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Hinduism, at its core, has a reverence for universal Truth. It can be said that Hindu text, practices, and traditions are a codification of multiple approaches to recognize and honor the universal truth. That universal Truth and its divinity can be recognized and honored by folding hands, service to others, deity worship, chanting, meditating, yoga, dance, music, vegetarianism, etc. The choice of approach can be theistic, atheistic, nature worship, object based, or may simply have a philosophical school of thought associated with it.
In case of Tulsi, there are Puranic (one of the many sacred Hindu texts) stories of it being associated with deities. Tulsi is also a medicinal plant that has many benefits when consumed. As true with many things, Hindu have more than one reason to pray to Tulsi–both theistic and practical. Simply put, Tulsi can be an object to enable a Hindu’s devotion, or it could be a Hindu’s mooring in nature, and a reminder of our inter-dependence and obligation to preserve it, or it can simply be a somewhat selfish desire to keep the sacred blossoming in our courtyards as a symbol of divine’s presence in our homes.
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Contributor: Rajeev Singh
Location of this post (21b):https://www.hinduspeakers.org/ufaqs/why-do-you-pray-to-a-plant-like-tulsi/
Category:
21. Nature