Sandalwood - spiritual

Sandalwood incense is an integral part of Buddhist and Hindu practice. In Hindu temples, the air is usually suffused with incense and the smell of sandalwood, jasmine and turmeric.

Religious rituals

Liturgies and sacred rites are accompanied by offerings which are composed of the five elements: earth symbolized with sandalwood paste or ash; water with water, milk or coconut milk; fire with oil lamps or camphor; wind with incense; and ether with auspicious sounds. Incense from sandalwood is supposed to be calming and conducive to clarity of mind and is therefore preferred for meditation and to promote spiritual practice. The paste is smeared on the foreheads of devotees of Vishnu and Shiva. It is particularly placed as a dot or tilak in the forehead between the eyebrows where Hindus believe power resides and can be awakened. The sandalwood dot is meant to cool and protect this spot.

This colourful traditional painting shows the marriage of Vasudeva and Devaki,.
Sandalwood incense used at a religious ceremony in the Bhagavata Purana, c. 1760.

Fragrance

The fragrance of the wood is long-lasting and sacred carvings are made from the wood and installed in temples and household shrines. It is burnt during death ceremonies to help the soul rise towards God, and to comfort mourners. People who could afford it in the sub-continent were cremated on sandalwood pyres, a practice which is rendered difficult today because of the rarity of the wood. It is a belief firmly entrenched that the fragrance of sandalwood is potent and can ward off evil spirits but also attract snakes. In Hindu mythology, the tree is entwined with serpents. It is frequently portrayed in the painting traditions of the sub-continent with snakes around it and has come to embody an ineffable sweetness that is unchanged by danger. Joss sticks waft its fragrance around Indian households to keep the rooms auspicious and welcoming of the gods and free of evil spirits.