Lets Learn Vedic Worship

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    Kindly review What does Agniveer stand or to

    understand the overall perspective behind any article

    on Agniveer site. Thanks.

    We shall continue rom previous summary on Vedic

    God where we had briey described benefts o

    worship o Ishwar as ollows:

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 1

    Q: Should we worship

    Ishwar or not? Why?

    Ater all He never

    orgives!

    A: Ishwar should be

    worshipped and He alone

    should be worshipped.

    It is true that by worship

    o Ishwar, you will notreceive any shortcut pass

    certifcate when you have

    actually ailed. Only lazy

    and cheaters desire such

    unscrupulous means to

    success.

    The benefts o worship o

    Ishwar are dierent:

    a. By worship o Ishwar

    one is able to understand

    Ishwar and His creationbetter.

    b. By worship, one is able

    to better understand His

    properties and adopt

    those in his own lie. This

    enhances ones personality,

    annihilates the source o

    uture sins, encourages

    virtues o truth and

    compassion and comes

    closer to truth and bliss.

    c. By worship, one is able

    to hear inner voice better

    and get constant clearer

    guidance rom Him.

    d. By worship, one

    eradicates ignorance,

    gains strength and is able

    to withstand toughest

    challenges in lie with

    confdence and aplomb.

    e. Ultimately, one is able

    to remove ignorance

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    completely and achieve

    Moksha or salvation with

    ultimate bliss.

    I would like to add one

    more reason or worship.

    - Ishwar has done so much

    or us and continues to do

    so endlessly. And hence it

    is natural or us to thankHim in same manner as we

    thank our mortal parents

    or their blessings. Only an

    unortunate selfsh person

    would not demonstrate

    his gratitude and lose

    opportunity to puriy his

    or her heart.

    Please note that worship

    does not mean some

    mechanical recitations or

    blankness o mind. It isa proactive approach to

    imbibe wisdom through

    actions, knowledge and

    contemplation.

    Q: How should we worship

    Ishwar?

    A: Basically worship o

    Ishwar lies in each act

    that we perorm in our

    lie. True worship implies

    ollowing the inner voice

    on a continuous basis. This

    is called living lie o Yajna

    seless acts dedicatedonly to noble purposes.

    This is called worship

    through actions. However

    to ensure that one

    conducts his lie purely in

    a noble manner without

    deviations, one has to

    practice on two more

    aspects:

    a. Seeking knowledge

    b. Contemplation on the

    knowledge to imbibe

    the same as part o our

    sanskaars.

    The trio o Knowledge-

    Contemplation-Actions

    go hand in hand and are

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 3

    ruitless in isolation.

    For this lesson, we shall

    ocus on specifc aspects

    o Contemplation. But

    please note that this

    assumes that the rest o

    the two components

    Knowledge and Actions

    are also being utilized in

    sync. Henceorth, whenwe reer to worship in this

    lesson, we would imply

    only the component o

    contemplation or ease o

    communication.

    Q: What are the key

    components o Worship?

    A: There are three major

    components:

    - Stuti or Glorifcation

    - Prarthana or Prayer

    - Upasana or Yogic

    Practice

    In this article, we shall

    mainly ocus on Stuti and

    Prarthna. We shall also

    cover Upasana in brie.

    However this science

    would demand greater

    exposition.

    Please note that these are

    not exclusive o each other

    however.

    Q: Explain Stuti in moredetail.

    A: Stuti or Glorifcation

    means stating the correct

    attributes/properties o

    any entity in most truthul

    manner. Hence alse

    buttering (makhanbaazi)

    o anything as well

    as unreasonable

    condemnation are both

    not Stuti.

    The purpose o Stuti o

    Ishwar is to understand

    the properties o Ishwar

    and attempt to model our

    own nature and actions

    in sync with Him. For

    example just as Ishwar is

    just and kind, we should

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    also be just and kind.

    Ishwar never gives up, and

    hence we should also not

    give up.

    One who merely sings the

    virtues o Ishwar like a

    drama artist but does

    not put eort in changing

    his or her own character

    is simply wasting time.Because Ishwar is not a

    narcissist dictator who

    enjoys being praised.

    Whatever Stuti we do is

    solely or our own beneft

    by improving our own sel.

    There are two types o

    Stuti:

    Saguna Stuti

    Glorifcation byremembering and

    understanding those

    attributes o Ishwar that

    are present in Him. For

    example, He is eternal and

    pure.

    Nirguna Stuti

    Glorifcation by

    remembering and

    understanding those

    attributes that are NOT

    present in Ishwar. For

    example, He has no orm

    and He is never born.

