Lecture 5: Steps of Puja in Hindusim
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Lecture 5: Steps of Puja in Hindusim What is Puja?>>>>Puja is one of the most beautiful ways to bring out the devotee with in oneself and establish a relationship with Isvara-highest form of energy. Puja means worship – which must be done with an attitude of devotion. Puja is ritual involving mind (thinking of God), speech (chanting mantras) and body(performing actions). Puja is combination of: Self analysis of strength & weaknesses +planning for a goal +action to achieve goal. Puja is combination of: 1)Self analysis of strength & weaknesses + 2)planning for a goal + (1+2=Meditation) 3)action to achieve goal. Why do Puja?>>> puja is performed to express gratitude for all one has been given in life. Puja is mostly performed receive gifts and protect from negative things or problems. (artharthi and aarthi devotee). As we gain knowledge, puja is to gain knowledge (jigyasu) and then pray that we have wisdom to do the right thing to be happy and spread happiness (gyanni) Puja ultimately teaches us how to be humble, then gain knowledge, and become disciplined to achieve our goals by utilizing our hidden powers How to do Puja.>>> Puja invokes Ishvara in the five elements (space, air, fire, water, earth) through symbolic offerings of flowers, incense, light, food and sandalwood paste. (symbolizing the five elements respectively) Puja can be done in many different ways – traditional pujas may be panchopachara puja (5 offerings) or a more elaborate pooja is sodasopachara puja (16 step puja) in which one additionally offers clothes, ornaments, and other similar items that one enjoys. The most elaborate puja is called Catussati Upcara puja (64 steps) where offerings include music, dance, chariots, elephants, and anything as an expression of gratitude Reita Agarwal Page 1 You do not necessarily have to follow traditional pujas – but attitude is everything. A short Puja with good attitude is far more effective than an elaborate one without concentration. ***B).A practice of worship is all about Religious Disciplines and restraint of mind by various methods to do the right thing and establish the humanitarian forces. They are linked to three main paths of action: Bhakti, gyan and Karam . We will discuss the following to understand some of the religious disciplines: 1) Concepts of worship: Every human being/living being is a form of Ishvara. Hence respect them and offer hospitality as you would to a guest. 2) Japa: a technique whereby one can appreciate the ways of the mind because one has to give a specific function to perform eg mantra chanting, meditation, bhajan singing, etc 3)Vows and Vrata are pledges taken to neutralize the effect of bad actions or thoughts. 4) Acts of sacrifice, charity or pilgrimage, to invoke 5) Religious purity and yoga. ***C) In the physical form of worship, there is better expression of one’s devotion than is possible in purely oral or mental forms of worship. The forms, colors, fragrances, and sounds of the various items of worship arrest one’s mind and aid in evoking devotion within oneself. Hence through the sense perceptions backed by the mind one perceives the Lord’s vast creation and appreciates his glories. We learned about Pancopara puja worship of 5 elements which represent the 5 objects air (sound), space, fire (heat+light), water and earth. The main puja may be brief or elaborate, but begins by invoking the presence of Isvara in a given symbol. The symbol maybe a picture or Idol, or a lump of turmeric or betelnut, coconut, kalsa of water or our inner self/body which is likened to a temple. Whether puja is performed at home or in temple, essential steps are the same. With minor variations, following steps are followed in any puja After taking bath and preparing the altar,(where Ishth devta is placed), one sits in front of the altar in a comfortable posture. One begins the puja: -- By lighting a lamp, this symbolizes knowledge. Reita Agarwal Page 2 --One invokes attitude of purity within oneself by doing acamanam, which involves chanting the Lord’s name three times and sipping water with each chant. -- Next one performs pranayama, bow down, which helps one gain relative composure of mind. --Sankalpa is done to announce the purpose of which this puja is done. --Then one rings the bell to ward off negative influences from the place of worship and is considered auspicious. ***D) Steps in a traditional 16-step Shodashopachara Pooja: Lord is Treated as a Revered Guest Every human being/living being is a form of Ishvara. Hence respect every human being or our favorite deity/idol as part of God by treating him/her as your revered guest and offer hospitality as