MEANING WITH EXPLANATION OF ‘WORSHIP MANTRAS’

Out of more than 20000 mantras of vedaas, Maharishi Dayanand has selected 8 mantras, called worship-mantras to be cited at every auspicious occasion. He has also, given meanings of these vedic mantras in Hindi. These mantras reflect smallness of man before capability of God. In these mantras, praise, prayer and communion with God have been talked of. Since, worship includes only these three things, that is, praise, prayer and communion, these mantras have been named as ‘worship mantras’. Before, dwelling on these mantras, we must know as to what is praise of God, prayer to God and communion with God.

PRAISE-It refers to talking of correct attributes and actions of God or any other thing. Accordingly, mentioning of incorrect attributes and actions of God or any other thing is nothing but condemnation.

PRAYER-It refers to asking for help from God or another capable-being towards fulfillment of one’s objective after doing own exertion according to one’s capability.

COMMUNION-It refers to getting engrossed in God so that His attributes can smoothly or freely transfer in the soul.

                Here, we will use these terms with respect to God only.

                It is natural for man to praise his benefactor and he feels a sort happiness in doing so. A person, who does not accept the good deeds of his benefactor does not command respect in the society. Truly speaking, the biggest benefactor of man is God. He has, not only, provided us eyes but also, has created different scenes to see with the eyes. For helping us in the process of seeing, he has given a great light-house named as the Sun. As such, it is our moral duty to recite the various attributes of God.

                In the world also, we see that nobody likes to help an idle person. Suppose, there is a person, standing leisurely and he asks you to lift his suitcase. What will be your reaction? You will not lift his suitcase with the thought that he himself is doing nothing and asking me to lift his suitcase. There is another person, who is trying to lift his luggage time and again but he has not been able to lift the same. On receipt of a slight gesture from that man, you immediately become ready for helping him. Same is true in case of prayers made to God. He is very kind and is always ready for helping His men. We, too, need to become eligible for receiving God’s help. This eligibility is earned by putting our own exertion (physical or mental) according to our respective capacities and capabilities.

                To attract the attributes of the God, we need to sit in upaasanaa to bring or restore calmness or naturalness of the soul. For example, it is in the nature of the soul to like the truth. Once, a soul is able to attain its natural state, attributes of God including bliss start flowing in the soul. Upaasanaa or communion raises the power of a soul to such an extent that it attains the power to throw the fear of death even. Raising the power of the soul is a very gradual process and a continuous and sincere practice is needed for that. To be able to engross the soul fully in the attributes of God, stuti, that is, praise and praarthanaa are used as means.

                Maharishi Dayanand has explained the fruits of stuti, praarthanaa and upaasanaa as “Stuti or praise develops love for God and enables man to improve his nature in accordance with the attributes of God. Praarthanaa or prayer destroys man’s egoism, generates a feeling of enthusiasm and gets his all-time companion. Upaasanaa removes all evils of the soul and purifies all his characteristics in accordance with that of God. As a cold-stricken man gets relief from cold by going near fire, in the same way, effect of upaasanaa should be understood.”

                If we are not trying for transformation of our qualities in accordance with those praised for, then that stuti is useless. Stuti becomes meaningful only if it improves the nature of the doer. Till the time, our soul is filled with ‘ego’, we cannot realise God. This ego, which is a great hurdle in realisation of God, gets destroyed by praarthanaa.

                Maharishi Dayanand has also said that everyone should do stuti, praarthnaa and upaasanaa. He has further said that one, who does not do stuti, praarthnaa and upaasanaa of God, is the most foolish and ungrateful person. The evil of ungratefulness is very big and one should try to get rid of this evil at the earliest.   

                There are following eight types of egoistic feelings and these eight mantras should be cited to destroy these.

  1. Ego of making
  2. Ego of capability
  3. Ego of charity
  4. Ego of being master or ruler
  5. Ego of being a giver of ‘support’
  6. Ego of ‘controlling’
  7. Ego of ‘brotherhood’
  8. Ego of ‘showing the path’

                Out of all the achievements of man, only that achievement is meaningful, which remains with man after death. Physical property never accompanies man after death. The only thing, which accompanies man after death is his earnings in the form of ‘good deeds’ and sins. These earnings in the form of ‘good deeds’ and sins become the basis of our next lives. For being able to escape from all evils and to do karmas or actions towards righteousness despite odds require meeting eligibility criterion of God. This eligibility criterion of God can be met by doing ‘stuti’, ‘praarthnaa’ and ‘upaasanaa’ of God. Repetitive meditation of meanings of these mantras bring firmness in ‘stuti’, ‘praarthnaa’ and ‘upaasanaa’ of God. As such, maharishi Dayanand has advised to cite these mantras alongwith their meanings before every righteous ceremony. Accordingly, these mantras are cited in the beginning of doing ‘havan’, which should be done by everyone twice a day. These mantras are a key of obtaining God’s grace.

