* Description of ritual of performing Pooja of Bhagawan Shree Krishna by wives and widows.
Description of ritual of performing Pooja of Bhagawan Shree Krishna by wives and widows.
Sage Narayana said:-
Women should worship Lord Vasudeva daily with great joy. Now, I shall tell you the procedure in brief. 1.
She should take bath in the morning with clean water, wear cleansed white clothes, take Achaman - sip of pure water and collect the material for worship; she should keep ready - cleaned and polished bright pot for water, filtered clean water, a vessel for Achaman, a vessel for bathing (image of) the Lord, sandal paste, flowers, rice, incense, lamp, some eatables to offer, some dessert, gift, and a lamp for waving round (Arati). 2-4.
All ladies are not eligible to worship Shaligram (a special type of stone - symbol of Lord Vishnu). So, they should only worship the image of Lord Shri Krishna. One should not worship Lord Hari (Kamalapati) with the water touched by the nails, water that is left over of Achaman or water crossed over. 5-6.
Ghee or Sesame oil should be used for the lamp and in case of absence of any of these items necessary for the worship; she should then chant the mantras only. A lady should not talk to anyone, unnecessarily look here and there, or get angry at the time of worship. 7-8.
She should sit in a cleaned and sanctified place, sip water, then by low claps or by jingling the bell she should wake Lord Shri Hari up, very softly. 9.
‘O Govind! O Garudadhvaja! O Kamalakant! Get up! Fill up all the three worlds with happiness.’ Thus, she should awaken Shri Hari, and take the image in hand and clean the image with a cloth, and put it on a soft throne or in a casket. 10-11.
The image is said to be of eight type, which are as follows - made of stone, wood, any metal (Gold), sandal paste, etc, sand; drawn pictures, an imagined in mind, a gem. 12.
A worshipper sitting in Swastik-asan posture, in front of the idol herself facing east or north, meditate upon Lord Hari in mind like this.13.
A worshipper should meditate upon Lord Vasudeva, in her lotus heart, seated on a throne lustrous like crores of Suns, having two hands, dark as the rain cloud, handsome like crores of cupids; Decorated with many beautiful ornaments, wearing lustrous yellow silk garment, playing a flute, accompanied by Radha and Rama; Humbly waited upon by radiant looking Dharma on the left side, served by Bhakti with great love, on the right; Worshipped by the groups of Gods with many divine gifts, served by attendants with royal umbrella, fans and Chowris, Thus meditating the Lord with many imaginary modes as she wishes, she should worship Lord Vasudeva in her lotus heart. 14-18.
A worshipper should invoke the deity with all the available modes, with utterances of six syllabled chant ‘Shri krishnaya Namah’ and begin the worship. 19.
After invoking she should offer - a seat, water for washing feet and for Arghya, again for Achaman, for bath; clothes, sandal paste, flowers, incenses, lamp; and then eatables and Mukhavasa (mouth freshener), gift and wave the lamp, offer flower accompanied by recitation of chants, in a proper sequence, and then offer prayer. 20-21.
‘O Lord Shri Krishna! Narayana! God of the Gods! Loved by Radhika! Worthy to be worshipped by saints! Loved by the devotees! Delight of the Bhakti devi and Dharma deva! ‘O Lord Shri Hari! The Master! Please bless me. 22.
In this world, I feel that the word ‘Pati’ the Master in its true sense is worthy of you as you are my Lord, in every sense. You always protect the frightened one, here in this and the next world. So I have chosen you to be my Lord. But a lady who adores you with worship and penance and (at the same time) marries another man; truly she is infatuated by your magic power, as she is not freed from fear here and here-after too. 23-24.
‘O lord! So, I long for you and only you, by following religious duties, observing vows and austerities, I wish for your love only and not of anything else. So be pleased with me, the dearest one to my soul, kindly fulfil a wish of my heart.’ 25.
That is the way she should regularly pray and bow down and hold the idol to her heart and place it in a casket. 26.
I have briefly described to you the mode of worshiping Lord Shri Hari and by following these, the ladies will surely love the Lord more. 27.
O you pious one! After finishing the proper ritual of worshipping Lord Shri Krishna, that stable minded lady should concentrate upon the lotus feet of the Lord and chant the Krishna mantra received from the preceptor, five hundred times. 28.
Thus ends the thirty-sixth chapter entitled, ‘narration of the ritual of worship of Shri Krishna, in the code of conduct for women,’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra. (the rules of the code of conduct). 36