Why we feel bliss and ecstasy when we visit some temples?
A male devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Whenever i chant in front of my altar cant realize that much of consciousness. If i see my home deities, nothing i can feel there. If i go for iskcon, i feel the presence of krsna, i mean somewhat bliss. Once i went to vrindavan i felt totally change i realize krsna. Last time went to jaganath puri i lost my conscious when i entered temple i dont know what happened as people says am stunned my hairs stands erect that much of conscious i felt by seeing jaganath. From that only i believed deities have lot of powers. Will you please explain what s t reason behind this? What is the difference between god picture and deity?”
REPLY:
It is called ecstasy. When we feel the bliss abundantly, we go to that excited state. Actually, it is the state that we feel when we see or touch our loved ones or the most revered ones.
Some materialistic people feel excited when their favorite actors or politicians touch them. Or, atleast when they see them. If this is the case even when they see the materialistic leaders, what to say about seeing the Lord Himself who is the person that we trust the most in our life.
Sri Caitanya Maha Prabhu would go to that excited state whenever he saw the deities of Lord including Jagannath or hearing the names of the Lord chanted nearby.
Yes… This feeling is natural when we see the most respected or most admired persons and when we see the Lord Himself. The magnitude may vary. That’s all. More emotional people show more feelings and others show less. That’s all. But, every believer of God will feel some bliss.
Why such vibrations occur only in selected temples?
Because, wherever you feel such ecstasy, that means, Lord is living there.
Where will the Lord live? He lives where the atmosphere is perfect to stay.
Now take the examples you have given:
As far as Vrindavan is concerned, it is the place where Krishna actually walked, performed His lilas, played flute, etc. So, Krishna and Radharani are still living there and they are always there. So, we feel the SPIRITUAL VIBRATIONS enter there.
You can feel the same spiritual vibrations in Tirumala Tirupati and some traditional temples like Srirangam, Varadharaja Temple – Kancheepuram, Varanasi, Gaya, entire Vraja Mandala, etc.
If you take the Tirumala Tirupati Temple, they are perfectly following the rituals and service and their service to the devotees. It is not easy to a lakh of devotees thronging the temple every day to have the glimpse of Lord there. They are managing very beautifully without any accidents and untoward incidents. This is great. So, lord is happy and is actually staying in Tirumala, Tirupati and blessing the devotees. So, we feel the bliss when we reach the hills.
I have felt the same vibration significantly in Srirangam Sri Renganathar Temple that is the First among the 108 Divya Desams. Lord Renganatha (Krishna) is very powerful and that temple was managed by Sri Ramanuja Himself for decades and His actual body has been installed there.
In most of the ISKCON temples, the devotees are doing loving deity service. They perfectly maintain the time of Pujas and offering bhoga. They decorate the deities outstandingly. Almost the same time is followed in all ISKCON temples. The Pujaris and the devotees involved in deity service care the deities they have in their temples. They cook very neatly and offer them. There is group chanting and group kirtans in these centres. The devotees who come to ISKCON temples also treat the deities lovefully and they too are trying to follow the regulations. So, you can feel a bliss when you visit some ISKCON temples where all the services are followed properly.
So, the secret behind such blissful vibrations in some temples is PROPER MAINTENANCE OF ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS. IN SUCH PLACES, LORD ACTUALLY LIVES. SO, WE FEEL THE BLISS.
SCIENTIFIC REASON:
If a temple is very ancient and sincere in performing the Pujas for the Lord reciting the required vedic manthras, those deities gain enormous power because of the power of manthras applied for centuries. Manthras are not just words. They are actually spiritual vibrations. Just recite OHM. You can feel that vibration. That is why, OHM is the living and spiritual sound vibration.
These sound waves in the form of electromagnetic waves are spread everywhere in the temples and also up to a certain distance from the temple. That is why, when we visit such cities, we feel the vibrations that originate from the temple deities.
Particularly, the Manthras in Sanskrit language have enormous spiritual vibrations. That is why, Sanskrit is called the Divine Language and most of the manthras are in Sanskrit.
If you maintain the same sincerity as followed in those temples in your home also, you can feel the same ecstasy when you see the deities in your home. So, follow all the rituals perfectly to the deities and feel the same bliss whenever you see them.
And, the difference between a picture of Lord and a deity is that a deity that is of the size above 3 inches is considered as archa avatar of Lord. So, there is no difference between Lord and His deity. A picture is a representation of Lord; whereas a deity is Lord Himself.
So, if you have a deity in your home, you should seriously follow all the rituals as followed in temples. Otherwise, it will be an offense. Such devotees are advised to have pictures instead of deities.
WHERE THERE IS PURITY AND SINCERITY, LORD WILL BE THERE. IT MAY BE A TEMPLE OR YOUR HOUSE ITSELF.
Hare Krishna.