    The dierence is merely

    o semantics and not the

    undamentals.

    Q: Can you present some

    mantras rom Vedas

    having Stuti o ishwar?

    A: Ishwar is the main

    subject o Vedas. Hence a

    large number o mantras

    having Stuti o Ishwar

    are part o Vedas. For

    example:

    Yajurveda 40.8:

    He is present in everything,

    astest and most powerul,

    pure, omniscient, knows

    everything, master o all,

    eternal, sel-sufcient

    and guides us all with

    knowledge o Vedas. (This

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 5

    is Saguna Stuti)

    He is without body, never

    takes birth, has no nerves

    or gaps, does not conduct

    sin, is separate rom pain

    and miseries. (This is

    Nirguna Stuti)

    Atharvaveda 10.8.1 and

    10.7.32-34

    He knows what has

    happened in past, what is

    happening currently and

    what can happen in uture

    in most perect manner. He

    manages the entire world

    through this knowledge

    and is master o us all.

    He is bliss Himsel and

    completely away rom

    sorrow! He is the greatest

    and we bow to Him!

    He created the earth

    where we dwell and the

    universe as well as all

    those bodies which give

    us light. He is the greatest

    and we bow to Him!

    He creates the sun and

    the moon in every cycle o

    creation. He also creates

    the fre or our beneft. He

    is the greatest and we bow

    to Him!

    He creates the air we

    breathe in and the air we

    breathe out. He creates

    the light through whichwe see. He has created

    and managed everything

    in all the ten directions

    in a marvelous integrated

    ashion so that we are

    benefted utmost. He is the

    greatest and we bow to

    Him!

    Yajurveda 25.13

    He provides the power o

    knowledge to our souls.He provides us all true

    wisdom and bliss. All

    scholars worship Him and

    Him alone. The intelligent

    ones ollow His directions

    as provided in Vedas to

    obtain continuous bliss

    and achieve salvation.

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    Surrender to Him alone is

    reedom rom miseries and

    deviating away rom Him

    by indulging in misdeeds

    alone is reason or being

    trapped in cycles o death

    again and again. Hence

    we should worship Him

    and Him alone who is the

    very defnition o Bliss and

    Happiness!

    Q: What do you mean by

    Prarthana or Prayer?

    A: To request or support

    rom Ishwar ater we have

    put our best eorts or

    a noble purpose is called

    Prayer. Neither is it a

    prayer when we request

    help or a sinul purpose

    nor it is a prayer when

    we request so withouthaving put the best we

    can. Prayer is neither or

    the wicked nor or the lazy

    ones.

    Thus:

    1. Whatever we pray rom

    Ishwar, we should adopt

    the same in our lives as

    well. For example, i we

    pray or knowledge, we

    should also put the best

    eorts to seek knowledge.

    Prayers make sense ONLY

    AFTER due eort has

    been put. Expecting ree

    lunch is mark o beggars,

    not worshippers o Godwho Himsel never lazes

    even or a while. Hence,

    make the due payment and

    then request your lunch.

    2. Wicked prayers bring

    opposite results because

    they pollute ones mind

    and cause him to invite

    even more miseries. For

    example, Ishwar rejects

    prayers like -

    O Ishwar, destroy my

    enemy and make me

    the most powerul and

    glorious. Because i both

    the enemies would pray or

    the same, should Ishwar

    destroy them both?

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 7

    I someone argues that

    one who prays more

    sincerely out o two should

    be heard by Ishwar, then

    by this logic, one who

    prays slightly less sincerely

    should cause at least some

    damage, though lesser, to

    his enemy! This is utter

    oolishness.

    3. Similarly i one prays

    like O Ishwar, make

    Chapati or us, please

    clean my house, wash my

    clothes, harvest my crops

    etc, he is simply a ool.

    In Yajurveda 40.2, Ishwar

    orders us: Live or 100

    years and even more only

    by putting best eorts and

    never ever be lazy. Those

    who ignore this order oIshwar can never achieve

    happiness, how so much

    noble they may be in other

    qualities.

    Hard-work or Purusharth

    is the MOST IMPORTANT

    characteristic to imbibe in

    lie. All the rest o noble

    qualities assume that

    Purusharth is already in

    place.

    In other words, ortune

    avors the brave.

    4. We give job only to

    those who work, not to

    lazy ones. Only one whohas eyes and wants to see

    can be shown something.

    Taste o sugar is obtained

    only by obtaining sugar

    and eating it, not by

    merely saying Sugar is

    sweet. Similarly, only one

    who puts best eorts in

    noble activities eventually

    achieves the Sugar sooner

    or later.

