Here, Durgadas discusses the importance of infusing the lifr-force of the Deity into the images.

Importance of Prana-pratishta

(c) Durgadas (Rodney) Lingham. All Rights Reserved.

by Durgadas, Ved Kovid.  

Prana-pratishta is the establishment of life-force (prana) into the murthi or sacred image in Hinduism, infusing it with the prana or life and energy of the respective deity.

Various gods and goddesses in Hinduism, as also geometrical forms (yantras), stones and such must all have the prana or life-force of the Deity before it can be useful, or else it becomes a mere abstract meditational image or representation.

As with Tarot cards and channeling, such can also be dangerous if Prana-pratishta is not performed properly for the deity, as the Prana-pratishta practice also purifies the psychic air and space of negative or asuric influences, which can often also possess or inhabit inert objects such as stones, gemstones or even forms which have life, such as trees and humans, or possess them. Any image then, must have the Prana of the devata or deity installed first, making it safe and also powerful for worship.

Many Yoga studios and such often do not do this. Failure to pronounce a mantra properly also results in the failure of Prana into the murthi, unless of course one already has powerful prana-shakti awakened - of which few Yogis alone have, save the rest of the masses of humanity! Secondly, even for mantras, the prana-shakti and mantra-shakti of the mantra must also be awake in the person to be effective, as also in worshipping the murthi with such mantras, or they become merely blind mental exercises.

Such mantras, even if received from tradition, need to be infused with one's own prana-shakti or life-force of the mantra and a development of vak-shakti, the power of speech and iccha-shakti, the power of will in the person first before using such mantras to deities. After this, the Rishi or Seer who originally revealed the mantra must be revered and his grace sought to release it's higher energies before going to the Devata or deity, which after much more intense sadhana or spiritual disciple, releases the full power of the mantra and becomes, as it were, a Guru as the inner-Guru. 

Mantras for instilling prana also form part of the special rituals in Tantricism for instilling life-force into the deity and such beeja mantras or seed mantras themselves require several years of practise to master, even for advanced Yogis, as well as their correct intonation or pronunciation. 

Some for example state that 100,000 times of chanting a mantra will make it effective - but such is all wasted if there is no dharana-shakti or direct concentration of the person, correct pronunciation and deep bhakti or devotion to the Deity while doing so! There are also higher dikshas or initiations to be mastered beyond the physical Guru's grace, as we have already noted - of which some Yogis such as Dattatreya, Agastya and Sri Ramana Maharishi were able to receive through Lord Shiva himself, due to their previous yogic samskaras or traits in past lives and advanced states.

Within Hinduism, there exist special deities that connect us to mantra, such as Lord Ganesha, Devi Saraswati and Sri Dakshinamurti. Their grace must be sought deeply through which dedication and sadhana before using any mantras or trying to access the deeper powers of mantra beyond the mental realm alone (at which level most Yogis, let alone Yoga teachers and students are at!).

There is hence much to consider when using a murthi or an image. Some people have them empowered in temples or sacred sites, which is useful - however any commercial aspect by purchase or paying of a Priest for such also has its own karmic considerations, not to mention that one should also personally become attuned to the deity and the prana of it, not merely accept it alone as being empowered. 

Due to the laziness of people in the Kali-Yuga (the current age) however, these rites are often ignored by non-Hindus and new Hindus and hence there are many inert and also dangerous murthis out there also. Murthis as noted, like gemstones imbibe powers around them and if not energised, will attract the energies of the surrounding areas, or even asuric forces as noted, which can bring bad luck for some people.

For this reason, some organisations such as the Arya Samaj rejected murthis or images, but on a more rational basis. It was done to save the lesser advanced castes and people of India from these sufferings, and also teach them the practice of the Agni-Hotra, the Vedic form of worship and offering to purify the psychic air.

Just as we would not just wear a gemstone that had not undergone shuddhi (purification) and graha-shakti (planetary empowerment) infused into it, we should not just buy murthis as they seem "pretty" and place them around the place without Prana-pratishtha, unless of course we are living in a purely sattvic environment (not a business, which includes Yoga studios and Ayurveda clinics) where they are used primarily as meditational images alone. Still - the grace of the deity is required to advance in Yoga, and such grace cannot be superficial or imagined, as in the case of many neo-Vedantins today!