मन्त्र

ओम् विश्वानि to तन्न आसुव॥       

       -Yajurved 30//3

Meaning –O God! You are creator of this world, master of all affluence of the world, pure and giver of all pleasures. With your kind grace, all our evils and griefs may vanish and we may get all the good qualities and good things.

Explanation-Main part of this mantra contains prayer for removal of all malignant, harmful and injurious tendencies and receipt of benevolent and good tendencies. The other part of this mantra contains stuti or prayer of God. In the world also, it is observed that utensils are first cleaned and then good things are poured in them and used. Likewise, living is pleasureful only in a clean room. This sequence of first removal of badness and then receipt of goodness has been emphasized in this mantra.

                Next point is we pray to the one, who has got the capacity to fulfill our prayer. Prayers of a person for money to a pauper, of a patient for treatment of his disease to a non-doctor et cetra are laughable and reflect the foolishness of the doers of the prayers. This state has been avoided in this mantra by praying to the creator of this world and master of all affluence. God, who has created us all and is not poor, rather is master of all affluence. He not only creates our bodies but also controls our souls. His capacities and capabilities cannot even be imagined by man. The belief over acceptability of the prayer motivates the doer of the prayer to do exertion on his part.

                In this mantra, there is a prayer for removal of all evils. Presence of even a single evil is a hurdle in receiving the goodness. Only, that person attracts evils, whose ‘मन’ or mind is wayward. It is true that ‘मन’ is very restless but when it is said that ‘मन’ should be made to rest, then we actually mean that restless power of ‘मन’ should be channelized. A person, whose mental powers are properly channelized in the right direction cannot attract evils.  

                As already said, the prayer becomes meaningful or effective only after the doer of prayer does the needed exertion on his part. Now, what efforts can be made by the doer of the prayer for removal of bad tendencies?  In short, we can say that the doer of prayer should do the following acts for making his prayer effective:

  1. Self-study:          Self-study purifies soul and enables it to dispel evils. As such, doer of prayer must develop the habit of self-study.
  2. Company of truthful people:      Company of truthful people removes inertness of intellect, makes the speech truthful and brings pride and peace. As such, doer of prayer must keep the company of truthful people.
  3. Surrender to God:           A person, who surrenders himself to his family is not affected by the ill words of his boss and other problems.  Similarly, all the griefs, irrespective of their quantum fail to affect the person, who surrenders to God.        

                Here, the prayer is for receipt of good qualities and good things or objects. Receipt of physical objects has its own significance in development of soul. Without physical objects even ordinary or simple life cannot be lead. Only a healthy person can go for God-realization and for healthy living, physical objects are necessary.

                This prayer has been made to God, who is pure by nature. In the world, also, we observe that only that a person, who is clear at heart and behaves for the welfare of others is called pure. God is called pure since all His acts are for welfare of souls without any kind of discrimination. He is the giver of all the worldly things for use of souls. Since, He is the purest of all the pure things of the world, all our prayers should be made to God . He is our ultimate helper. 

                Here, in this mantra, God has been prayed to provide the best qualities and best things. Since, man’s knowledge is limited and only God knows as to which qualities or objects are best suited for the welfare of a soul, God has been prayed to provide qualities or objects in accordance with His own knowledge.

मन्त्र

ओम् हिरण्यगर्भः to हविषा विधेम॥                 

  -Yajurved 13//4

Meaning –We should worship God, who is illumined by His own light, who is creator and controller of all illumined objects like the Sun, who is the only master of this universe, who was present before manifestation of this world, who is controlling our Earth and the Sun, wholeheartedly.  

Explanation-In this mantra, after signifying the greatness of God from the points of views of immense-ness, seniority, creation-capability, control and power, man has been advised to worship Him wholeheartedly through yog.

 Greatness of God from the point of view of immense-ness– It is because of God’s capability or rules that fire has heat, the Sun gives sun-light, clouds pour water, air has coolness and death prevails. He is the creator of illuminating bodies like the Sun. There are lakhs of celestial bodies bigger than the Sun. For example, the Sun of our galaxy is thirteenth lakh times bigger than this Earth and there are billions of suns in this whole universe. God not only creates all these celestial bodies but also provides them the base of their existence.

