Pradakshina, Kalasha, Coconuts and Prayer Rooms

Why do we do aarti?

A better question is, what is aarti? The word aarti is not Sanskrit, so we know nothing about the derivation of the word. Aarti, however, is simply the offering of articles of worship to a Deity, the primary object being a lamp. An aarti can be performed formally in a temple at a scheduled time with a priest, or informally in a person’s home after a puja such as a Satya Narayana katha. A priest can offer the aarti or devotees themselves can do it. An aarti tali is a tray that people hold that contains the flame that is offered during aarati. Each Deity has its own aarti song that is sung during the offering of the lamp. See the illustration.

Why do we offer food to the Lord before eating it?

Anything offered to God during puja or worship falls under the category of bhoga. The word bhoga means enjoyment and pleasure. In other words, while worshipping we offer enjoyable, pleasing things, to the Deity, such as fragrant incense and flowers, nice cloth, jewels, fresh milk, delicious foods, and so on.  All of these things are different forms of bhoga, enjoyment. Once these things have been offered they cease to be bhoga, but instead become prasada. The word prasada means mercy, grace, and blessings. So once an article of bhoga has been offered to God it become prasada, a form of blessings or mercy. So we might say that during worship we offer enjoyment to God and receive blessing in return. Receiving blessings is a good thing! And so we offer food to God before we eat so that our eating is not just ordinary eating but “spiritualized” eating. And as they say, we are what we eat!

Why do we offer lamps to God? (Aarti)

Virtually every puja includes the offering of a flame to a Deity. This is aarti. This lamp is usually made with a ghee wick or a camphor (kapoor) flame. There are two basic reasons why a lighted lamp is offered. The first is purely practical. In ancient times the lamp provided illumination to see the Deity since electrical lights were not available. The lamp would be offered to the feet of the Deity, then slowly moved up to illuminate the knees, the waist and the chest, to finally illuminate the face. This would allow meditation on each part of the Deity starting from the feet.

The second reason is purely symbolic and goes back to our metaphor: the sun equals light, which equals knowledge, which equals consciousness, which equals liberation. Think of the flame as a kind of bhoga which then becomes a prasada after being offered to the Deity. The flame is then presented to the worshippers who sweep their hands across the lamp in a gesture that suggests “scooping up” the light and bathing their eyes, face and head with the blessings of knowledge, etc. In an interesting side note, when a ghee wick is prepared usually two wicks are twisted together. The two wicks combined make a larger flame and one that symbolically represents the soul and God (atma and the paramatma), combined.

How the Word is Derived

In Sanskrit, the proper spelling of the word swastika is svastika. Sanskrit has no ‘w’. Literally, the word svastika is a statement of affirmation, “It is!” “Life is good!” “There is value” “There is meaning!” Svastika is a term that affirms the positive values of life. The word is made of su + as. “As” is the root of the verb “to be” of which the third person singular is, “asti,” “it is.” Su is a prefix used in Sanskrit to intensify meaning in a positive way, thus su+asti means literally, “it really is!” When combined, the ‘u’ changes into a ‘v’ thus giving the form svasti. The ending ka makes this verbal form into a noun. This is the linguistic morphology of the word, svastika.

A Negative Symbol

Today, the Swastika is primarily known as a symbol of racism, persecution and anti semitism, which arises from the ideology of the German Nazi party in the 1930s and 40s and World War II. I remember performing a wedding between a Hindu girl and a Jewish boy when at the beginning of the ceremony, where it is traditional to hold a decorative cloth between the boy and girl, the Hindu mother proudly presented a special cloth with a huge red Swastika that she wanted me to hold between the couple. Half the audience was Jewish! On another occasion, I performed a ground-breaking ceremony for a Hindu family, who was going to build a new home in an exclusive gated community. The man had me draw a large red Swastika on the ground where the house was to be built. Later, as we were walking around the perimeter of the property, someone came walking a dog and saw the red Swastika. In terror, this person called the police thinking that a neo-Nazi cult was moving into his neighborhood. On many occasions, I have had to explain to confused fire and building inspectors why there are Swastikas in our Hindu temples. As a priest, I regularly bless people using the expression, svasti svasti svasti! and even inscribe swastikas on the heads of newly shaved children for their health and prosperity!

Its History

In fact, the Swastika is an ancient solar symbol that has been used by many cultures going back at least 3000 years. It has been found used by the Celts in northern Europe and by the Greeks as early has 1000 BCE. In India the symbol has been used since Vedic times. It is most commonly seen as an ancient Aryan symbol. Nazi Germany did not invent the symbol, but only borrowed it in order to show the “aryan” roots of their new German state. Today, unfortunately, the Swastika is most commonly known for the destruction of life rather then its affirmation.

