What should we offer God?

Ha Ha @akansha

Very nice and imaginative snippet, but apt for the current scenario. May be Lord Shiva needs a good home made cough syrup to come out his cold. (kashayam).

We also could grow more Vilvam trees and offer him the leaves (ECO friendly).
:2thumbsup:

 

Ha ha, Dear Akansha...
Excellent!!!!
You have come with an important point in a humourous way. I have also wondered about this. Why cant this fruits, flower, milk, rice be distributed to the needy rather than giving the same in the name of Prasadham to those same people who offered them. Arrey yar, God is even satisfied with the water when you offer it with pure water.
It is us who demands from him but he is not. Yes!! he demands but not costly jewellery and litres & KGs of food products: Just 2 mins of devoted prayer. No appreciation no curses. Just think of him.

We shall do that very well right Ladies!!!

 

very true akakanksha .one should offer these to the needy.
in earlier days it was probably to inculcate a sense of sacrifice to give away something that belonged to you , if u could pour and put them in agni kund u certainly would have the heart to give it to the needy.
It is also said that the mool sthanam in a temple is geomagnetically configured and this return duct collected milk etc is given as prasad has micro moles of transient elements as well as solubilized electrons that on intake have good health vibes . I personally have never tested it out have only read about it.At a personal level yes I would give it to the needy.at best at home use a spoon full for symbolic reason if at all when a havan or pooja is done.
The flowers and deco used in temples and festivities may, at another level be a show of wealth , a piece of art, a way of business and livelihood.so its a matter of perspective mano tho bhagwan na maano tho pathar !!. khayal apna apna.

 

Yes, a thought provoking post. well written with humor too. Is it absolutely necessary to waste so much in the name of Abhishekam when many can be fed with the same is a question that elders here will answer. personally, I say 'Krishnarpanam' after I finish cooking and just offer that. Not to mention that it's of course Satvik food.

I was searching for some temple info(SRI PALLIKONDESWARAR) and see what I found.... thought of sharing here.

ABISHEKA NAME - ITS EFFECTS

PANCHAGAVYAM - Removes all sins of mankind
PANCHAMRUTHAM - Gives wealth
GHEE - Gives Moksha state
MILK - Gives long life
CURD - Gives Good Children
HONEY - Melodious voice
RICE POWDER - Frees from debts
LIME JUICE - Gives good health and removes enmity
SUGAR CANE JUICE - Removes fear of death
TENDER COCONUT JUICE - Gives enjoyment and full satisfaction in life
COOKED RICE (ANNAM) - Gives Majestic life
SANDAL PASTE - Gives Lakshmi's Grace
SUGAR - Removes enmity

 

Frankly I wouldn't like God's job. Getting filthy will all that milk and what not. The worst is honey, sticky stuff (Yuck). I think people treat Ganesh more kindly. The guy gets all the goodies to eat and is mostly safe from such unwarranted assaults by devotees.

 

Dear Akanksha,

"patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah"

In my opinion, these words have much deeper meaning than just leaf, flower, fruit and water. Gita is interpreted in multiple different ways but the knowledge that imparts is Truth.

[FONT==Arial]What is the proper offering to God? It is said, a leaf, a flower, a fruit and water (patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam). What are these? [FONT==Arial]The body is the leaf; [FONT==Arial]the[/FONT] heart is the flower, [FONT==Arial]the[/FONT] mind is the fruit ,and the tears of bliss is the water. Instead of attaching undue importance to this ephemeral body, emphasi[FONT==Arial]z[/FONT]e on the Atmatatwa (Atmic principle). The body is also to be surrendered unto God. How? By acts of worship and other sacred deeds.

[FONT==Arial]Frankly, [FONT==Arial]whether one is rich or poor or knowledgeable or ignorant, everyone can dedicate these four things to the Lord [FONT==Arial]and if they do, the rituals become [FONT==Arial]superfluous[/FONT]. But how hard it is to do [FONT==Arial]those four? The life principle is given in those four words.

[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]Eight types of flowers can be offered to God, viz, (1) Ahimsa (Non-violence), (2) Indhriya Nigraha (Control of senses), (3) Sarvabhootha Dhaya (Compassion towards all beings), (4) Sathyam (Truth), (5) Dhyaanam (Meditation), (6) Shaanhti (Peace), (7) Vinaya (Humility), (8) Bhakthi (Devotion).

Our mythology has several stories that are connected with totally different meaning. There are many interpretations for those events. Even the chariot that Lord Krishna controlled in the Mahabharat war is also referred to as five senses, body and mind. Kannappanar gave his two eyes to Shiva Linga when he found the Linga without eyes. In my view, it only narrates that once a person has a vision of Atma, physical eyes are irrelevant. Dhirdharastra only failed to see the world through his knowledge and hence his wife also decided not to see it through knowledge. It is described in Mahabaratha as a blind king and wife who refuses to see the world through physical eyes. I can say many more but this is enough to give some examples.

Viswa

[/FONT]

 

Shri Viswa has given an excellent response to 'Patram ,pushpam, phalam, thoyam'.

