Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

Puja

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

There are three ways to do puja.

One way is with audible sound w here you recite the mantras

outloud called sabdha. Another way is to only move your lips

when you recite the mantras. There is no sound. This is called

pumsa. The third way is to perform the puja completely within

the mind in silence. This is called manas. You make all the

offerings inside pulling the articles to be offered f rom your

heart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
Guest guest

"...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas interesting ..."

 

Dear Latha,

For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going deeper

and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning the

meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how those

materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we are

trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these things

and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a deepening of

my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside" things to

be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana at

the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and

watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding that

maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can see

a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of the

puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was studying

a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of two

Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India (mostly

South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian lady

who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things. But

what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I

actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were doing

than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her

life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she

didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of what was

underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very much

about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at last

some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told me that

it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a deeper

understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more wonderful

puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite incredible

is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and Swamiji

are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding. The

Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many

times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to know

this"!!!!

best,

sadhvi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

most excellent oh sadhvi. this might be the one advantage we

westerners have, is, no cultural clutter or "going-by-rote" on this,

and our raw desire is there. of course, now we have SM and S. so now

we are no longer deprived as i once believed we were.

 

s

 

, "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...> wrote:

> "...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas

interesting ..."

>

> Dear Latha,

> For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going deeper

> and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning the

> meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how those

> materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

> purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we are

> trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these

things

> and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a deepening of

> my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside" things to

> be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana at

> the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and

> watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding

that

> maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can see

> a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of the

> puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was

studying

> a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of two

> Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India (mostly

> South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

> in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian

lady

> who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

> helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things. But

> what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I

> actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were

doing

> than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her

> life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she

> didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of what

was

> underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very

much

> about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at last

> some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told me

that

> it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a deeper

> understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

> her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more wonderful

> puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite

incredible

> is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and Swamiji

> are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding. The

> Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many

> times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to know

> this"!!!!

> best,

> sadhvi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Dear Sadhvi,

 

Namaste - My Pranams to you.

 

Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn more

about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just taking

the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to - weeeeel maybe

I still will, just for the fun of it).

 

May be we should start a series of questions -- what is the purpose

of each and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step is

like a milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that each

flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I think it

is now time to analyze each and every step to understand the

significance of it at a minute level.

 

Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because it

is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I see

the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO hard at

things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They sweat at

the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but they are SO

committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them all the more.

And they come out with a deep understanding of the practices. My

humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for some of their

commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through association.

 

JAI MAA

Latha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

, "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...> wrote:

> "...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas

interesting ..."

>

> Dear Latha,

> For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going deeper

> and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning the

> meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how those

> materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

> purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we are

> trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these

things

> and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a deepening of

> my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside" things to

> be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana at

> the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and

> watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding

that

> maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can see

> a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of the

> puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was

studying

> a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of two

> Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India (mostly

> South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

> in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian

lady

> who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

> helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things. But

> what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I

> actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were

doing

> than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her

> life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she

> didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of what

was

> underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very

much

> about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at last

> some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told me

that

> it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a deeper

> understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

> her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more wonderful

> puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite

incredible

> is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and Swamiji

> are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding. The

> Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many

> times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to know

> this"!!!!

> best,

> sadhvi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Dear Latha,

I think this is an EXCELLENT idea...to begin to go deeper into

the meaning of puja...especially since we have so many different

perspectives here. I have learned SO much from friends I have who

have been doing puja all their lives (like the Indian lady)just as I

have learned so much from friends I have, like me, who have been

searching and trying to learn. Once I had another friend who

considered herself to be a very devout Catholic. She was asked if

she could open her home to a "new Catholic" from Zimbabwe who was

visiting her parish. She told me that her entire experience had

changed as she knelt next to this man and received communion. She

realized that his awe and deep humility at what was happening, his

real belief in the mystical nature of communion, had been something

that she had felt many years earlier as a child but had not thought

about in years. She was really inspired by this experience to re-

connect to her own tradition in a much deeper way.

