Hindu Religious Studies 9
Upasana and Prayer
Ishwara is Almighty. He is the controller of everything. He is
gracious and merciful. He does good to us. So we should always
remember Ishwara. We should praise Him too. There shall remain
no distress if we take His shelter. It will make our life beautiful and
happy. One can take his shelter through regular upasana. Upasana is
a kind of worship. So we should worship Him regularly.The word 'upa' means close and 'asan' means to sit. So the literal
meaning of 'upasana' is to sit close to Ishwara. All our activities to
get Ishwara are also called upasana. Upansana also means to call
Ishwara whole-heartedly. Praying to Ishwara is also upasana.
Meditation, puja, praises, prayer - all these are various forms of
upasana. Upasana is an integral part of religion. It is necessary for
us to keep our body and mind pure and healthy.
Ishwara has many forms. Upasana is of two kinds in the main: Idol
worship and formless worship.Idol Worship: Idol means a thing that has a shape or a form. Idolatry
or idol worship means worshipping Ishwara in some form or shape.
Many gods and goddesses are mentioned in the Holy Books of the
Hindu religion. They are Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Kali, Lakshmi,
Saraswati, Ganesh and others. These gods and goddesses are the
physical expressions of Ishwara. Gods and goddesses are
incarnations of Ishwara. So we worship Ishwara by worshipping the
gods and goddesses. A worshipper reaches Ishwara in physical form
through idolatry.Formless Worship: Formless is something that has no physical form
or shape. It also refers to something, which cannot be given a shape or a
form. Ishwara can be worshipped as an entity with no form or shape.