Puja: How to Perform the Hindu Ceremony of Worship

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