I would love to just go through the "elements" of puja and

brainstorm as a group. Like what have people heard as the "meaning"

of dheepam or dhupam? we could correlate all of the information and

be sure to run it by Swamiji. Then we would have an AMAZING

reference file! I know there are people here from India whose

understanding of puja is going to be very deep and rich...and there

are people, like yourself, who have been doing puja around Maa and

Swamiji,there are many Bhaktis whose personal understanding could be

of great help to the group, etc. etc. It could be almost a "puja

handbook".

I once was part of a group where this information was held to be

very secret: only a few people were "allowed" to know the meaning of

the yagnas and the pujas, the rest of us were "the audience". I can

remember feeling so much longing to know and to learn; it must have

been similar to the elderly lady whose priest told her "she didn't

need to know any of this". If puja is partly a "conversation with

God", then it sure helps to know something about the grammar!

best,

sadhvi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

hey but ya know what, the puja-to-the-beach idea was cool, very cool.

 

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

> Dear Sadhvi,

>

> Namaste - My Pranams to you.

>

> Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn more

> about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just

taking

> the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to - weeeeel

maybe

> I still will, just for the fun of it).

>

> May be we should start a series of questions -- what is the purpose

> of each and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step is

> like a milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that

each

> flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I think

it

> is now time to analyze each and every step to understand the

> significance of it at a minute level.

>

> Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because it

> is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I

see

> the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO hard at

> things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They sweat

at

> the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but they are

SO

> committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them all the more.

> And they come out with a deep understanding of the practices. My

> humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for some of their

> commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through association.

>

> JAI MAA

> Latha

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

, "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...>

wrote:

> > "...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas

> interesting ..."

> >

> > Dear Latha,

> > For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going deeper

> > and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning

the

> > meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how those

> > materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

> > purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we

are

> > trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these

> things

> > and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a deepening

of

> > my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside" things

to

> > be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana at

> > the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and

> > watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding

> that

> > maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can

see

> > a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of

the

> > puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was

> studying

> > a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of two

> > Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India (mostly

> > South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

> > in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian

> lady

> > who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

> > helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things.

But

> > what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I

> > actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were

> doing

> > than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her

> > life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she

> > didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of what

> was

> > underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very

> much

> > about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at

last

> > some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told me

> that

> > it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a deeper

> > understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

> > her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more

wonderful

> > puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite

> incredible

> > is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and

Swamiji

> > are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding. The

> > Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many

> > times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to

know

> > this"!!!!

> > best,

> > sadhvi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

This is very good idea, i have been doing puja for some times now and

i have collected so many litrature about puja, and at times it

becomes very confusing, until i got hold of Swamijis Books, i was all

over, even than when i go to local temple to attain pujas i see

differnt ways again and the quastions comes to me why that way.

Puja books from swaji is well self explanatory but there are some

places i don't know what to do, for example VISHESAARGHYA ,what to do

with the water after spinkling over all the items. or how to perform

KALASHA STHAPANA it will be great to find out about all this steps.

 

jai maa

 

sanju

 

 

nityashakti <sadhvi (AT) prodigy (DOT) net> wrote:

