First of all what is a kalasha? A brass,
mud or copper pot is filled with water. Mango leaves are placed in the mouth of
the pot and a coconut is placed over it. A red or white thread is tied around
its neck or sometimes all around it in a intricate diamond-shaped pattern. The pot
may be decorated with designs. Such a pot is known as a kalasha.
When the pot is filled with water or rice, it is known as
purnakumbha representing the inert body which when filled with
the divine life force gains the power to do all the wonderful things that makes
life what it is.
A kalasha is placed with due rituals on
all-important occasions like the traditional house warming (grihapravesa),
wedding, daily worship etc. It is placed near the entrance as a sign of
welcome. It is also used in a traditional manner while receiving holy
personages. Why do we worship the kalasha? Before the creation
came into being, Lord Vishnu was reclining on His snake-bed in the milky ocean.
From His navel emerged a lotus from which appeared Lord Brahma, the creator,
who thereafter created this world.
The water in the kalasha symbolizes the
primordial water from which the entire creation emerged. It is the giver of
life to all and has the potential of creating innumerable names and forms, the
inert objects and the sentient beings and all that is auspicious in the world
from the energy behind the universe. The leaves and coconut represent creation.
The thread represents the love that "binds" all
in creation. The kalasha is therefore considered auspicious and
worshipped. The waters from all the holy rivers, the knowledge of all the Vedas
and the blessings of all the deities are invoked in the kalasha and
its water is thereafter used for all the rituals, including the abhisheka.
The consecration (kumbhaabhisheka) of a
temple is done in a grand manner with elaborate rituals including the pouring
of one or more kalashas of holy water on the top of the temple. When
the asuras and devas churned the milky ocean, the Lord appeared bearing the pot
of nectar, which blessed one with everlasting life.
Thus the kalasha also symbolizes immortality. Men of
wisdom are full and complete as they identify with the infinite Truth
(poornatvam). They brim with joy and love and respect all that is auspicious.
We greet them with a purnakumbha ("full pot") acknowledging their greatness
and as a sign of respectful and reverential welcome, with a "full
heart".
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