Can there be anything more divinely satisfying than this? (Samashti Panchayatana Puja Vaibhavam - Here is a brief picture of the wonderful event held on Au 15th in Chennai) The Independence Day celebration is always a stirring event anywhere in the country – the unfurling of the National Flag and singing the National Anthem are emotional and inspiring moments to every Indian. On Aug 15 this year, it was no different, with the only difference that this was not at a function at a school or a government programme. Narayani Ammal Kalyana Mandapam at Mandaveli was the unlikely venue, made extraordinary because the participants were neither school children nor marching forces in uniform nor heads of governments saluting the flag. It was a congregation of mostly the elderly, for a pioneering half-day spiritual event that had participants in traditional attire for Samashti Panchayathana Puja. The thoughtfulness of the organizers ensured that a simple portable flag-pole was brought on stage, the majestic tricolor was raised, the entire audience all stood ato sing the National Anthem. In less than two minutes of a bright and fresh Friday early morning, it had set the tone and brought out the fervor of every one at the venue. Hinduism and the Vedas are considered to be limitless in divine knowledge and besides anything else they may convey, they are an acknowledgement of the Supreme Being as that all-encompassing entity straddling the past, the present, the future and infinitely beyond. Anything and everything, conceivable and inconceivable, originates and ends within the Supreme Being. These are ageless principles best understood and appreciated by a Hindu in a gradual manner by the practice of simple, but important daily rituals that bring about a practical relationship between us, normal human beings of today’s socio-economic world, and the Supreme Being manifested as several deities. One such puja is the Siva Panchayathana Puja. As the term indicates, there are five deities to whom prayers are offered in this Puja. Lord Siva is at the centre and the other four are at the four vertices of the square around Lord Shiva with a specified directional placement such as Noth-East, South-East, South-West and North-West. The four are Sri Surya, Sri Maha Ganapati, Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri Ambal. The distinct feature of the Panchayathana Puja is that these five gods are represented by five stones, each of the approximate size of an inch, each picked up from the river-beds of specific sacred rivers. The important point to be noted is that the gods do not have the human features we are familiar with in photographs or idols. It could be interpreted that this is part of the progressive realization that the Supreme Being is all-encompassing and beyond all shape or form. This puja done by smartas has a strong prayer for universal well being in addition to the individuals spiritual progress. The event on the 15th of August was to get a congregation of 108 couples who had desired to take up the Puja as a daily practice. Couples have come to take part not only from different districts of Tamil Nadu and also places like Bangalore, Mumbai etc. There were couples who have travelled all the way from overseas too. Yes, persons have come from places like Aukland, UK etc. With elaborate planning, an enthusiastic group of volunteers under the leadership of Sri Sarma Sasthrigal, an author and a practising Vedic priest of West Mambalam, arranged for obtaining the 108 Puja sets contained in beautifully carved wooden boxes. A few days ahead, all the 108 sets were taken to Sri Matam at Kancheepuram and blessings of the Acharyas were taken, including divine blessings at the Adhishtanam of Maha Periyava. The day’s events commenced with early-morning Ganapati Homam, followed by thirty minutes of soulful Carnatic music by renowned musicians - vocalist Sri SP Ram, accompanied on the violin by Sri MA Krishnaswami and on the mridangam by Sri Neyveli Skanda Subramanian. Sri Vikram on the tambura kept sruthi. After the Abhishekam, the time had come finally arrived to initiate them into the process they had eagerly registered for. Row by row, each of the bhaktas was initiated into the Panchayatan process by a personal administration of the Pachakshari Upadesam by the Dikshithar who perfomed the abhishekam. This qualified them to perform the Puja henceforth. After the Upadesam, they went up to the stage, received a Puja set in the box and went back to occupy their places in the Hall. A brief session of explanation about the Puja and a Question-Answer session allowed the bhaktas to express their queries and Sri Sarma Sastrigal answered them in his inimitable, reassuring style. Neivedhyam and Aarti followed, and the process was complete. Every bhaktha had now become the recipient of an important symbol of divinity and it was evident that their devotion and sraddhai would take them forward on the continuing journey of spiritual progress. A guide-book written by Sri Sarma Sastrigal and a laminated photograph of Sri Adi Sankaracharya was given to each of the bhakthas as they came up on stage to receive blessings and offer sambhavanai to Sri Sarma Sastrigal. Every couple went home with indescribable excitement of taking home the initiation to a divine Puja and the reassurance that as common people, it was indeed possible to establish a daily divine relationship with the Supreme Being! Can there be anything more divinely satisfying than this?
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 01:23:09 +0000
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