Wearing Ornaments during puja

I believe God is against pride but we see some people always wear Colorful and rich Jarigai Veshti / Sarees and adorn themselves with all kinds of jewels during pooja - as if to show their pomp. 

I think God loves only simplicity - so is this necessary ? But I heard your lecture CD - yours words were supporting wearing these ornaments and jewellary wile doing pooja

Which is right ? please clarify

Ramachandran

Manglore

----------------------------------------------------------

Please understand one thing - 

That We Obey Rules Blindly Does Not Mean that We should Blindly follow it... 

A man was appointed for guard duties in a temple. He used to sit on the gate of the temple and ensure that no one enter in the temple with shoes on. There was a board at the gate, "Please remove your shoes before entering in the temple." He enforced the rules with utmost sincerity.

A man came walking without shoes and tried to enter in the temple. The gatekeeper denied him the entry. "Why?" The man argued," I am not wearing any shoes. How can you deny me entry?"

"Read the rules. It requires that you have to first remove your shoes before entering in the temple. So please go home and wear a shoe, remove it here and then only you can enter in the temple." Came the reply from the gatekeeper.

Most of us may find the gatekeeper a fool because he was enforcing the law without properly understanding it. This is what happens to most people when they try to follow the laws blindly without proper understanding.

Being simple is different and wearing ornaments during puja is totally different. It is not for showing pride... Wearing Shaggy clothes doesnt mean one is without pride. Suppose if you are having an appointment with a VIP of your city- you dress up neatly. This is not to show-off but to make you presentable... 

When you think you need to be presentable for an ordinary human being then what about the Creator of the Universe? It is nothing wrong in wearing these dresses and ornaments and decorating yourself - pleasing to the Lord

Moreover Swarnam and Rajatham (Gold and Silver) are depicting Aishwaryam - So you are wearing the ornaments and do puja to the deities--only by whose grace we have come to possess the Aishwaryam(ornaments)

Just imagine - suppose your grand parents are very fond of you and have gifted you a new dress. Definitelty you would wear them and go and meet them. This is not pride or showing off. This is a sense of expressing happiness.

The God has given you the Aishwaryam and you -wearing those ornaments and you are showing your gratitude and happiness by doing puja with hands that wear ornaments. 

You might have seen Acharya of Shringeri during Navarati Utsavam - where he used to be in Raja Alankaram wearing crown and Ornaments.

In fact in Shrividya Upasana kramam - it is a must that one must decorate himself fully and only then sit for puja. 

Lord Parasurama who is an exponent of Shrividya has written in his book Parasurama Kalpa Sutram:

yaaga mantram kluptaa akalpa: sankalpaa aakalpo vaa

ie A person doing puja should wear those ornaments(kluptaakalpa:) and do the puja in the pujaroom(yaaga mantram).

So it is not pride or showing off - instead its a very nice gesture that  a person is wearing rich clothes and ornaments while duing puja or yagna.

So - the next question may arise.. This can be followed only by rich people?

Parasurama gives the answer "sankalpaa aakalpo vaa" ie for those who cannot afford to wear ornaments, when they do the puja to God, they should mentally imagine wearing these ornaments. 

This in turn will get the person - not only the divine blessing but also the actual comforts of the material life.