Deity Dressing, Inquiries Into the Absolute, Digest 395
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Feb 19, 2013, 11:23:24 PM2/19/13
to Inquiries Into the Absolute
Digest 395, February 9th, 2013. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami
Maharaja
You are invited to send your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami
at ma...@iita.info with the word "Question" included in the subject
line or submit your question at http://www.romapadaswami.com/?q=feedback/Question.
Deity Dressing
``````````````
777) Recently during the Christmas holidays, it was noted that certain
temples under ISKCON management were dressing the Deities with the
outfits of father Christmas and so the question is if it is bonafide
to do this. This kind of dressing didn't happen when HDG Srila
Prabhupada started the movement and the Nectar of Devotion and
Deityworship.com manual outlines many important details on how deity
dressing and deity worship is to be done. So is this new dress for
Deities something that the headquarters in Mayapur approved? Ofcourse
Sri Sri Radha Krishna will accept if a paraphernalia is offered with
love and devotion to them. But a practitioner is to offer the best to
Krishna. There are many imaginary characters (which in someways may be
similar to father Christmas) but I don't see a need to dress Sri Sri
Radha Krishna in the dress of such characters. Since everything about
Krishna (what He eats, how He dresses, etc) is given in the
scriptures, then being conscious of Krishna in the way he has stated
in the scriptures would be ideal, rather then doing something
differently. Please guide me if my thoughts is a result of my lack of
the depth of understanding of our Vaisnava philosophy.
Ans: (written by a member of the Deity Worship Ministry)
The ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry does not condone ISKCON temple
deities being dressed in a non-traditional fashion. While we are aware
of and have addressed incidents in the past where ISKCON temples have
performed non-traditional dressing, we are not aware of any incidents
this last holiday season that were brought to the Ministry’s
attention. If any devotees have knowledge of recent or future
occurrences, we encourage them to bring this to our attention.
We should perform deity worship according to the instructions we are
given by guru, sadhu, and sastra. Lord Krishna personally instructs
Uddhava in Srimad-Bhagavatam:
"In worshiping the temple Deity, my dear Uddhava, bathing and
decoration are the most pleasing offerings." (SB 11.27.16)
Thus, we understand that dressing and decorating are very important
aspects of worship. However, we should offer this worship with
reverence. Srila Prabhupada offers the following instructions to his
disciples in this matter:
"...Krsna as He is appearing in our temples is in the kaisora age, and
the dress which I have introduced is His dress of kaisora age. In our
temples the Deities Radha and Krsna are worshiped as Laksmi-Narayana
with all the opulences of Their Majestic Lordship in Dvaraka. The
worship of Radha-Krsna as They appear in Vrndavana is a very advanced
stage, so we worship Them in the temples as Laksmi-Narayana. Actually
there is no difference because Laksmi-Narayana is directly the
expansion of Radha- Krsna. We are following the prescribed method of
temple worship as it is the effective program for developing the
highest perfection of pure love of Krsna." (SPL to Yamuna, January
16th, 1970)
"You may dress Lord Caitanya in the standard way, main thing is do it
nicely, don't make it funny..." (SPL to Dhruvananda, 4th January,
1973)
Additionally, offering love and devotion to Krishna is not such a
quick and easy thing to develop. If we take things cheaply, we will
not make spiritual progress. Therefore we are advised to worship
according to the viddhi-marga principles, or according to rules and
regulations. Even as our love develops as we enter into raga-marga, or
spontaneous devotion, externally our worship largely appears the same.
Sivarama Swami sums up a nice explanation in his book, Suddha Bhakti
Cintamani, based on Srila Prabhupada’s instructions as follows:
"Devotees first worship Radha and Krsna with reverence, the mood of
worship offered to Laksmi-Narayana. As they advance, their mood
becomes more spontaneous, although their external worship remains
formal and regulated."
The deity worship in ISKCON is performed according to the rules of
regulative devotion, technically known as pancaratrika-vidhi. Srila
Prabhupada refers devotees to The Nectar of Devotion for directions on
how to perform this kind of deity worship, and he personally taught
this process when he installed Radha and Krsna deities in London and
New York and the world over.
