And every year, we somehow end up having the same debate.
Should the offering be strictly vegetarian? Some insist that non-vegetarian offerings are against Hinduism, while others maintain that their ancestors have been receiving such offerings for generations.
But what do our scriptures actually say?
Clapping Before Caṇḍeśa: What Do the Scriptures Actually Say?
You would have been taught to clap the hands or show your empty palms before Caṇḍeśa when leaving a Śiva temple. The explanation usually given is that we are assuring Him that we have not taken anything belonging to Śiva.
ŚOṆĀDRINĀTHĀṢṬAKAM
Śoṇādri means “the Red Mountain” and is an ancient name of Arunācala. Śoṇādrinātha therefore means “the Lord of Śoṇādri,” referring to Śiva as Arunācaleśvara.
The hymn praises Śiva in several aspects: as Rudra and Maheśvara, as Ardhanārīśvara, as the cosmic Lord with the Sun, Moon and Fire as His eyes, and especially as Tripurāntaka, the destroyer of the three cities.
This is a very rare hymn which is barely known or recited today. My ācārya Somaśekhara śivācārya stressed this a lot on us and we ensured that it was chanted during almost every ritual. Somaśekhara śivācārya says that this hymn is unique and non-comparable to other compositions as it is from the śaiva āgama-s, and hence, from the Lord directly.
As Malaysians, we are very familiar with this hearsay:
Person X: “The temple is no longer how it used to be lah. Cannot feel Ammaṉ as before.”
Person Y: “Of course lah! The cāmi (deity) there already ikat (tied). The new management lah…”
In ancient folk cultures, the Kṣetrapāla is referred to as 'muṉṉaḍiyāṉ' (in Tamiḻ). Muṉṉaḍiyāṉ comes from muṉṉaḍi ("ahead of" or "front"), because the muṉṉaḍiyāṉ are placed at the entrance of the shrine, typically facing the presiding deity.
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In Śaiva Āgamic worship, dhūpa ( incense smoke ) is an important upacāra ( ritual ) offered to the deity. It is not merely the act of showing incense, but a ritual offering of fragrant smoke, performed with proper substance, sequence, distance, mudrā, and bell-sound.
Introduction to VedasThe entire Universe is reverberating. When there is reverberation, there is sound. In other words, the entire cosmos is simply a manifestation of sound energy. The ancient Vedic sages through penance, could download cosmic data directly. They received cosmic truths in the form of sounds which they envisioned. These truths were recited as received, and passed on generations after generations.
Various truths downloaded by various ṛṣi-s gave rise to the ocean of Vedas. Veda Vyāsa later compiled these Vedas and classified them. This is how the 4 Vedas came to existence. Each of these Vedas had many branches. Each branch had 4 components :
(1) saṃhitā
(2) brāhmaṇa
(3) āraṇyaka
(4) upaniṣad
Camakam is from the Taittirīya Saṁhitā, Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, 4th Kāṇḍa, 7th Prāpaṭhaka
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I will narrate an incident which occurred a few years back.
जप एवं समाख्यातः प्रदक्षिणम् अथोच्यते ।
नानाविधं तद् आख्यातं अन्तर्बाह्य विभेदतः ।
लिङ्गप्रासादयोर् मध्ये श्रेष्ठाश्रेष्ठं प्रकीर्तितम् ॥
अन्तर्मण्डलशालादाव् अन्तः श्रेष्ठं प्रकीर्तितम् ।
गर्भे प्रदक्षिणं कर्तुं न शक्यं बहुदोषकृत् ॥
गर्भगेहे भवेल्लिङ्गच्छाया निर्माल्यसङ्करः ।
सोमसूत्रस्य मूलं च देवसामीप्यम् एव च
japa evaṃ samākhyātaḥ pradakṣiṇam athocyate ।
nānāvidhaṃ tad ākhyātaṃ antarbāhya vibhedataḥ ।
liṅgaprāsādayor madhye śreṣṭhāśreṣṭhaṃ prakīrtitam ॥
antarmaṇḍalaśālādāv antaḥ śreṣṭhaṃ prakīrtitam ।
garbhe pradakṣiṇaṃ kartuṃ na śakyaṃ bahudoṣakṛt ॥
garbhagehe bhavelliṅgacchāyā nirmālyasaṅkaraḥ ।
somasūtrasya mūlaṃ ca devasāmīpyam eva ca
Inspection ( 6s )
Site
Size ( estimate the dimensions first, say you will confirm it with measurement )
Shape
Surface ( smooth / irregular )
Skin changes ( Ulceration / pigmentation )
Scars
Site related ( eg. if present at the back of a patient, ask patient to push the wall )
When my guru taught me about the usage of temple bells, he quoted some paddhati śloka-s of Somaśambhu. I will share them here:
In this article, I will cover the two aspects of Muni.
1. As a saint
2. As a spirit
Then I will talk about how the term 'Munīśvara' is attributed differently according to worship.
* Spoiler Alert*
Osteoarthrosis is a degenerative disease. So the actual term is indeed osteoarthrOSIS. Osteoarthritis is always seen as a misnomer.
( latest studies show that osteoarthrosis is both degenerative and inflammatory though. Osteoarthritis is now used but remember that some senior examiners stick to osteoarthrosis. )
Details of patient. Before starting your History Of Presenting Illness ( HOPI ), mention these important points:
1.Peripheral neuropathy
2.Vasculopathy ( microangiopathy )
3.Immunopathy ( infection )
This is called the 'devil's triad'
