Blessed, Sacred, & Consecrated Items
Holy Water, Blessed Statues, Consecrated Food (Prasad), Blessed Candles and Incense, Sacred Ash (Vibhuti), Sandalwood Powder (Chandan), Kumkum powder, natural beads (Rudraksha, Tulsi, & Lotus seeds), and Holy Relics of Saints and Enlightened Masters are all amazingly sacred and powerful items to have in our homes, on our altars, in our cars, and in our workspaces. Some may be ingested, some may be worn or placed on our bodies, and others — just by their physical presence — help us purify our body and mind, and their effects can greatly enhance our other spiritual efforts.
HOLY WATER
Holy Water: Water blessed in religious services at churches or temples, or water blessed by spiritual masters, imparts a greatly purifying effect if it touches our body or if we drink it. I personally order holy water from sacred pilgrimmage sites such as Lourdes, Fatima, or The Church of The Holy Sepulchre (in Jerusalem, which houses the tomb of Jesus Christ), for example, so I can use it any time I wish for extra help with letting go of inner burdens and purification. My Teacher, Ammachi, blesses holy water on the last day of the programs She conducts in each city on Her US Tour, and She says it can impart spiritual healing and blessings for good health and good fortune. She says, if you take a small amount of holy water and add it to a larger water container, all of the water in the container becomes sanctified. (Whether this works for all blessed water, I can’t say, it probably depends on the power of the water’s blessing source.) Most days I take a drink from one of Amma’s holy water bottles I have in my refrigerator for an extra special blessing before starting my day, or at the end of the day to help purify my mind and body. I also regularly give holy water from Christ’s tomb, Fatima, or Lourdes to my healing clients after their sessions, and it is incredibly uplifting and it brings an experience and taste of divinity. Holy Water/Oil is easy to find on E-bay — be sure it’s from a reputible seller!)
BLESSED STATUES
Blessed Statues: A tremendous boost to the spiritual environment of our homes, workplaces, or automobiles, etc., are blessed statues of saints or religious figures. Not only are they inspiring just as they are, but if they were blessed during a dedicated consecration ceremony or by a spiritual master, they can impart even a more wonderful divine vibration and special blessing to any area in which they are placed. I feel so attracted to such beautiful icons that my home has these in every room. I even have a ‘puja room’ dedicated for meditation and spiritual practices, with an altar that has many blessed statues upon it from my teacher Ammachi, and other enlightened masters. Each icon can bring in a different healing and divine blessing, and their individual energies all join together to create a special spiritual haven in our personal environment. These energies heal, uplift, and protect us, and can bring us prosperity and clear obstacles, in the midst of all the subtle and gross mental and emotional disturbances affecting us in our world today. I highly recommend having such icons throughout our homes and living spaces to accelerate our devotion and spiritual growth.
Consecrated Food
Consecrated Food : In the Catholic church, the notion of conscecrated food is not a new one: the “Euchrist” (holy wafer) and the wine which are distributed at the end of mass are considered transformed into elements of the “body of Christ.”
Food which is offered to the Divine in temples too, or during various spiritual ceremonies, is also considered transformed and blessed, and in India it is called “Prasad = Gift of God”. Many enlightened masters give blessed food, including my teacher, Ammachi, who always hands out Hershey’s kisses to each person whom She blesses. These kisses are cherished, and sweetly impart divine blessings to all. But we have the ability to receive blessed food each day, when we ourselves say grace or pray before our meals. If our prayer is sincere, it becomes blessed. I offer prayers of gratitude to God at each of my meals (while also including prayers for the good of the whole world). Doing this, one may be able to feel the energy of the food change, and be able to enjoy the grace which God has imparted to the food. There is a beautiful philosophy and way of thinking propounded in spiritual life — the idea that when we offer our work, or our posessions, or our food to God, whatever God gives back to us or lets us have, is then considered as a blessed divine gift. Such a way of living and believing results in more and more acumulated gratitude and peace in our lives.
