Vedic concept of worship

According to the Vedas, God is the creator and sustainer of the whole Universe. Besides being omniscient and omnipotent, He is kind, merciful, blissful, fearless, just and sustainer of all animate and inanimate.

His worship and Upasana means imbibing His qualities of being kind, merciful, fearless, just and full of compassion for other fellow creatures.

In a way, embracing such godly virtues is his true worship and if one, despite remaining immersed in his prayer, fails to bring those qualities in him, then that is only ‘Vachak Bhagati’– a prayer in speech but not in action; and it has no meaning.

An atheist is better than a believer in God who sings paeans in His glory but remains bereft of these godly virtues.

Worship of God is best performed by performing our duty dutifully and with full devotion and by engaging oneself in the service of the less fortunate in the society. Arrogance, self-contentedness, insensitivity, hatred and envy are obstructions in this path of worship which can be cauterised by godly qualities like love, kindness, sensitivity, humility and compassion.

Think over a while on this hymn in the Rig Veda - “May we traverse the path which leads to doing good to others like the Sun and Moon. May performing charities, acquiring true knowledge, benevolence and generosity in our approach and non-violence in actions become the part of our persona.”

The sun is also engaged in the worship of God by spreading light and heat. Similarly, the moon is also worshiping Him by spreading its light and coolness in the night. Flowers are also worshiping by spreading their fragrance which gives happiness to the people who go near them.

Likewise, we too should worship God by being a perfect human being; and a good human being is one who has fellow feelings, love and compassion.

God has sent us here to perform our duties with honesty and sincerity. When we perform these duties dutifully and with devotion, we are worshiping Him.