TREE WORSHIP

Tree worship

Spirit of the East, spirit of air,
of morning and springtime:
Be with us as the sun rises,
in times of beginning,
times of planting.
Inspire us with the fresh breath of courage
as we go forth into new adventures.

Spirit of the South, spirit of fire,
of noontime and summer:
Be with us through the heat of the day
and help us to be ever growing.
Warm us with strength
and energy for the work that awaits us.

Spirit of the West, spirit of water,
of evening and autumn:
Be with us as the sun sets
and help us enjoy a rich harvest.
Flow through us with a cooling,
healing quietness and bring us peace.

Spirit of the North, spirit of the earth,
of nighttime and winter,
Be with us in the darkness,
in the time of gestation.
Ground us in the wisdom of the changing seasons
as we celebrate the spiraling journey of our lives.

- To The Four Directions, by Joan Goodwin

“Tree worship and worship of natural forces evolved gradually along with the origin of human social life. In Indian culture plant worship probably had its beginning in the pre-Indus Valley time but as a continuous stream of worship from the pre-vedic period and continues more or loss uninterrupted even today as a vibrant faith in the Indian society. Excavations in Harappa and Mohanjodaro provided evidence of the existence of tree worship during the Indus Valley civilization. Marshall in his classical work on Indus civilization mentions two forms of tree worship during that period. In one form the tree is worshiped and in the other form the tree spirit is worshiped. Pandey in his work on the Indian Rock Art found in the Adamgarh mentions the figure of a ‘Vanadeva’. This figure is shown in an anthropomorphic form, a lotus crown on his head, holding an arrow in one hand and a bud in the other hand, and the body covered with flowers. In one of the seals excavated from Indus Valley, the epiphany of the deity is a tree that resembles the peepal. In another seal Mackay has identified a peepal, and in a clay amulet he found the representation of a neem tree. According to him the worship of Mother Goddess, the goddess of fertility and crops, seems to be central to the religious practices of the time. The Mother Goddess was often represented as rising between two branches of a tree or standing in between the bifurcated branch of a peepal tree. The pre-Vedic worship of trees evolved further and attained new dimensions during the Vedic period and in the subsequent post- Vedic times. The number of sacred trees increased considerably in the Puranic period and subsequent centuries because of the proliferation of the polytheistic and iconoclastic worship. However during the Vedic period soma occupied the prime status in worship than any other tree. In Rig Veda a whole chapter, the ninth Mandala is devoted for extolling the qualities of soma and its worship. In subsequent centuries elaborate rituals were evolved for each sacred ceremony and in every such ceremony plants and plant products played important roles. We read in Puranas such as Garuda purana, Agni purana etc. how different flowers were prescribed for offering to different deities.
The Indian people believed and still believe in astrology and the planetary influence on their lives. Just like gods and goddesses are associated with certain plants; myths and legends were evolved that made the nine planets associate with certain plants; so also the birth stars. All the twenty seven birth stars are associated with some plants and animals.

LET ME QUOTE A FEW LINES OF A POEM:


‘The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,
And spread the roof above them,---ere he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems; in the darkling wood,
Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down,
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks
And supplication……………………………..
Father, thy hand
Hath reared these venerable columns, thou
Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down
Upon the naked earth, and, forthwith, rose
All these fair ranks of trees. They, in thy sun,
Budded, and shook their green leaves in the breeze,
And shot towards heaven. The century-living crow,
Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died
Among their branches, till, at last, they stood,
(A Forest Hymn by William Cullen Bryant)