Post by darshini on Jul 9, 2012 22:15:51 GMT 5.5
PRAYER
The purpose of prayer is not to petition for benefits. Such petitioning implies either that God does not know what we want, which will militate against His omniscience, or that He waits to be asked and delights in praise, which will degrade Him to the level of ordinary man.
Why then do we pray?
Though Omniscient God is immanent in every creature and knows what is in the heart of every person, yet, if what we wish to say in prayer remains unsaid, it afflicts our heart and so prayer heals that affliction. By prayer we do not seek to change what God ordains; in fact, we cannot do so. We go to Him to remove our impurities.
As Tiruvalluvar said, we attach ourselves to Him, who has no attachments, to rid ourselves of our attachments. A devout consciousness that God exists will itself do the miracle of alchemising us into purity of nature. We obtain a spiritual charge into our frame by being in His presence.
Agajaanana padmaarkam
gajaananam aharnisam
Anekadam-tam bhaktaanaam
ekadantam upaasmahe.
This is a familiar prayer verse addressed to Vinayaka. Agaja is the Divine Mother, Parvathi. As we know, Sri Parvathi is regarded as the daughter of the mountain, Himavan.
While even trees, plants and creepers are considered to have motion, because they grow upwards, mountain is static or again,motionless. Being born mountain , Parvathi is Agaja.
At the sight of Her beloved child, Vinayaka, Sri Parvathi's face (aananam) beams With joy, even as the lotus face (padma aanana) of Sri Parvathi, Vinayaka is the sun (arka). For His devotees, Vinayaka showers. Benefits generously -bhaktaanaam anekadam. He has only one tusk - eka-dantam.
The devotee says that he is worshipping that elephant-faced Vinayaka - Tam- gajaananam upaasmahe - who is the beloved son of Agaja, etc.
Source: Kamakoti website - Periva Upadesams