What Happens When You Offer Archana In A Temple?

  So you visit a temple, purchase an Archana ticket and have the priest perform sankalpa and puja on your behalf. What is the significance to this?

 In a temple, a devotee has restricted leeway. As such, he cannot enter the garbha graha or main shrine to offer his worship. The priest will do this as a representative.

 Archana simply means offering worship to the archa-vigraha, the deity of a temple.

 The whole process has a flow to it. The prime components you find are Sankalpa and upachara puja.

Sankalpa ~ The Cosmic Resolution

 This is when your astrological details are obtained. There is a profound significance to this. The concept of time is relative. The flow of time on this planet is not universal. When we celebrate the birth ( Jayanti ) of Lord Krishna, we can say that He physically manifested on this planet about 5000 years ago.

 This '5000' as a numerical value is only applicable to this planet. The Jayanti of Lord Krishna is, however, a cosmic event that is not restricted to planet Earth alone.

  So cosmically, divine events- be it the birth of Lord Krishna, the marriage of Devi Meenakshi with Sundareshwara, etc are not time-bound. 

 In Hinduism, a cosmic event is based on and rooted in celestial geometry and mapping. When we celebrate Krishna Janmashthami, we are not reminiscing about an Avatar who came here 5000 years back and left. We are literally celebrating a 'cosmic event' which is beyond time and space. To quote an instance, we determine the date of Krishna Janmashtami based on the Ashtami of Krishna Paksha during Bhadrapada. We determine this Janmashtami based on the movement, position, and angulation of the Sun and other heavenly bodies.

 Krishna descended physically on the planet and this event is cosmic. It is archived in the Akashic records. Hence, whenever the astronomical positions align as how it was during the birth of the Lord, we celebrate the event as His Janmashtami. The physical descent of Krishna is coded in the form of the geometry of the heavenly bodies. So the birth of Krishna on the planet, though not physically occuring now, is still as real as when He physically descended 5000 years back here. The numerals are only applicable to the planet and not the cosmos. 

 As per Cosmos, Lord Krishna happens during every Janmashtami. 

 So when we celebrate Meenakshi Digvijayam next year, remember that the event of Devi Meenakshi's conquest and victory is not bound to space and time. It will be as REAL and ALIVE as it was when She physically walked the planet in the past.

 This is why we do grandiose ceremonies and re-enact the events in every temple. When the utsava deity of Meenakshi Devi is brought into procession during every Brahmotsavam, She is manifesting as real as She was when physically walking the planet. There is not an iota of difference here. 

Sankalpa - The Science of Manifesting A Reality

 You will notice the acharya announcing the blueprint of your individual existence at a cosmic level during Sankalpa. This is when your name, Rashi and Nakshatra are announced too. Technically, the priest performing the archana on your behalf should utter 'asya yajamaanasya sakuTumbasya' instead of 'asmaakam sahakuTumbaanam'. Movies and TV serials these days misrepresent this part usually, unless you are a 90's kid who grew up watching actor Sathya Raj's lollu..

You can find the accurate way in which an acharya performs a sankalpa on a devotee's behalf. Watch at 13:10. Movies back then kept up with the authenticity

 Then, other details are announced, namely the year ( nama samvatsara ), the movement of Sun ( ayana ), season ( rtu), month ( maasa ), lunar phase ( paksha ), and the celestial house ( nakshatra ).

 This is announced so that your reality is manifested to the right target, at the right planet in accordance to the present timeline. Remember that you don't only exist in this planet. You also exist in other dimensions and in the parallel universe.

 Then before concluding the Sankalpa, we announce the particular reality to be manifested, be it wealth, health, or destruction of enemies.

 If you are good with Sanskrit grammar, you can easily construct your own Sankalpa.

 This same Sankalpa principle is applied during a regular atmartha or parartha puja, homa or other rituals. 

 The upachara puja to the deity happens after the Sankalpa. This is when the acharya proceeds into the garbha graha to offer worship to the deity.

In a Nutshell

 So an Archana is a very profound science of manifesting your reality. You are using an acharya who is supposed to be spiritually vibrant as a medium to announce your cosmic blueprint to manifest the reality you want, in accordance to the individual self and setting in which you exist.

Stop Complaining

 When you want to utilise a profound science like this, offer the right dakshina. Either pay what the Acharya demands or simply don't do it.

 No one is forcing you to get an Archana ticket. No one is stopping you from learning these rituals. Stop complicating things and celebrate these profound rituals.