Its Use in India

In India, the Swastika is used in two forms, one with the arms moving to the right, the right-handed Swastika, and the other with the arms moving to the left, the so-called “left-handed” occult Swastika. It is commonly thought that the Nazis used the left-handed Swastika and that this is the difference between the Hindu’s use of the Swastika and the Nazi’s use of it. But this is not the case. In fact, the Nazis used the same right-handed Swastika that is used in modern Hinduism, but in many uses they gave it a 45 degree turn. This gives it the appearance of being left-handed, even though it is not. Regardless, in India many groups have used the left-handed Swastika. One common example amongst Hindu groups is the Theosophical Society, which used it on their logo. The left-handed Swastika is also associated with esoteric tantric practices. Jains and Buddhists often use the left handed Swastika as well. Today the right-handed Swastika is mainly used in Hindu temples, homes and sacred ceremonies as a symbol or affirmation of good luck, health and prosperity. A “yes” to life!

Why are certain trees and plants as sacred?

In Hinduism all of life is sacred and one of the highest qualities to aspire to is non-harming, ahimsa, but it is true that certain trees and plants, as well as certain animals and certain rivers or even mountains are viewed as especially sacred. The tulasi plant is especially regarded as sacred amongst Vaishnavas. Within the Shaiva community bael leaves are particularly sacred. Trees like the fig or the bodhi tree are generally sacred to all Hindus. Similarly, rivers like the Ganga (Ganges) are sacred to all Hindus, but in different part of India the local rivers are sacred to a particular region. In the south, for example, the Godavari and Kaveri are most sacred. In the north these rivers may not be known. Mountains such as the Himalayas are sacred to all Hindus, but again in different regions local mountains or hills may have particular significance although they may be unknown outside of that region. The Venkata hills north of Chennai (Madras) are sacred to Vaishnavas who visit the famous temple to Balaji that sits atop this great set of hills. Outside of this region these hills are unknown. And of course along with every sacred object, there is a sacred story explaining the divine origins of that object.

Here is a simple anecdote that further illustrates what is meant by the sacred in Hinduism: Puja is always to be performed with sacred waters, particularly Ganges water, the water most sacred in India. However, it is not always possible to get Ganges water in America. In order to solve this problem there is a special sacred waters “calling” mantra that can be repeated at the beginning of the puja to convert ordinary tap water into sacred waters. This mantra lists many of the sacred rivers of India, but sometimes the mantra is expanded to include the Colorado River as well as the rivers of India. There is no contradiction here, the Colorado River is a sacred river. In fact all the rivers in America are sacred. Where one lives is sacred land. Hinduism views the whole world as sacred. Seeing the sacred is a state of mind.

Why do we consider the lotus special?

The lotus has huge symbolic importance within Hinduism. We see that many Gods and Goddesses stand on the lotus. The best example is the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi Devi. See the illustration. Even more, however, we often hear of lotus feet, lotus eyes, lotus hearts, lotus seats, and so on. The best explanation for the symbolism of the lotus comes from the Sanskrit word for the lotus, panka-ja. “Panka” means mud and ja means “born.” The literally meaning is “born from the mud,” and yet if you have ever seen a lotus it is the most amazing flower! The closest flower that I can think of that approximates the lotus is the water lilly, but a real lotus far outshines the water lilly. The idea is that even though the lotus has its roots in the mud of the pond from which it grows, it is ever unsullied as it floats on the water above the pond, and any drop of water that touches the lotus immediately slides off. The lotus is ever pure and aloof from the world. It is in the world, but not of the world. This is the symbolism of the lotus. So when the Goddess Lakshmi stands on a lotus, the meaning is that she understands the problems of the world, but she is not sullied by this world. She is absolutely pure. Similarly, a guru’s feet are often said to be lotus feet indicating his purity and detachment from the world. If someone is said to have lotus eyes it means that their eyes and eye brows have the shape of the lotus petal. This is a great compliment!

Who do we show respect to cows?

Cows like other sacred animals mentioned in the previous answer are sacred because all life is sacred in Hinduism. However, the added factor regarding cows is that in ancient times and even now in much of rural India, cows form the economic basis of an agrarian society. The cow gives milk, butter and oil for cooking. The bull plows the land for grains. The cow and the bull provided fertilizer to refresh the land. Dried cow dung was used as fuel for cooking and heating. The cow and the bull provided many of the necessaries of life. In addition many modern Hindu commentators speak of cow’s milk as having special nutrients that make it idea for spiritual life. The cow is considered one of the seven “mothers” in Hinduism and the bull is the emblem of dharma. There are many references to the four legs of the bull as the four pillars that support dharma: cleanliness, austerity, truthfulness, non-harming, and so of all animals, the cow and the bull have taken on the greatest significance within Hinduism.