Five Reasons To Go To Church

[Radha-Krishna]“A yogi is greater than the ascetic, greater than the empiricist and greater than the fruitive worker. Therefore, O Arjuna, in all circumstances, be a yogi.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.46)

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तपस्विभ्यो ऽधिको योगी
ज्ञानिभ्यो ऽपि मतो ऽधिकः
कर्मिभ्यश् चाधिको योगी
तस्माद् योगी भवार्जुन

tapasvibhyo ‘dhiko yogī
jñānibhyo ‘pi mato ‘dhikaḥ
karmibhyaś cādhiko yogī
tasmād yogī bhavārjuna

1. Pray for things

“Okay, so you know that stereotype of the husband who doesn’t want to go? He tries to make every excuse beforehand. If he does go, he either falls asleep during the sermon or finds some service that requires his presence elsewhere. Where the wife runs the show, gets the children dressed, makes sure that the family arrives on time? There is a lot of truth to that. It is just the way things have fallen.

“Most of the husbands pray for stuff, if they were honest with you. Most likely they want their fantasy football team to win in the playoffs. They want that new television or perhaps that new job. The public prayers are a little different, but predictable, nonetheless. Someone in the community is sick. Someone has recently passed away. Someone is starting a new job. It is kind of nice. People come together. I like it. I feel power in being part of something greater than myself.”

2. Atone for sins

“I know, I know, I have lapsed in my faith. I have not been attending regularly. I think that will change from now on. I did something really bad this past week. I am not proud of it. I am too ashamed to go into the details. You could say that desire got the better of me. I hope the priests can recommend something for atonement. I am open to anything, at this point. I just want the guilt to go away.”

3. Meet friends and neighbors

“Listen, I am not so much into the threats. I am not so afraid of the punishment. Perhaps that is what keeps people in line, like the rules we have in society and the strong arm of the law to serve as a deterrent for criminal behavior. I go mostly for the association. I like to meet with other people. If religion is the only thing we share in common, that is good enough for me.”

4. Give thanks

“Do you ever feel blessed? Do you ever think that you have been given more in this life than you actually deserve? Do you see other people struggling and wish that you could help them out? Do you ever wonder why a higher power chose to spare you from such calamities? These various thoughts run through my mind on a given week. I like that at least there is one day set aside for paying respects. I am so thankful, but I mostly have to keep that appreciation bottled up inside. At least on Sunday I get to set it free. I can pray without necessarily asking for anything.”

5. Maintain status in the institution

“Listen, if you fail to show up for a few weeks, the authorities get concerned. Friends and neighbors wonder if you have fallen on hard times. They worry that you have gone the way of the dark side, that you are no longer a believer. Those countless professions of faith from the past no longer mean anything, once you stop showing up. If attendance is all that matters, I can make the sacrifice. I want to remain in the good graces of the institution.”

It is interesting to see that in the Vedic tradition there really isn’t a concept analogous to the church, as it functions in the modern day. There are plenty of houses of worship. They were established across a wide span of years. Some structures have been standing tall for centuries. Some had the deity installations as recently as a few months back. There is a steady flow of worshipers, from morning until night, usually bringing some type of offering. They try to follow the recommendation from Bhagavad-gita. Even a leaf or a flower is sufficient, provided there is a mood of devotion.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं
यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति
तद् अहं भक्त्य्-उपहृतम्
अश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

[Prabhupada]Though there are houses of worship, there might not always be a sermon. There might not be an institution in the background, monitoring attendance and requiring exclusive allegiance. The deity is the central object of focus. The Sanskrit term is archa-vigraha. This form is for accepting worship. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains it through the comparison to the mailbox. That receptacle is like any other on the surface, but it has special authority to carry letters that are deposited within. The deity may appear to be ordinary stone, resin, wood, or brass, but there is a higher authority at play. The archa-vigraha is also the saguna form. It depicts the Almighty with transcendental features. The saguna form is easier for an embodied soul to understand.

क्लेशो ऽधिकतरस् तेषाम्
अव्यक्तासक्त-चेतसाम्
अव्यक्ता हि गतिर् दुःखं
देहवद्भिर् अवाप्यते

kleśo ‘dhikataras teṣām
avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ
dehavadbhir avāpyate

“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 12.5)

An outside observer might be surprised to learn that the same interaction takes place in many homes. There is something like a temple within the home, with a special place set aside for worship. There are offerings made in a constant, steady, and predictable flow, in the manner that we know the sun will rise in the morning. The worship facilitates the recommendation to Arjuna from Krishna, to attempt to transform every activity of the human life experience into yajna, which is sacrifice.

यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि
यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत् तपस्यसि कौन्तेय
तत् कुरुष्व मद्-अर्पणम्

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

“O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.27)

[Radha-Krishna]Steady worship of the deity accomplishes all of the sample justifications described above, for regular attendance at church, but with a notable distinction. There generally is a lack of fear. It is like having a connection, which is yoga. This yoga is the best way to live life. It is the way to eternal happiness, which transcends the temporary changes featured in material living.

In Closing:

Sculpture in this room standing,
But highest authority commanding.

The same perhaps in home,
With greatest reverence shown.

But yoga underlying the steadiness so,
In connection towards transcendence to go.

As advancing but not living in fear,
God considered friend most dear.



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