Beginner Puja – Day 14 –Praise the lord!

[Guest guest]

So we have completed our offerings.

The next step is once again a mala (108 times) japa of “Om Namah Shivaya”.

Swamiji says that in any puja , it is preferable to do a mala of the

deity that we are praying to , before and after the offering. Just

something to keep in mind!

 

Once again we go into union and slip out of it. Now that our beloved

deity has been well fed, like any guest that we have, we attempt to

entertain them. And nothing pleases the deities more than hearing

themselves praised. These songs of praise are called “Stutis” or

Stotrams. (Where have we heard the word Stuti? In the context of

Chandi? 20 points to anyone that knows the answer)

 

Unlike we normal mortals whose pride gets puffed up with praise… we

only stand to gain by praising God. May we all praise God and only

God! Well, the exception is our Guru(s)! These – God and Guru - are

two “entities” that need to be praised often and repeatedly and

sincerely and with feeling of love and and reverence and gratitude

and adoration. Praise be your name dear

Shiva and dear Shree Maa and dear Swami Satyananda Saraswati and all

the Gurus that have guided me and will guide me !

 

In the case of the Beginner Shiva Puja, we praise Shiva by calling out

his 108 names. This portion of the puja, along with the japa portion,

are atleast two places that I can think of where you can expand or

lengthen your puja according to your capacity. For example, if you

had the time, you could two malas (or more) before and after the

offering. And you could also chant, in addition to the 108 names, the

1000 names of Shiva or the Rudri (my favorite by far), or sing songs

to Shiva (Lingashtakam in the Advanced Shiva Puja comes to mind) etc.

And if you didn’t have the time, stick with the minimum stuff (1 mala

before and after the offering and 108 names). So you see, these parts

of the puja give ample scope for expansion.

 

And … that’s it! Your puja is winding to a close … you have offered

your all to your guest, entertained him and his friends, united with

him… now what is left to do? Just sing and dance with joy! This is

known as Arati.

 

In tomorrow’s post, I will come up with a list (yes another one in

addition to what we had on day 2 of this series) that will describe

the offerings we make during the Arati.

 

Ciao Bambinos e Bambinas! Have you praised your Lord lately ?.

NandaDo You

?

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Nanda,

Dear Nanda,

 

thank you for the answers to all the questions on japa and offering.

It really is a big help to be able to ask these things and I also am

learning a lot from other people's questions/answers.

 

Please convey my heartfelt thanks again to Swamiji. Any fear of doing

things wrong is blown away by his counsel to 'practice them all' 'to

the best of your ability'! So I am just going to do it and stop

worrying!

 

One other thing: my question about union/separation was a question

about something I heard of but I don't know what it is exactly and so

I was asking in a roundabout way. So, to be more direct: what is

'prana pratishta'? How does it work? Has it any relevance to our

offering?

 

I have no questions about day 14. Your remark about the difference in

effect between praising an ordinary person and praising God/Guru has

helped me see something I never saw before, and I sincerely thank you

for that.

 

I bow to the Guru of all gurus,

I bow to Shree Maa and Swami Satyanda Saraswati,

I bow to all those who have guided me to this point in time,

and I bow to you, dear Nanda,

 

with love,

Henny

[Guest guest]

, beloved sister and teacher Nanda

<chandimaakijai> wrote:

> These songs of praise are called "Stutis" or Stotrams.

(Where have

we heard the word Stuti? In the context of Chandi? 20 points to anyone

that knows the answer)

 

In Chapter 5 - the "Ya Devi" Stutis sung by the Gods, immediately

after the thoughts "Too Much" and "Too Little" insulted them. The Gods

remembered the words of Chandi (Shree Maa), "In any time of adversity

if you remember Me, then and there I will eradicate your every

distress," and sang this lovely stuti to Her.

 

> Ciao Bambinos e Bambinas! Have you praised your Lord lately ?.

 

Yes, Nanda, I have. With every line you write, you show Her to me and

I cannot help but praise Her with your every word. My heart's desire

is to praise Her continually.

 

Offered in deepest gratitude and love for Shree Maa and Swamiji,

 

Rick