What is Puja?

Puja is worship. The Sanskrit time period puja is utilized in Hinduism to refer to the worship of a deity via observance of rituals together with daily prayer choices after a shower or as different as the next:

Sandhyopasana: The meditation on God as the light of knowledge and knowledge at dawn and dusk

Aarti: Ritual of worship in which light or lamps are offered to the deities amid devotional songs and prayer chants.

Homa: The offering of oblations to the deity in a duly consecrated fire

Jagarana: Keeping vigil at night amidst much devotional singing as part of spiritual discipline.

Upavasa: Ceremonial fasting.

All these rituals for puja are a means to achieve purity of mind and focusing on the divine, which Hindus imagine, could be a fitting stepping stone to knowing the Supreme Being or Brahman.

Why You Want an Image or Idol for a Puja

For the puja, it is important for a devotee to set an idol or icon or an image or even symbolic holy object, such because the shivalingam, salagrama, or yantra before them to help them ponder and revere god through the image. For many, it is troublesome to concentrate and the mind keeps wavering, so the image might be considered as an actualized type of the perfect and this makes it straightforward to focus. In accordance with the concept of ‘Archavatara,’ if the puja is carried out with utmost devotion, throughout puja god descends and it is the image that houses Almighty.

The Steps of Puja within the Vedic Tradition

Dipajvalana: Lighting the lamp and praying to it because the symbol of the deity and requesting it to burn steadily until the puja is over.

Guruvandana: Obeisance to at least one’s own guru or spiritual teacher.

Ganesha Vandana: Prayer to Lord Ganesha or Ganapati for the removal of obstacles to the puja.

Ghantanada: Ringing the bell with appropriate mantras to drive away the evil forces and welcome the gods. Ringing the bell is also needed during ceremonial bath of the deity and offering incense etc.

Vedic Recitation: Reciting Vedic mantras from Rig Veda 10.63.3 and 4.50.6 to steady the mind.

Mantapadhyana: Meditation on the miniature shrine construction, generally made of wood.

Asanamantra: Mantra for purification and steadiness of the seat of the deity.

Pranayama & Sankalpa: A short breathing train to purify your breath, settle and focus your mind.

Purification of Puja Water: Ceremonial purification of the water in the kalasa or water vessel, to make it fit for use in puja.

Purification of Puja Objects: Filling up the sankha, conch, with that water and inviting its presiding deities reminiscent of Surya, Varuna, and Chandra, to reside in it in a subtle kind after which sprinkling that water over all the articles of puja to consecrate them.

Sanctifying the Body: Nyasa with the Purusasukta (Rigveda 10.7.90) to invoke the presence of the deity into the image or idol and providing the upacharas.

Providing the Upacharas: There are a number of items to be offered and tasks to be performed before the Lord as an outpouring of affection and devotion for god. These include a seat for the deity, water, flower, honey, fabric, incense, fruits, betel leaf, camphor, etc.

Note: The above method is as prescribed by Swami Harshananda of Ramakrishna Mission, Bangalore. He recommends a simplified version, which is talked about below.

Simple Steps of a Traditional Hindu Worship:

In the Panchayatana Puja, i.e., puja to the 5 deities – Shiva, Devi, Vishnu, Ganesha, and Surya, one’s own household deity should be kept in the center and the opposite four round it in the prescribed order.

Bathing: Pouring water for bathing the idol, is to be carried out with gosrnga or the horn of a cow, for the Shiva lingam; and with sankha or conch, for Vishnu or salagrama shila.

Clothing & Flower Decoration: While providing fabric in puja, completely different types of fabric are offered to different deities as is acknowledged in scriptural injunctions. In the every day puja, flowers might be offered instead of cloth.

Incense & Lamp: Dhupa or incense is offered to the ft and deepa or light is held earlier than the face of the deity. Throughout arati, the deepa is waved in small arcs before the deity’s face after which earlier than the entire image.

Circumbulation: Pradakshina is done three times, slowly in the clocksmart direction, with hands in namaskara posture.

Prostration: Then is the shastangapranama or prostration. The devotee lies down straight with his face dealing with the floor and hands stretched in namaskara above his head within the direction of the deity.

Distribution of Prasada: Last step is the Tirtha and Prasada, partaking of the consecrated water and meals offering of the puja by all who’ve been a part of the puja or witnessed it.

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