“When two or three gather together, I am amidst you,” says Mukti Nath. But the main purpose of this gathering is not only to worship God but to celebrate our relationship with Him and each other through fellowship. True fellowship is not merely to worship; worship is part of it.
Worship is a personal sadhana that we can and must do both individually and collectively. But when we gather together, the main purpose of fellowship is to give company to each other, in which the touch of flesh is very crucial. Though we can gather through virtual meetings now, we still miss the personal eye contact that communicates more than what we listen to or share in a virtual gathering. That’s why I would never say that a virtual meeting is true fellowship. In fellowship, not only do you keep in touch with another person physically through words and eye contact, but you cannot ignore her. If you don’t pay attention to the other person while talking, she might even say, “OK, I think you are not listening because you have some other thought in your mind,” and might even walk away. But in a virtual meeting, we are not sure that everyone is listening to each other, though they may hear some voices. If we keep the video muted, we don’t even know what other activities the person is doing while listening to us. This is not true fellowship.
As I often say, the small talk among small groups or between two individuals during the break in a meeting or gathering is much more important than what we listen to or discuss together in all the sessions. When we eat together, have tea together, go for a long walk, and have personal talks after retiring to bed, these are the highlights of every gathering. So we should never miss any opportunity to come together to celebrate this relationship with each other and also with the Lord.
Worship is part of nine kinds of bhakti known as navadana bhakti. They are the nine types of bhakti:
– **Shravanam** – listening to kathas or kirtans related to Bhagvan.
– **Kirtanam** – singing or talking about Bhagvan.
– **Smaranam** – remembering Bhagvan.
– **Pad-sevanam** – massaging Bhagvan’s holy feet.
– **Archanam** – performing Bhagvan’s puja (arti, thal, sandalwood paste).
– **Vandanam** – bowing before Bhagvan.
– **Dasyam** – behaving as the servant of Bhagvan.
– **Sakhyam** – behaving as the friend of Bhagvan.
– **Atma-nivedanam** – unconditionally offering everything to Bhagvan.
But what actually is this worship? In Tamil Nadu, people often say, “We went to the temple to do ‘sami kumbida.’” Sami is God and ‘kumbidudal’ is to pay homage to the deity while he or she is giving their audience. When a dignitary or a respected holy man/woman visits a place, people will go there to pay their respect or homage to him/her. But this is not limited to going and paying one’s respect but also having the darshan of the deity or spiritual person. But this is not limited to having the darshan of the deity but also being seen by the deity, i.e., being noticed by the deity. That’s why almost all the images used for worship always have open eyes and are never closed. Even when an image is carved, opening the eyes is not merely a work of art but a spiritual sadhana. Some artists who create images of deities will follow strict ritual purity on the day when they open the eyes of that particular image.
Many would say to the Swamijis or seniors when taking farewell after a visit, “When will we get your darshan again?” This is because it is not only about having their darshan but also being seen by them. This is very important when visiting any ashram or holy people. In a big crowd, people long for the Swamiji or spiritual person to look upon them. This longing for a gaze is not limited to Hinduism. A staunch Catholic once said to me, who had started a charity work in the name of Mother Teresa, “When she visited Chennai, I was there to have her darshan. But I think her darshan also fell upon me. That’s why, inspired by her life, I have started this kind of social service to society.”
According to Hindu mythology, the eyes of the devas [celestial beings] never blink and their eyelids always remain wide open. So worship is not just performing rituals like archanam; it is not merely to have the darshan of the deity but also to be seen by the deity.
Fellowship, on the other hand, is more about celebrating the relationship with each other and with the Lord, in which we set aside a small part to do a few aspects of the nine kinds of bhakti like listening, singing, sharing, etc. But one common feature in both fellowship and worship is the relationship. In our fellowship with each other, we communicate our thoughts in a format to each other, but in worship, we use a different format to communicate with God—singing songs, talking to Him in prayer, reading Scripture to listen to Him talk to us, etc.
So physically gathering together is important not only for worship but even to maintain human relationships.
