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 of bhakti-yoga or connecting with the supreme through an expression of devotion. In puja, the worshiper cultivates a deep, personal relationship with the deity - a divinity that might otherwise seem distant and inaccessible. The reasons for performing puja are many. Some offer puja to a deity with an aim for gaining wealth and prosperity, others offer puja 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 offering puja: nanopacara-krita-pujanam arta-bandhoh premnaiva bhakta-hridayam sukha-vidrutam syat / yavat kshud asti jathare 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 the puja 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 offering puja. One may adjust the details as desired to suit one's own mode of worship. The following sample puja is dedicated to Krishna, the chosen deity of the 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 a puja taught to initiates in a sacred mantra, but nevertheless well sufficient to satisfy the needs of a novice in worship. Preparing for Puja Before a puja, the worshiper ought to take a shower and switch into clean clothes, preferably clothes only reserved for worship. Ideally, the place for puja 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 the puja 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 the puja, one may do pranayama 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.

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 complete puja of sixteen items that is to follow. A shorter puja 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 the puja. Before commencing with the puja, 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 the puja. 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 may begin 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 unoffered puja 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 of puja 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.

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 punaracamaniyam. 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 the puja by offering appropriate prayers (8) and bowing down. Having offered diverse articles, for devotion to reach its pinnacle the worshiper should also do atmasamarpana 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 - the puja of your deity has now been completed! A puja is often accompanied by an arati ceremony, 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 (sriradhikayai namah), to her confidantes (sri-lalitadi-sakhibhyo namah) and to their maidservants (sri-

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 the puja is the pancopacara-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 minimum puja 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 of puja 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 of puja 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 of puja, 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 contained in 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 of puja will become easily accessible. --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 the puja. 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.

(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 be sipped 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. Common prayer 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 arati ceremony are offered while waving in circular motion, much like the incense and the lamp were offered in the puja. Please read a separate guide on how to do an arati ceremony