Blessed Candles & Incense
Blessed Candles & Incense: It is not uncommon to find blessed candles or incense in spiritual bookstores. Candles, by themselves, purify the atmosphere. However, depending if such items are blessed, I feel they can have an even greater value in our lives. Reiki charged items, or items blessed by practitioners of various healing methods, have a modest extra level of spiritual benefit that they impart. If items are charged in a church or temple, or during special ceremonies or worship, I believe they have an even more powerful ability to positively effect us. The most powerful blessings, however, come from a fully enlightened teacher. With their special blessings & intentions our homes, workplaces, and even automobiles, can receive the most powerful divinizing effects. When I first observed people in India bringing incense up to my teacher, Ammachi, I wondered why. It was only later when I eventually burned one of the offered incense sticks, that I was overwhelmed by the profound divine energy which spread out into the air, bringing heavenly blessings and purification into all the rooms it entered!
Sacred Ash, Sandal Wood Paste,
& Kumkum
Sacred Ash, Sandal Wood Paste, & Kumkum: Sacred ash is often distributed at temples in India, along with sandalwood paste, and red kumkum. These are blessed items which have incredibly healing and spiritualizing effects when used properly.
Sacred ash (Vibhuti) represents the undeniable truth that eventually all substances which we value so much in the world, including even our bodies themselves, will eventually turn to into “ash”.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” Matthew 6:19
Sacred ash blessed in temples may be applied to the forehead (for meditation), placed on a part of the body where healing is desired, but it is best ingested for our overall purification. Several enlightened masters distribute sacred ash to people who approach them for blessings, and such ash has even more powerful special healing and blessing properties. Many consider it one of the most sacred gifts a master can give. While one can share blessed ash from temples, it’s best to not share ash which was blessed by a master for someone else, since it was intended to help that person specifically with their unique issues.
In additon to Vibhuti, Kumkum and Sandalwood paste also both hold sacred energy very well, and are often also given as divinely blessed substances at temples and certain spiritual ceremonies. They each can be applied to the body. Sandalwood paste is especially cooling and emotionally calming, and good as an antiseptic and balm for inflammation —vincluding headaches and general aches and pains. Kumkum can be applied to the middle of the forehead to help produce greater focus and concentration.
Rudraksha, Tulsi, and Lotus Seeds
Holy Seeds of Plants & Trees: Rudraksha, Tulsi, & Lotus Seeds: Certain seeds of plants and trees are known for their deeply healing, spiritual, and transformative effects when worn on our bodies. They have been written about in the scriptures of India for thousands of years, and their properties and value are expounded upon even today by world-renowned spiritual masters. When worn next to the skin, they exert their greatest influence.
Rudraksha beads are seeds which are considered as holy as the tears of Lord Shiva (Rudra). They bring about tremendous inner purification, and depending on their genetic variation, and numbers of faces (known as “mukhi’s” in sanskrit), they produce differing spiritual and health benefits when worn. Rudraksha beads can be worn individually or in groups on a necklace. Typically people wear necklaces of 5-faced Rudrakshas beads, but here are links to two excellent articles which have discussions about how to choose the bead with the most amazing benefits for your desired effects:
(1) https://rashiratanjaipur.net/Blog/benefits-of-rudraksha/
(2) https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/
rudraksha-benefits-panchamukhi
Tulsi beads come from the stems of the Holy Basil plant, and they have spiritually elevating properties. In contrast to Rudraksha beads which work more to purify our minds and bring about ‘transformation’, Tulsi helps bring a feeling of ‘transcendence’ above our minds: resulting in helping to us feel a steadier state of upliftment, peace, protection, and devotion to the sweetness of the divine.
Lotus beads are seeds from the lotus plant. They help with meditation, stress reduction, body balancing, reducing worry and negativity, and they help attract good fortune. They typically are worn as necklaces or on the wrist, and best if dark red to black. Rudraksha, Tulsi, and Lotus seeds can be worn together, and even stranded with various metals and crystals.