Greatness of God from the point of view of seniority—There are only three things, which are eternal. Those are God, souls and nature or prakriti. Out of these, prakrati is non-living. Souls are living but their capacities and capabilities are limited. As such, soul is unable to create bodies of beings. Since, God is a living being having unlimited capacities and capabilities, He is said to be having most senior state amongst the three eternal entities. Only God, being omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, has the capability to create bodies of beings and inert objects of this universe. Being senior among three eternal entities, He has the power to remove our evils and bring us goodness.

Greatness of God from the point of view of creation-capability -The truth that He is the only master of this whole universe is accepted by all the learned fellows. He, not only, creates this universe like earlier times but remains present in it. To think of God’s creation-capability, one may see different sorts of trees, plants, flowers and fruits, different organs like eyes to see, teeth to bite, tongue to taste et cetra of their bodies, the system by which the food, we eat is converted into blood, flesh et cetra. All this gives a glimpse of God’s creation-capability over which we should have full faith. The persons, who bow down before the capabilities of scientists must understand that all the scientists cannot jointly make even a single hair of our body. The creator of the universe is really great, His intelligence is marvellous and His rules are strict or unbending. His capability in this regard cannot be doubted.

Greatness of God from the point of view of control—God is the master of this universe. He is the true friend of souls. He is the treasure of bliss. All His acts are for the welfare of souls. He controls non-living things as well as living things of the universe. We, because of presence of evils in us fail to receive His bliss.

Greatness of God from the point of view of power—He is omnipotent. By omnipotence, it is not meant that God can do everything. For example, by no means, we can understand that God can do injustice also. For execution of justice and for compliance of rules, power is required. Justice loses its meaningfulness, if the same cannot be enforced. His rules are such that no person can escape punishments given to him by virtue of his acts. Everyone dies, even if, he does not desire to die. Creation of movement in the original state of prakriti so as to bring it in the present state, speaks of God’s power.

Accordingly, devotees, by getting influenced by the greatness of God, must believe that they can be made to receive goodness after removal of their evils by God only.

                It is only after knowing God that man can cross the ocean of griefs. There is no other way of achieving the painless state, that is, where there is no grief. The only way to know God and cross the ocean of griefs is yog. Yog is a practice aiming at being one with God. As such, man has been advised to worship God through yog. The means of successful completion of yog are continuous practice and communion. Dhayaan is a mean of communion or upaasanaa and success of dhayaan lies on the feelings of love and ‘surrender’. What can be surrendered to God when giver of all the things of the world is God Himself? ‘मन’ or mind is the reason of man’s slavery and freedom. As such, the best way is to surrender ‘मन’ itself, instead of the physical things, to God. Mind’s tendency is to love. If man is able to channelize this tendency of his ‘मन’ towards love for God, then the receipt of goodness becomes a lot easier.

मन्त्र

य आत्मदा to हविषा विधेम॥                   

     -Yajurved 25//13

Meaning –God is giver of spiritual knowledge. He bestows physical, social and spiritual strength and is worshiped by all learned fellows. His truthful rule and justice, that is, education is adored by all. His shelter gives bliss and on the other hand non-acceptance of His entity is the reason of all miseries including that caused by death. We may worship God, who is blissful and is giver of all types of knowledge through our souls and intellects by following His instructions.

Explanation-This mantra, mainly, mentions the following things:

  1. God is a great bestower.
  2. God is the only worshipable entity.
  3. God’s justice is accepted by all.
  4.  God’s shelter provides bliss.
  5. Non-acceptance of God’s entity is the reason of all miseries.