    Q: Can you provide somemantras rom Vedas on

    prayer o Ishwar?

    A: In act many! Read

    them careully and enjoy

    the most blissul activity

    in lie Prayer to Ishwar.

    But make sure, you are

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    doing your homework by

    putting best continuous

    relentless enthused eorts.

    Yajurveda 32.14

    O Agni (Enlightening

    Ishwar), Bless us with

    same intellect through

    which Yogis and Scholars

    worship you. And provideus that intellect right now!

    We promise to surrender

    our everything to you

    without any selfshness.

    Ater all you are the

    source o everything

    that we possess! (Reer

    Power o Now or detailed

    explanation o this

    mantra)

    Yajurveda 19.9

    You are brilliant, provide

    us with brilliance as well.

    You are infnitely brave

    and courageous, provide

    us with same courage and

    bravery.

    You are all-powerul,

    make us also strong and

    powerul in mind and body.

    You are ully capable,

    make us also capable.

    You show wrath over

    crimes and criminals.

    Make us also cultivate

    the habit o showing sameanger over crimes and

    criminals.

    You tolerate all praise or

    criticism. Make us also

    strong enough to ignore

    praise or criticism and

    ocus only on our goal.

    In other words, help us

    steer away rom evil

    towards goodness.

    Yajurveda 34.1-6 (Shiva

    Sankalpa Mantras)

    O most lovable Ishwar!

    With your blessings, my

    mind goes ar away in all

    orms o knowledge while

    awake. Even during sleep,

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 9

    it perorms similarly. May

    my powerul mind gited

    by you stays away rom

    all sins and have only pure

    thoughts always. May I

    always think or welare o

    everyone and never ever do

    I desire harm or anyone.

    O knower o all, this mind

    propels patient scholarsand noble people to

    continuously do noble

    deeds and fght evil. This

    mind has tremendous

    potential and can stay

    immersed in welare o all

    living beings. May such a

    noble mind always steer

    away rom sins and desire

    only virtuous thoughts.

    This mind provides all

    great knowledge. Itilluminates one and all

    and helps us make right

    decisions. Not even

    a single task can be

    accomplished without

    its support. May such

    a great mind always

    remain immersed in noble

    thoughts and away rom

    evil desires.

    The yogis know the past,

    present and uture through

    this mind. This mind helps

    us unite with Ishwar and

    seek ultimate knowledge.

    This mind works together

    with 5 senses, soul and

    intellect to conductvirtuous deeds. May such a

    noble mind always remain

    pure and or welare o all.

    The knowledge o 4 Vedas

    Rigveda, Yajurveda,

    Samaveda, Atharvaveda

    lay embedded in the mind

    in same manner as spokes

    are attached to center

    o a wheel. This mind is

    testimony o existence

    o Ishwar who is alwayswithin it and around it.

    May such a mind remain

    always dedicated to noble

    deeds so that I am able

    to discover the knowledge

    o Vedas that lies within

    me, by eradicating all

    ignorance.

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    The mind controls the

    acts o humans like the

    charioteer controls the

    horses with strings. It

    is extremely ast and

    stays with me always.

    May such a mind always

    seek welare and noble

    thoughts or all and neverever dwell into sins.

    Yajurveda 40.16

    O provider o bliss, sel-

    illuminating, omniscient

    Ishwar, May you provide

    us with right intellect. May

    you steer us away rom

    sinul activities. We pray

    again and again to you to

    puriy our thoughts, words

    and actions.

    Yajurveda 16.15

    O Rudra (One who causes

    evil people to cry and ace

    miseries)! Please guide

    us all so that none o us

    harm our younger ones,

    our elders, our parents,

    creatures in wombs, our

    loved ones and all innocent

    harmless living beings.

    Guide us away rom the

    path that would cause us

    to ace your punishments.

    Shatpath Brahman

    14.3.1.30

    May we reject the path

    o alsehood and progress

    towards truth. May

    we reject the path o

    darkness and progress

    towards enlightenment.

    May we reject the path

    o death and seek eternal

    immortality in orm o

    salvation. O Ishwar!

    Please be our guide!

    Yajurveda 2.10

    O auent Ishwar! Kindly

    stabilize me into a healthy

    body, healthy sense organs

    and a very noble mind

    with good habits. Please

    help us make our country

    stronger, powerul and

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 11

    prosperous. May our noble

    wishes always become true

    and we seek only conduct

    o noble deeds. May we

    establish a powerul

    Chakravarti sovereign

    nation and establish the

    rule o justice. May we be

    able to fght away all the

    orces o corruption, raud,

    treachery that plague mycountry.

