Ringing Bells Temples – Reasons
Why do we ring the bell in a temple:
Is it to wake up the Lord? But the Lord never sleeps. Is it to let the Lord know we have come? He does not need to be told, as He is all knowing. Is it a form of seeking permission to enter His precinct? It is a homecoming and therefore entry needs no permission. The Lord welcomes us at all times. Then why do we ring the bell?
The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. It produces the sound Om, the universal name of the Lord. There should be auspiciousness within and without, to gain the vision of the Lord who is all-auspiciousness.
Even while doing the ritualistic arthi, we ring the bell. It is sometimes accompanied by the auspicious sounds of the conch and other musical instruments. An added significance of ringing the bell, conch and other instruments is that they help drowned any inauspicious or irrelevant noises and comments that might disturb or distract the worshippers in their devotional ardour, concentration and inner peace.
Here’s a list of seven ancient secrets behind the use of bells in worship.
- Traditionally, the bell was supposed to be rung before starting worship, with an intention that the divine enters you and all demonic forces within your soul depart, and so do the ones outside it.
- It is crafted with several metals and alloys, and quantities of these metals are mixed with accurate scientific calculations.
- As a result, when you ring the bell, complete harmony is created between the left and right lobes of the brain, bringing you to a state of supreme calm.
- The echo touches the seven chakras of the body, taking a minute on each which completely relaxes your body.
- The aura of uttermost calm created by the sound, allows for the power of concentration in the brain to increase immensely and become strong.
- The environment created puts you in a state of trance that takes calmness and worship to another level.
- It prepares you for the prayer you are going to start, wakes you up and puts you in a state of awareness about prayer, so you can get lost in the mantras for a moment and absorb maximum spiritual gain.
- A type of temple bell is also designed to produce the sound ‘Om’, a sound that is believed to have the same frequency as the frequency of the earth’s rotation around its axis.
As we start the daily ritualistic worship (pooja) we ring the bell, chanting:
Aagamaarthamtu devaanaam
gamanaarthamtu rakshasaam
Kurve ghantaaravam tatra
devataahvaahna lakshanam
we ring this bell indicating the invocation of divinity, So that virtuous and noble forces enter (our home and heart); and the demonic and evil forces from within and without, depart.