Only wordy knowledge without knowing the relation between the words and their meanings is a mere waste. As such, it is very essential that upaasak, that is, devotee or doer of communion at the time of reciting any mantra meditates over its meaning. By following this method, the upaasak is able to control his ‘मन’ and gets engrossed in enjoying the bliss. Generally, from the words ‘य आत्मदा’, scholars of the Sanskrit language draw the meaning ‘giver of souls’ but maharishi Dayanand drew the meaning as ‘giver of spiritual knowledge’, which synchronizes well with the vedic principles. It is clearly mentioned in the vedaas that there are three entities namely, prakriti, which is material cause of this universe, souls and God, which are beginning-less and endless and have not been created by anyone. If we consider these entities to be with a beginning, then we cannot logically answer the questions relating to creator of these entities. As the things with a beginning must have an end, similarly, the things, which are beginningless must be endless too. Everyone agrees that the body is given to a soul by God and one is able to get spiritual knowledge only after receiving human body. This fact emphasizes the correctness of the meaning of the words ‘य आत्मदा’ drawn by Maharishi Dayanand. Power has three aspects-physical, spiritual and social. All these three aspects of power are essential for development of soul. One, who is physically very powerful but lacks spiritual power cannot be strong-willed. For attaining spiritual power, physical power is essential. As such, spiritualism cannot ignore physical-power. Attainment of both physical power as well as spiritual power is impossible without social power. In other words, social power is very much required for attaining physical power and spiritual power. A school of thought, which is considered to be the path of development of soul by one and only one, cannot be followed, if there is no other member of the society with the same school of thought. Amidst bad people, good people cannot live peacefully. As such, social power is at par with physical power and spiritual power, in development of man.

                All the great men of this big world did worship God in one form or the other. Today, man has completely been mesmerized by the scientific achievements and has forgotten the very existence of the entity of God.

                God rules all the living and non-living things of the world through certain rules. These rules of His are totally unbiased. These just rules lie at the base of His justice. This is His greatest truthful education. The fact is no one is able to change the rules of God. Certain incidents like greying of hair, losing of sensual strengths, passing of youthfulness, dying et cetra take place irrespective of our unwillingness. These incidents take place in accordance with certain rules. Whatever, we do in the present lives remain with our souls and become the basis as to what sort of bodies, parents, worldly means et cetra will be obtained by us in our next lives in accordance with the just system of God. Here, no recommendation or endorsement works. Also, our friends and relatives cannot render any sort of help, in this matter. As such, we need to bow down before the power, which controls this whole universe by these rules.

                The joy of all worldly things is diminish-able but the joy of God’s bliss remains constant in all times and all circumstances. As such, it is rightly said that one, who wants bliss should accept the shelter of God. Many great souls of history could embrace death smilingly only because of realisation of the fact that shelter of God is the only mean of enjoying bliss. Non-acceptance of God or non-following of His instructions is the reason of our miseries. Here, in this mantra, it has been emphasized that acceptance of God is not in any way different from following His instructions. God’s instructions can be divided into two parts-(i) the acts, which humans should do (ii) the acts, which humans should not do. His instructions aim at fulfilling the purpose of creation. An act may yield timely benefit to another member of the society but if it is not directed towards fulfilling the purpose of creation, then such an act cannot be said to be in accordance with His instructions.

                One, who accepts the shelter of God calls for problems willingly. He understands that all the problems coming in his life are as a result of his past actions and these problems aim at reducing the burden of his past actions. There is no way by which he can escape from the fruits of his past actions. He can only call for the strength from the almighty to bear these fruits with peace.

                Purpose of our lives is to obtain the bliss of God, who is blissful by nature. Towards attaining this purpose, soul needs to worship Him with the help of pure ‘मन’. Purity of ‘मन’ is very necessary for worshiping God and this purity is automatically received by bringing the feeling of ‘surrender’ to God. Soul and not body should worship Him. Here, ‘worshipping Him’ means following His commands or instructions. In the world too, we see that a father loves only that child, who follows his commands. In the same way, God bestows His grace over that human being, who acts according to the path shown by Him.

                This mantra destroys the ego of donation. By looking at the benevolences of God in the form of human body, means to obtain the ultimate knowledge and worldly things, one realises the smallness of his ego of donation.

मन्त्र

यः प्राणतो to हविषा विधेम॥                         

  -Yajurved 23//3

Meaning-God, who is the ruler and controller of all living and non-living things of this universe is one and the only king. He creates the bodies of human beings and other living beings like cows. We must worship that blissful God with all our good possessions.

Explanation-Yajurved 31//18 says, “God is the greatest of the greats. He is the creator of illumined bodies like the sun. He is illumined by His own light. He is devoid of darkness of nescience or un-knowledge. Only by knowing such a great entity, one can conquer the fear of death. In other words, there is no other way except ‘bhakti’ (somewhat devotion) of God to escape from worldly ties or circle of birth and death.” This mantra aims at signifying the crux of the above mentioned mantra.

                Now, a question arises that if, He is one and only one, then how does He creates, maintains and destroys this world single-handedly. Clarification-Hands, feet et ceta are needed for creation by one, having limited power and limited capability and by one, who is present at one place only. But God, who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent does not require any means for creation of world. He can hold without hands, can move without feet. Actually, since God is omnipresent, His moving from one place to another is meaningless. He can see without eyes and can hear without ears. He is able to do all His acts out of His naturalness. As such, He is the only master of this universe and is worshipable.

