Chapter 7 - Ritual of worship of Vishnu and other deities

Shri Narayan muni said: - 

Ritual of worship of Vishnu and other deities: 

After performing Sandhya-vidhi and Homa in the morning, a Brahmin should worship Lord Vishnu. He should collect all the necessary things like flowers, sandalwood paste; then perform the worship. 1. 

A Brahmin should himself collect all the things like Samidha, flowers etc., for worship; material collected by Shudras or purchased, should not be used for worship. 2. 

Any act related to Gods, Manes, Sandhya-rites and other rituals should not be done with water brought by Shudra. 3. 

A Brahmin should sit facing the north or the east, in front of God and perform the worship along with Angadeva and all the Gods with deep devotion. 4. 

There are eight kinds of images. Shailee – of stone: white or black; wooden: sandalwood etc. metallic: iron, copper, gold, silver; lekhya: pictorial; Saikati: sand stones; Manimayi: crystallise; Manomayi: as imagined in mind. 5. 

As per the faith of a man, any of these eight can be taken for worship by him. He should worship the image, with deep devotion and use the material available according to time and place. 6. 

O Brahmin! There are lot of materials of worship but all is in vain without devotion, even a leaf or flower, offered with deep devotion, satisfies God and He accepts it, but even a valuable garland is refused, that is offered without devotion. 7. 

All the men and women of four Varnas have the right to worship God Vishnu. Worshipping the image of God is allowed to all human beings. 8. 

Worshipping of Shaligrama shila is allowed only to the Brahmins, but if one has taken the initiation/diksa of Vaishnava, Kshatriyas and Shudras are also allowed. 9. 

Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapati, Surya and the Goddess are the five Gods – Panchayatana, which a Brahmin should worship. All these should be worshipped. Vishnu is the main, among them. 10. 

Discipline to be exercised as regards number of idol images to be kept in Pooja. 

If Shaligram is to be worshipped, they should be in even numbers and not odd, if one wants to worship odd numbers, he should take only one. Even if a Shaligram is little broken, it is considered auspicious. 11. 

Two Shivalingas, two Shaligrams, two Dwarika-chakras, two Suns, should not be worshipped. 12. 

Three images of Parvati should not be worshipped, three images of Ganapati, two conchs, should not be worshipped. Similarly, broken images should also not be worshipped. 13. 

The order of placing, installing Gods, in Panchayatana worship, should be followed and then all these five Gods should be worshipped. 14. 

Lord Vishnu should be given the central place, Lord Shiva in the north-east, Ganapati in the Agnikona (south-east), Lord Sun in the south-west and Parvati in the Vayukona (north-west) for worshipping. 15. 

These five Gods should always be worshipped. Lord Vishnu should be worshipped with Purusha-sukta and others according to their respective mantras. 16. 

Among these, the method or ritual of worshipping is: first a Brahmin should remember Lord Ganesha, along with the uttering of time and place, and then he should chant the Purusha-sukta. 17. 

Ritual of performing Nyas through Purush-Sukta. 

Hands, feet, thighs, waist, navel, heart, neck, arms, mouth and eyes should be worshipped, in order of left wise limbs. 18. 

After collecting and finding the material, the Bell and conch should be worshipped and Lord Vishnu should be remembered as read, heard, seen and worshipped. 19. 

Ritual of Sixteen Upachar Arpan through Purush-Sukta. 

Study, penance, yoga, faith, devotion in worshipping and its intensity in devotion, should depict in the daily ritual of worshipping the images. 20. 

Every day, the Brahmin should perform-worship by uttering/ saying sixteen mantras and with sixteen Upacharas-forms and he should have deep devotion and faith. 21. 

He should invite the God, offer him seat, worship his feet, offer him water for sip (Achamana), give him a bath, clothes to wear, offer sacred thread, sandalwood paste, flowers. 22. 

A devotee (Brahmin), must also offer the God, oil lamp that is lit- move it round the God in clockwise direction, offer Naivedya, Tambula (scented betel leaf with betel nut and spices) and Daksina (gold, silver or money). A devotee (Brahmin), should then offer flowers to the God and offer his Namaskara, with deep respect. 23. 

A stable image and Shaligrama should not be given invitation, nor should be immersed. Banalinga also should not be immersed. 24. 

No should be Avahan or Visarjan In case of three only Achal Pratima, Shalgram or Banling. Purusha-sukta and concentration should be followed. If there is money, it should be worshipped according to money and there should be no cheating. 25. 

