puja ceremony

7/29/2019 Puja Ceremony

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Puja is a religious ceremony in which one salutes and worships the deity of one's choice. While not a

practice exclusive to Hinduism, it is by far best known as a Hindu practice. Puja is a form ofbhakti-yoga

or connecting with the supreme through an expression of devotion. Inpuja, the worshiper cultivates a

deep, personal relationship with the deity - a divinity that might otherwise seem distant and

inaccessible.

The reasons for performingpuja are many. Some offerpuja to a deity with an aim for gaining wealth and

prosperity, others offerpuja for a good husband or a wife, some again with hopes of help at times of

distress, and pure-hearted worshipers with no vested interest for the sheer joy of the deity worshiped,

as an expression of their love and devotion. An old Sanskrit verse by poet Ramananda gives an apt

description of the importance of sincere love and devotion in offeringpuja:

nanopacara-krita-pujanam arta-bandhoh

premnaiva bhakta-hridayam sukha-vidrutam syat /

yavat kshudastijathare jaratha pipasa

tavat sukhaya bhavato nanu bhakshya-peye //

"When there is deep love in the devotee's heart, the heart melts in rejoice as the Lord, the friend of the

distressed, is worshiped with diverse ingredients - just as diverse edibles are a source of joy for as long

as there is appetite, a sense of hunger and thirst in the stomach."

This loving thirst of the devotee's heart is the sole reason for thepuja worship's bearing attraction - a

mere presentation of easily available articles is hardly sufficient for pleasing anyone.

The following description is an outline that follows common practices in the Pancharatra tradition, but is

by no means the one and only right method of offeringpuja. One may adjust the details as desired to

suit one's own mode of worship. The following samplepuja is dedicated to Krishna, the chosen deity ofthe author, the charmer of the cowherd maids of Vraja and the beloved god of all the gods. It is not as

detailed as an explanation of apuja taught to initiates in a sacred mantra, but nevertheless well

sufficient to satisfy the needs of a novice in worship.

Preparing for Puja

Before apuja, the worshiper ought to take a shower and switch into clean clothes, preferably clothes

only reserved for worship. Ideally, the place forpuja is a separate room or a corner in the house with an

altar. Sitting atop an asana, a clean cloth folded into a seat, the worshiper should calm his mind in

preparing for thepuja and meditate on the deity to be worshiped. The body should be further sanctified

by acamana, the sipping of and sprinkling of sacred water atop one's head. (1) To calm the mind for thepuja, one may dopranayama or take deep and slow, focused breaths.

The following ingredients are needed:

1. A water-cup with a spoon.

2. A jug of fresh water.

3. A cup where discarded water is thrown.


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4. A small cloth folded into a triangle.

5. Some fragrant incense.

6. A small cotton swab on a stand, dipped in ghee or oil(2)

.

7. Sandalwood pulp.

8. Fragrant flowers of choice, leaves from the sacred Tulasi-plant(3)

.

9. Fruits or other foodstuffs prepared on a plate.

10. A mixture of milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey and sugar in a cup.

11. A conch shell for holding water.

12. A bell for ringing.

If any of the items for offering (5-9) are unavailable, then don't worry - they can be substituted with

water in the completepuja of sixteen items that is to follow. A shorterpuja may also be done with fewer

articles, but you'll need at least the sacred water and something to offer. Treat the items with respect;

do not let anything unclean come in touch with them.

The Sequence of Puja

Set up all the prepared items on the left side of your altar and sprinkle sacred water on them to free

them of any subtle defects and contaminations. You are now set for thepuja. Before commencing with

thepuja, salute the guru who is the teacher of worship and divine wisdoms: sri-gurave namah - "I salute

Sri Guru".(4)

If your altar is covered by a cloth, remove the cloth and greet the deity with folded hands

and words of devotion: sri-krishnaya namah - "I salute Sri Krishna".