                   He is not only the master of this universe but creates bodies of all its beings out of His immense capabilities. To understand the meaning of creation of bodies, one should look at the marvellous and astonishing skills in making of one’s own body. In a human body, not only sense organs have been made but the different things to serve as objects of different sense organs, too, have been made. For instance, besides making tongue to taste, different tasteful things too, have been made. Different systems like respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, excretory system, reproductive system et cetra and means like intellect, memory et cetra have been created for smooth functioning of the body. Will any body like to lead his life without any of these organs? Is such a marvelous creation of human bodies and bodies of other beings possible by any human being? In a conference of scientists, a scientist (most probably Albert Ainstien) declared, “You need not be proud of your inventions, as all the scientists of the world jointly cannot make a single hair of the head.” This declaration by a scientist signifies that wonderful bodies of beings are great gifts of God. Only He is capable of creating such beautiful, pleasurable bodies, embedded with various means. As such, He is the only worshipable entity. Not only bodies, but whatever is present in this world is because of Him. All the great powers of this world have been bestowed on souls for their welfare. All the affluence of the world is His benevolence. Out of the various things of the world, He decides as to which thing and in what quantity is to be provided to a being, in accordance with his actions. Whatever, help is given by us to others is negligible before His benevolences. As such, while helping other, we must develop the attitude that ‘giver is Him’. Ego is the greatest hurdle in being free from the cycle of birth and death. How to escape from this ego? The only way to escape from ego while doing an act is to surrender all our actions to God. To develop the feeling of ‘surrender to God’, one is required to develop detachment from all worldly things. Now, the question arises that what should ‘मन’, which is very restless by nature, do, if it, does not attaches itself with any worldly thing? Towards answering this question, this mantra directs us to concentrate ‘मन’ on ‘bhakti’ of God with all our good possessions.

                This mantra kills the feelings like, we are masters or kings, our affluence is great, no one is richer and more powerful than us et cetra. That God is the only master of whole of this world.

मन्त्र

येन द्यौरुग्रा to हविषा विधेम॥                       

 -Yajurved 32//6

Meaning-We, in order to realise God, who is holding the celestial bodies like the sun, who is holding the earth, who is holding pleasure and painless bliss, who makes the celestial bodies according to specific rules and make them move in the space like birds in the sky, should worship Him with all our capabilities .

Explanation-In this mantra, greatness of God has been explained so as to make us realise our smallness. We feel very proud even after obtaining a little or creating a little and forget to do ‘bhakti’ of God. This mantra inspires us to do bhakti of God. God is the creator of this earth and all other celestial bodies of the unlimited space. More than million galaxies have been found by the scientists. There is a system by which these celestial bodies are interlinked and generate the effect of destruction of organisms, causing diseases and production of specific climatic conditions, necessary for generation of required juices in fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants. God not only creates and holds all these celestial bodies but also remains present in them. Even scientists of today are very much astonished over the immense-ness of space. The Sun is thirteen lakh times bigger than our Earth. There are many celestial bodies bigger than the Sun. Sun-light moving at the speed of approximately two lakh kms. per second can reach the Earth only in little less than seven minutes. This explains the hugeness of space. Accordingly, Sir Jagdishchander Vaasu has correctly said, “It is possible that man could count the drops of water in an ocean. It is also possible that man could count the particles of sand in a desert but it is impossible to count the celestial bodies present in the space.” The presence of different types of fruits, vegetation and their qualities is very wonderful. Creation of such vegetation-world is beyond the human-capability. Looking at this Earth, we find big mountains at some places, at some places, there are huge grounds, at some places, there are deserts, at some places, there are cultivable land and at some other places, the land is stony and thus uncultivable. All this speak that creator is not a human being. There are many wonderful systems present on this Earth. For example-the water, which is converted into steam by the Sun is undrinkable but the same becomes drinkable, when poured on this Earth through rainfall. There are many mineral resources inside this Earth. God, who creates all these bodies and holds them is really great.

                A thing produces pain, if it works against our desire, likewise, we feel joy if a thing works in accordance with our will. In other words, we can say that not to have control over our senses brings misery and vice versa. By having control over ‘मन’, our senses get automatically controlled. By having control over ‘मन’, we mean to channelize its energy. This channelization of powers of ‘मन’ is possible by having ‘knowledge’ only. When ‘मन’ and ‘intellect’ are filled with attributes of God, then this world and the body become only a mean to fulfill the purpose of soul. Then, one is blessed with God’s grace and receiving God’s grace means moving towards obtaining His bliss. Since, only God can give us His bliss, He has rightly been said to be holder or possessor of joy.

