July 20, 2013: When we visit Temples it is customary for us to worship the Deity and offer flowers and fruits. Prayers are also a necessary aspect of worship. After the conclusion of these rites, there is the additional custom to circumambulate the Deity or even the temple ,also called Pradakshina.

Many would wonder what may the reason be behind this ritual. Is it meaningless? Does it serve any purpose? Should we blindly follow this ritual because we have been told to do so? Questions do arise in our minds, and we have to find the answers. With folded hands, eyes drawn inwards and with full concentration, if circumambulation is done, we may find the answers within ourselves. We do feel that after the first round , there is a reaction within us. We feel as though the I is lost somewhere , and a sense of oneness with the Deity follows. There is a soothing down of negative thoughts and an uplifting  of the spirit.

This experience can be called to question.Today we need scientific proofs forspiritual experiences.

I began to search for the answers to the query as to why pradakshina is essential.

The priest in my local temple who is an educated person , having  a Bsc. degree and enough knowledge about scriptures to conduct the most common Hindu rites like marriages and worship of dieities, gave me a quite a few reasons which I found to be quite plausible.

When a Temple is established and life is infused into a deity through what he referred to as Prana Prathistha, divinity enters the deity. This divinity he defined as magnetic waves. These waves start from the base of the pedestal on which the deity is established, right from the centre and spreads round in a circle. The closer you go to the deity , the stronger are the vibrations.

Positive vibrations influence a person walking round the deity. The vibrations move clockwise, and hence the pradakshina has to be done clock wise too. By doing this, we will actually be moving along the magnetic field of the deity and imbibing the positive currents. We can safely asume that the positive vibes can protect us from evil.

There are several opinions as to how many rounds one has to make. The answer lies in the Deity in question. Generally we can go thrice round the Deity of Lord Krishna, once around Devi Durga and so on.   It is also believed that the longer we take to walk around the Deity, the greater the spiritual gain.

However , never go anti-clockwise. The desired results may not be forth coming.

We may conclude with the observation of   Sri Ramana Maharshi

Pradakshina (the Hindu rite of going round the object of  worship) is “All is within me.” The true significance of the act of going round  Arunachala hill  is said to be as effective as circuit round the world. That means that  the whole world is condensed into this Hill. The circuit round the temple of  Arunachala is equally good; and self-circuit (i.e., turning round and round) is as  good as the last. So all are contained in the Self. Says the Ribhu Gita: “I remain  fixed, whereas innumerable universes becoming concepts within my mind, rotate  within me. This meditation is the highest circuit (pradakshina).’” Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Source: Speaking Tree, DT. July 20, 2013.