It is not very often that I come across very profound meaning(s) behind some of our traditions and practices. But whenever I do come across, I am left with little choice but to be spell bound by the wisdom of our ancient Seers who have introduced these practices with deep philosophical meaning & insight. I came across the philosophical meanings of some of the practices in our temples while I was en route to work with a customer, who coincidentally also shares interest in philosophy. In fact, the meanings were shared by my customer while we were generally discussing philosophy. Here are the practices & their philosophical meanings.
When we visit temples or when we worship, we perform 5 major acts. These are: ring the bell, light the lamp & perform aarati, light agarbatti (incense sticks), take little water (teertham) in one's hand (mostly right hand) and consume it, and finally take prasadam.
While I share the meanings of the above, it is important to understand and agree upon the goal or purpose of human life as described in Hindu scriptures. To ATTAIN MOKSHA or LIBERATION, is regarded as the highest goal of human life. This is nothing but understanding Truth or Reality as it is and being one with It. In order to understand Truth, it is necessary to "experience It". For, knowledge of Truth cannot be imparted. This knowledge has to be attained thru' one's own experience, & this experience comes as a consequence of tremendous perseverence (the path of perseverence & what it means may be different for different seekers). The bottomline is to "EXPERIENCE THE TRUTH".
When we say "experience", the principal means to experience are the 5 sense organs namely: eyes, ears, tongue, skin, & the nose. We use these organs either independently or in combination, to experience objects. In addition to these sense organs, there is the mind. It is in the context of sense organs that we perform the above mentioned 5 major acts in a temple. Albeit we employ sense organs to perceive and experience objects in the course of normal day-to-day life, it is mostly in the dormant state. That is, there is no awakening or awareness behind the normal day-to-day perceptions and experiences. The purpose of performing the above 5 acts, is TO AWAKEN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE 5 SENSE ORGANS. Let me explain further.
By ringing the bell, we are awakening the ears; by lighting the lamp or performing aarati, we are awakening the eyes; by burning agarbatti (incense sticks), we are awakening the nose; by taking sacred water (teertham, which is given to devotees after abhishekam) in one's hand before consuming it, we are awakening the skin; & finally, by consuming the prasadam, we are awakening the tongue. In this manner, we have to awaken all the 5 sense organs. Together with the collectively awakened sense organs when the mind worships or offers prayers, in that state we will "EXPERIENCE THE TRUTH or REALITY".
This shows how much deep thought, insight, & philosophy have gone into the entire rituals. When the rituals are accompanied by deep understanding of their philosophy & meaning, it leads to EXPERIENCE.
