what is worship?

Description of true service (pUja)

In the last post, https://medium.com/upadesa-saram/5500eac4bdcc we have seen the worship (pUja) is the best thing we can do with the instrument of body.

All the perceivable universe is formed using five (5) fundamental elements and three (3) subtle concepts. Putting them together there are eight (8) manifestations called as asTha mUrti.

bhUmi — solid earth, ambhas — flowing liquid, anala — fire, anila — gaseous air, ambara — all encompassing space are the five elements.

maharnAdha — the lord of beings (also personified as the Sun with respective to Earthly beings), himAnSu — the mind (identified as the moon which has a only a reflected light / existence based on the Sun) and pumAn — the individual ego who is the differentiated actor in all beings referred as “I” are the three subtle concepts.

5th verse of upadeSa sAram:

ashTamUrtulu sarvamu aa Iswarudanu, dRshTitO kRta sEva dEvatA pUja.

same verse in Sanksrit

jagata ISa dhI yukta sEvanam, ashTamUrti bhRt dEva pUjanam

Regarding all the world (jagat) formed by the ashTa-mUrtis as the Iswara (Lord) only, the service (sEva) performed is called worship.

Everything is formed with the potency of God and is God only.

The gross body is made up of five elements (solid, liquid, gas — three states of matter, kinetic and potential energies) It is same in all beings however small or however big they are.

And the subtle portion is made up of three concepts of I, mind and supreme controller. This is also same in all being weather however smart and clever they are or however dumb they are!

Any service rendered to fellow beings with one’s own capability of body and mind, with the right knowledge as mentioned above is called pUja or worship to God.

(More on 8 fold differentiated prakRti from Srimad Bhagavad gIta — http://prasad-yoga.blogspot.in/2010/02/apara-para-prakruti-lower-and-higher.html )

Next Post: https://medium.com/upadesa-saram/japa-evolving-worship-to-higher-subtler-layer-cd53e6a40236