Gita says "karmanyevaadhikarasthe maa phaleshu kadhaachna'.
a big question arises

'Should these offerings be done without expecting any returns? Is it not opposed to principles of natural justice? Work without remuneration?
I read an article about Bhagavat gita through the lens of a labour class movement.There was a very logical and systematic argument in the article opposing "Nishkamya Karma".

There was a lengthy justification for banning Bhagavadgita because it was anti-worker and pro-capitalist. To be compensated for the work done is a fundamental right of any worker. To preach to work without remuneration is total exploitation. There should not just be remuneration, but there should be adequate and reasonable returns or compensation. With bonus thrown in as a deferred wage. A very erudite interpretation which ought to be accepted in totality.



But the problem actually lies elsewhere. When you are dealing with the Lord, it is not work for remuneration. When a mother attends to the child, it is not work for her; it is an act of pure love! She does it even if the child does not want it. She considers it as a goal of her life. When she does it, she does not expect any thing in return. For her, the act itself is the ultimate reward. Work itself is the ultimate reward. Nothing more is required. So also when the Lord and devotee are concerned. A Lord who does not need or want anything. A devotee who desires to offer everything he has.

Those who want remuneration for the work done need not worry at all. It is nature's rule that the wages of sin or saintly act are automatically disbursed and in just proportions. The fruit of work done will never go waste; it will chase you and fall in your lap even if you do not want it! The Lord only said; "Do Karma without aspiring for its fruits". He never said that there are no fruits for any Karma. He will give the resultant fruit even if the Karmi does not want it. There is no escape from the fruits of Karma, whether good or bad.

The interpretations do always differ.
As viswa has deliberated, God might not have meant any ordinary leaf or grass.

The same Bhagavadgita, there is reference to some leaves of a tree therein.
"Oordhwa moolam Adhah shaakha, Ashwatham praturavyavam, Chandamsi yasya Parnaani, Yastam veda sa vedavit". As you read the commentaries we observe that the Lord refers to a big Ashwatha tree with roots upwards and branches spread out at the bottom. The verses of the Vedas are its leaves. These are the leaves the Lord is referring to. Someone capable of learning and reciting these verses ought to do it and those are the leaves the Lord accepts. Not any ordinary leaf from an ordinary tree.

What are the flowers the Lord mentions here?Viswa has already enumerated on this.

"Ahimsa pratham pushpam, Pushpam indriya nigraha, Sarvabhoota daya pushpam, Kshama pushpam visheshataha, Gnana pushpam Tapah pushpam Dhyana pushpam thataivacha, Satyam ashtavidham pushpam Vishnoh preetikaram bhavet". The Lord is referring to eight flowers: Non-violence, control of senses, compassion to all living beings, tolerance or patience, knowledge, austerity, contemplative meditation and truth. These are the eight flowers that the Lord refers to and not any other flower from a bush or tree.

What is the fruit that is to be offered to the Lord? He has advised to do one's deeds without desiring the fruits of those deeds. But the fruits do chase the doer; the deeds never lapse without yielding fruits. This fruit, "The Karma Phala" is the fruit the Lord mentions to be offered with all love and devotion.

That brings us to the "Drop of Water". A righteous soul travels the length of his or her life (his or her refers to the body probably, for soul is neither he nor she) doing this "Nishkamya Karma". And as the end approaches, the fearless soul is ready to welcome the death of the mortal body with open hands. The tears of love towards the Lord and the final drop of water from the eye, not in sorrow but in joyful acknowledgement of the love showered by the Lord all along one's life is the water drop the Lord mentions.
I totally agree with my friends that the milk offered for abhishekam can be straightaway distributed to the needy.Of course we need not totally go against agamas.It is high time that we regulate the rituals legally, as remarked by a judge in madurai recently.
Let the abhishekams continue to the extent of compensating loss of magnetic vibrations .

Jayasala 42

 

GR8! again Akanksha ,
True I had always wondered on the same line and then thought about this. Why do we offer such things? Why only during this month?
Then it occurred to me that this month is just after summer and the start of fall. When all leaves starts falling and then comes winter. This is the season when the environment starts getting colder and due to this more death of animals, insects and more virus spreads. to nullify this maybe ancient people found a way that is offering to God such things like milk, curd, honey etc that is very good for health. And we do not waste them after all the offering to God we distribute them to devotees and poor people which is a mixture of all these. Lord Shiva lingam is a Black Stone which has lots of power in it since it attracts heat from Sun. So when all these things are poured on to this Stone the whole thing gets lots of power. And consuming this makes our body Strong and mentally and physically. It gives our body immunity to fight against all bad virus in the environment. This starts in the month shravan and ends in January.(until Winter lasts) .
All religion does this. Yeah they do it differently but they do this. Zorastrians and Jews did this in ancient times. Just imagine if everyone of us in the world believe this and do this offerings then how would the world be? Maybe there wont be any global warming. There had been science behind all these rituals but we human are not able to understand and we feel this just very superstitious belief.
We should remove this belief and understand it from the depth.

Just occurred to me that I should share my thoughts here.

TY