In this episode of “5 Minutes”, Dr. Svoboda discusses why we should all take time to recognize the importance of the tools that allow us to earn our living or that help us do a craft or connect us to the divine.
Our subject is salutations to your tools. We are in the period of time known in India as Navaratri—that is, nine nights during which the Goddess is worshipped. The tenth day after the nine nights is called Vijaya Dashami, the victorious tenth day of the bright lunar fortnight. It is on that day that Goddess Durga slew the buffalo demon Mahishasura and Rama slew Ravana.
On the morning of this day, in India, Nepal, and similar places, people get up and worship their tools—the things they use to perform the activities through which they obtain the necessities of life and earn their income. A farmer may worship the plough and the oxen that pull it. A weaver may worship the loom, and a seamstress or seamster may worship the sewing machine. I, as a wordsmith, will be worshipping my computer and the other electronic devices that do work for me.
You can make this worship, this puja, as complicated or as simple as you like. It may be as simple as offering some incense. A slightly more elaborate Pancha Puja may include incense, a flower, a lamp, something fragrant such as an essential oil, and a little something sweet. The most important thing is not what you offer, but how you offer it—with sincere appreciation for what that tool is doing for you.
In the modern world, people all too often objectify everything. Things are commodified and regarded as inert material objects with no life of their own. From the Indian point of view, however, everything has a life of its own. If we want these things to cooperate with us, it is important that we have the right attitude and behave appropriately toward them. This is mentioned specifically in the Charaka Samhita, Ayurveda’s most eminent text.
What is most important on this day is to sincerely appreciate the things that allow you to earn your living and kindly request them to continue assisting you and facilitating your success. It is also appropriate to honor anything associated with those tools. In the case of a computer, that would include electricity, a very powerful form of Shakti. In India, there is at least one temple dedicated to Bijli Devi, the Goddess in the form of a lightning bolt—that is to say, electricity.
You should also appreciate the place where your tools normally live, because it shelters, protects, and guards them. Appreciate the house that protects and houses you so that you can do your work. Then appreciate the general environment of nature, the embodiment of the Goddess, and particularly any large trees nearby. Offer them some incense or something fragrant. Appreciate all the things that work for you, and they will work for you all the better.