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How to set up a Hare Krishna altar at home?
Worship
of Radha and Krishna is no cheap thing. It cannot be done whimsically,
but it must be very carefully executed under strict regulation.
Not that there can be LSD taking and all sinful activities, and
then Deity worship. I have made it a point that unless one is able
to keep to the same standard that is kept here at the temple, he
should not worship the Deity separately. Best thing is to keep a
Guru-Gauranga altar at home and take part in the Deity worship program
at the temple.
Letter
to: Caitanya, Los
Angeles, 25
April, 1973
In
this quote Srila Prabhupada warns us not to take to the Deity worship
whimsically. It is a serious matter and it needs to be executed
according to strict rules and regulations. One of the conditions
for worshipping a Deity (whether Radha Krsna Deity or Nitai Gauranga
Deity) at the present moment is that a person must be second- initiated(must
undergo a Gayatri initiation) under the rtvik system set up by Srila
Prabhupada. This is evident from Srila Prabhupada's letter to Yamuna
Devi Dasi from 1970:
Regarding
an assistant Pujari, Ilavati may be trained to assist you, but she
may not conduct Arcana without being dvija. The system is that only
one who is qualified with Gayatri initiation may directly worship
the Deities (i.e. bathing, offering bhoga and aratrik, cooking for
the Deities, etc.). But she may assist you by helping in all other
respects. If for some reason you are unable to perform aratrik,
there are other devotees, initiated brahmanas, who can make the
offerings there.
Letter
to: Yamuna, Los
Angeles, 2
March, 1970
Does
that mean that people who are not yet up to this standard are barred
from worshipping Krsna and making offering for Him? No. And that
is why everyone and anyone can worship Him on his home altar in
a picture form.
The basic
altar consists of picture of 1.Panca Tattva, 2.Srila Prabhupada,
3.the previous acaryas-members of the disciplic succesion (positioned
from left to right starting with the most recent ones such as Srila
Prabhupada)and a picture of Lord Nrshimhadeva. The pictures of these
personalities can be placed on a cupboard, table, shelf, or practically
anything which you will be able to put your offerings on. The altar
should be very clean and you should be able to clean it with a wet
cloth. The altar cannot be used for anything else, but for the offerings,
so make sure you can sacrifice it for Krsna for good. Not only should
the altar be clean, but also the place where the altar is. In the
material(relative) world, the picture of a person and a person himself
are two different things, however that is not the case with the
Lord who is of an absolute nature. As such Krsna, as well as spiritual
master Srila Prabhupada, is non-different from His picture. We should
keep this in mind when we worship Them on the altar. The altar is
an essential inspiration in Hare Krsna mahamantra mediation. One
can offer an incense, a candle, on the altar or decorate with flower
and in this way a transcendental atmoshpere is evoked.
A
little bit about the personalities on the pictures:
1/Panca
Tattva
This picture captures
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. Lord Caitanya is
Krsna Himself and He comes in this age of Kali yuga to perform the
pastime of His own devotee. In other words, Lord Krsna performs
a role, where He worships Himself in order to show us the example
and at the same time relishes the transcendental bliss experienced
by His pure devotees. Lord Caitanya is the most merciful incarnation
and He is the father of the sankirtana Hare Krsna chanting movement.
He is not alone, but accompanied by His associates: Lord Nityananda
Prabhu in blue garments, Lord Sri Advaita Prabhu in white garments,
Sri Gadhadara Pandit in purple and Srivas Thakur in red. They all
come to flood the world with ecstatic dancing and chanting of the
Hare Krsna mantra and it is only through Their mercy we can serve
the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna.
2/Srila
Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada
is the current initiating spiritual master of the Hare Krsna movement
and in one sense, he is the most important personality as he is
the first acarya in the disciplic succesion who spred the teachings
of Krsna consciousness all around
the world. He has fulfilled the prophecy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
that the holy name will be heard in every village and every town
and therefore there is no limit to his glorification. Because our
consciousness is at the present moment on the material platform,
we are not able to interact with Krsna, whose nature is completely
transcendental directly. Therefore Krsna sends His bona fide representative
and it is only through him we can serve the Lord. It is just like
a government official. He is not the government itself, but he comes
on behalf of the government and if we please him, the whole government
will be pleased. Similarly, the spiritual master is not the Godhead
Himself, but because he is the most confidential servitor of the
Supreme Lord, whatever service is rendered to the spiritual master(transparent
via medium) sincerely is accepted by the Supreme Lord. Srila Visvanatha
Cakravarti Thakur in this connection sings:
yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi
"By
the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the benediction of
Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make
any advancement. "
(Sri
Guru-vastaka)
This
is indeed the secret of spiritual advancement. The more we please
the guru(spiritual master), the more Krsna is pleased.
3/Srila
Bhaktisidhanta Saraswati
Srila
Bhaktisidhanta Saraswati is the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada.
He is the founder of the Gaudya Math and has laid foundation for
the world wide non-sectarian Hare Krishna movement.
4/Srila
Gaurakisora Das Babaji
Srila
Gaurakisora Das Babaji is the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakur.
5/Srila
Bhaktivonode Thakur
Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakur has a special significance for our Montreal
based devotees as it was here in Montreal where for the first time
in the history the message of Caitanya Mahaprabhu(Gaura-Vani) penetrated
the Western world. In 1896(which also happen to be the year when
Srila Prabhupada appeared)Srila Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakur
out of his causeless mercy sent a package to McGill university.
This package contained his book The Life and Precepts of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, which the McGill university heartily welcomed in their
library.
6/Six
Goswamis
The
six prominent disciples of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who have
written numerous literatures on the science of bhakti.
7/
Lord Nrshimhadeva
Lord
Krsna's incarnation in the form of half-man half-lion. Lord Nrshimhadeva
came to rid this world of a great demon Hiranyakasipu and please
His beloved devotee Prahlad Maharaja.
More quotes
of Srila Prabhupada on the matter
As
far as staying in some boys apartment, this is permissable if everyone
in the house agrees to follow the principles while you are there.
That is no smoking, no drinking, etc. You may also install a small
altar there with a picture of Guru and Gauranga and the Spiritual
Masters there and perform mangala arati every morning and hold classes
etc. Under these circumstances you can live in others apartments.
Melbourne,
10
February, 1973
The
conch shells as you have described may be kept on the altar as decoration,
but they must be kept clean. Everything on the altar must always
be clean.
Letter
to: Govardhan 4,Juhu,
Bombay-54, 18
November, 1973
Your
desire to keep a personal temple room in your home is commendable,
and you can do that in any case, wherever you are, by keeping an
altar and offering your food to the Lord as prasadam.
Letter
to: Kanu Gandhi, Bombay,
26
March, 1974
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