Puja ritual method and meaning: Part 2

Then the Rishi says after offering Him whatever is available easily at that ‘Time’ and ‘Place’ the devotee should worship the Lord with the mool-mantra of his Ishta, chosen form of the Lord).

Thereafter he should decorate the Lord’s statue and make offerings of eatables, water, flowers, honey, garments, fragrance, curds and rice.

Perceiving the Lord therein one should lovingly bathe the statue and then decorate it with a tilak and garlands and then light a lamp. (The lighting of a lamp at the altar signifies the gaining of the light of knowledge and the dispelling of the evil darkness of ignorance).

Then bow to the Lord and sing “stotras” (poetical rendering of prayers) he who thus worships the elements, Guest and the “Lord as himself” in his heart, soon attains liberation.

The worship of the elements is found in every hindu text. It springs out of devotion and gratefulness for what the life-giving elements bestow upon man from the sense of his dependence on them for life and from the sense that all creation is holy and that the Lord permeates every thing.”

Even the apparent simplicity of the Bhagwat injunctions often clothe deep philosophical dictums which escape a cursory reading.

At the end of all these apparent, dolls play instructions, a very powerful instruction creeps in; “while doing all these rituals, the devotee must constantly remember and meditate on the fact that he and the Lord are one and the same thing, and only when one can think and feel like this should a devotee follow the above rituals to empower them to lead him to liberation.”

How many of us can follow this last instruction?

Prarthna Saran, President Chinmaya Mission New Delhi.

Email: prarthnasaran@gmail.com