image: Ramanisblog
In the twenty-first verse of his Cidvilāsastava (‘Hymn to the Play of Consciousness’), Amṛtānanda teaches about the deeper meaning of pañcopacāra pūjā (five-item worship) as follows:
पञ्चधैव यदिदं प्रपञ्चितं पञ्चधानुभवशाश्वतोदयम् ।
तत्सुसंहरणमौपचारिकं कर्म निर्मलनिजात्मसंविदि ॥ २१ ॥
pañcadhaiva yad idaṃ prapañcitaṃ pañcadhānubhavaśāśvatodayam |
tatsusaṃharaṇam aupacārikaṃ karma nirmalanijātmasaṃvidi || 21 ||
“This world, unfolding in a five-fold process, is the constant arising of the five [sensory] experiences. The auspicious reabsorption of that world of experience into pure, innate consciousness of the Self [here constitutes] the [five] services of ritual worship.” (translation by Ben Williams)
