number of faces , the higher the price of the Rudraksham. The Siva Puranam describes the benefits or bad effects of wearing Rudrakshams of different numbers of faces. The Puranam says that Rudrakshams with 7 faces should be avoided. The Padma Puranam also deals with Rudrakshams . It is possible that the Siva Puranam was written first and the Padma Puranam and the Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad have repeated the section about Rudrakshams from the Siva Puranam.

The Bhasma Jabala Upanishad deals with the virtues of Bhasmam(Vibhooti) for Siva worship. It describes the method of making Bhasmam from cowdung.It even specifies the colour of the cow from which the dung is to be collected. The Siva Puranam also discusses in detail why Vibhooti is special for Siva devotees. It specifies how the Vibhooti is to adorn the body of the devotee. Thulasi Upanishad makes clear why Thulasi is sacred for Vishnu. Paramahamsa Upanishad describes the way of life of Paramahamsas who are sadhus who live almost like beggars. The latest Upanishad is the Amrutha Upanishad composed by Matha Amruthananda Mayi of Coimbatore a few years back. Dara, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan was very much interested in the Upanishads. He got scholars from Benares and got 50 Upanishads translated into Persian. He also composed an Upanishad which he called Allah Upanishad.

THE ORIGIN OF TEMPLE WORSHIP

The Gods in the Puranas are the ones who are now being worshipped in Hindu temples. Siva and Vishnu are truly Gods without a beginning. They are mentioned in the Vedas which are without a definite beginning. As stated in this article earlier, the Vedas probably existed even when the Aryans were in Iran. It is difficult to say when temple worship originated. Vedic worship requires a sacred fire in the house of the person sponsoring the Vedic rite. The Vedic Gods have no form and there are no idols. Upanishadic worship consists purely of meditation. Contrary to these, temples have idols of Gods. People of other faiths who ridicule idol worship do not realize that there are three separate forms of worship in Hinduism, two of them being free from idols. The Uttara Gita says "Brahmins worship the Paramatma in Agni (Fire), Yogis worship Him in their mind, people without sufficient maturity worship Him in idols, Samadarsis (those who treat everything alike) worship Him everywhere."

Once Gandhiji and Tagore were having a chat. They came to the subject of idol worship. Tagore said "Gandhi, God is everywhere. Hence I do not wish to see Him in idols. I want the worship of idols to be eliminated." Gandhiji replied "Gurudev, idol worship is like a stick a lame man carries. First we must cure his lameness. Then we can take away his stick. We should first make him walk."

Vedic ceremonies can be performed only by an adult male Brahmin. This means that for the majority of people, Vedic worship like Sandhya Vandanam, Samidadhanam, Agnihotram , Pitru Tharpanam and the like are not allowed according to the Vedas. Even Brahmin women have to turn to other forms of worship to satisfy their spiritual needs. Upanishadic worship, namely meditation, is quite difficult for people who lead a day-to-day materialistic life. In Bhagawad Gita, Krishna in the form of Paramatma says " Only one out of ten thousand people try to find me ." Hence it is possible that temples and