Akshatas (sacred rice mixed with Kumkum) should not be used to worship Vishnu and Tulasi (holy basil) should not be offered to Ganapati. Durvas (holy) should not be offered to Goddesses and the Sun God should not be worshipped with Bilva leaves. 26. 

Champak and Kewda (Pandanus Odoratissimus) should not be offered, in worship to Lord Shiva. Unmantta Apka (Dhattura) and Aghada should not be used in worshipping Vishnu. 27. 

Flowers: Mallika, Malati, Jati, Ashoka, Champaka, Punnaga, Bakula and Lotus should be used for worshipping Vishnu. 28. 

Kunda, Karavira and other fragrant flowers should be used for worshipping Vishnu but Vana-ketaki should be avoided. 29. 

Paryushita leaves andParyushita water (stale, over bloomed flowers and water) are not good for worship.If the gardener keeps flowers that have bloomed overnight, they are considered good (for worship). 30. 

Bilvapatra, Madhyan, Tamala and Amalaki, Kalhar, Tulasi, Lotus and Mani-pushpaka (can all be used for worship). 31. 

Lotus, Kushas and buds that are not stale or over-bloomed can be used for worship. O Suvrat! Sacred water from the Ganga does not become stale. 32. 

Time of not breaking Tulsi. 

Basil (Tulasi) leaves should not be picked during the following times: Vaidhriti, Vyatipata, Tuesday, Friday, Sunday, full moon day (Paurnima), no moon day (Amavasya), Samkranti, Ekadashi, Dvadashi and the days of defilement owing to birth and death. 33. 

Tulasi-basil leaves should not be picked or collected in the evening and night. While picking the leaves, the following Mantra should be uttered: 34. 

O Tulasi! You are born of nectar, you are always loved by Keshava, I am plucking you for Keshava; please bless me. 35. 

If one offers Tulasi along with Manjari to Lord Krishna, each leaf is considered more than a crore golden flowers. 36. 

Discipline to be exercised for keeping Prasadi of Shivji in Grahan. 

There is no fault in accepting Nirmalya( used flowers) offered to Panchayatana (five Gods). Apart from Panchayatana, when only Shiva is worshipped, used flowers should not be accepted without informing Him. 37. 

Any material - leaves, flowers etc. should not be taken without informing Shiva. With Shaligrama, in the Panchayatana, everything is holy or sacred. 38. 

When self-manifested, (Svayam-bhu), Banalinga or Shivalinga is used for worship, there is no fault in accepting Nirmalya. 39. 

Discipline to be exercised for performing Pooja of goddess during Navratri. 

A Brahmin should worship Goddess Parvati during Navaratri (nine bright days in Ashvin) using sweet milk-porridge, cooked from raw wheat flour and other materials.However, it should not have been made by Asuras. 40. 

Even the presence of smell of Asuras, liquor and meat should be strictly avoided. 41. 

Naivedya of wine, meat and such, that is offered to the Goddess should invariably be avoided. 42. 

A Brahmin should only offer, black-gram cake, boiled cakes, coconut or porridge to the Goddess during worship. 43. 

One who offers the food stuff that is banned: meat, wine, liquor etc. and crosses the limits of religion and victimises animals to please the Goddess, will always fall in Kumbhi-Paka hell and his lineage will be destroyed forever. 44. 

Those who worship Goddess, without knowing the myth of the religion, with this kind of material, will beget the birth of a Brahma-raksasa and will dwell in a lonely, waterless place or dense forest. 45. 

O Brahmin! Thus, I have narrated to you the method and practice of worship. It may change as per the place, which I am now going to tell you. 46. 

In Sthandila: a circular heap of dust, should be made by chanting the proper mantras. The main deity should be worshipped, along with Tatvavinyasa chanting mantras, while installing God in the Surya Mandal. He should be worshipped with the material available nearby and ghee should be offered to the sacred fire. 47. 

A worshipper, who has controlled his sense organs, should think of the God in his heart and worship others with all the materials. He should offer meals to Brahmins. All Vaishnavas should be considered as his brethren and he should honour them with love. 48. 

Brahmins and other devotees should worship God three times: morning, afternoon and evening, every day; weak persons can worship him only once in the morning. 49. 

During all the three times, he should chant the mantra learnt from his teacher with deep devotion, dedication and in respect. 50. 

Gayatri-mantra should be chanted along with the Krishna- mantra, twice a day and when he is in a calamity. 51. 

This way, O Brahmin! I have narrated to you the everyday ritual of worship, to be done by a Brahmin. Now I shall tell you about householder’s religious duties. 52. 

Thus ends the seventh chapter entitled, ‘Ritual of worship of God,’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra (the rules of the code of conduct). 7