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Lessons : Pujas and prayers
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PRAYERSè
PUJA
What is Puja?
Puja is one of the
most beautiful ways to bring out the devotee within oneself and establish
a relationship with Isvara, the
Lord. Puja is called kayikam karma,
an action involving one’s limbs. It also includes speech and mental
action in the form of chanting and thinking of the Lord.
In a physical form of
worship, such as a puja, there is a greater field of expression of
one’s devotion than is possible in purely oral or mental forms of
worship. The body, mind and speech are all involved in a puja. The forms,
colours, fragrances and sounds of the various items of worship arrest
one’s mind and aid in evoking devotion in oneself.
A puja is performed
in order to express one’s gratitude to Isvara for all one has been
given in one’s life. The very creation in which one is born is
considered to be a gift of the Lord. The body-mind-sense complex is made
up of five basic elements: space, air, fire, water and earth which also
constitute the creation. Through the sense perceptions backed by the mind
one perceives the Lord’s vast creation and appreciates His glories.
Traditionally, a form
of worship known as pancopacara-puja,
worship with fivefold offering, is performed. This worship acknowledges
the presence of the Lord and makes a simple offering of the five elements
through a symbolic offering of puspa,
flowers; dhupa incense; dipa, light; naivedya, food and gandha,
sandalwood paste. These objects represent the elements space, air, fire,
water and earth, respectively.
Puja at Home
Puja is generally
performed by an individual at home. Most homes have an altar where one or
more deities are kept. The choice of deity is a personal one. It does not
matter which deity is chosen as each one represents Isvara in a different
form or aspect. The deity that one chooses is called Ista-devata,
one’s desired deity.
Pancayatana Puja
Traditionally, those
who strictly follow the Vedic way of life perform a puja called the pancayatana-puja.
The following verse describes the deities worshipped in this puja:
adityam ambikam visnum gananatham mahesvaram
pancayajnaparo nityam grhasthah panca pujayet
adityam -
the sun deity; ambikam - Goddess Ambika; visnum - Lord
Visnu; gananatham - Lord Ganesa; mahesvaram - Lord Siva; panca-yajna-parah
- one committed to the five sacrifices; nityam - daily; grhasthah
- householder; panca - five; pujayet - may worship
“A householder
who is committed to the performance of the panca-yajnas, five daily
sacrifices, may do pancayatana-puja daily to five deities: the sun deity,
Goddess Ambika , Lord Visnu, Lord Ganesa and Lord Siva.”
The five deities in
this puja are traditionally invoked in the form of naturally occurring
stones. For instance, sphatika,
a crystal which occurs in various places in India, represents Aditya (the
sun deity); stones with specific markings, obtained from River
Svarnamukhi in Andhra Pradesh, represents Goddess Ambika; saligrama,
obtained from River Gandaki in Nepal, represents Lord Visnu; a red stone
called sonabhadra from River Sona represents Lord Ganesa; and bana-linga,
obtained from River Narmada, represents Lord Siva.
The idols are placed
in a prescribed manner. For Siva-pancayatana-puja, Lord Siva is placed in
the centre, surrounded by the other deities; for Visnu-pancayatana-puja,
Visnu is placed in the centre surrounded by the other deities and so on.
For example, in Siva-pancayatana-puja, the deities are placed as follows:
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Ambika
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Visnu
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Siva
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Ganesa
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Aditya
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A puja is performed
to all the deities in either a five-step worship or a sixteen-step
worship.
Steps of a Puja
Whether a puja is
performed at home or in a temple; the essential steps are the same. The
basic puja is called the pancopacara-puja, in which one makes a
fivefold offering. A more elaborate puja is called the sodasopacara-puja,
a sixteen-step puja, in which one additionally offers clothes, ornaments
and other similar items that one enjoys. The most elaborate puja is called
the catussasti-upacara-puja, a sixty-four step puja, where the
offerings include music, dance, chariots, elephants and other similar
items. Whatever one enjoys in life can be offered to the Lord as an
expression of gratitude.
With minor
variations, the following steps are customarily followed in any puja.
After taking a bath and preparing the altar, one sits in front of the
altar in a comfortable posture. One begins the puja by lighting a lamp,
which symbolizes knowledge. In order to be prayerful, one invokes an
attitude of purity within oneself by doing acamana, which involves
chanting the Lord’s name three times and sipping water with each
chant. This is followed by a prayer to Lord Ganesa, who is the remover of
all obstacles. Next, one performs pranayama, which helps one gain
a relative composure of mind. Sankalpa is done next to identify
the person, yajamana, doing the puja, and to state the purpose for
which the puja is done. Then one rings the bell. The sound of the bell is
considered auspicious and is said to ward off negative influences from
the place of worship.
