What’s Puja?

Puja is worship. The Sanskrit time period puja is utilized in Hinduism to consult with the worship of a deity by means of observance of rituals together with each day prayer choices after a shower or as diversified as the following:

Sandhyopasana: The meditation on God as the light of knowledge and wisdom at daybreak 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 evening amidst much devotional singing as a part of spiritual discipline.

Upavasa: Ceremonial fasting.

All these rituals for puja are a method to achieve purity of mind and specializing in the divine, which Hindus imagine, is usually 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 essential for a devotee to set an idol or icon or an image and even symbolic holy object, such as the shivalingam, salagrama, or yantra earlier than them to assist them ponder and revere god by way of the image. For most, it is tough to concentrate and the mind keeps wavering, so the image will be considered as an actualized form of the ideal and this makes it straightforward to focus. In response to the concept of ‘Archavatara,’ if the puja is performed with utmost devotion, during puja god descends and it is the image that houses Almighty.

The Steps of Puja in 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 crucial during ceremonial bath of the deity and providing incense etc.

Vedic Recitation: Reciting two Vedic mantras from Rig Veda 10.63.three and 4.50.6 to steady the mind.

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

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

Pranayama & Sankalpa: A brief 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 to be used in puja.

Purification of Puja Objects: Filling up the sankha, conch, with that water and inviting its presiding deities equivalent to Surya, Varuna, and Chandra, to reside in it in a subtle form after which sprinkling that water over all of 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 offering the upacharas.

Providing the Upacharas: There are a number of items to be offered and tasks to be carried out earlier than the Lord as an outpouring of love and devotion for god. These include a seat for the deity, water, flower, honey, material, 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 mentioned below.

Simple Steps of a Traditional Hindu Worship:

Within the Panchayatana Puja, i.e., puja to the 5 deities – Shiva, Devi, Vishnu, Ganesha, and Surya, one’s own family deity should be kept in the center and the opposite four round it within 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 offering cloth in puja, different types of cloth are offered to different deities as is acknowledged in scriptural injunctions. Within the day by day puja, flowers may be offered instead of cloth.

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

Circumbulation: Pradakshina is done 3 times, slowly within the clocksmart direction, with fingers in namaskara posture.

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

Distribution of Prasada: Final step is the Tirtha and Prasada, partaking of the consecrated water and food providing of the puja by all who have been a part of the puja or witnessed it.

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