When a religious awakening occurs, prayer becomes a natural and conscious response. Recognizing our limitations and mortality, we instinctively turn to a higher power or entity that transcends these boundaries. Prayer is a way of connecting with God or a divine force, as it signifies a movement from God toward mortal beings. When our prayers are answered, it fills our hearts with gratitude.
Expressing gratefulness to God is an act of worship. It involves showing love, offering praise, and surrendering the things we hold dear. Worship, as an act of giving, is a movement from mortal beings toward God. But how does this movement manifest in our daily lives? It manifests through the practice of hospitality.
When we perceive everything in life as permeated by the presence of God, hospitality becomes a form of deification. In this context, God is the ultimate guest who can be encountered within the sacred space of a temple or through selfless service to others, seeing them as manifestations of the divine. Throughout history, saints and mystics have experienced the presence of God through both ritual worship and acts of service, validating the power and authenticity of these practices.
In Hindu traditions, ritual worship involves treating God as a guest and reenacting the hospitality that was traditionally offered to honored guests in ancient India. Various offerings are made during these rituals, including a special place to sit, words of welcome, water for purification, clothing, beauty adornments, flowers, incense, light, and food. These offerings are symbolic and accompanied by Sanskrit mantras, but the most important aspect is the devotion, love, and faith with which one's mind is focused on God.
Another form of worship in Hinduism is called "ārati," which involves the waving of light, pouring of water from a conch shell, offering cloth and flowers, and a ritualized gesture of respect towards the divine guest. The five elements represented by these offerings correspond to the building blocks of the material world—fire, water, space, earth, and air. In this form of worship, God is seen as both a specific guest and a cosmic presence, simultaneously present in one's home and heart.
However, the presence of God is not limited to sacred spaces alone. The Upaniṣads, ancient texts of Hindu philosophy, teach us that the divine exists in everything and everyone. Therefore, hospitality extends beyond mere acts of helping others; it includes recognizing and worshiping the presence of God within their hearts. When we see "others" as embodiments of the divine, helping them becomes an act of worship.
When work becomes a form of deification, helping others transforms into service to God in all beings and things. It involves selflessly giving without expecting anything in return. The Bhagavad Gītā categorizes giving into three types: sāttvika (pure), rājasika (passionate), and tāmasika (ignorant). The sāttvika gift, given without any expectation of return and to do good, aligns with the principles of "air yoga" as described by Swami Vivekananda.
Air yoga, according to Swami Vivekananda, refers to the spiritual benefits that arise from serving others selflessly, irrespective of one's religious beliefs or background. Even without prior knowledge of spiritual systems or religious practices, anyone who dedicates themselves to selflessly serving others reaches the same state as those who pursue prayer or knowledge. Renunciation, the willingness to sacrifice oneself for others, is the common meeting point for champions, workers, and altruists, regardless of their differing religious or philosophical paths.
Two stories further illustrate the significance of hospitality as a path to spiritual awakening. One story from Hindu tradition portrays
God is both a guest and a teacher. Disguised as a wandering mendicant, Krishna visits a wealthy family who warmly receives him and offers generous hospitality. In contrast, Krishna visits a poor widow who can only offer him a glass of milk. While he blesses the wealthy family with promises of more wealth, he informs the widow that her cow will soon die. Arjuna, who witnesses these events, questions Krishna about the apparent injustice. Krishna explains that the wealthy family still has much to learn on their spiritual journey, while the widow is already advanced, and the loss of her attachment to the cow will help her progress further.
The second story, from recent history, highlights the unexpected ways in which divine presence can manifest. In southern India, after a devastating cyclone, a monk and his companions from the Ramakrishna Order sought refuge in a partially destroyed school. A middle-aged man arrived the next morning with a bag of food, explaining that he had a vivid dream in which a woman instructed him to feed the newcomers. The dream had troubled him, leading him to act on it by providing food. As he shared this story with the monks, he noticed a picture of Holy Mother Sarada Devi, a revered spiritual figure, and recognized her as the woman from his dream. Overwhelmed by the unfolding synchronicity, both the man and the monks felt immense joy and gratitude.
Hospitality offers boundless opportunities to extend kindness in various forms. It is not limited to providing food alone; even a kind word, a smile, or a friendly nod can make a significant impact. Understanding that God exists in everyone and everything, how can we harbor resentment or look down upon others? How can we face God with a heart filled with anger and hatred? In a worldview where the presence of God permeates all of reality, God becomes not only the divine guest but also the host. Hospitality, when understood in its deeper significance, becomes a means of deification.
By practicing hospitality, we open ourselves to the divine presence in unexpected ways, embracing the blessings that arise from such encounters. As we strive to see the divinity in others, our lives are transformed, and our connection to the spiritual realm deepens. Hospitality becomes a sacred act, an expression of love and reverence towards the divine in every being and everything around us.
Source: Vedanta Society, Wikipedia