you would to a guest. A practice of worship is all about Religious Disciplines and Restraint of mind by various methods to do the right thing and establish the humanitarian forces, and not to get fanatic and forget the right attitude and essence of worship. Irrespective of which form of Ishvara we worship, there are sixteen basic steps in Pooja. Though the God we worship is not visible to our naked eyes, we offer these sixteen sevas (services) to the idol, which is the physical representative of the formless Almighty (Ishvara). Pooja is one of the important means to achieve concentration of mind. Normally, we install the idol in a clean and aesthetically beautiful place. The surrounding gives us a sense of tranquility and love. It is the tendency of the mind to acquire the qualities of the objects on which it concentrates. When the mind is concentrated on the Almighty, it imbibes the qualities of the Almighty and will eventually become the Almighty Itself. This is the ultimate aim of performing Pooja. But we are in an era where speed is everything. No one has time. It has therefore become difficult to understand the meaning of Mantras. Because it is difficult, we are not even trying to understand. This is wrong. In fact, the sixteen services are not much different from what we do every day in our daily life. To make it clear, let us understand the meaning and significance of the sixteen sevas. Reita Agarwal Page 3 1-2)Dhyana, Aavaahana:It means 'to invite'. When we want an important person to visit our house, we extend a formal and respectful welcome. This is 'Avaahana'. While inviting, we remember his good qualities. This is called 'Dhyaana'. 3) Aasana We offer a chair to our guest. This is called as Aasana Samarpana 4a) Paadya It is a tradition in India to offer water to wash the feet when a guest visits a house. (This practice may not be prevalent in cold regions. According to Yoga Shastra, the Nadis [nerves] terminate in the hands and the feet. It is therefore important to keep the hands and feet clean. Therefore, offering water to wash the legs and hands has been included in Pooja) 4b)Arghya Arghya means water to wash the hands 5)Aachamana Taking three gulps of water. This is an important practice among those who follow ancient tradition of Rishis. By drinking water three times, the throat and other parts pertaining to speech faculty become smooth and the speech also becomes soft. 6)Madhuparka We then offer to the guest something to drink that is healthy and sweet. Any drink sweetened with honey is called Madhuparka. 7)Snaana We request the guest to bathe. In the case of an idol, we bathe it with different articles like milk, curd, ghee etc.. We can also bathe the idol with plain water. 8)Vastra, Upaveeta We offer clothes to wear after the bath. 9)Gandha It is an ancient tradition to apply sandal paste (gandha) on the forehead. 10)Pushpa Nowadays only women use flowers. In ancient times even men used to wear flowers just like women. Symbolically, flower signifies our heart. In pooja, we offer different flowers while chanting the 108 or 1008 names of God. 11)Dhoopa Dhoopa means fragrant smoke. According to Ayurveda, inhaling of smoke by burning certain herbs is considered to be good for health. 12)Deepa Deepa means light. To acknowledge the fact that the Almighty is of the form of light, this particular aspect has been included in Pooja. Reita Agarwal Page 4 13)Naivedya Naivedya means offering different kinds of dishes. The practice of offering something to eat is prevalent everywhere. 14)Taamboola 'Tamboola' means betel leaf. According to Ayurveda, chewing the betel leaf with other herbs after food is considered a healthy habit. 15)Aarati We are nearing the end of Pooja. Aarati consists of showing a big flame of camphor light to the deity. This is to remind the person that the Almighty is of the form of light. 16)Mantrapushpa, Pradakshina To experience the original nature of the Almighty ñ i.e., His Mantra form ñ is the purpose of offering this service. By going round (pradakshina), we imply that the Almighty is present in all directions. Reita Agarwal Page 5 Homework L#5 quiz I Fill in the blanks: 1) Puja is one of the most beautiful ways to bring out the _____________________________and establish a relationship with Isvara 2) In the ___________________form of worship, there is better expression of one’s devotion than is possible in purely oral or mental forms of worship. 3) The main puja may be brief or elaborate, but begins by invoking the presence of Isvara in a given _____________. 4) In the puja, the symbol maybe a picture or Idol, or a lump of turmeric or betelnut, coconut, kalsa of water or our inner self/body which is likened to a ___________________.