In regulative reverential worship, Radha and Krsna reciprocate in the
mood of Laksmi-Narayana. Neophyte devotees who avoid the sixty-four
offences in deity worship are gradually purified and raised to what
Srila Prabhupada calls the "Vrndavana platform," the path of
spontaneous devotion. [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.45–46, purport] In this
advanced stage, devotees worship Radha and Krsna with natural
attraction, and Their Lordships reciprocate with them accordingly.
Does this mean that as devotees advance to the spontaneous platform
the standard of deity worship in ISKCON should change?
No, it should not change because there will always be neophyte
devotees visiting or joining the temples and deity worship should
always be suitable for them. Otherwise, beginners will not become
fixed in the essential principles of regulative devotion and may
become sahajiyas. Advanced devotees need not change the external form
of their worship. They need only change their mood of worship, which
develops naturally, without external adjustment. The same may be said
of home deities, the worship of whom must be suitable for younger,
less advanced members of the family, what to speak of for future
generations.
Thus the worship of Radha and Krsna follows the regulative
pancaratrika- vidhi. For devotees faithful to Srila Prabhupada's
teachings, the mood of regulative worship gradually transforms into
the spontaneous mood of raga-marga, the "Vrndavana platform." Yet to
the observer, both the neophyte and advanced devotee appear to be
engaged in the same type of worship -- the regulative worship
characteristic of service to Lord Narayana. Readers may consult Srila
Prabhupada's teachings on this matter. [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.45–46,
purport]
mukhy vraja-vsi-janeragatmika-bhakti -- ‘mukhya vraja-vasi-jane
tara anugata bhaktira ‘raganuga-name
The original inhabitants of Vrndavana are attached to Krsna
spontaneously in devotional service. Nothing can compare to such
spontaneous devotional service, which is called ragatmika bhakti. When
a devotee follows in the footsteps of the devotees of Vrndavana, his
devotional service is called raganuga bhakti. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta,
Madhya-lila 22.149
Jayananda dasa
ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry, North America
*************************
Previous questions and answers are available with subject
classification at http://www.romapadaswami.com/inquiries
Digests 1-242 are included as a PDF file at:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/Inquiries/IITA_full.pdf
Lectures: http://www.romapadaswami.com/audio
Brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/HHRPS_bio
**************************
To (un)subscribe please email ma...@iita.info with the word (un)
subscribe in the subject.
Maharaja
You are invited to send your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami
at ma...@iita.info with the word "Question" included in the subject
line or submit your question at http://www.romapadaswami.com/?q=feedback/Question.
Deity Dressing
``````````````
777) Recently during the Christmas holidays, it was noted that certain
temples under ISKCON management were dressing the Deities with the
outfits of father Christmas and so the question is if it is bonafide
to do this. This kind of dressing didn't happen when HDG Srila
Prabhupada started the movement and the Nectar of Devotion and
Deityworship.com manual outlines many important details on how deity
dressing and deity worship is to be done. So is this new dress for
Deities something that the headquarters in Mayapur approved? Ofcourse
Sri Sri Radha Krishna will accept if a paraphernalia is offered with
love and devotion to them. But a practitioner is to offer the best to
Krishna. There are many imaginary characters (which in someways may be
similar to father Christmas) but I don't see a need to dress Sri Sri
Radha Krishna in the dress of such characters. Since everything about
Krishna (what He eats, how He dresses, etc) is given in the
scriptures, then being conscious of Krishna in the way he has stated
in the scriptures would be ideal, rather then doing something
differently. Please guide me if my thoughts is a result of my lack of
the depth of understanding of our Vaisnava philosophy.
Ans: (written by a member of the Deity Worship Ministry)
The ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry does not condone ISKCON temple
deities being dressed in a non-traditional fashion. While we are aware
of and have addressed incidents in the past where ISKCON temples have
performed non-traditional dressing, we are not aware of any incidents
this last holiday season that were brought to the Ministry’s
attention. If any devotees have knowledge of recent or future
occurrences, we encourage them to bring this to our attention.
