Hindu Worship

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The word Puja came from the Dhathu "Puj", which means to worship, to honor, to

welcome. The root of the word Puja is "Yaja" Deva Poojaayaam" means the service

or activities that one cannot avoid from doing to propitiate or please God.

Every country, state, religion, caste, family and even individual has

its/their/his/her own belief and ways of performing Puja. Whatever may be the

method or system or practice that one adopts or follows, there are, as per

Hindu scriptures 4, 5 (Panchopachar), 8, 10 (Dasopachar), 13, 16

(Shodashopachar), 24, 32, 64 or 108 types of Upacharas or activities or

services to propitiate God.

The daily worship generally consists of sixteen phases or items according to a

conventional practice usually referred to as Shodasopachara Puja. These sixteen

items are not always necessarily the same throughout. They differ from occasion

to occasion and may be from place to place or person to person. But a common

sequence popularly followed by majority of the devotees is as follows:

Avahanam - Invocation

Asanam- Offering a seat

Padyam- Water for washing the feet

Arghyam- Water for washing the hands

Achamaneeyam- A few drops of water for sipping

Snanam- Bathing with water, milk or honey

Vastram- Garments to cover the body

Yajnopaveetam- The sacred thread placed across the left shoulder and the right

bottom part of the trunk

Gandham- Sandal paste

Pushpam- Flower or flowers

Dhoopam- Burning incense for fragrance and to intensify the feelings of devotion

Deepam- Lighting to remove darkness, symbolizes enlightenment

Naivedyam- Food for nourishment

Tamboolam- Betel leaves with nut and other ingredients, a condiment that

signifies completion of a meal.

Neerajanam- Offering of camphor enkindled to have a better look of the Supreme

both within and without

Atma Pradakshina Namaskaram- Prostration before the Lord as a mark of

self-surrender after making a parikrama.

(1) Aavahan or Invocation or Praan Prathishta: We invite the Invisible Supreme

Soul to manifest through the idol or photo that we keep in front of us for our

prayers or Puja, or we imagine that God is residing in it or we imagine that

God manifested in and through the idol or photo accepting our prayers or

imagine that the idol or photo has life and God is accepting our prayers

through the Idol or photo.

(2) Asan or Simhasan or Throne: As we cannot and do not have the capacity to

offer a magnificent throne to Lord, Who is the owner of the whole universe, we

offer HIM a seat, according to our capacity, thinking that HE feels

comfortable, and start decorating it inwardly with all kinds of precious

stones, jewels, gold, flowers, cushions, etc., the best we can think of and

request the Lord to be seated to accept our offerings.

(3) Padyam. This includes the symbolic offering of water for washing the feet.

This custom dates back since the days when very few used to wear shoes or

chappals and those days without convenient transport facility. Offering water

to wash the dust and dirt off the feet. It is also a sign of respect to offer

water to wash one's feet. We can see the references to this act in our

scriptures, especially with reference to Rishis, Sages, etc. We also do Pada

Puja (worshipping the holy feet) to Saints in our houses.

(4) Arghyam: As we imagine God has assumed the shape of a human being with two

legs, two or four hands, one or more heads, etc., moved by our prayer, we offer

HIM water with a feeling that HE would like to wash HIS hands before accepting

our offerings, as we do before doing something good or important, sacred or

taking food.

(5) Achaman: We do Achaman (i.e., we sip water three times with mantras like Om

Govindaya Namaha, Om Narayana Namaha, Om Madhavaya Namaha, etc.) facing or

sitting towards East to cleanse our inner-self (Antharangam) with the water

purified with Mantras, so that any thoughts that we might have entertained

either before or after starting Puja will vanish from our mind. Like this, we

purify ourselves. As we cleanse our body by taking bath, we cleanse our

inner-self by taking water saturated or purified with Mantras.