Dear Latha, I think this is an EXCELLENT idea...to begin to go

deeper into the meaning of puja...especially since we have so many

different perspectives here. I have learned SO much from friends I

have who have been doing puja all their lives (like the Indian

lady)just as I have learned so much from friends I have, like me, who

have been searching and trying to learn. Once I had another friend who

considered herself to be a very devout Catholic. She was asked if she

could open her home to a "new Catholic" from Zimbabwe who was

visiting her parish. She told me that her entire experience had

changed as she knelt next to this man and received communion. She

realized that his awe and deep humility at what was happening, his

real belief in the mystical nature of communion, had been something

that she had felt many years

earlier as a child but had not thought about in years. She was really

inspired by this experience to re-connect to her own tradition in a

much deeper way. I would love to just go through the "elements" of

puja and brainstorm as a group. Like what have people heard as the

"meaning" of dheepam or dhupam? we could correlate all of the

information and be sure to run it by Swamiji. Then we would have an

AMAZING reference file! I know there are people here from India whose

understanding of puja is going to be very deep and rich...and there

are people, like yourself, who have been doing puja around Maa and

Swamiji,there are many Bhaktis whose personal understanding could be

of great help to the group, etc. etc. It could be almost a "puja

handbook". I once was part of a group where this information was

held to be very secret: only a few people were "allowed" to know the

meaning of the yagnas and the pujas,

the rest of us were "the audience". I can remember feeling so much

longing to know and to learn; it must have been similar to the

elderly lady whose priest told her "she didn't need to know any of

this". If puja is partly a "conversation with God", then it sure

helps to know something about the grammar!best,sadhvi

Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Namaste All,

 

Valli and I started to go to Ocean Beach in San Francisco in the early

80's with our home made clay Lord Ganesha for the immersion in the One

after our family puja on the sandy beach. Then later Baker Beach in

San Francisco when it became the Ganesha Visarjana supported by most

of the Bay Area Hindu community with the parade of Ganesha to the

shore, puja and immersion.

 

After moving to New Mexico we continue with our children to take the

small Lord Ganesha deities we make of clay for puja and immersion in

the One in the Rio Grande River. The joy of puja is in the doing and

the receiving of the darshan of the divine is the peace that

permeates.

 

Love to All,

Om Namah Sivaya

 

Kanda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Jai Mata Di bingo_ridley <sconnor (AT) austin (DOT) rr.com> wrote:

hey but ya know what, the puja-to-the-beach idea was cool, very

cool., "Latha Nanda"

<lathananda> wrote:> Dear Sadhvi,> > Namaste - My Pranams to

you.> > Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn

more > about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just

taking > the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to -

weeeeel maybe > I still will, just for the fun of it).> > May be we

should start a series of questions -- what is the purpose > of each

and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step is > like a

milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that each >

flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I think it

> is now time to analyze each and

every step to understand the > significance of it at a minute level.>

> Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because it

> is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I see

> the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO hard at

> things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They sweat

at > the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but they

are SO > committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them all

the more.> And they come out with a deep understanding of the

practices. My > humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for

some of their > commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through

association.> > JAI MAA> Latha> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---

In

, "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...> wrote:> >

"...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas > interesting

...."> > > > Dear Latha,> > For me, what has kept me focused on

puja has been going deeper > > and deeper into the understanding of

what I am doing. Learning the > > meaning of the offerings: why we

use certain materials, how those > > materials relate to US, what the

purpose of puja is (or the > > purposes, I should say), what the

offerings symbolize, what we are > > trying to do when we do puja.

Trying to discover all of these > things > > and to incorporate them

into my practice has led to a deepening of > > my experience of puja.

I would find many of the "outside" things to > > be a distraction but

that may just be where I am in my sadhana at > > the moment. I

really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and > > watch the

Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding > that > >

maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can see >

> a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of the >

> puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was >

studying > > a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was

one of two > > Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from

India (mostly > > South India).This was a very complex puja and I

felt really > > in "over my head", especially sitting next to an

elderly Indian > lady > > who had been doing puja since she was a

child. She very kindly > > helped me with what must have seemed to

her very basic things. But > > what she said to me later on when we

were having tea was that I > >

actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were > doing

> > than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her

> > life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she >

> didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of what >

was > > underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know

very > much > > about the underlying meaning and was really so

excited that at last > > some of these mysteries were being revealed

to her. She told me > that > > it had completely transformed her

morning puja to have a deeper > > understanding of what she was

doing. I think I agree with > > her...that's how it is for me. The

more I learn, the more wonderful > > puja is to me. What is so very

amazingly unique and quite > incredible > > is that we have the best

of both worlds here. Shree Maa

and Swamiji > > are giving us both the practice and the deeper

understanding. The > > Indian lady told me that although she had

asked her priest many > > times about these things, he had told her,

"you don't need to know > > this"!!!!> > best,> > sadhviDo you

?

