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Nirguna Manasa Puja (Worship of the Attributeless One in the Mind)

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How to worship the formless in any form puzzles many of us. Gaudapada, Sankara's Guru's Guru, says in his karika on the Mandukya Upanisad (III, 36): "Brahman is birthless, sleepless, dreamless, nameless, formless, ever effulgent, everything, and a knower. (With regard to It) there is not the least possibility of ceremony."

In this hitherto untranslated dialog a disciple inquires into the highest significance of traditional forms of ceremonial worship (puja) and the Guru explains. Appreciation of Sankara's explanations is not dependent on familiarity with Hindu rituals themselves--the waving of incense and lights, offering of food, true listening and reflection, and so on. Here are a couple of samples.

-- What is the need of waving incense (dhupa) before the taintless and of waving light (dipa) for one who is the Witness of all? What shall be the cooked food (naivedya) for one who is completely satisfied with his own Bliss? (Verse 5)

--Listening (sravana) to that deva (diety) is the understanding that the heard is non-existent. Reflection (manana) on the Atmalinga is the understanding that there is nothing upon which to reflect. (Verse 29)

--The Knowledge of the non-existence of anything upon which to meditate is the profound meditation on the Self. Abidance in the Self is to be free of all errors and misconceptions. (Verse 30)

Sri Ramana Maharshi helps us to understand further: "Worshipping the formless reality by unthought thought is the best kind of worship. But when one is not fit for such formless worship of God, worship of form alone is suitable. Formless worship is possible only for people who are devoid of the ego-form. Know that all the worship done by people who possess the ego-form is only worship of form."


Again, we are very thankful to SAT for the careful preservation of such materials as these.