WHY DO WE REGARD TREES AND PLANTS AS SACRED?

The Lord, the life in us, pervades all living beings, be they plants or animals.
Hence, they are all regarded as sacred.
Human life on earth depends on plants and trees.
They give us the vital factors that make life possible on earth:
Food, Oxygen, Clothing, Shelter, Medicines etc.
Hence, in India, we are taught to regard trees and plants as sacred.
Indians scriptures tell us to plant ten trees if, for any reason, we have to cut one.
We are advised to use parts of trees and plants only as much as is needed for
food, fuel, shelter etc. we are also urged to apologies to a plant or tree
before cutting it to avoid incurring a specific sin named soona.
Certain trees and plants like tulasi, peepal etc., which have tremendous
beneficial qualities, are worshipped till today.
It is believed that divine beings manifest as trees and plants, and
many people worship them to fulfill their desires or to please the Lord.

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To be continued as HINDUISM - 15 / 23

WHY IS PRADAKSHINA DONE ONLY IN A CLOCKWISE MANNER?
The reason is not, as a person said, to avoid a traffic jam!
As we do pradakshina, the Lord is always on our right.
In India the right side symbolizes auspiciousness.
So as we circumambulate the sanctum sanctorum
we remind ourselves to lead an auspicious life of righteousness,
with the Lord who is the indispensable source of help and strength,
as our guide - the “right hand”.
Indian scriptures enjoin - matrudevo bhava, pitrudevo bhava, acharyadevo bhava.
May you consider your parents and teachers as you would the Lord.
With this in mind we also do pradakshina around our parents and divine personages.
After the completion of traditional worship (pooja),
we customarily do pradakshina around ourselves.
In this way we recognize and remember the supreme divinity within us,
which alone is idolized in the form of the Lord that we worship outside.

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To be continued as HINDUISM - 14 / 23

This post is especially for chocolate cake lovers (like me) and who love to bake… Many ppl have asked me for the recipe and I am so sorry for posting it late.

FOR CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
————-
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup hot coffee or boiling water
- 1/4 Milk
For egg less cake, replace eggs with vinegar

WHY DO WE FAST?

Most devout Indians fast regularly or on special occasions like festivals.
On such days they do not eat at all, eat once or make do with fruits or
a special diet of simple food.
Fasting in Sanskrit is called upavaasa.
Upa means “near” + vaasa means “to stay”.
Upavaasa, therefore, means staying near (the Lord),
meaning the attainment of close mental proximity with the Lord.
Then what has upavaasa to do with food?
A lot of our time and energy is spent in procuring food items,
preparing, cooking, eating and digesting food.
Certain food types make our minds dull and agitated.
Hence on certain days man decides to save time and
conserve his energy by eating either simple, light food or
totally abstaining from eating so that his mind becomes alert and pure.

WHY DO OFFER FOOD TO THE LORD BEFORE EATING IT?

Indians make an offering of food to the Lord and later
partake of it as prasaada - a holy gift from the Lord.
In our daily ritualistic worship (pooja) too we offer naivedyam (food) to the Lord.
The Lord is omnipotent and omniscient.
Man is a part, while the Lord is the totality.
All that we do is by His strength and knowledge alone.
Hence what we receive in life as a result of our actions is really His alone.
We acknowledge this through the act of offering food to Him.
This is exemplified by the Hindi words “tera tujko arpan”– I offer what is Yours to You.
Thereafter it is akin to His gift to us, graced by His divine touch.
Knowing this, our entire attitude to food and the act of eating changes.
The food offered will naturally be pure and the best.
We share what we get with others before consuming it.

WHY DO WE APPLY THE HOLY ASH?

The ash of any burnt object is not regarded as holy ash.
Bhasma (the holy ash) is the ash from the homa (sacrificial fire)
where special wood along with ghee and other herbs is offered as worship of the Lord.
Or the deity is worshipped by pouring ash as abhisheka and is then distributed as bhasma.
Bhasma is generally applied on the forehead.
Some apply it on certain parts of the body like the upper arms, chest etc.
Some ascetics rub it all over the body. Many consume a pinch of it each time they receive it.
The word bhasma means, “that by which our sins are destroyed and the Lord is remembered.”
Bha implied bhartsanam (”to destroy”) and sma implies smaranam (”to remember”).
The application of bhasma therefore signifies destruction of the evil and remembrance of the divine.
Bhasma is called vibhuti (which means “glory”) as it gives glory to one who applies it and
raksha (which means a source of protection) as it protects the

WHY DO WE NOT TOUCH PAPERS, BOOKS AND PEOPLE WITH THE FEET?

To Indians, knowledge is sacred and divine.
So it must be given respect at all times.
Nowadays we separate subjects as sacred and secular.
But in ancient India every subject - academic or spiritual -
was considered divine and taught by the guru in the gurukula.
The custom of not stepping on educational tools is a frequent reminder
of the high position accorded to knowledge in Indian culture.
From an early age, this wisdom fosters in us a deep reverence for books and education.
This is also the reason why we worship books, vehicles and instruments once a year
on Saraswathi Pooja or Ayudha Pooja day, dedicated to the Goddess of Learning.
In fact, each day before starting our studies, we pray:
Saraswati namasthubhyam
Varade kaama roopini
Vidyaarambham karishyaami
Sidhirbhavatu me sadaa
O Goddess Saraswati, the giver of
Boons and fulfiller of wishes,
I prostrate to You before
starting my studies.
May you always fulfill me?
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To be continued as HINDUISM - 8 / 23