                Now, a question is raised that when one attains ‘moksh’ or goes beyond the circle of birth and death, then how does he enjoys bliss without body? Let’s try to understand it through a worldly example. When we are in deep sleep, all our senses do not have any relation or link with the outward world but on waking up we do realize that we slept joyfully. This joy is similar to bliss. Feeling of bliss with body but without the knowledge of the same happens during sleep and feeling of bliss without body but with the knowledge of the same happens during ‘smaadhi’. The difference in the states of ‘smaadhi’ and ‘moksh’ is- while in ‘smaadhi’, one is with body, while in ‘moksh’, one is without body. Since, soul is able to feel joy or pain with body only, it implies that painless state can only be without body and this state is termed as ‘moksh’ or salvation.

                Now, let’s talk of the vastness of this universe. This universe consists of numerous galaxies. Scientists believe that there are many celestial bodies, whose light has not reached the Earth till now. Has this vast universe been created on its own? No! Not at all. All this has been created in accordance with definite rules. Because of these rules only, we are able to experience heat, cold, greenery et cetra on Earth. Life on the planet Earth has been possible only because of definite distance between the Earth and the Sun, systematic gravity rules et cetra. It is only because of definite movement of these planets that scientists are able to estimate correctly about eclipses.

                These celestial bodies move in space without collision, in the same way as birds fly in sky. As such, we can say that their movements are controlled by a full-proof system. Where there is a system, there ought to be a creator of that system. The entity, which is responsible for creation of such a huge universe and which controls it through definite systems has been called as God. And such a great God is undoubtedly worshipable.

                God has created this universe, not to serve any purpose of his own but for the welfare of souls. As such, there cannot be any greater benevolence than this.

                After establishing that God only is worshipable, this mantra tells the way He should be worshiped. This world and the bodies are perishable but God is eternal. This implies that for worshiping God, our means, too, should be eternal. This means that God can be realised by worshiping Him soulfully. No doubt, soul can take the help of non-eternal means like this body and different things of the world in the matter but without any sort of attachment to these means. This body and the things of the world are not ignorable at all. These means should be used for enhancing bodily and worldly capabilities and after obtaining bodily and worldly affluence, the same should be used in the service of beings towards fulfillment of the objective of the creation. To use your earned property over your family members, if the same is not towards fulfillment of the objective of the creation, cannot be said to be ‘punaya’ or virtue.         

                    This mantra advises us not to be proud of our capabilities in any circumstance before the greatness of capabilities of God.

मन्त्र

प्रजापते न to पतयो रयिणाम्                 

  -Rigved 10//121//10

Meaning-There is no one superior or greater than God, who is master and creator of all living and non-living things of the universe, that is, God is the greatest and most superior of all beings. When God is said to be creator of all living things, it does not mean that God has created souls. God may fulfill all our desires, with which we take His shelter and with His grace, we may become master of great affluence.

Explanation-In this mantra, following things have been mentioned:

  • God is master of all living and non-living things of the universe.

He is creator of the systems, by which all the things of this universe are functioning. He is present in everything of the universe. He is holding all the celestial bodies. He controls blending of souls with the bodies. Since, He is without and within us, He has perfect knowledge of all our physical and mental actions. He is our true well-wisher and as such, we should try not to do sins and should follow the path shown by Him through vedaas. For all worldly things, we must beg before Him only.

  • There is no one superior or greater than God.

God is not such a king or master, who becomes egoistic of His possessions or capabilities. He does not fall a prey to false ego by supporting a few people. A devotee understands His endless potential. No one, by being proud of his property, affluence, rights et cetra can stand before Him in comparison. When, there is no one equal to Him, then, it is meaningless to think of any one greater than Him. He is the greatest of all see-able and non-see-able things. It is meant that in front of God, who is master of all see-able and non-see-able things and all living and non-living things, the money, property, affluence, knowledge and capability of a man are negligible. As such, He is the only worshipable entity.

  • All, who accept His shelter will be blessed with fulfillment of their desires

This statement raises a natural question- Does He fulfill even unrighteous desires of His devotees? In reply to this question, we cite certain worldly examples.We see in our day to day life that a thief does not think of stealing anything in the presence of a person of high authority. In the same way, a child does not think of any mischief in front of his father. Here, a ‘bhakt’ or devotee has understood that God is great. How can he think of any unrighteous desire in His shelter? All the desires of a person, who accepts His shelter are bound be righteous.

