WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HOLD THEIR EARS IN FRONT OF A DEITY?

What is Deity?

Deity represents human struggle as well as man’s effort to discover his identity against the limits of his known universe. Concept of deity expresses a human experience that says man is not alone in the universe and the sensible world is not all that seems to be the reality. Human beings have always experienced the relation between real life and divine powers. The concept of deity shows the limitations of man’s knowledge and that he is neither alone nor the ultimate master of his fate.

Role of deities in our life

In the primitive stages of life, man realized the existence of deity. Excessive need always becomes a cause of an invention. Various hypotheses about the origin of deities come together in simple words, as the “awareness or fear of some great thing”.

Therefore, may be behind the concept there is an existence of fear that man realized of five great elements. Earlier, man experienced deity in the form of any dreadful natural thing. While experiencing the natural calamities such as storm, lightning, thunder, earthquake, etc. man imagined these natural elements are nothing but deities who have enormous strength. “In front of them we are negligible. So we cannot stand before them.” This way the existence of deities might be thought and accepted by man.

Various types of worship to honor deity

Various ways such as worship, pranam, penance are accepted by devotees to honour the deity. By worshipping, man accepted the dominance of nature in the form of deity. Slowly almost everything in the scope of human experience came under the sacred manifestation.

Act of holding ears

During worship people hold their ears in front of deities. During or after worship people hold their two ears across or straight by hands and ask for forgiveness. At the end they again perform pranam to deity.

Reason for this act

This act of holding ears is done in a humble, respectful and modest manner. Many reasons can be given for this act. These are

Very first and initial reason for this act is the concept in the devotee’s mind that ‘the deity is the supreme personality in this world’. Being respectful is the main reason for holding ears.

Devotees always think that ‘deity is the final knowledge and we are negligible in front of him’. Hence ears are held for asking forgiveness to such a knowledgeable one.

It is also a belief that every day people commit some mistakes unknowingly. Hence to ask forgiveness for such mistakes people hold their ears in front of deity regularly. To confess all mistakes in front of deity too some people hold their ears.