Tax Center - File online by April 15th

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

That sounds truly wonderful. I would love to be there and share in this worship.

Lall and Dolly Singh <dolly8655 >

Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:58:35 -0700 (PDT)

Re: Re: puja

Just want to share something. Last year in July members from Maha

Tripur Sundarie Mandir was able to obtain a permit to porform Puja at

the beach. We had about forty devotees and two priest and some life

guards maybe two We were able to bath in the water on the beach at

far rockaway and do our puja without anyone bothering us. Puja was

done to all the Gods but the main one was for Ganga Maa and Lord

Shiva. Its was a wonderful experience. We will do it again this year

in July

Jai Mata Di

bingo_ridley <sconnor (AT) austin (DOT) rr.com> wrote:

hey but ya know what, the puja-to-the-beach idea was cool, very cool.

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

> Dear Sadhvi,

>

> Namaste - My Pranams to you.

>

> Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn more

> about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just

taking

> the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to - weeeeel

maybe

> I still will, just for the fun of it).

>

> May be we should start a series of questions -- what is the purpose

> of each and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step is

> like a milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that

each

> flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I think

it

> is now time to analyze each and every step to understand the

> significance of it at a minute level.

>

> Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because it

> is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I

see

> the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO hard at

> things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They sweat

at

> the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but they are

SO

> committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them all the more.

> And they come out with a deep understanding of the practices. My

> humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for some of their

> commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through association.

>

> JAI MAA

> Latha

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> , "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...>

wrote:

> > "...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas

> interesting ..."

> >

> > Dear Latha,

> > For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going deeper

> > and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning

the

> > meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how those

> > materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

> > purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we

are

> > trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these

> things

> > and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a deepening

of

> > my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside" things

to

> > be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana at

> > the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and

> > watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding

> that

> > maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can

see

> > a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of

the

> > puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was

> studying

> > a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of two

> > Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India (mostly

> > South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

> > in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian

> lady

> > who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

> > helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things.

But

> > what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I

> > actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were

> doing

> > than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her

> > life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she

> > didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of what

> was

> > underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very

> much

> > about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at

last

> > some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told me

> that

> > it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a deeper

> > understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

> > her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more

wonderful

> > puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite

> incredible

> > is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and

Swamiji

> > are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding. The

> > Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many

> > times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to

know

> > this"!!!!

> > best,

> > sadhvi

 

Tax Center - File online by April 15th <http://taxes./filing.html>

Sponsor

/

<?subject=Un>

Terms of Service

<> .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

far rockaway ... boy it's been a while ... is that in new york city,

like at the end of a train line?

 

steve

 

, Lall and Dolly Singh

<dolly8655> wrote:

> Just want to share something. Last year in July members from Maha

Tripur Sundarie Mandir was able to obtain a permit to porform Puja

at the beach. We had about forty devotees and two priest and some

life guards maybe two We were able to bath in the water on the beach

at far rockaway and do our puja without anyone bothering us. Puja

was done to all the Gods but the main one was for Ganga Maa and Lord

Shiva. Its was a wonderful experience. We will do it again this year

in July

> Jai Mata Di

>

> bingo_ridley <sconnor@a...> wrote:

> hey but ya know what, the puja-to-the-beach idea was cool, very

cool.

>

> , "Latha Nanda"

<lathananda>

> wrote:

> > Dear Sadhvi,

> >

> > Namaste - My Pranams to you.

> >

> > Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn more

> > about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just

> taking

> > the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to - weeeeel

> maybe

> > I still will, just for the fun of it).

> >

> > May be we should start a series of questions -- what is the

purpose

> > of each and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step

is

> > like a milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that

> each

> > flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I

think

> it

> > is now time to analyze each and every step to understand the

> > significance of it at a minute level.