Following these
steps, one sanctifies water in the water pot through chants and purifies
the various articles of worship by sprinkling the sanctified water on
them. These articles include the place where one is seated, the bell and
the flowers.
The yajamana then
offers prayers to the Lord within himself by reciting a verse in which
one’s body is likened to a temple and the self within is likened to
the deity. As a final preparatory step one offers prayers to one’s
guru.
The main puja may he
brief or elaborate. It begins by invoking the presence of the Lord in a
given symbol. This symbol may be a picture or an idol of a given deity,
such as Ganesa or Laksmi; or even a lump of turmeric powder; a betelnut;
or a kalasa, a brass pot of water. Once the Lord is invoked, the symbol
is looked upon as the Lord until the puja is completed.
The Lord is treated
as a revered guest. He is offered a regal seat and his feet are washed.
He is then given a bath and offered clothes and various ornaments.
Flowers are offered along with salutations. While offering flowers and
salutations, the Lord is addressed by various names. They may be sixteen
in number, one hundred and eight in number, or one thousand and eight in
number. These names reveal the glories of the Lord and his essential
nature. Naivedya is offered to the Lord in the form of freshly cooked
food or fruits. The Lord is then provided with comforts and music and
dance is offered unto Him.
After the various
offerings are completed, one offers arati to the Lord by lighting a
camphor and chanting prayers. Following the arati one offers flowers and
salutations. One concludes the worship by asking for forgiveness for any
inadequacies, omissions and commissions in the performance of the puja.
Once the puja is completed, the Lord is requested to return to his abode.
The offerings that are made to the Lord are distributed as prasada to
everyone who participates in the puja.
Items Needed to perform Puja
The following items
are needed to perform the sixteen-step puja:
• An altar with a vigraha,
idol, of the deity to be worshipped. If an idol is not available, a
picture of the deity may be used.
• An oil lamp, oil and a wick.
One lights the lamp at the beginning of the puja and makes sure
that it remains lit until the puja is completed.
• Akshatas, unbroken rice
grains to which turmeric powder is added.
• Panchapatra, a vessel
with water and spoon for offering water. The water may be poured into another
cup during the offering.
• Chandana, sandalpaste
and kunkuma, vermilion.
• Dhupa, incense sticks.
• Vastra, cloth.
• Dipa, a small oil lamp.
• Naivedya, food offering.
• Pushpa, flowers kept on
a plate.
• Ghanta, bell.
• Karpura, camphor with a
holder for burning it.
• The altar should be clean and
can be decorated as one wishes. Metal vessels and utensils are
preferable. If these are not available, paper plates and cups may be
used. The utensils for the puja should be kept apart and not used
for other purposes.
[If some of the
offerings listed above such as vastra, pushpa and so on,
are not available, one may use akshatas instead.]
Brief Explanation of the Steps
After lighting a
lamp, one performs the sankalpa. The sankalpa identifies
the person doing the puja (yajamana) and the purpose for which the
puja is done. A common purpose in all pujas is ‘durita-kshaya’
- the removal of duritas, impurities of the mind. One may pray for
other reasons, but an important element in all prayers is to seek a mind
free from confusion and wrong thinking.
The initial step is
invoking the presence of the Lord in the given symbol. Once invoked, the
symbol becomes the Lord and is looked upon as such until the puja
is completed.
The Lord is received
with an attitude of devotion and is then offered achamana, vastra,
cloth and the other items described.
While offering
flowers, one addresses the Lord by the various names that reveal the
Lord’s nature or describe his glories. One may chant sixteen, one
hundred and eight, or one thousand and eight names of the Lord.
Naivedya is
then offered at the altar. For naivedya, one may offer fruits
(fresh or dried), nuts, or cooked foods. It is customary that we do not
offer the Lord pre-made, store-bought or leftover foods.
Arati is
performed by dimming or switching off the electric lights in the room and
offering lighted camphor.
When visiting a
temple, one may go around the deity clockwise three times as an act of
salutation. Since the Lord also abides within, one may turn around
oneself three times, in a clockwise direction, while remaining in the
same spot. Both these acts are known as pradakshina.
In performing the puja,
there may have been errors of omission and commission. One asks for
forgiveness of the Lord for these.
After the puja,
the Lord is requested with a prayer to return to his original abode. The prasada
is then taken from the altar and distributed to all.
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