In Deity Worship why do we offer specific items and rotate them a specific number of times?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
That is the mood over there. So, the question is that when we are doing deity worship and we offer flowers or we offer lamp there is a specific number we move it around. So, what is the reason for that? Actually, there are two different aspects to this.
What we offer and why we offer. Now, what is offered in the Aarati is actually essentially all the elements of creation are offered. So, when we offer the Diya we are offering the fire element.
When we are blowing the conch shell we are offering sound and ether. Sound transmits to ether. When we are offering the water we are offering the water element.
So, like that there are different elements in creation they are offered through the through the Aarati ceremony. Now, regarding the specific number the specific number is a way of conveying the meticulousness of our worship. That number may vary in different traditions.
So, but the idea is that the number the specific number when we do it in a specific way that it conveys that okay there is seriousness in doing this. The cultural norms may vary. For example, if a mother wants to teach her child mathematics basic maths the one mother may use two mangoes and then three mangoes and she may say okay two plus three is five.
Another may use two apples three apples and four apples which is three and four is seven. So, the specifics may vary but the principle is to teach mathematics. So, regarding why we use why we do specific number of times the principle is that we are showing Krishna that we want to offer him whatever he has given us.
This world is ultimately belonging to Krishna we offer him through the Aarati and the specific numbers are meant to convey that we want to do it properly we want to do it seriously. So, there are in the Vedic scriptures there are a set of books called the Pancharatra scriptures and these talk about deity worship. And based on the Pancharatra scriptures in our Gaudiya Vaishya Sampradaya Hari Bhakti Vilas is a book that has been written by the Goswamis and in the Hari Bhakti Vilas the specifics about deity worship are mentioned.
So, our Acharyas have told us a particular process and we follow that process. Now, in other traditions for example, in the Sri Sampradaya when the Diya is moved it may not be moved necessarily the exact same number of times but we follow the tradition which we have been given and others can follow their tradition but the essential principle is when we adhere to the tradition there is a purpose to it the purpose is to convey that we are not just doing this arbitrarily or casually perfunctorily we are doing it meticulously. So, the symbolism is that we are offering the material creation back to Krishna and the specifics indicate the meticulousness that is there with which we are doing our devotional activity.
Thank you.