Supreme Self.
Avatara--an incarnation of the Lord who descends from the spiritual world.
Avidya--ignorance or nescience.
Aum--om or pranava
Ayurveda--the original holistic form of medicine as described in the Vedic literature.
Bhajan--song of worship.
Bhakta--a devotee of the Lord who is engaged in bhakti-yoga.
Bhakti--love and devotion for God.
Bhakti-yoga--the path of offering pure devotional service to the Supreme.
Bhava--preliminary stage of love of God.
Brahma--the demigod of creation who was born from Lord Vishnu, the first created living being and the engineer of the secondary stage of creation of the universe when all the living entities were manifested.