Flowery words

Somebody raised a question about the significance of using flowers to chant, the belief being these flowers gain some spiritual type of energies, due to the very chanting. Obviously, the answers are not going to be chewable at all, leave alone the palatability or digestibility! It calls for ‘blind’ belief, if one is determined to stay stuck to sensory levels of perception.

My answer was through an exchange of personal mails. But I felt that there could be yet some others who might like to spend time to laugh at the idea, being assured of some vicarious pleasure, at the least. My own reasoning is that, the effort could get well paid for, as a reward in itself, if it so happens, that some of us stumble into some such mystic experience, quite unawares, unprepared, some time later. Then, this stored data will rebound into forefront, and ‘in a flash’, it will all be too clear.

The gist(after editing out the personal references):
Quote:
The query: Can anybody enlighten me on the significance of chanting Mantra Pushpam? I tried to do some research but didn't quite get the answers I was looking for.

Reply: For proof, all we need to do is to go and stay for a few days in that cold place Tibet.
There are still some traditional doctors (vaids, vaidyan, etc... ayurvedic).
Very little variety of vegetation grows there due to sub-zero temperatures for half the year. Only a few flowers. This native doctor gives the same few flowers as medicine for almost any type of ailment. And it works! He holds the flowers gently enclosed between two palms, for a while, does some meditation, and hands it over to the patient, who consumes it/applies its essence externally as per directions. Now if a youngster desires to become 'qualified', an elder and experienced doctor has to pronounce him as 'passed'. For this, the youngster has to stay under open sky on an entire full moon night. The temperature would be minus 30 or so. And standing on a hill top, doing nothing, he is expected to sweat profusely! A volunteer would come to him every hour, wipe of the sweat, and check for fresh sweating. Such is the 'Ushna' (a different kind of heat) that this candidate has to generate by mere focusing the energies within with mind's meditative practices. When a person is so capable, he becomes efficient enough to transmit his vital energies into the flowers, by placing them between palms for a while.That is why the same flowers do different treatments with different wave-types of energies.
Our ancient people used to chant and transmit energies in a more sophisticated manner. If you remember, during the Bhagawati sewa, a portion of the very same flowers are used to absorb negative energies, and the vadhyar (family-preceptor) instructs us to bury them or cast them into flowing water carefully.The rest of the flowers are used as prasaadams.
All this is quite difficult to 'digest' (accept logcially), unless, there is some personal experience of these energies beyond the sensory level perception. Yogic practices done intensely can bring us to such level of perception. Till then, if our logical mind permits, we may stay consoled with some trust and blind faith (the consolation is that there is no tangible side effect or ill-effect or loss!)

Response: Thank you for the reply. Yes, I have seen a couple of programs on TV [either on Discovery/TLC] on the Tibetan monks walking around bare feet, with just a dhoti and even sleeping on ice, which melts due to heat generated from their bodies. Indeed, they do possess some unique powers they must have acquired from constant meditation. I didn't quite know that the remedies for human physical ailments would be cured by the same set of 'medicated flowers'. Very interesting.

Addition, encouraged by the response: It was quite encouraging to get your kind and prompt reply.There is also a mention of pollen grains in the third sloka of Soundarya Lahari (Adi Shankara's). The indicative reference is that it brings "chaitanya" in a "Jadam" (againit is about energiszing! And there was a story that Germans who took away oursanskrit works, learnt them, experimented them, found the hidden meaning, and usedpollen-grain-tablets as medicines to revive the memory of their spy-agents who were caught, imprisoned, brain-washed to the extent that they lost memory, and then leftwandering, having become useless to anyone without memory! (But our ashtaanga of Ayurveda does have references of flowers, its petals and pollen grains to contain medicinal properties. Basically, even the presence of lots of flowers feels good, fresh and energizing!
Unquote:

So, that was about “After all, what is in a flower, what ever its name!”

Regards,Psn(8th June, 2010)