> >

> > Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because

it

> > is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I

> see

> > the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO hard

at

> > things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They

sweat

> at

> > the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but they

are

> SO

> > committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them all the

more.

> > And they come out with a deep understanding of the practices. My

> > humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for some of

their

> > commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through association.

> >

> > JAI MAA

> > Latha

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > , "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...>

> wrote:

> > > "...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas

> > interesting ..."

> > >

> > > Dear Latha,

> > > For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going

deeper

> > > and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning

> the

> > > meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how

those

> > > materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

> > > purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we

> are

> > > trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these

> > things

> > > and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a

deepening

> of

> > > my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside"

things

> to

> > > be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana

at

> > > the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple

and

> > > watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am

finding

> > that

> > > maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and

can

> see

> > > a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of

> the

> > > puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was

> > studying

> > > a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of

two

> > > Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India

(mostly

> > > South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

> > > in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly

Indian

> > lady

> > > who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

> > > helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things.

> But

> > > what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that

I

> > > actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were

> > doing

> > > than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all

her

> > > life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course,

she

> > > didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of

what

> > was

> > > underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know

very

> > much

> > > about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at

> last

> > > some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told

me

> > that

> > > it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a

deeper

> > > understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

> > > her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more

> wonderful

> > > puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite

> > incredible

> > > is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and

> Swamiji

> > > are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding.

The

> > > Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest

many

> > > times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to

> know

> > > this"!!!!

> > > best,

> > > sadhvi

>

>

>

>

>

> Links

>

>

> /

>

>

>

>

> Terms of

Service.

>

>

>

>

>

> Tax Center - File online by April 15th

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Thank you for sharing this. It sounds like a wonderful family

tradition. You are all blessed.

kandaaran (AT) aol (DOT) com

Thu, 15 Apr 2004 20:39:15 EDT

Re: Re: puja

Namaste All,

Valli and I started to go to Ocean Beach in San Francisco in the early

80's with our home made clay Lord Ganesha for the immersion in the One

after our family puja on the sandy beach. Then later Baker Beach in

San Francisco when it became the Ganesha Visarjana supported by most

of the Bay Area Hindu community with the parade of Ganesha to the

shore, puja and immersion.

After moving to New Mexico we continue with our children to take the

small Lord Ganesha deities we make of clay for puja and immersion in

the One in the Rio Grande River. The joy of puja is in the doing and

the receiving of the darshan of the divine is the peace that

permeates.

Love to All,

Om Namah Sivaya

Kanda

/

<?subject=Un>

Terms of Service

<> .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Jai Mata DiArdis Jackson <anandamama (AT) earthlink (DOT) net> wrote:

That sounds truly wonderful. I would love to be there and share in this worship.

Lall and Dolly Singh <dolly8655 >

Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 14:58:35 -0700

(PDT)Subject: Re: Re:

puja

Just want to share something. Last year in July members from Maha

Tripur Sundarie Mandir was able to obtain a permit to porform Puja at

the beach. We had about forty devotees and two priest and some life

guards maybe two We were able to bath in the water on the beach at

far rockaway and do our puja without anyone bothering us. Puja was

done to all the Gods but the main one was for Ganga Maa and Lord

Shiva. Its was a wonderful experience. We will do it again this year

in JulyJai Mata Di bingo_ridley <sconnor (AT) austin (DOT) rr.com> wrote:

hey but ya know what, the puja-to-the-beach idea was cool, very

cool., "Latha Nanda"

<lathananda> wrote:> Dear Sadhvi,> > Namaste - My Pranams to

you.> > Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn

more > about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just

taking > the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to -

weeeeel maybe > I still will, just for the fun of it).> > May be we

should start a series of questions -- what is the purpose > of each

and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step is > like a

milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that each >

flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I think it

> is now time to analyze each and every step to understand the >

significance of it at a minute level.>

> Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because it

> is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I

see > the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO

hard at > things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They

sweat at > the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but

they are SO > committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them

all the more.> And they come out with a deep understanding of the

practices. My > humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for

some of their > commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through

association.> > JAI MAA> Latha> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---

