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is what is needed.<br />
There is a beautiful story of Swami Vivekananda. His<br />
message to the world was, “Stand up. Be fearless. God is<br />
with you.” To test his faith, some people staged a scene<br />
during one of Swamiji’s lectures. In the middle of the lecture<br />
gun shots rang out and bullets whizzed past Swamiji’s head.<br />
The audience screamed and ran for cover. Some dropped<br />
to the floor to protect themselves. Only Swamiji remained<br />
perfectly calm and composed. Later, he explained as<br />
follows: “The bullet which is not meant to take my life will<br />
never hit me, even if fired from point-blank range. The<br />
bullet which is meant to take my life will kill me, even if I<br />
am protected by 100 guards.”<br />
So, let us renew our faith in the Supreme. Let us give away<br />
our fears, our anxieties. Let us put all our insurance in the<br />
Divine Insurance Company. Let us realize that everything<br />
is just as it is supposed to be. We are in the lap of our<br />
Mother. How can anything go wrong?<br />
PRANA PRATISHTHA<br />
CEREMONY: ITS MEANING<br />
A Hindu Temple is a sacred place, endowed with divine<br />
energies and powers. At the heart of each temple lie the<br />
deities, to whom we bow and pray in worship. Why is it,<br />
though, that these statues, these “idols” are worshipped<br />
as God? How did they come to be infused with divine<br />
characteristics? The answer is the Prana Pratishtha<br />
ceremony.<br />
People say that Hindus are idol worshippers. We are not.<br />
We are ideal worshippers. It is not the plaster and marble<br />
and stone we revere; rather it is the presence of God which<br />
has been transmitted into these otherwise lifeless statues.<br />
The rites and rituals of Prana Pratishtha are followed strictly<br />
according to the Agamic texts. Prior to installation, priests<br />
who have been well trained in Vedic rituals, perform specific<br />
mantras and pujas which have been shown to endow an<br />
inanimate object with divine life and energy.<br />
These mantras and rites begin with the simple man who<br />
sculpts the stone. He is not an ordinary artist. Rather, he<br />
is one who has been blessed with the ability to create a<br />
physical manifestation of God. He performs puja and<br />
prayer prior to and during the sculpting. He maintains, in<br />
his mind, the vision of the deity he is sculpting. He prays<br />
for this God to come to life in his statue. His work area<br />
looks more like a temple than an art studio. So, from the<br />
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