Dear Spiritual Explorer: What incenses do you think are most spiritual? John W., Pittsburgh, PA
Auroshikha Incense
Dear John: I think it depends mostly on your experience. However, in my researching, I have concluded that frankincense and sandalwood might fit that category, albeit from different spiritual disciplines, namely Christianity and Buddhism. We of course have heard that the three Wise Men brought frankincense, myrrh and gold as gifts to Jesus. Frankincense is incense derived from the Boswellian tree. Boswellia has long been known for reducing inflammation in the body. As most Catholics parishioners know, frankincense is always used as the major incense in Catholic rituals. Auroshika Frankincense Indian Incense is known to help clarify thoughts and aid meditative concentration. It is also an adjunct to accessing the Seventh Chakra, the highest chakra of consciousness.
What is less known is that frankincense is known in Chinese medicine as “ru xiang” and is used to improve circulation and repair muscle. It is also used in pain due to blood clots, gum bleeding, rheumatoid arthritis and cirrhosis of the liver.
Sandalwood while described as having a more resonant smell and which does not have the same fruit smell and pungency of frankincense, is thought of as “gift of the Gods.” While both frankincense and sandalwood have been used religiously and spiritually for over 5,000 years, each one has a different and unique scent known to transport devotees of either the Christian or Buddhist religion into states of ecstasy and devotion.
We know most about sandalwood incense through its usages in incense and oil from Hindu and Buddhist practitioners. Auroshika Sandalwood Indian Incense. What we might not know is that it is becoming over-harvested in India. Sandalwood paste is integral to rituals and ceremonies, to mark religious utensils and to decorate the icons of the deities. Sandalwood is also distributed to devotees, who apply it to the forehead or the neck and chest. Preparation of sandalwood paste is a duty fit only for the pure, and is therefore entrusted in temples and during ceremonies only to priests. Sandalwood also has medicinal qualities and was popular in medicine from 1920 to 1930 mostly as an antiseptic. Sandalwood’s main component has antimicrobial properties. Sandalwood is also used in aromatherapy and soaps.
So the question comes down to individual preference depending upon your receptivity to the fragrances of either sandalwood or frankincense.
Good luck in choosing one. Spiritual Explorer
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