                Since, He is our true well-wisher and capable of meeting our demands, we should not beg from anyone other than God. Whenever, we require any help, Only He should be prayed for. But before God can help one in his worldly affairs, one’s mind should accept His shelter.

  • We may, with His grace, be master of affluence.

There is a wrong notion that Indian culture mainly talks of ‘sacrifices’, not having any room for possessions. Perhaps, such a notion developed because Indian literature declared emphatically that since, all worldly things are perishable, one should endeavor to possess non-worldly things. Here, non-possession of worldly things mean not having any sort of attachment with worldly things.

                Today, most of the people are of the thinking that one should be self-centered in enjoying the worldly pleasures. Such a thinking is the base of miseries in the society.

                The credit goes to Maharishi Dayanand for bringing before us the thinking of earlier rishis, which is in accordance with vedaas and is very much logical. According to this thinking, there is a perfect coordination between sacrificing-spirit and enjoyment of worldly pleasures. If, we have come in this world, then, we need not live dependently and be penniless rather we should be independent and enjoy all affluence of the world. God, besides giving beautiful body, has bestowed various means like intellect, ‘मन’ and senses to obtain and enjoy affluence of the world. Only the money, we earn by using these means without falsehood, deceitfulness and ill-will can rightly be called as affluence. God only is the master of such affluence. Anything earned un-righteously cannot and should not be termed as affluence. Money, which is a major source of obtaining the worldly pleasures, if earned un-righteously cannot bring happiness.Actually, the real affluence, which is earned by worshiping God, controls the happiness enjoyed by one from the worldly things. As such, towards fulfilling all the desires, one should act intelligently and righteously, that is, in accordance with the instructions of God or vedaas. Being poor and withdrawing oneself from the worldly things is not the objective of life, rather, one should earn maximum affluence according to his capability and should use the same towards fulfillment of purpose of ‘creation’. In exchange of this, he will be rewarded by the happiness.

                Which desires of the devotee are to be fulfilled and which desires are not to be fulfilled depends upon the decision of God. To understand the concept, let’s take the help of an example. A lad going in the bazaar along with his father asks his father to buy him sweets from there. But, the father declines to meet his desire since his son had recently recovered from typhoid fever and eating sweets is not good for his health. In the similar way, God knows about the welfare of His sons and meet the only demands of theirs, which are for their welfare.

                Now, let’s explain about His system of meeting the demands of His sons. Suppose, a person has earned 100 units of God’s grace which means God will help him in obtaining the happiness from worldly things equal to 100 units only. Preference of worldly things, out of which happiness will be drawn by the person will depend upon the person’s wishes brought out by him in his prayers.

                Our egoistic feeling that we are the feeders et cetra gets killed through this mantra.

मन्त्र

स नो to देवाSअमृतमानशानास्तृतीये धामान्नध्यैरन्त         

  -Yajurved 32//10

Meaning-O Man! God takes care of we people like a big brother. He is the creator of this whole universe. His will lies at the base of completion of all our works. He knows all our previous births, various places and times. That God, whose bliss is enjoyed by learned fellows after attaining ‘moksh’, is our master, teacher, king and judge. We may worship such a God only.

 Explanation-This mantra attracts our minds to the following points:

  • God has brotherly affection for us and is our true friend.

God has blended souls with respective bodies for the welfare of souls only and not to serve any purpose of his own. Every soul is bound to go through the pain or pleasure as a result of his actions so as to be eligible to move to a higher (painless and pleasure-less) state. These bodies, which are means of bearing pains and enjoying pleasures of our past actions, have been created by God so magnificently and generously that there is not even a small shortcoming in them, hurdling our enjoyment. For instance, if there are different tastes in the world, then our bodies too, have been supplied with matching tongues to enjoy all these different tastes. We would not have been able to call God as our big brother, if our bodies were without or faulty tongues et cetra. By providing perfect bodies, God has shown His brotherly affection.

                  A true friend always accompanies us. Only God meets this criterion. He is our all-time companion, though we value His company in difficult times only. He is so near us that we cannot leave him, even if we so wish.

  • God is the creator of this whole universe.

In the world also, we see that wherever there is action, there is doer and wherever there is a system, there is maker of the system or the controller. We observe that the movements are not only in the living things but also in the inert objects like the Sun, the Earth, the other celestial bodies et cetra. Their movements and their creation is beyond the capability of humans. There is so much uniformity in the rules of creation that a doctor is able to treat any organ of his patient irrespective of the place of the patient. All these speak of the greatness of the creative-ability of that Supreme Being.

