Spiritual Qualification and Ownership: Adhikara

There is an important Sanskrit term that will help us understand Hinduism, or any other religion. It is adhikara. I do not wish to burden my readers with too many Sanskrit terms, but sometimes it is unavoidable as Sanskrit lays at the foundations of Hindu religious culture and English simply does not have the words to describe what we want to say.

Adhikara, literally means "authority and ownership." A person in an advanced chemistry class, for example, has taken previous chemistry courses and so has the adhikara to be in the advanced class. He is qualified to be in the advanced class. Someone who has not taken chemistry has no adhikara to be in a graduate class. We could translate adhikara as "qualification," which is implied, but more than qualification, the term suggests ownership. This means, in the case of chemistry, that the person at the advanced level has the right to interpret, apply and teach chemistry. He is an "owner" of that body of knowledge and consequently has a right to that knowledge. A person in an elementary class of chemistry has no adhikara for the body of advanced chemical knowledge. Such a person has no right to teach and apply the knowledge of chemistry. The kinds of information and experiments a beginner will receive will be different from the activities of the advanced graduate. Their adhikaras are different and therefore their activities and rights are different. This is what is meant by the word adhikara.

From a Hindu perspective, life is a great evolution taking place over many lifetimes, even through many species of life! We can say the world is a school and each lifetime is a classroom. Some of us are in elementary grades, others are in middle grades, and some are in advanced grades. And just like students of chemistry, every person has a particular adhikara over a certain level of spiritual development. Students in elementary grades see the world in a certain way and must be taught in a certain way. Students at an advanced level similarly need to be approached in an appropriate way. The different adhikaras have different perceptions and spiritual rights. The idea of adhikara and spiritual evolution spanning many lifetimes is a distinct feature of Hinduism and becomes a powerful tool in understanding spirituality and how to apply our accumulated religious traditions. As a temple priest I meet many people with all varieties of adhikara, from the most advanced to the most elementary. For temple purposes, however, I have come to view people in just two broad categories of adhikara, those who see religion primarily in terms of the accumulated traditions and those who see beyond this external layer of religious accumulation to the essential faith within. Let me show how adhikara can be used with a few practical examples.

There is a common puja that temple priests perform called the Satya Narayana Puja, which includes a story (katha) that is read after the completion of certain religious rituals. In essence the story teaches that if one is pious and religious he will be rewarded with material rewards in this life and then will achieve moksha at the end of life. Most people interpret moksha as heaven. And if one is not pious he will loose everything in this world and then go to hell. I am simplifying things somewhat, but that is the gist of the story. I recently performed this puja and katha and afterwards was approached by a Western born Hindu girl of about 16 years of age. She was upset and confused why God would be so vindictive and cruel. To her the story seemed juvenile and God seemed out of character. To answer her concerns, I explained that all religions have stories that teach reward and punishment for pious or impious actions. I call this carrot and stick philosophy and I explained how a parent might promise a reward for good grades at school or threaten punishment for poor grades. "But this is how parents may treat a 6 or 7 year old child!" she replied. "Yes, exactly," I stated. "So the story of Satya Narayana is for children?" I would not say children, but for people of a certain stage of spiritual advancement. I explained the concept of adhikara and how there are different stories and religious approaches for the various levels of religious adhikaras. Perhaps this young girl was not the intended audience for the Satya Narayana Katha and therefore she was reacting to the story from a different level of adhikara.

Here is another example. A couple came wanting me to perform their marriage and they wanted to discuss the ceremony. I sat down with the bride, the groom and the groom's mother. The bride and groom were both born in America, but were of Indian descent. The groom's mother was born in India. After talking to the group I could see that the bride and groom were deeply in love and did not care how the ceremony was to be performed. The groom's mother, on the other hand, was extremely concerned that the ceremony be performed exactly according to Hindu traditions as she understood them. It became clear that if things were not done properly the marriage could fail. The bride and groom had no such concerns. The mother was focused on the ritual procedures and the bride and groom were focused on each other's love. It was clear that for the bride and groom the wedding ceremony was for the family and outside world. As we continued to work on the details of the ceremony, it also became clear that there was a conflict between the bride and the groom's mother. The bride was concerned about making the ceremony short and streamlined in order to fit into a certain timeline. Eventually I had to talk to the bride and groom separately and explain how important the ceremony was, not only to the groom's mother, but also to them. Even though religious rituals are part of the "stuff" of religion and, therefore, may seemingly be dismissed, they are still powerful and necessary. Rituals are powerful religious symbols and they talk directly to the inner being of man. I also introduced the concept of adhikara, and once they understood the relationship between the "stuff" of religion and inner faith, they withdrew their demands and began to work with their mother to create a ceremony that had meaning for all.

Finally, in designing temples and installing sacred images in the West, our congregations are often forced to make important decisions that go against Hindu architectural traditions (Vastu Shastra). A perfect example is the requirement of restrooms in a Hindu Temple. Hindu traditions never allow such a thing, and neither is it possible to get a variance to avoid restrooms. Even the number of exits required for fire codes, building orientation, parking allocation, gopuram heights or handicap laws often conflict with Hindu traditions. Board members are regularly forced to submit to modern building codes and city ordinances. In this situation I often see how some members are extremely attached to the rules of Hindu architecture, so much so, that they feel the temple will fail and even personal problems will befall their families if all the rules are not followed. They are like the mother in the case of the wedding mentioned above who thought the marriage would fail if all the rules were not followed. On the other hand, there are other members who are less concerned and are willing to be practical when faced with the prospect of submitting to modern building codes or having no temple at all. They have no such concerns of failure. Different adhikara "types" respond to these problems in different ways and so the concept of adhikara can be an important tool to help us understand the application of religion.