Abhishekam

Hi again supporters,

                 I hope that you had got some basic ideas about the relationship between God and Science. Now it's time for us to go a little deep into rituals done for the idols and their needs.

                One may wonder why our Gods (idols) are being washed or made to take bath, dressed, and given a make-up every day. (Muruga am sorry) I don't want to get punished by God for describing in such an obvious manner. So let me go Spiritual, "Why are Gods subjected to sacred bath (ABHISHEKAM) in a routine?" The answer lies within ourselves. We take bath to get ourselves fresh and the same is applied here, but with some added advantages. As told in the previous blog, the idols are used to store the cosmic energy and dissipate them. We know that energy transfer occurs only when there is a potential difference exists. Here in this case the idols are the high potential dissipaters and we(humans) are the low potential absorbers. The amount of energy an idol can store in them varies with respect to the size of the idol. (Sorry that I couldn't give the exact mathematical expression between the size and the storage capacity of an idol.) Hence if the number of absorbers increases, the amount of energy lost by the idols will also increase. We know that the average count of people visiting a temple is maybe 1000/day. And as the count is pretty high the idol is pushed to its limits of transferring capacity by continuously getting energy from the Khumbam and supplying it to the devotees visiting the temple. This phenomenon would eventually make God become powerless within a day. To be scientific, the composition of the idols would lose the capability of storing the cosmic energy within itself.

                In order to replenish the power of God, the idols are subjected to the ritual called Abhishekam.

This is a ritual in which the idols are made to take a sacred bath not only with water but also with Vibhuti, honey, milk, turmeric, etc

                After the Abhishekam(Holy Bath) is done, the composition of idols gets prone to the radiation again. And since they had been replenished with rich ingredients, the capabilities of God get restored. Thereby our God starts blessing the devotees again.

                 A similar bath is done to the idols present in our home also. But we usually don't do it daily. That's because the idols present in our home have only a few numbers of devotees. (fewer absorbents and hence less loss of energy )

                Usually, after the Abhishekam is done, the spent liquid is passed on to the devotees for them to drink or to apply to their heads. Since the liquid is made to flow over the statues, it is believed to have the energy collected by them. And making use of that liquid(locally called TEERTHAM) may certainly have some good effects on us. There is no exception in other religions too that they use such holy liquids(usually kept in the main shrine for a long period of time) to heal diseased beings. This procedure is by par used in Islam and Christianity also. They follow the practice of supplying the holy water to their devotees to cure diseases and Sins.