Diverse articles of worship will be offered in thepuja. The following method of worship is known as the

sodashopacara-puja, a charming way of welcoming and respecting the beloved deity. Each item is

offered with a Sanskrit description and a salutation to the deity, e.g. esa dhupa, sri-krishnaya namah -

"With this incense, I salute Sri Krishna." If the mantras initially are too much of a threshold, one maybegin without them, saying the equivalent in one's native language and in one's own words. The

mantras should never become a ritual replacement for a heart's offering - for their very purpose is to

bring proper attention to an offering with devotion!

After touching the deity or items already offered to him, sprinkle sacred water from the cup to your

hands to make them fresh and clean for worship again. After offering, items like incense, lamps and

foodstuffs should be set to your right side to keep the offered and the unofferedpuja items separate -

an item, once offered, should not be offered again. As spoonfuls of water have been offered from the

water cup to represent different articles of worship, they should be discarded to a separate throw-out

pot.

The items ofpuja are offered in the following sequence:

1. A seat. Direct the deity a place to sit on with a gesture of hand. If the picture or figure of the deity is

already atop a seat, he may remain there. Mantra: Idam asanam.

2. A welcome. To make your good intentions for worship known and to welcome the deity, greet him

with folded hands. Mantra: Svagatam, su-svagatam.


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3. Water for washing feet. Offer sacred water from the water-cup to his feet. Mantra: Etat padyam.

4. Blessed water. Offer sacred water to his hands for sprinkling atop himself. Mantra: idam arghyam.

5. Water for sipping. Offer sacred water to his hands for sipping. Mantra: idam acamaniyam.

6. A refreshment. Offer the cup with a mixture of milk, honey, etc. Mantra: esa madhuparkah.

7. More water for sipping. Again, offer water for sipping and flushing the mouth. Mantra: idam punar-

acamaniyam.

8. Water for bathing. While ringing the bell, pour water from the conch into a container while showing

it to the deity, meditate on bathing him.(5)

Mantra: idam snaniyam.

9. Cloth. Having dried the deity, mentally offer him fresh clothes to wear after the bath.(6)

Mantra: idam

vastram.

10. Ornaments. Meditate on decorating the deity with different beautiful ornaments. Mantra: idam

abharanam.

11. Sandalwood pulp. Offer dots of fragrant sandalwood pulp to his forehead. Mantra: esa gandhah.

12.Flowers and leaves. Offer Tulasi-leaves and fragrant flowers to the deity's feet and, if available, a

garland to his neck. Mantras: etat tulasi-patram (leaves), idam puspam (single flower), etani puspani

(many flowers), etat puspa-malyam (garland).

13. Incense. Offer incense to the deity by waving it around his feet four times, his navel twice, his head

once and seven times around his body. Mantra: esa dhupah.

14. Lamp. Offer a lamp to the deity in the same way as the incense was offered. Mantra:esa dipah.

15. Foodstuffs. Set the plate of foods before the deity on a surface you can easily clean, sprinkle sacred

water over it, placing Tulasi leaves atop. Chanting the offering mantra, leave him in peace for a moment

to taste the offering. As he eats, you may sing or recite appropriate hymns.(7)

After the food offering,

offer water for washing the mouth. Mantras: etan naivedyam (food), idam acamaniyam (water).

16. Respects. Conclude thepuja by offering appropriate prayers(8)

and bowing down.

Having offered diverse articles, for devotion to reach its pinnacle the worshiper should also do atma-samarpana or the offering of the self:

tavasmi radhika-natha karmana manasa gira /

krishna-kante tavaivasmi yuvam eva gatir mama //

yo'ham mamasti yat kincit iha loke paratra ca /

tat sarvam bhavator adya caraneshu samarpitam //

"I am yours, O Radhika's lord, my acts, my thoughts and my words. O Krishna's beloved, I am yours

indeed, and the two of you are my sole aim in life. Whatever I am and whatever I have, in this world as

well as the beyond, may it all be offered at your feet."

