PUJA AND PRAYERS

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PUJA AND PRAYERS

 

Prayer is the highest form of communication with the Lord, and can be

offered in simple words or as an elaborate ritual. The modes of prayer may

differ from person to person, but the attitude is fundamental to all. Prayer

helps nurture one's special relationship to the Lord - the relationship of

the created to the creator - by invoking the devotee in the person. Unlike

the other relative roles one plays, the role of a devotee is non-demanding

since the Lord seeks nothing from us. When one's relationship to the Lord

becomes primary in life, other relationships become secondary and, thus,

less problematic.

 

Prayer has its purpose in helping one achieve an object of desire, be it

mental clarity or a given end. Ultimately, prayer helps one gain the

maturity to be a qualified recipient of spiritual knowledge. This knowledge

teaches us our identity with the Lord and helps us discover freedom and

happiness, the nature of oneself.

 

Three Types of Prayer

 

Prayer is expressed in three ways: physical, kayika, oral, vacika; and

mental, manasa. A ritual or a Puja is a physical form of prayer. Singing in

praise of the Lord or chanting verses and Vedic hymns is an oral prayer.Japa

or worship done silently is a mental prayer.

 

The Results of Prayer

 

Like any other action, prayer produces a result. The result is twofold: one

is immediately seen, Dristaphala and the other is unseen, Adristaphala.

 

The immediate result of prayer is the inner comfort that comes from

acknowledging one's limited capacities and accepting a power higher than

oneself. Being objective about situations over which one has no control and

praying to that all-knowing source is an act that frees one from anxiety

regarding the expectation of a result.

 

The unseen result of prayer refers to the subtle result called punya which

accrues to the doer of the action. Punya manifests in the form of

comfortable situations whether in this life or later. When one prays for

success, the accrued punya which one may call grace, helps neutralise

obstacles that one may not foresee. The grace may not ensure success, but

without it the outcome could be worse.

 

The Purpose of Prayer

 

A prayer may carry a different intent for different individuals. In the

Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes four types of devotees. The first one

is called an Artha. This individual remembers the Lord only during crisis

and difficulties. When things seem to be going fairly well, the artha

attributes success to his efforts alone.

 

The second type of devotee is said to be an Artharti. This is a religious

person who is aware of the Lord's grace in his life, but whose motivation

for prayer stems from seeking personal ends. The artharthi is committed only

to material gains and pleasures. Like the artha he also prays for relief

from distress.

 

The third type of devotee is a Jijnasu. This person pursues knowledge for

moksa freedom from unhappiness. Though moksa is a desirable end for all,

only a Jijnasu recognises knowledge as the means to this end and pursues it.

His prayer is for inner growth and maturity for the sake of gaining this

knowledge.

 

The Jnani is the fourth type of devotee. This is a wise person who knows his

identity with the Lord. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna describes the

wise person as being one with the Lord. The Jnani's prayer is an expression

of wisdom, and is the highest form of prayer.

 

Puja

 

One of the most complete forms of worship is the sixteen-step puja, or, in

its more elaborate form, the sixty-four-step puja. On special occasions one

may invite a priest to perform puja on one's behalf, but for daily worship

one can perform puja oneself.Iswara is the nimitta karana, the intelligent

cause, and also the upadana karana the material cause, of creation. The

creation does not exist apart from Iswara, who, therefore, can be invoked in

any form. Traditionally, we invoke Iswara in the form of a deity in a given

symbol or an idol.Worship can be mental, mental and verbal, or mental,

verbal and physical. Expressing any emotion or thought as an action makes it

more enduring, in the same way we express love by sending flowers or best

wishes with a card.

 

In puja, the emotion expressed is devotion. The devotee is often a person

who only occasionally expresses this emotion. One has to make this attitude

of devotion an enduring state of mind. puja helps this occasional devotee

discover a more permanent disposition of devotion. In puja, which is a

physical act of devotion, one invokes the Lord's presence, treats the Lord

as an honoured guest, offers worship and, with reverence, seeks the Lord's

blessings.

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.

* Aksastas, 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.

* Candana, sandalpaste and ku´kuma, vermilion.

* Deepa, incense sticks.

* Vastra, cloth.

* Dupa, a small oil lamp.

* Naivedya, food offering.

* Puspha, 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, puspha and so on, are not available, one may use aksatas instead.]

 

Brief Explanation of the Steps

After lighting a lamp, one performs the sankalpa. The sankalpa identifies

the person doing the puja (yajaman) and the purpose for which the puja is

done. A common purpose in all pujas is 'durita-ksaya' - 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

acamana, 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 pradaksina.

 

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.