Again here water is offered to God with a view that HE washes HIS face. It is

the tradition in our houses that whenever any guest comes from outside, after

ushering him into the house, we give him water for drinking as well as washing

or at least sprinkling water on the face so that the guest feels relieved of

the tiredness and strain of the journey.

(6) Snanam/Bath: Bath given to the God with Ganga Jal or milk, or honey, or with

perfumed water, etc.

(7) Vastra Yugmam: Then we offer good clothes to God and decorate HIM with

excellent quality clothes, according to our capacity, as we do to our children

on their birthdays.

(8) Yagnopaveetam: We then offer HIM Yagnopaveetam, a sacred thread placed

across the left shoulder and the right bottom part of the trunk.

(9) Gandham: We offer God scented chandan (sandal paste) so as to give coolness

to HIS body. The royal kings used to do this in the olden days. We offer

Oordhwapundram or decorate God with Tilak or some such decoration to God's

face. The next step is Alankar God with Abharanas or jewels. As we feel that by

wearing such and such ornaments, we look beautiful or we beautify ourselves with

all kinds of alankaras, the same way, we should also feel that the Lord is Self

only and we should decorate HIM with the same feeling and purpose so that HE

looks beautiful.

(10) Pushpa Puja (Archana): We offer flowers to God with a lot of love and

devotion to please HIM. Of late it has become a practice to offer broken or

withered flowers, may be due to scarcity and sky-racketing prices of flowers,

but, in fact, it must not be done so. God is full of compassion and mercy and

HE does not protest, as HE understands our compulsions. We should offer a

flower for each one of HIS sacred and kalyana name that we recite, whether it

is Ashtothra or Sahasranama. Here we should always remember one very important

point that most of us just throw flowers and Akshatas at God, in a routine way.

But, it is not the right procedure. We should recite the names of our Lord with

a lot of love and affection and with each name that we recite with love and

bhava (feeling), we offer a flower to the Lord in such a way that first we

bring the flower near to our chest or heart and offer it at the feet of Lord

with a feeling that, Oh God! I am offering

my heart (Colorful Hridaya Pushp) at Your Lotus Feet. Kindly accept it and

remove all my Doshas such as Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Mada, Macharya, Irsha,

Dwesha, Ahankara, etc. Kindly take me into your fold my Lord. That is the

essence or meaning behind offering colorful flowers to Lord. Bhava is very

important in all our spiritual (of course, even in social) activities. The same

method is applicable while offering Akshitas or Kumkum or any such offering to

Lord. It should always be humble, and never routine and mechanical. In other

words, Archana is the heartfelt offering of Love to God. In Archana a devotee

calls God with a variety of names as a loved one is called by different names

affectionately.

(11) Dhoopam: Dhoop represents the Gandh (fragrance) aspect of the senses. A

Satvic sense of depicting a pure Gandha sense is the Dhoop. As we give Dhoop to

babies in our residences, which is still in vogue in villages, especially in

rainy season, so as to make the skin dry and fresh and protect them from

diseases like cold, etc., due to high content of water in the air, we offer

Dhoop to Lord also.

(12) Deepam: Deepam is the Tejas or fire aspect. We light the lamp immediately

after Dhoop with a view to see Lord more clearly and also to witness the beauty

and majesty of the Lord is after alankaras.

The words Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya, indicate the essence of bhava behind keeping a

lamp in front of the Lord. The spiritual significance is: Oh God! Light my heart

with the prakasha of knowledge and dispel the darkness of ignorance. It also

signifies that the (true) Atman is revealed if one lights his heart with the

lamp of Pure Love and Right Knowledge. With this bhava at heart, we light a

lamp (Diya) or lamps in front of God. The other angle to this is that the lamp

indicates auspicious sign. It has an important position in the Puja of Hindus.

