The Process of Deity Worship (Arcana-Paddhati) book

So this arcana-paddhati, the devotional service, although we have got this material body, under the direction of śāstra, under the direction of spiritual master, we are working, we are trying to serve God, Kṛṣṇa. So that service is as good as the service in the spiritual world. There is no difference. Just like… The example is: just like you have got a green mango. Green mango. So the green mango is not so tasteful, but when it is ripe, it is tasteful. The mango is not different. The same mango. You wait. You wait for the time when it is ripened, you will taste it, nice. Similarly, in the beginning, in the neophyte stage, when we say, “You must rise early in the morning, you offer maṅgala-ārati, you do this, you take your bath,” these things, because we are not ripened, in the neophyte stage, these things appear to be botheration, not tasteful. But you have to do it under the order of the spiritual master and the order of the śāstras. Because unless you practice, how you can… But when it is ripened by practicing, practicing, when one is accustomed… Say by practicing he develops love for God. Then, when he’s in love for God, he cannot do without it. Automatically he will rise early in the morning, automatically he’ll do everything. It is simply the question of time to arrive to that ripened stage.
(Lecture SB 1.1.2 London, August 17, 1971)

Also very soon I shall send you one complete set of instructions on worshiping the Deity and you can print in English and distribute. This book shall be named “Method of Worship”.
(Letter to: Satsvarupa, Bombay 13 March, 1971)

Letter to: Nitai
—
Bombay
9 January, 1976
76-01-09
Vrindaban
My dear Nitai,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your unsigned letter dated January 1, 1976.
Regarding the translators, I like the work of Nrsimha Vallabha Goswami best, and I want to settle up with him. I have already written Visvambhara in this regard. Sri Tripathi is after money, so we do not want him. Dr. Premlata Paliwal’s translation is not bad. Later on we can decide on her. So far Dr. Radharamana Gupta is concerned, first let us have a Gurukula, then we shall see who will be the headmaster. We will consider about him later, but his translation was not very good.
Now beginning from this year’s Mayapur festival the devotees will begin preparing for Bhakti-sastri examination. Therefore we require a guidebook for Deity worship, arcana-paddhati, based on Hari-bhakti-Vilasa. All brahmanas will be responsible to learn this book. I would like to have the manuscript ready as soon as possible, preferably my Gaura Purnima. So please work diligently for this. Pradyumna began this, but I do not know what he has done with his work.
I hope this finds you well.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS/tkg

Letter to Nitai dasa, 24th January, 1976.
“My dear Nitai, Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated 13th January, 1976. Please continue to work on the Arcana-paddhati and finish it. We are not sure that Pradyumna will come in time.”

The Deity worship book will be printed by Jayatīrtha dāsa without BBT funds.” This is that book. I forget the Sanskrit name, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Devotee: Hari-bhakti-vilāsa.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hari-bhakti-vilāsa. So Jayatīrtha wants to print it on his own. Means he doesn’t want to take BBT funds. So the trustees felt that that was very good, since funds were scarce; he does a nice printing. He said that he would take responsibility for printing and distributing it. Because it is a very limited edition, it’s not going to be sold to the common people, just to devotees.
Prabhupāda: No. Few copies.
(Room Conversation 11 April, 1977)

If you dont want to be cheated by bogus Iskcon books and if you have no trust in the ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry, than here is your chance: we have re-discovered the original Arcana-Paddhati (The Process of Deity Worship) book from 1978, free to download and use in your daily Deity worship.

A few cautions, added by Yasoda nandana prabhu:

1. The introduction by NM should be left out.
2. The book can be confusing with regards to articles set up.
3. The prayers section are good..
4. Srila Prabhupada never authorized anyone to change the original method of offering bhoga. That is the primary defect of this first edition as well.

 

Prabhupada: Not a special plate. The process is that whatever we offer to the Deity, that is offered to guru. And guru offers to his guru. In this way goes to Krsna. We don’t directly offer Radha-Krsna. No. We have no right. Neither He accepts in that way. The pictures of the acaryas, why there are? Actually, one has to offer the plate to his guru, and he’ll offer his guru, he offers his guru, his guru. In this way it will go to Krsna. That is the process. You cannot directly approach Krsna or other subordinates to Krsna. That is not possible.
710215SB.GOR

As service for all devotees who are doing Deity worship, here is a free PDF Version of this almost forgotten original book:

THE PROCESS OF
DEITY WORSHIP
(Arcana-Paddhati)
translated  by
Jayaśacinandana dāsa  Adhikiāri
edited by
Jayatīrtha dāsa Adhikāri

© 1978 Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
All rights reserved
First printing, 1978:  2,000 copies
Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

Preface
Introduction

PART I
1/   Mūla Mantras
2/   Duties During the Brāhma-muhūrta
3/   Waking the Lord
4/   Offering of Bhoga
5/   Offering Ārati
6/   The Pūjā
7/   Putting the Lord to Rest
8/   The Worship of Śrīmatī Tulasī-devī

PART II
1/   Cleansing the Teeth
2/   Passing Urine and Stool and Cleansing
3/   Taking Bath
4/   Tying the Śikhā
5/   The Putting on of Cloth
6/   The Putting on of Tilaka
7/   Prayers Upon Awakening
8/   Ācamana
9/   Sandhyā
10/  Prayers to Awaken the Lord
11/  Offering Pādya
12/  Offering Ācamana
13/  Offering Tāmbūla
14/  Picking Flowers and Tulasī for the Pūjā
15/  Asana-suddhi
16/  Establishing the Patras and Articles of Worship
17/  Viṣṇu-smaraṇam
18/  Maṅgala-śanti
19/  Bhūta-suddhi
20/  Prayers in Worship of the Spiritual Master
21/  Offering Arghya
22/  Offering Madhuparka
23/  Prayers in Worship of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityanānda
24/  Prayers in Worship of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa
25/  Upāṅga-pūjā for the Worship of Kṛṣṇa’s Paraphernalia
26/  Prayers in Worship of Lord Jagannātha
27/  Pañcāmṛta
28/  Mantras for Putting the Lord to Rest
29/  The Aṅkuśa-mudrā
30/  Mantra for Offering Incense
31/  Mantra for Offering Ghee Lamp

PART III
1/  Bhoga-ārati kīrtana
2/  Prema-dhvani
3/  The Ārati Songs
4/  Mantras for Drinking Caraṇāmṛta
5/ Honoring the Lord’s Prasāda
6/  Offenses to be Avoided
7/  The Mantras for Obtaining Forgiveness for One’s Offenses
8/ The Upacāras, or Articles of Worship

PDF: http://www.prabhupada-books.de/pdf/Arcana-Paddhati.pdf

“From now on unless I order you do something change or in addition, go on with the usual standard way. You manufacture ideas and then I have to waste my time. I have given you everything already, there is no need for you to add anything or change anything. Why you are asking these things? Who has given you such freedom?”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter to Dhruvananda, Bombay,  4/1/1973)

“The greatest danger to our movement will come when we manufacture and create our own process for worshiping the deities.”
(Srila Prabhupada Letter to Dhruvananda, Bombay,  4/1/1973)

“The Deity worship should be done just in the way it was carried out in my presence.” !!!!
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, 13/11/1970)