Hare Krishna.
Recently, there has been a video floating over the internet by a speaker, Sevak Narahari Das [phonetic]. He has raised critical questions regarding the process of Deity worship in the Krishna consciousness movement. He claims that these are deviations from the standards actually introduced by Srila Prabhupada.
We would like to dive into what Prabhuji has asked. Basically, he has raised two core objections regarding the process of Deity worship that is being followed in ISKCON today.
The first point is the Bhoga offering protocol. The temple practice of offering Bhoga directly to Lord Krishna first, and subsequently offering the remnants of Prasadam to the Guru, is argued to be a reversal of the necessary ascending order taught by Srila Prabhupada.
It is argued that food must first be offered to the Guru for him to present it to Krishna. The understanding is that the food is offered to the Guru, the Guru offers it to Krishna, and the Guru also honors the Mahaprasadam. Therefore, there is no separate offering made to the Spiritual Master.
The author has given a couple of quotes from Srila Prabhupada to establish that, and also quotes from Pancaratra Pradipa, which seem to conflict with this understanding.
The second objection raised is regarding the Arati standards. Presently in the temples, when the lamp is offered, it is offered four times to the lotus feet of the Lord, two times to the lotus navel, three times to the lotus face, and seven times as a whole to the body of the Lord.
The author claims that this is an unauthorized addition contradicting Srila Prabhupada’s initial simple instruction to offer all items seven times. This argument goes deeper; for example, it is claimed that anything we offer to the Lord in Arati is, per the speaker, completely to be offered to the Spiritual Master.
I mean, if you are offering the agarbhatti (incense), the agarbhatti should be completely offered to the Spiritual Master, and then it goes up, and finally, the Lord is the ultimate person to be offered at the end of each item. This is the understanding that the speaker has derived from a couple of quotes from Srila Prabhupada.
So, how to understand what is right and what is the right way of knowing things? Before going into that, we should get into some basics.
Every bona fide Vaishnava Sampradaya has specific rules for Deity worship. These are outlined in granthas like the Tantra Shastras, etc. They actually give the rules of Deity worship—the rules of devotional service.
If you see, every Sampradaya has a specific set of granthas dedicated for this process of Arcana (Deity worship):
These are the works referred to whenever it comes to Deity worship.
So, what is it for the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya? The Gaudiya Sampradaya accepts the Hari-bhakti-vilasa as the standard when it comes to Deity worship.
This is what Srila Prabhupada mentions in The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 3 purport. Srila Prabhupada states that his elder brother (in the renounced order), Sanatana Goswami, has compiled Hari-bhakti-vilasa for the guidance of Vaishnavas and has therein mentioned many rules and regulations to be followed by the Vaishnavas. Some of them are very important and prominent.
Srila Rupa Goswami also proposes to mention only basic principles, not the details. Here, the importance of Hari-bhakti-vilasa is highlighted, where Rupa Goswami is also consulting that grantha for the basics of devotional service.
Now, what was Prabhupada’s stand on the process of Deity worship? How are we to learn? What are the procedures to be followed? Is there any guideline that he has given, or do we have to derive things on our own?
Here is the procedure. Srila Prabhupada wrote:
“Now, beginning from this year’s Mayapur festival, the devotees will begin preparing for the Bhakti-shastri examination. Therefore, we require a guidebook for Deity worship (Arcana) based on Hari-bhakti-vilasa. All Brahmanas will be responsible to learn this book. I would like to have the manuscript ready as soon as possible, preferably by Gaura Purnima. So please work diligently for this. Pradyumna began this, but I do not know what he has done with this work.”
— Letter to Nitai, 9th January 1976, Bombay
In the closing years of Prabhupada’s physical presence in this mortal world, he wanted to give very clear guidelines for the Krishna consciousness movement. When it comes to Deity worship, Prabhupada emphasized that devotees take guidance from this book: Arcana-paddhati.
Actually, Arcana-paddhati was initially released in the Gaudiya Math; it was printed by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Later on, Prabhupada wanted his disciples to translate it and use it. That is where he is pushing his disciple Nitai to work on it.
Prabhupada was very clear about the direction for the movement. He was very particular that the highest standards have to be followed for Deity worship. To ensure this, he instructed that devotees refer to Arcana-paddhati and personally ensured it was translated to serve as a guide for ISKCON devotees.
Arcana-paddhati is clearly based on Hari-bhakti-vilasa; that is what Prabhupada says elsewhere. So, Hari-bhakti-vilasa is the Tantra-grantha—the literature that guides us about Deity worship—and Arcana-paddhati is exactly based on it. He expected devotees in ISKCON to follow this system given by him and not manufacture anything themselves.