In , "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...> wrote:> >

"...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas > interesting

...."> > > > Dear Latha,> > For me, what has kept me focused on

puja has been going deeper > > and deeper into the understanding of

what I am doing. Learning the > > meaning of the offerings: why we

use certain materials, how those > > materials relate to US, what the

purpose of puja is (or the > > purposes, I should say), what the

offerings symbolize, what we are > > trying to do when we do puja.

Trying to discover all of these > things > > and to incorporate them

into my practice has led to a deepening of > > my experience of puja.

I would find many of the "outside" things to > > be a distraction but

that may just be where I am in my sadhana at > > the moment. I really

DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and > > watch the Brahmin

priests

do puja. Each time I go, I am finding > that > > maybe I understand a

little more of what they are doing and can see > > a little more

clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of the > > puja are

more available to me. One thing I found when I was > studying > > a

particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of two > >

Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India (mostly > >

South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really > > in

"over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian > lady >

> who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly > >

helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things. But >

> what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I > >

actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were > doing

> > than

she did. She told me that although she had done puja all her > > life

so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she > > didn't

use that word), she had not had the understanding of what > was > >

underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very >

much > > about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that

at last > > some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She

told me > that > > it had completely transformed her morning puja to

have a deeper > > understanding of what she was doing. I think I

agree with > > her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the

more wonderful > > puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique

and quite > incredible > > is that we have the best of both worlds

here. Shree Maa and Swamiji > > are giving us both the practice and

the deeper understanding. The

> > Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many >

> times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to know

> > this"!!!!> > best,> > sadhvi

Tax Center - File online by April 15th

<http://taxes./filing.html> Sponsor

/

 

<?subject=Un>

Terms of Service

<> .

Tax Center - File online by April 15th

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

In a message dated 4/16/04 7:40:32 AM Mountain Daylight Time, dolly8655 writes:

Yes Far Rockaway beach is in the ney york area. When we get our permit

I will post the date and the beach # and anyone in the NY area can

join us.

Jai Mata Di

How wonderful ! A visit to Flushing Meadows and living near the

Ganesha Temple for 2 weeks of pujas and meditation is unforgetable

for me.

Love to All,

Om Namah Sivaya

Kanda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Sounds really wonderful.

 

Chris

 

 

, Lall and Dolly Singh

<dolly8655> wrote:

> Just want to share something. Last year in July members from Maha

Tripur Sundarie Mandir was able to obtain a permit to porform Puja at

the beach. We had about forty devotees and two priest and some life

guards maybe two We were able to bath in the water on the beach at

far rockaway and do our puja without anyone bothering us. Puja was

done to all the Gods but the main one was for Ganga Maa and Lord

Shiva. Its was a wonderful experience. We will do it again this year

in July

> Jai Mata Di

>

> bingo_ridley <sconnor@a...> wrote:

> hey but ya know what, the puja-to-the-beach idea was cool, very

cool.

>

> , "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

> wrote:

> > Dear Sadhvi,

> >

> > Namaste - My Pranams to you.

> >

> > Now that is an excellent suggestion - going deeper to learn more

> > about our pujas to keep our love of the Puja alive. (Not just

> taking

> > the deity to the beach for a day as I was planning to - weeeeel

> maybe

> > I still will, just for the fun of it).

> >

> > May be we should start a series of questions -- what is the

purpose

> > of each and every step of the puja. Swamiji says that each step

is

> > like a milestone in our journeys towards union with God and that

> each

> > flower , each step tells us exactly how we got there. But I think

> it

> > is now time to analyze each and every step to understand the

> > significance of it at a minute level.