  • ‘His will’ lies at the base of completion of all our works.

When it is said that ‘His will lies at the base of completion of all our works’ then, it means that He is the final authority, who gives appropriate and just fruits of our actions at correct times and places. Working for our welfare does not mean that He gives unjust fruits of our actions. As for as our demands are concerned, He fulfills only those demands, which are in accordance with our actions as well as for our welfare.

  • He knows all our previous births, various places and times.

This is exhaustiveness of God’s attribute of omniscience.

  • After attaining ‘moksh’ His bliss is enjoyed by learned fellows.

Bliss is enjoyed by living humans also but that enjoyment is not continuous and gets disrupted by natural bodily needs. In contrast to this, the bliss, which is enjoyed after attaining ‘moksh’, that is, after being free from the cycle of birth and death, remains continuous for a very long period of time. After attaining ‘moksh’, souls do nothing but enjoy His bliss.

  • Such a God is our master, teacher, king and judge.

Being very great, God is our teacher, being analyzer of our wills. Generation of the feelings of enthusiasm, joy, fear and shame on thinking of doing an act is God’s method of analyzing our wills. He is our master and being very just, He is our king and judge.

  • We should worship such a God only.

This mantra destroys the ego of ‘brotherhood’ or ‘being a true friend’.

मन्त्र

अग्ने नय to उक्तिं विधेम           

  -Yajurved 40//16

Meaning- God! You are full of light and giver of all pleasures. Please bestow the intellect by which we could follow the great men, whose lives are perfectly in accordance with vedaas so as to be able to have control or mastery over the maximum of affluence of the world. Also, in the process, we may be saved from cunning ways and evils. For this reason, we may always praise you and enjoy your bliss.  

 Explanation-This mantra draws our attention on the following points:

  • God is full of light and illuminator of all the things of the world.

Generally from the word ‘agni’ of this mantra, physical fire is meant but Mahrarishi Dayanand has drawn the meaning of ‘God’ from this word, which is in accordance with the vedic literature. The giver of light of knowledge is God only. The notion that knowledge got developed out of its own nature or by following the sounds of animals or men of little knowledge does not stand on the platform of logic.

  • God is possessor of perfect knowledge. As such, knowledge and practicality of that knowledge to have progress in the spiritual and physical fields can be obtained by His grace only.

We pray to God out of the realisation that He has perfect knowledge. Also, knowledge is the only mean of obtaining affluence of the world, necessary for our spiritual and physical development. Knowledge is not distributed by God in a haphazard way rather, one has to earn the capability to receive knowledge. This fact can be known by us from our worldly experiences. The method to earn the grace of God is to follow the path shown by the men, who have true knowledge of God and other things of the world.

  • Only His capability, kindness and justice save us from evil deeds.

In the world, there are cunning ways (not to have control over senses is the wrong way) and non-cunning ways (to have control over senses is the right way) to earn a thing. While leading worldly lives, we are prone to commit sins and by this mantra we pray to God for saving us from doing evil deeds and following wrong ways.

                Crookedness is to be left at all costs. One can follow wrong ways without receiving any punishment for the same from the worldly people but he is wrong, if he feels that his crooked or cunning deeds are able to go unnoticed by God also. Nobody can perform any act (both physical as well as mental) without the knowledge of God. As such, it is good to leave bad deeds.

  • We should always worship Him.

In this mantra, only first stage of worship (worship comprises of three steps-praise, prayer and communion) has been mentioned. This does not mean that other two stages or steps of worship namely, prayer and communion have been ignored. Praise of God is the initial step of worship. Without this step, one cannot go further. Praise of God brings humility and kills ego.

  • This, that is, worshipping Him is the only way to enjoy His bliss.

A question arises as to what is the benefit of worshiping God? Maharishi Dayanand has clarified this issue by saying that one should worship God for enjoying His bliss.

                In the first worship-mantra, God was prayed for removal of all malignant, harmful and injurious tendencies and receipt of benevolent and good tendencies and in this last worship-mantra, method for fulfillment of the prayer has been mentioned.

                One, who adopts non-crooked path and follows the ways shown by followers of vedaas remains always at peace and earns the enjoyment of bliss. Mind of such a person never gets perturbed by worldly circumstances. His fearlessness cannot be explained.

  -Majority of the thoughts are of shri Arjun Dev Snaatak