    Rigveda 1.39.2

    May we be strong always.

    May our weapons guns,

    cannons, ammunitions etc

    be always ready and top

    notch. May our weapons

    and strength be able to

    deeat all the evil orces

    desiring to harm innocent

    people and stop the mighto their armies. May

    our indisputable power,

    valor and courage help

    us establish a sovereign,

    powerul, prosperous

    and just nation so that

    all orces o corruption,

    treachery, raud and

    crimes keep getting

    deeated by us. But this

    prayer o ours is only or

    us when we are on path o

    truth, compassion, justice

    and nobility. Those who

    desire so but are raud,

    treacherous, unjust and

    criminals would always

    suer mightiest deeats

    by Ishwars grace. Hencewe should only indulge in

    noble deeds.

    Yajurveda 38.14

    May we only desire doing

    noble deeds. May our

    body be always strong

    and powerul through

    good healthy ood. May

    we be relentlessly making

    eorts. May we be able

    to understand Vedas andapply that knowledge

    or our beneft. May we

    have Brahmins (scholars)

    who provide us good

    knowledge. May we

    have brave Kshatriyas

    (warriors) so that we

    establish a power nation

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    and destroy raud orces

    within and outside our

    country. May we have

    experts who help enhance

    Science and Technology

    and develop planes,

    vehicles, useul gadgets,

    machines etc. May we

    always remain on path

    o justice alone. May we

    harbor no enmity withany living being. May we

    have powerul nation,

    tremendous prosperity and

    noble virtues.

    Yajurveda 18.29

    May we surrender our

    everything to the Ishwar

    who is our mother, ather,

    riend and guru our

    entire lie, our lie orce,

    our sense organs, oureorts, our happiness, our

    soul, our enlightenment

    and knowledge, results o

    our actions, our sacrifces,

    our glorifcations, our

    emotions, greatest o our

    achievements everything.

    Because Ishwar is source

    o everything we possess.

    In other words, achieving

    Ishwar be the sole purpose

    o whatever we think or

    do in lie. This ultimate

    surrender or Samarpan be

    the mantra o our lives!

    May we consider only Him

    as our ruler and reuse to

    accept any other dynasty,person or party as our

    ruler. May we ollow only

    the laws made by Him and

    not ollow human-made

    norms i they go against

    orders o Ishwar. May we

    unite together to thwart

    those orces that orce

    us to accept them as our

    rulers instead o Ishwar.

    In other words, may we

    all unite together, never

    fght against each otherand ollow only truth

    in thoughts, words and

    actions.

    Let we be guided by te

    Supreme and not whims o

    any one individual or set

    o incompetents.

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 13

    Q: What do you mean by

    Upasana?

    A: Upasana means to

    come closer to Ishwar.

    In other words, Upasana

    implies the eorts we

    make to understand

    Ishwar better so that we

    may think, act and speak

    as per His directions.Thus all those activities

    that we need to conduct

    to come closer to Ishwar

    and realize Him by direct

    evidence comes under

    Upasana.

    The one who has destroyed

    all seeds o ignorance

    and has come closer to

    Ishwar through Upasana

    he or she derives a level o

    happiness and bliss thatcannot be expressed in

    words but can only be elt

    within.

    Q: How do we do

    Upasana?

    A: This is a long subject

    and orms the basis o

    Yoga Darshan. We shall

    provide very brie details

    here and take this topic in

    urther details sometime

    later.

    But as Step 1 o Upasana:

    ollowing needs to be done.

    Note that this is a mustand rest o the methods

    o Upasana make sense

    ONLY when the student is

    putting his best eorts on

    this frst step. It has two

    components:

    YAMA

    Ahimsa (Non-Violence)

    No hatred or enmity

    against anyone. Onlyeeling o compassion.

    Satya (Truth)

    Seeking to accept truth

    and reject alsehood to

    best o ones knowledge.

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    Asteya (Non-Thet)

    To reject whatever is not

    rightully yours.

    Brahmacharya (Morality)

    To cultivate sel-control,

    not be lecherous, keepsense and work organs

    under control.

    Aprigraha (Humility)

    To be humble and without

    any alse ego.

    NIYAMA

    Shauch (Purity)

    Purity o mind and good

    hygiene practices.

    Santosh (Satisaction)

    Putting best eorts

    towards conduct onoble deeds regardless o

    ailures, successes, glory

    or insult without being

    lazy with ull happiness

    and enthusiasm.

    Tapa (Eorts)

    To ignore pleasure and

    pain in path o Ishwar and

    keep putting eorts.