> >

> > Re your other point, about learning in depth vs learning because

it

> > is ingrained in the culture... I wrote about this a while ago. I

> see

> > the western devotees and disciples at the Mandir working SO hard

at

> > things that they find that doesnt come easily to them. They sweat

> at

> > the Sanskrit, at the pronunciation, at the meanings, but they are

> SO

> > committed, SO motivated , that it makes me admire them all the

more.

> > And they come out with a deep understanding of the practices. My

> > humble pranams to them - may I be blessed enough for some of

their

> > commitment and knowledge to rub off on me through association.

> >

> > JAI MAA

> > Latha

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > , "nityashakti" <sadhvi@p...>

> wrote:

> > > "...Can people add in other ways to keep their pujas

> > interesting ..."

> > >

> > > Dear Latha,

> > > For me, what has kept me focused on puja has been going

deeper

> > > and deeper into the understanding of what I am doing. Learning

> the

> > > meaning of the offerings: why we use certain materials, how

those

> > > materials relate to US, what the purpose of puja is (or the

> > > purposes, I should say), what the offerings symbolize, what we

> are

> > > trying to do when we do puja. Trying to discover all of these

> > things

> > > and to incorporate them into my practice has led to a deepening

> of

> > > my experience of puja. I would find many of the "outside"

things

> to

> > > be a distraction but that may just be where I am in my sadhana

at

> > > the moment. I really DO like to go to the Mahalaksmi Temple and

> > > watch the Brahmin priests do puja. Each time I go, I am finding

> > that

> > > maybe I understand a little more of what they are doing and can

> see

> > > a little more clearly and so I feel as though the blessings of

> the

> > > puja are more available to me. One thing I found when I was

> > studying

> > > a particular kind of puja last Winter was this: I was one of

two

> > > Westerners in a class that was, otherwise, all from India

(mostly

> > > South India).This was a very complex puja and I felt really

> > > in "over my head", especially sitting next to an elderly Indian

> > lady

> > > who had been doing puja since she was a child. She very kindly

> > > helped me with what must have seemed to her very basic things.

> But

> > > what she said to me later on when we were having tea was that I

> > > actually "knew" alot more about why we were doing what we were

> > doing

> > > than she did. She told me that although she had done puja all

her

> > > life so that it was almost "automatic"(although, of course, she

> > > didn't use that word), she had not had the understanding of

what

> > was

> > > underneath the actions she had been doing. She didn't know very

> > much

> > > about the underlying meaning and was really so excited that at

> last

> > > some of these mysteries were being revealed to her. She told me

> > that

> > > it had completely transformed her morning puja to have a deeper

> > > understanding of what she was doing. I think I agree with

> > > her...that's how it is for me. The more I learn, the more

> wonderful

> > > puja is to me. What is so very amazingly unique and quite

> > incredible

> > > is that we have the best of both worlds here. Shree Maa and

> Swamiji

> > > are giving us both the practice and the deeper understanding.

The

> > > Indian lady told me that although she had asked her priest many

> > > times about these things, he had told her, "you don't need to

> know

> > > this"!!!!

> > > best,

> > > sadhvi

>

>

>

>

>

> Links

>

>

> /

>

>

>

>

> Terms of

Service.

>

>

>

>

>

> Tax Center - File online by April 15th

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

"Yes Far Rockaway beach is in the ney york area. When we get our

permit I will post the date and the beach # and anyone in the NY

area can join us.

 

Jai Mata Di

How wonderful ! A visit to Flushing Meadows and living near the

Ganesha Temple for 2 weeks of pujas and meditation is unforgetable

for me.

 

Love to All,

Om Namah Sivaya..."

 

Wow,

Wouldn't it be wonderful if some of us on the East Coast could get

together and go to Dolly's puja at Far Rockaway and, maybe, pay a

long visit to the Ganesha Temple in Flushing. I have heard alot

about it....funny thing is that I was born in Flushing (many years

ago)..who would have imagined that, one day, a Ganesha Temple would

be there! Please keep us posted as to the puja dates.

love,

sadhvi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...