Krishna clearly says in the Bhagavad-gita (16.23):
yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya vartate kama-karatah
na sa siddhim avapnoti na sukham na param gatim
One who does not follow the injunctions of the shastras will get neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the eternal destination. Whatever has to be done must be based on the shastra-pramana (scriptural evidence).
In the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 13, there is a discussion on what is to be done and what is not to be done. This has to be understood by three ways:
1. Words of the Sages: This can mean the authority of the Puranas (which are recitations of the sages), the words of great sages like Parasara Muni, or the words of pure devotees.
2. Chandobhih (The Vedas): The Vedas are apauruseya (not man-made) and free from the four defects of humans.
3. Brahma-sutra Padais ca: To understand the difficult sections of the Vedas, Vyasadeva gave the Brahma-sutras—codes by which we can derive a system of logic to understand the shastras.
Unless we are exposed to this systematic way, we are not going to arrive at a proper conclusion just by cherry-picking a few quotes from here and there.
What does Arcana-paddhati say regarding these questions?
The Offering Schedule:
Separate Plates:
It is preferable that each Deity, including the Spiritual Master, should have Their own plates and Their own asanas to sit on while They take Their meal. The plates should be placed on a small individual low table placed on the floor before each Deity.
If it is not possible to offer a plate and asana for each Deity, then one plate and asana may be provided for each altar, except that separate places should be offered to the Spiritual Master and Lord Chaitanya (Arcana-paddhati, Offering Bhoga, page 3).
The book recommended by Srila Prabhupada quite clearly mentions that one must have a separate offering plate for the Deities, for the Spiritual Master, and for Lord Chaitanya.
Resolving the “Offer to Guru First” Concept:
There is a quote shared by the objector that “everything has to be offered to the Guru, and the Guru offers it to Krishna.” Definitely, this is the right principle. But can we derive the physical process of Arcana from this one quote?
If I bring the offering plate, or the Arati lamp, and offer it to the Spiritual Master *first* (physically/exclusively), is the Spiritual Master honoring something which is not even Prasadam yet?
The correct understanding is that one remembers the Spiritual Master while offering to the Lord. The disciple understands that his initiation and ability to offer is due to the mercy of the Guru. The mantras given by the Spiritual Master are the only vehicle through which an offering can be made. That is why, even after the Gayatri, before the Shodashopachara-puja (16-item worship), the Spiritual Master is to be remembered and obeisances offered.
However, Hari-bhakti-vilasa and Arcana-paddhati recommend that after taking the Spiritual Master’s permission and blessings, the disciple offers the items to the Deity. At the end, the Mahaprasada of that is again offered to the Spiritual Master. This is the formal practice in the Gaudiya tradition and all Vaishnava traditions.
If we follow the objector’s derivation:
None of these thoughts are authorized by Tantra Shastra nor recommended by Srila Prabhupada’s standard books. Cherry-picking quotes leads to incorrect conclusions.
What about the explicit quote that “every item should be offered seven times”?
The objector cites a letter: “Each offering is made by moving it in seven big circles starting at the lotus feet of the Lord and then going clockwise around.” (Letter to Aniruddha, Nov 14, 1968).
However, Arcana-paddhati states regarding the Ghee Lamp (Deepa):
“It is offered four times at the lotus feet, twice at the naval region, three times to the lotus face, and seven times to all the limbs.” (Arcana-paddhati, Offering Arati, page 6).
Is there a Shastra-pramana for the 4-2-3-7 standard? Yes. The Brahma-vaivarta Purana states that firstly one must offer the Arati four times at the lotus feet, twice at the lotus navel, three times at the lotus face, and seven times to the whole body. This is quoted by Srila Sanatana Goswami.
Resolving the Conflict (Samanvaya):
We have two instructions:
1. Offer all items seven times (Letter, 1968).
2. Follow the standard of 4-2-3-7 (Arcana-paddhati, authorized 1976).
When instructions conflict, we use the principle of Samanvaya (reconciliation). The difference in standards is explained by Prabhupada wanting to first engage his neophyte disciples in practical Deity worship without burdening them with complex regulations in the early days (1968). His later instruction (1976) to follow Arcana-paddhati was the ultimate command, signifying his desire for the society to adopt the highest, non-deviating shastric standard as the permanent institutional standard.
Just as Prabhupada established the study of Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Chaitanya Charitamrita, and eventually Vedanta-sutra as a progression of scholarship, he wanted a strong backbone for the society regarding Arcana.
Initially, in San Francisco, candles were offered. Gradually, he standardized the systems. In 1976, he wanted the disciples to follow Arcana-paddhati, which is a further progression.
At the ISKCON India Scholars Board, we are trying to get into a deep study of these things to guide the Krishna consciousness society. I request all devotees to kindly make a deep study of Srila Prabhupada’s books and teachings, and not be misled by false propaganda or “half-knowledge”—picking quotes here and there to derive a complete philosophy.
Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna.
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