We have been to a lot of Hindu temples and for most major occasions we will be witnessing an abhishekam process before the archanai and aarti. So what is an Abhishekam?
Abhishekam - Definition
An abhishekam is a religious bathing ceremony. The word abhisheka means a sprinkling. It is derived from the root sic, to wet, and with the prefix abhi, "around," abhisheka is literally, "wetting around." An abhisheka is the bathing part of a puja that usually is done with sacred water. In puja, a Deity is called, seated, greeted, bathed, dressed, fed and praised. The bathing of the Deity is the abhishekam part of the puja. In some cases, the main focus of the puja is the bathing ceremony itself. This is especially the case with the worship of the Shiva Linga. During an elaborate bathing ceremony a Deity is bathed not only in water, but also with milk, yogurt, butter milk, honey, clarified butter, sugar, and all kinds of fruit juices. After this bathing, the sacred image is dressed, ornamented, fed and praised with hymns accompanied with bells, drums and other instruments.
Scientific/Moral/Ethical Meaning Behind Abhishekam
Here is the actual scientific/moral/ethical reason behind Abhishekam. The idols/statues of the God for which we perform abhishekam are made up of various materials. Some of them are made up of granite (through a special process), some made of gems such as Emerald etc., some are made up of a mixture of materials which are capable of curing various diseases. So when we perform abhishekam on these idols, the water/milk/etc. used extracts a bit of the constituents/essence of the idol's materials which eventually get distributed as prasad. Since the temples are the place where people from all castes and socio-economic classes visit, it becomes the perfect place to distribute along with a spiritual feeling.
Why am I Writing About This?
In the past few months, I have been attending various Hindu festive celebrations and I find that in most temples, the milk, water etc which is used for the abhishekam just goes into the drain. One of the days, I saw more than 200 gallons of milk used for abhishekam and I saw it with a heavy heart as I was reciting the mantras for the pooja. One of the major things which I did for my poojas which I conduct at USC (University of Southern California), I use a glass of water (at max) for the abhishekam, which serves like a cleaning/bathing process for the idol. I encourage the students to bring fruits or any other prasad which eventually can be distributed to everyone who attended the pooja. Some of them even take a portion of the prasad for their roommates/friends who couldnt make it to the pooja.
My Request
All we need to do is to bring stuff to temples which can be distributed to everyone. Whether the milk/honey/anything else which you bring for a pooja goes as part of the abhishekam or not, the mind of giving something which can be given to everyone in the temple itself is a noble thought. Instead, take the items and provide it to the needy, if the temples drain these materials as part of the abhishekam.
Feel free to give your views on this page. I would like it to be a constructive comment. Also do share this link to others. More articles like this will be coming soon.
Abhishekam - Definition
An abhishekam is a religious bathing ceremony. The word abhisheka means a sprinkling. It is derived from the root sic, to wet, and with the prefix abhi, "around," abhisheka is literally, "wetting around." An abhisheka is the bathing part of a puja that usually is done with sacred water. In puja, a Deity is called, seated, greeted, bathed, dressed, fed and praised. The bathing of the Deity is the abhishekam part of the puja. In some cases, the main focus of the puja is the bathing ceremony itself. This is especially the case with the worship of the Shiva Linga. During an elaborate bathing ceremony a Deity is bathed not only in water, but also with milk, yogurt, butter milk, honey, clarified butter, sugar, and all kinds of fruit juices. After this bathing, the sacred image is dressed, ornamented, fed and praised with hymns accompanied with bells, drums and other instruments.
Scientific/Moral/Ethical Meaning Behind Abhishekam
Here is the actual scientific/moral/ethical reason behind Abhishekam. The idols/statues of the God for which we perform abhishekam are made up of various materials. Some of them are made up of granite (through a special process), some made of gems such as Emerald etc., some are made up of a mixture of materials which are capable of curing various diseases. So when we perform abhishekam on these idols, the water/milk/etc. used extracts a bit of the constituents/essence of the idol's materials which eventually get distributed as prasad. Since the temples are the place where people from all castes and socio-economic classes visit, it becomes the perfect place to distribute along with a spiritual feeling.
Why am I Writing About This?
In the past few months, I have been attending various Hindu festive celebrations and I find that in most temples, the milk, water etc which is used for the abhishekam just goes into the drain. One of the days, I saw more than 200 gallons of milk used for abhishekam and I saw it with a heavy heart as I was reciting the mantras for the pooja. One of the major things which I did for my poojas which I conduct at USC (University of Southern California), I use a glass of water (at max) for the abhishekam, which serves like a cleaning/bathing process for the idol. I encourage the students to bring fruits or any other prasad which eventually can be distributed to everyone who attended the pooja. Some of them even take a portion of the prasad for their roommates/friends who couldnt make it to the pooja.
My Request
All we need to do is to bring stuff to temples which can be distributed to everyone. Whether the milk/honey/anything else which you bring for a pooja goes as part of the abhishekam or not, the mind of giving something which can be given to everyone in the temple itself is a noble thought. Instead, take the items and provide it to the needy, if the temples drain these materials as part of the abhishekam.
Feel free to give your views on this page. I would like it to be a constructive comment. Also do share this link to others. More articles like this will be coming soon.
Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