Congratulations - thepuja of your deity has now been completed! Apuja is often accompanied by an

araticeremony, in which incense, lamps, water, cloth, fan and flowers are offered to the deity.(9)

The sacred left-overs (prasadi) offered to Krishna may then be offered to his beloved, Sri Radha (sri-

radhikayai namah), to her confidantes (sri-lalitadi-sakhibhyo namah) and to their maidservants (sri-


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rupadi-manjaribhyo namah), or to his other companions in accordance with one's own mode of worship,

before partaking of them oneself.

A common short variant of thepuja is thepancopacara-puja, the worship of five articles, in which items

11-15 are offered. According to one's convenience, one may offer as few or as many articles as one

wishes - but it is good to be regular and offer at least the same minimumpuja every day!

Concluding Words

How could one ever hope to satisfy the infinite and self-fulfilled godwith offerings of such simple items?

Nay, how could one satisfy the source of all existence with any amount ofpuja offerings, no matter how

grand! For nothing is there in existence that he wouldn't already have, and that already wouldn't be

rightly his. In addressing this, Sri Krishna speaks in the Bhagavad Gita (9.26):

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati /

tad aham bhakty-upahritam asnami prayatatmanah //

"Whoever offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water with devotion and a pure heart, that I

accept."

Then, it is not that the Lord is in need of any of our items of worship; his sole yearning is for our love, for

love alone is the sustaining principle of all existence, and a desire to expand love is the very reason why

the one, undivided absolute is eternally manifest in a diversity of forms. The offering ofpuja with this

understanding is the key to its success, the means for establishing an eternal loving bond with him.

A sincere and serious worshiper should know that for full success in the practice ofpuja, one should

approach a sat-guru, a genuine spiritual teacher, and receive initiation in the chanting of the sacred

mantra of the worshipable deity; for knowledge of the deity and one's relationship with him is containedin that mantra, and by its chanting this divine knowledge is infused to the core of one's heart. With this

initiation, detailed knowledge of the mysteries ofpuja will become easily accessible.

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Footnotes

(1) Water may be sanctified by invoking the presence of sacred rivers as follows: gange ca yamune caiva

godavari sarasvati, narmade sindho kaveri jale 'smin sannidhim kuru - "Ganga and Yamuna, as also

Godavari and Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri - I invoke the presence of thy waters."

(2) The easiest way to prepare a lamp is to first roll a piece of cotton into a small, tight ball, and then

take another piece that is drawn out, wrapped around it with the left-over twisted into a tail that is lit in

thepuja. This swab is then dipped into ghee (clarified butter) or any suitable oil, such as sesame oil, and

placed atop a stand.

(3) You would only offer leaves from Tulasi (sacred basil) to Krishna or Vishnu. Other deities have their

own preferences; for example, Bilva leaves are Shiva's favorite.


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(4) Even if you do not have a guru yet, you should salute the guru-tattva or the sacred, universal

principle of the guru with these words; homage to the guru should always precede worship.

(5) If you have a three-dimensional deity figure made of a material that isn't harmed by water, you can

also bathe him concretely by placing him into a vessel and pouring water over him. For this, a separate

small plate is required. The bathing water is called caranamrita, "the nectar of the feet", and should besipped of and sprinkled atop one's head at the end of the worship. At the time of bathing, pictures

should also be wiped with a moist cloth to cleanse them of dust and dirt.

(6) Again, if you have a deity that can be dressed, dressing him directly is of course the best option. This

principle applies for all the items in the worship.

(7) For example, the Hare Krishna mantra may be chanted in sweet melodies: Hare Krishna, Hare

Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

(8) Please see a separate article on diverse prayers. Prayers may be of one's own choice, or even offered

in one's own words. They should carry a heart's feeling, not be a mere ritual incantation. Commonprayer themes are pleads for forgiveness for defects in the worship, declarations of offering one's very

self, prayers of lamentation over one's destitution, prayers in praise of the deity, and prayers in longing

for service of or meeting with the deity.

(9) The items in an araticeremony are offered while waving in circular motion, much like the incense

and the lamp were offered in thepuja. Please read a separate guide on how to do an araticeremony

puja ceremony

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