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proffered, to receive Her in a fitting manner and
adore Her pleasingly, requires a preparation,
outer and inner, worked out in the present life or
the past. One who is so competent is fully
initiated, knows the truth of the knowledge
embodied in the Scripture. He is full of devotion
for the Guru, and for the Deity. And he has
control over himself, well-regulated in his life.
The mysteries of the Agamas, which are not all
openly declared in the Sastras, are known to
him. He is full of fervour for worship. Wor-
ship shall not be done as a routine or as a part
of discipline. He who would truly worship
looks forward to the adoration with eagerness,
with joy. And when he worsh.ips he is alive
with the instruction of the Guru for it is the
Guru who puts him in contact with the Deity and
to be conscious of his instruction is to enliven the
link forged by him. Pure of heart, superbly
joyous, devoid of anger and unsteadiness, reject-
ing the inferior ritual, cheerful of countenance,
he worships. He offers and adores with devotion.
Devotion does not come or grow in day. Even
when it is intense it does not last. True and
lasting devotion sprouts after a long period of
self-effectuation and particularly by the Grace
* Ullasa 6
56 KULARNAVA TANTRA
of the Divine. It is then that offerings made
according to the instruction of the Guru, to the
accompaniment of proper Mantras, reach their
destination. It is then that the worship of the
Great Sri Chakra, Abode of the mighty Puissance
of the Divine Mother, can be performed effec-
tively by means of Mantra-Yoga. Not merely
chanting of Mantras, but by yoga of mantra
i.e. by a deep identification with the soul of
the Mantra that is repeated. Such worship, says
the Lord, He accepts with distinction along with
Her. And when the worshipper enters into the
Ritual, he must realise and come into a state of
consciousness that feels divine. To truly
commune with the Divine and to offer oneself to
the Divine, one must become aware of one's own
state of divinity. Such a worshipper attains
Fulfilment as well as Release.
Worship must be performed in a place which
is free from distractions and disturbances, free
from crowd. The worshipper shall seat himself
in a happy position which gives stability to the
body and face either east or north. Prior to
beginning the ceremony he shall, with an un-
agitated mind, visualise himself seated in the
jewelled abode of the Divine Mother in the
Ocean of Immortality with all the high
paraphernalia required for the worship and
perform the Puja according to the command of
the Guru.
Before proceeding to the worship, however,
there is an indispensable process of purification
which is fivefold in character; purification of
oneself, purification of the place, purification of
the materials used, purification of the Mantras
and purification of the Deity. Purification of
REQUIREMENT OF WORSHIP 57
oneself is both outer and inner; the outer by-
bath and the inner by the purification of the
elements, bhutasuddhi, by pranayama and nyasa
and other prescribed methods. The place of
worship is sanctified by cleaning, wiping,
anointing into a shine of the mirror, decoration
with flowers, incense, camphor, lights and
colours. The substances used for worship shall
be purified by prescribed methods of sprinkling
with sanctified water reciting the Mantras,
with mudra etc. The Mantras that are used are
to be purified* by appropriate means. And
lastly, the Deity to be worshipped is also to be
purified, by placing it on the seat, making it
whole, i.e. by invoking the life of the Deity into
it, sprinkling with sanctified water along with
recital of the Mulamantra, performance of nyasa
etc. in the prescribed manner. Adorning it with
ornaments, offering of incense, lights etc. follow
afterwards.
After this elaborate and comprehensive
purification, attention should be paid to the
drawing of the significant circles, mandalas,
the proper placement and utilisation of the
various substances, singly and in combination;
the various cosmic Powers are invoked and the
prescribed Mantras repeated in their due order
with sacred deference. The fraternity of the
Gurus is to be invoked. And after sanctifying
* Purification, of the Mantra is the performance of Japa
of the letters of the alphabet which compose the Matrika-
mantra, once in their regular order, and once again in the
opposite, by linking the letters of the Mulamantra with
them.
The Gurus are classified into three grades: divyaugha,
the celestial order, siddhaugha, the perfected order,
58 KULARNAVA TANTRA
the seat the Deity is called. She who dwells in
the cluster of Lotuses, Who is the Form of
Causal Delight, ever active for the good of all,
the Divine Mother is fervently called into
coming and beseeched to stay as long as the
worship is in progress. And the worship is
offered with an exclusive concentration.
The Divine, say the philosophies, is really
without form, without any features. Then how
is it, it may be asked, that It is enjoined to be
worshipped in so many kinds of form and
lauded in Its features in the various scriptures?
The Agama gives the answer.
The Brahman is indeed the Immeasurable,
the Impersonal, without attribute, a sheer
Consciousness. Yet for the benefit of the aspir-
ing, of those who seek for It, Brahman assumes
forms, determines Itself in a way as to be
cognisable and accessible. It takes Form but
certainly It is not limited by that Form or any
number of Forms. Thus, though the Supreme
manavaugha, the human order. The 6rst, the divine order,
consists of Adinatha and His Shakti, Sadasiva and his
consort, Ishwara and his consort, Rudra and his consort,
Vishnu and his beloved, Brahma and his wife - in all
twelve.
In the second, the order of the Siddhas - those who have
arrived at perfection and are eternally present and active -
are Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, Sanatkumara, Sanatsujata,
Ribhukshaja, Dattatreya, Raivataka, Vamadeva, Vyasa,
Shuka - eleven of them.
The third, the ordinary, is of gods who apparently
occupy a subordinate position in this scheme: Narasimha,
Mahesha, Bhaskara, Mahendra, Madhava, Vishnu - in all
six. According to some other schools, this manavaugha,
human order of Gurus, consists of the human Guru, Maha
Guru, Parama Guru, Parapara Guru etc.
REQUIREMENT OF WORSHIP 59
Deity is not determined or limited by Form,
She reveals Herself in many forms. The
worshipper visualises the Formless One in
Form and adores Her in the linga, sign-symbol,
altar, Fire, Water, winnowing fan, wall, sheet,
Mandala (diagram), plank, in the head or in the
heart.
Just as though milk is formed from the
constituents all over the body of the cow, it
flows out only through the teats of its udder,
similarly the Divine who is all pervading shines
specially resplendent in Images and the like.
The Presence of the Divine in the Form is deter-
mined in its intensity by the appropriateness of
that Form, specially of the worship offered and
by the faith of the worshipper. Cream, as long
as it lies in the body of the cow, does not nourish
anyone. But when it is collected, treated and
used, it does promote nourishment. The Divine
is likewise there spread in each body; but with-
out proper adoration and evocation, upasana, it
does not yield fruit to man.
All the pranas of the Deity are to be sum-
moned together, the limbs enlivened, all instal-
led in the Image and then is the live Deity to be
worshipped. Otherwise worship is fruitless.
There may be defect of Mantra, defect of ritual,
defect of process; still if this installation is
done in the proper manner, the worship bears
fruit.
If there be transgression of rule there is no
fruit. Neither there should be allowed defect of
excess or defect of want. Only when things are
done according to the requirements laid down
that Japa, Homa, Puja etc. become acceptable to
the Deity and therefore fruitful.
60 KULARNAVA TANTRA
If worship be offered without an active
consciousness that the Divine is there in the
form of the Mantra and pervades through the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]