Gurukulam, 15-10-2023###
“When two or three gather together, I am amidst you,” says Mukti Nath. But the main purpose of this gathering is not only to worship God but to celebrate our relationship with Him and each other through fellowship. True fellowship is not merely to worship; worship is part of it.
Worship is a personal sadhana that we can and must do both individually and collectively. But when we gather together, the main purpose of fellowship is to give company to each other, in which the touch of flesh is very crucial. Though we can gather through virtual meetings now, we still miss the personal eye contact that communicates more than what we listen to or share in a virtual gathering. That’s why I would never say that a virtual meeting is true fellowship. In fellowship, not only do you keep in touch with another person physically through words and eye contact, but you cannot ignore her. If you don’t pay attention to the other person while talking, she might even say, “OK, I think you are not listening because you have some other thought in your mind,” and might even walk away. But in a virtual meeting, we are not sure that everyone is listening to each other, though they may hear some voices. If we keep the video muted, we don’t even know what other activities the person is doing while listening to us. This is not true fellowship.
As I often say, the small talk among small groups or between two individuals during the break in a meeting or gathering is much more important than what we listen to or discuss together in all the sessions. When we eat together, have tea together, go for a long walk, and have personal talks after retiring to bed, these are the highlights of every gathering. So we should never miss any opportunity to come together to celebrate this relationship with each other and also with the Lord.
Worship is part of nine kinds of bhakti known as navadana bhakti. They are the nine types of bhakti:
– **Shravanam** – listening to kathas or kirtans related to Bhagvan.
– **Kirtanam** – singing or talking about Bhagvan.
– **Smaranam** – remembering Bhagvan.
– **Pad-sevanam** – massaging Bhagvan’s holy feet.
– **Archanam** – performing Bhagvan’s puja (arti, thal, sandalwood paste).
– **Vandanam** – bowing before Bhagvan.
– **Dasyam** – behaving as the servant of Bhagvan.
– **Sakhyam** – behaving as the friend of Bhagvan.
– **Atma-nivedanam** – unconditionally offering everything to Bhagvan.
But what actually is this worship? In Tamil Nadu, people often say, “We went to the temple to do ‘sami kumbida.’” Sami is God and ‘kumbidudal’ is to pay homage to the deity while he or she is giving their audience. When a dignitary or a respected holy man/woman visits a place, people will go there to pay their respect or homage to him/her. But this is not limited to going and paying one’s respect but also having the darshan of the deity or spiritual person. But this is not limited to having the darshan of the deity but also being seen by the deity, i.e., being noticed by the deity. That’s why almost all the images used for worship always have open eyes and are never closed. Even when an image is carved, opening the eyes is not merely a work of art but a spiritual sadhana. Some artists who create images of deities will follow strict ritual purity on the day when they open the eyes of that particular image.
Many would say to the Swamijis or seniors when taking farewell after a visit, “When will we get your darshan again?” This is because it is not only about having their darshan but also being seen by them. This is very important when visiting any ashram or holy people. In a big crowd, people long for the Swamiji or spiritual person to look upon them. This longing for a gaze is not limited to Hinduism. A staunch Catholic once said to me, who had started a charity work in the name of Mother Teresa, “When she visited Chennai, I was there to have her darshan. But I think her darshan also fell upon me. That’s why, inspired by her life, I have started this kind of social service to society.”
According to Hindu mythology, the eyes of the devas [celestial beings] never blink and their eyelids always remain wide open. So worship is not just performing rituals like archanam; it is not merely to have the darshan of the deity but also to be seen by the deity.
Fellowship, on the other hand, is more about celebrating the relationship with each other and with the Lord, in which we set aside a small part to do a few aspects of the nine kinds of bhakti like listening, singing, sharing, etc. But one common feature in both fellowship and worship is the relationship. In our fellowship with each other, we communicate our thoughts in a format to each other, but in worship, we use a different format to communicate with God—singing songs, talking to Him in prayer, reading Scripture to listen to Him talk to us, etc.
So physically gathering together is important not only for worship but even to maintain human relationships.
Gurukulam, 15-10-2023
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