The main reason for keeping the lamp in front of God is that it is a sign of

good omen (Mangala or Shubha kaarakam). The other reason is that in the olden

days, where there was no electricity or limited use of electricity, our

ancestors used to keep lamp(s) in front of God, so as to see HIS image or photo

or HIS Divya Rupa clearly. Probably, even today one can notice in olden temples,

in the sanctum sanctorum, that

they do not keep or allow electricity bulbs. They show the God to devotees with

the help of Aarati. Another reason, which I feel true, is that after we

decorate God we perform Aarati, immediately after offering Dhoop with an

anxiety or eagerness or desire to see how the Lord looks and see the Deity to

one's heart content. The light in front of the Deity will help us to see the

image more clearly, especially in the smoke of Dhoopam.

(13) Naivedyam: Naivedyam is the Rasa (taste) aspect of the senses. We offer all

kinds and varieties of delicious food items, which include sweets, fruits, etc.,

to God, with all love, as if Ma Yashoda is feeding Krishna, or Mata Sabari is

offering fruits, although tasted first, to Lord Rama. See the Bhava here. In

fact, I was told that coconut is not compulsory in Puja, but somehow it has

become a part of it now. (The meaning and purpose of breaking a coconut is

dealt with separately and will follow later).

(14) Thaambulam/Betel Leaves: As we offer Nut-powder (Supari) or Paan to guests

at the end of a meal, we offer Lord betel leaves with supari (nut powder and

spices) so that HE digests easily whatever we offered to HIM to eat. Here we

should not offer HIM money, as it is offered only when we offer Dakshina.

(15) Neeraajanam: After completing all the above Upachaaraas to Lord, we do

Neerajanam with a view to remove any Drishti Dosha (evil sight) as we all know

that HE has a wonderful personality and added to it, HE has been decorated so

well and looking so handsome that it is very difficult for a devotee to take

away his sight from HIM. This we do with pure love as we do it to our own small

children. It is the practice in our houses/temples that immediately after

Aarati, we pay our respects to that camphor flame by putting our palms over it

and putting those hands on our eyes. But, I was told that, it is wrong, because

the intention behind giving Aarati is to remove any evil sight (Drishti Dosha)

and also to show God more clearly to the devotees, but not for any other

purpose. As we do not pay respects to such activity when we do it for our

children, the same way, we should not do it in temples or at homes after

Aarati. And that flame should be kept aside

and sprinkle a few drops of water to remove Dosha, as we wash the legs and hands

of our children and wipe the eyes with water, immediately after removing Drishti

Dosha.

Neerajanam signifies the end of Sakara or Bahya (outward) Puja and is at the end

to denote that all the Doshas and impurities will vanish in thin air after

burning the Ajnan in the Jnanagni or Tapas.

(16) Atma pradakshina, Mantra pushpam and Uavasana: We offer flowers and

Akshatas with Mantras to Lord. It is done mainly to highlight and explain the

divinity, greatness, compassion and love of God over HIS subjects or devotees.

After doing all the above, if knowingly or unknowingly we commit any mistake,

either in the performance of Puja or in our Bhava, we request God to forgive

us, as we are human beings and our Manas or mind is subject to flirtations, and

keep us in HIS Karuna Dhrishi (Merciful eyes) always so that we will not repeat

such mistakes in future. Also we request HIM to bless us as we wish to offer

all the above upacharas every day to HIM. Then we do Pradakshina, not only

around the Lord, but also around ourselves, to indicate that my Lord you are in

me as Soul and doing Atmapradakshina means doing Pradakshina around YOU only.

Then we do pranam (prostration) and then offer Kshama Prardhana or Aparatha

Kshamapana, with a view to offer all the mistakes at the Lord's Lotus Feet.

Having manifested in and through the idol that we kept in our Puja Mandir and

accepted our prayers and sevas, now we request the Lord to take rest in our

hearts and live there forever, so that the divinity is manifested through us

and ultimately we realize our innate divinity within and without, in other

words, we merge in HIM thus removing the ignorance forever.

(A contribution by Paritala Gopi Krishna, New Delhi, India source:saibaba.org)

Arun Reddy Nukala

+44-7946-595063

+44-2085-695116

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