Before actually commencing the ritualistic worship it is important to arrange the tools and other components of the ritualistic worship. From the viewpoint of the Science of Spirituality it is appropriate to arrange them based on the level of the five cosmic elements. This is because such arrangement balances and coordinates the five cosmic elements that are active in the universe. This helps the embodied soul (worshipper) to derive maximum benefit of the ‘with attributes’(sagun) and attributeless (nirgun) frequencies emitted by the deity. Such arrangement indicates the sojourn of the embodied soul from the Great Illusion (Maya) to Brahma associated with the absolute earth to the absolute ether elements. The components included at every level and their arrangement is explained in detail in ‘Part 3 – Vol. 29 : Path of Devotion’ – ‘The Science behind the temple at home and the tools used in ritualistic worship’. An important component at the first level is the ritualistic platter. The arrangement of the components of the ritualistic platter is explained further.

1. ‘In the ritualistic platter turmeric and vermilion is to be placed to the right of the embodied soul and bukka, gulal and shendur to the left.
2. The perfume bottle, fragrant paste (usually sandalwood paste), flowers, durva and leaves (patri) are to be placed at the forefront in the platter. The subtle frequencies of the deities are activated by the fragrance particles in the perfume, sandalwood paste, flowers and also by the colour particles in the durva and leaves.
3. The betel leaves, betel nut and the money to be offered in the ritual of offering money (dakshina) are to be placed at the lower end of the platter because they are an effective medium of transmission of frequencies of the deities.
4. In the center, the all encompassing unbroken rice grains are to be placed. As the unbroken rice grains become the central portion of the platter, the frequencies of the five superior deities namely, Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Lord Shriram, Lord Shrikrushna and Lord Ganapati are attracted to them. They are then transmitted as per the requirement to the other components, e.g. vermilion, turmeric, etc. placed around them in a circular manner.’

(Divine knowledge received through the medium of Mrs. Anjali Gadgil. 6.1.2005, 11.20 a.m.)

Reference:

‘What is the importance of the substances used in ritualistic worship?’, published by Sanatan Sanstha.