    Swadhyaya

    (Contemplation)

    Constant eorts to

    increase knowledge,

    seek good company and

    understanding Ishwar and

    meaning o Om etc.

    Ishwar Pranidhan

    (Complete surrender to

    Ishwar)

    Simply submitting the will

    to path o Ishwar.

    Ater these basics have

    been understood, we

    actually become eligible to

    enter into the academy o

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 15

    Yoga.

    Note that it does not mean

    that only ater you have

    mastered these is that next

    step can begin. Because

    these steps themselves

    contain essence o entire

    Upasana process. But to

    take next steps, you should

    at least understand theseand keep working on these

    genuinely. You may ail

    but should always rise up

    again even more resolved

    to master these Yama and

    Niyama.

    We shall discuss the next

    steps in detail later.

    Q: How do we conduct an

    Upasana session?

    A: Whenever one desires

    to do Upasana, he or she

    should

    - Seek a relatively isolated

    place

    - Sit in a stable position

    - Practice some

    pranayams (breathing

    methods to control the

    mind)

    (Not the Ramdev Baba

    versions popular these

    days. They are merely

    physical exercises havingnothing to do with Yoga

    as wrongly asserted. For

    correct Pranayams reer

    Chapter 2 o Satyarth

    Prakash.)

    - Focus on any body part

    o body center line like

    solar plexus, throat, center

    o eyes, back, head, center

    o rib cage etc to bring

    the mind away rom world

    around into singular ocus.

    - Start contemplating on

    Ishwar and our relation

    with Him. Gradually move

    towards an emotional

    connect with Ishwar and

    immerse into His bliss.

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    Let go o rest o the

    world. Even i wandering

    thoughts come, simply

    ignore in same manner

    as you ignore mosquitoes

    when enjoying beautiul

    music.

    - Resolve to remove

    weaknesses and sinul

    thoughts and resolveto make yoursel pure

    RIGHT NOW!

    Q: What are the benefts

    o Upasana?

    A: We have listed out

    some benefts in beginning

    o the lesson. Here are

    some more:

    - One who practices

    Upasana very rapidlyincreases the purity o his

    or her mind and makes

    it truth-oriented. Since

    truth=bliss, this makes him

    enjoy the lie signifcantly

    more than rest o his

    peers.

    - Gradually this truth=bliss

    leads him to ultimate bliss

    o salvation where no

    misery remains urther.

    There is no state better

    than this to be achieved.

    - One who remains

    committed to Ishwar

    24x7x365 always,

    continues progressingtowards more and more

    happiness and pleasures

    in lie. He becomes much

    much more capable, alert,

    enthused and successul

    person among his peers

    who do not do Upasana.

    - In summary Upasana

    makes one most successul

    both materially and

    spiritually. Ater all

    Ishwar alone is source o

    all material and spiritual

    happiness!

    - Just as a shivering

    person in chilling winter

    eels comort only when

    he gets closer to fre,similarly, by getting closer

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    Mission Agniveer - Vision Vedas. 17

    to Ishwar, all the sins

    o soul get destroyed,

    his nature, actions and

    tendencies become in sync

    with Ishwar and hence he

    achieves ultimate purity

    and happiness.

    - Upasana o Ishwar will

    make ones will-power

    so strong that he or shewould be able to withstand

    such great challenges

    in lie that may seem

    impossible or others.

    When aced with toughest

    situations in lie, such a

    person would still be able

    to keep his calm and come

    out o it successully. What

    can be greater wonder to

    be achieved in human lie!

    - Further one who doesnot worship Ishwar

    is oolish as well as

    shamelessly thankless.

    Because none else could

    ignores the One who

    gave us such tremendous

    happiness by creating

    entire world and is

    continuously supporting

    us.

    Just think o what

    treatment we rightully

    accord to such ungrateul.

    selfsh and oolish people

    wo disown their own

    parents!

    This in summary is theessence o Vedic concept

    o Ishwar!

    May we all earth-dwellers

    worship the blessing

    Ishwar constantly with

    unanimity in our hearts

    and togetherness among

    us all.

    Yajurveda 30.3: O

    Ishwar! You provide us

    with enlightenment andbliss. You create and

    manage the entire world!

    We request you to keep

    us away rom sorrow as

    well as the evil desires

    that is the cause o all

    sorrows. And please

    lead us to whatever is

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    18 agniveer.com

    virtuous, noble, truthul

    and benefcial or all.

    May we have only purity

    within us and ward o all

    evil thoughts and obtain

    material bliss like powerul

    just nation, healthy body

    as well as spiritual bliss

    o salvation through our

    eorts guided by you!

    Om Shantih Shantih

    Shantih!

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