Archanam means the process of
devotional service. It is the pooja or process of deity worship. People all
over the world have an altar where they place pictures or idols or holy books
and they offer their reverence and worship by lighting of candle, incense and
offering of flowers, fruits and food. Archanam can be done at home or at the
temples or places of worship. All you need is a deity or a picture or a holy
book and you can offer any type of worship you want. It can be simple or
elaborate. At the temples, the archanam done by the temple authorities is
elaborate. The visiting devotees can offer either elaborate or simple archanam
as per their wish and ability. Archanam is the fifth method of worship
elaborated in the Nava Vidha Bhakti taught by Sri Rama to Shabari.
Archanam at home is done by
simple mantras like ‘Jai Sri Ram’ or ‘SitaRam’ or ‘Om Namah Shivaya’
or by taking any name of God
which we like. The worshipper calls on Allah or Jesus or Zoraster or Buddha or
Mahavira. Chanting the name with devotion, lighting of lamp or candle or
offering of incense or flowers is a part of the archanam ritual. In India,
people chant the 1008 names of Lord Vishnu or the 1008 names of Sri Lalitha
Devi in their worship and offer flowers for each name. The information and
rituals for archanam is given in the sacred texts. Where elaborate and
ritualistic archanam is to be done, the texts are followed in full detail. The
Satyanarayan Pooja is an example of ritualistic and elaborate archanam.
In the temples of India, archanam
is very elaborate with chanting of Vedic mantras and rituals. The deity in the
temple is a living form. God is present everywhere in every atom of creation.
He is space. Space or Formless God is difficult to worship. By mantras, the
energy of space is invoked into wind, and from wind to fire and from fire the
energies are transferred to water. This water is poured over the deity and the
deity is consecrated. Then deity has life from then on. By daily archanam the
energies of the deity are stroked and increased and when we go to such temples
and pray, the living energies there answer our prayers. The deity in the temple
is given ritualistic bath, dressed up in finery and jewellery and offered
elaborate worship, offered food and water. At night there is a ritual of
putting the Lord to sleep and in the morning, a ritual of waking the Lord. Such
rituals are pleasing to man as he identifies with them and by doing such
rituals at temples, he gets darshan, blessings, grace and his prayers are
answered.
In the Bhagwad Geeta, Lord
Krishna says: I am most pleased if you offer Me just a fruit, or a
flower, or a leaf or just water. All
cannot afford materials for ritualistic worship. So Sri Krishna says that if we
can afford a fruit and offer unto Him, He is pleased. If we cannot afford a
fruit, we can offer a flower, if we do not have a flower, we can offer a leaf
and if we do not have even that, we can just offer Him a teaspoon of water and
He is satisfied with that. It is very easy to please the Lord.
In the path of Kundalini Maha
Yoga, we follow the path of mental archanam. God or Guru is invoked with us, in our hearts. We
offer worship with the Siddha mantra of Sita Ram or the Guru Mantra given to
us. The worship can be simple or as elaborate as one wants. God is the King of the Universe and we can
offer Him the Most Royal Archanam in our Hearts. We can use the freshest
fragrant flowers, bathe Him with sparkling Ganges waters and offer Him the most
beautiful silk robes, scintillating jewels, royal throne for sitting in any
beautiful spot of our choice. We can offer Him the rarest delicacies to eat and
drink. We can worship Him with our entire being and devotion. Such worship is
considered to be of the Highest Order.
The archanam offered by King
Prithu is considered to be of very high order. Because of his worship, earth is
called Prithvi. Regular Archanam creates a holy atmosphere in our homes and
keeps our hearts and homes peaceful.