We should perform deity worship according to the instructions we are
given by guru, sadhu, and sastra. Lord Krishna personally instructs
Uddhava in Srimad-Bhagavatam:
"In worshiping the temple Deity, my dear Uddhava, bathing and
decoration are the most pleasing offerings." (SB 11.27.16)
Thus, we understand that dressing and decorating are very important
aspects of worship. However, we should offer this worship with
reverence. Srila Prabhupada offers the following instructions to his
disciples in this matter:
"...Krsna as He is appearing in our temples is in the kaisora age, and
the dress which I have introduced is His dress of kaisora age. In our
temples the Deities Radha and Krsna are worshiped as Laksmi-Narayana
with all the opulences of Their Majestic Lordship in Dvaraka. The
worship of Radha-Krsna as They appear in Vrndavana is a very advanced
stage, so we worship Them in the temples as Laksmi-Narayana. Actually
there is no difference because Laksmi-Narayana is directly the
expansion of Radha- Krsna. We are following the prescribed method of
temple worship as it is the effective program for developing the
highest perfection of pure love of Krsna." (SPL to Yamuna, January
16th, 1970)
"You may dress Lord Caitanya in the standard way, main thing is do it
nicely, don't make it funny..." (SPL to Dhruvananda, 4th January,
1973)
Additionally, offering love and devotion to Krishna is not such a
quick and easy thing to develop. If we take things cheaply, we will
not make spiritual progress. Therefore we are advised to worship
according to the viddhi-marga principles, or according to rules and
regulations. Even as our love develops as we enter into raga-marga, or
spontaneous devotion, externally our worship largely appears the same.
Sivarama Swami sums up a nice explanation in his book, Suddha Bhakti
Cintamani, based on Srila Prabhupada’s instructions as follows:
"Devotees first worship Radha and Krsna with reverence, the mood of
worship offered to Laksmi-Narayana. As they advance, their mood
becomes more spontaneous, although their external worship remains
formal and regulated."
The deity worship in ISKCON is performed according to the rules of
regulative devotion, technically known as pancaratrika-vidhi. Srila
Prabhupada refers devotees to The Nectar of Devotion for directions on
how to perform this kind of deity worship, and he personally taught
this process when he installed Radha and Krsna deities in London and
New York and the world over.
In regulative reverential worship, Radha and Krsna reciprocate in the
mood of Laksmi-Narayana. Neophyte devotees who avoid the sixty-four
offences in deity worship are gradually purified and raised to what
Srila Prabhupada calls the "Vrndavana platform," the path of
spontaneous devotion. [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.45–46, purport] In this
advanced stage, devotees worship Radha and Krsna with natural
attraction, and Their Lordships reciprocate with them accordingly.
Does this mean that as devotees advance to the spontaneous platform
the standard of deity worship in ISKCON should change?
No, it should not change because there will always be neophyte
devotees visiting or joining the temples and deity worship should
always be suitable for them. Otherwise, beginners will not become
fixed in the essential principles of regulative devotion and may
become sahajiyas. Advanced devotees need not change the external form
of their worship. They need only change their mood of worship, which
develops naturally, without external adjustment. The same may be said
of home deities, the worship of whom must be suitable for younger,
less advanced members of the family, what to speak of for future
generations.
Thus the worship of Radha and Krsna follows the regulative
pancaratrika- vidhi. For devotees faithful to Srila Prabhupada's
teachings, the mood of regulative worship gradually transforms into
the spontaneous mood of raga-marga, the "Vrndavana platform." Yet to
the observer, both the neophyte and advanced devotee appear to be
engaged in the same type of worship -- the regulative worship
characteristic of service to Lord Narayana. Readers may consult Srila
Prabhupada's teachings on this matter. [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.45–46,
purport]
mukhy vraja-vsi-janeragatmika-bhakti -- ‘mukhya vraja-vasi-jane
tara anugata bhaktira ‘raganuga-name
The original inhabitants of Vrndavana are attached to Krsna
spontaneously in devotional service. Nothing can compare to such
spontaneous devotional service, which is called ragatmika bhakti. When
a devotee follows in the footsteps of the devotees of Vrndavana, his
devotional service is called raganuga bhakti. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta,
Madhya-lila 22.149
Jayananda dasa
ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry, North America
*************************
Previous questions and answers are available with subject
classification at http://www.romapadaswami.com/inquiries
Digests 1-242 are included as a PDF file at:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/Inquiries/IITA_full.pdf
Lectures: http://www.romapadaswami.com/audio
Brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami:
http://www.romapadaswami.com/HHRPS_bio
**************************
To (un)subscribe please email ma...@iita.info with the word (un)
subscribe in the subject.
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