In Hindu dharma, there are many different names for God like Ishwara, Bhagwaan.
Bhagwaan is worshipped in many
Forms as like Siva, Vishnu, Ambaal, Ganesha. Puja is a mode of communication with Bhagwaan through prayerful worship. Each Deity has some unique and special blessings but they all are the Many Forms of One Bhagwaan. During Ganesha puja, we invite and invoke the presence of Ganesha in an image like a picture, clay or idol or drawing. Ganesha is worshipped with actual materials like clean water, fresh flowers, sandal paste etc. In internal or maanasa puja, Ganesha is invoked in our heart and worshipped mentally. Whichever way the puja is done, the bhaava or emotional attitude of love and devotion Ganesha is the key. The purpose of puja is to pray to Ganesha to fulfill our dhaarmic (fair ) desires and ultimately give us True Knowledge to realize Bhagwaan. We start with namaskaarams to Sri Ganesha who is remover of all obstacles. Ganesha Mooshika vaahana modhaka hastha Chaamara karna vilambitha suthra Vaamana rupa maheswara puthra Vigna vinaayaka paadha namaste He who: has the mouse as the vahana (vehicle), always keeps Modhakam (a traditional sweet), has ears that resemble a hand-held fan, wears a chain-like ornament around his waist, is of short stature, is the son of Lord Shiva, O! Lord Vinayaka who is all the above, the remover of all obstacles, we worship your Divine Feet. Sarasaswati (Goddess of knowledge and learning) Saraswathi Namasthubhyam, Varadey Kaamarupinee! Vidhyaarambham Karishyaami, Siddhir bhavathu mey sadaa ! O! Goddess, Saraswathi! My humble prostrations (Pranaams) to you. You are the fulfiller of all my wishes. I start my studies with the request that you always bless me so that I can study well. Hayagriva signifies jnana (knowledge) - spiritual knowledge and aananda (Bliss) Jnaanananda Mayam Devam Nirmala Spatika Kruthim Aadharam Sarva Vidyaanaam Hayagrivam Upaasmahe My humble prostrations (Pranaams) to Hayagriva, the form of Vishnu with a head of the Horse, the one who saved Vedas from asuras, the lord who is the personification of Jnana (knowledge) and Happiness (Ananda), who is very pure, and who is the basis of all learning. Dakshinaamurthy: Gurave sarva lokaanaam bhishaje bhava roginaam Nidhaye sarva vidhyaanaam Sri Dakshinaa murthaye nama: We bow to Sri Dakshinaamurthy who is the Ocean of all studies, medicine to the disease of this cycle of birth and death, Guru to all worlds. Let Him brighten our intelligence and give us the true knowledge.
Ganesha Shodasha (16) NaamaavaLi
Om sumukaaya nama: Om ekadantaaya nama: Om kapilaaya nama: Om gajakarnakaaya nama: Om lambodaraaya nama: Om vikataaya nama:
Om vignaraajaaya nama: Om gaNaadhipaaya nama: Om dhUmraketave nama: Om ganaadhyakshaaya nama: Om baalachandraaya nama: Om gajaananaaya nama:
We start with Praana prathishta - Invoking the
Deity in the Image or in our heart. We start the puja to the Deity who has gone live in the image with these 16 steps of adoration. 1. Aavahana Welcoming the deity. Bhagwaan is beyond shape and form. But we request him to occupy or fill the form in front of us for puja and meditation 2. Aasanam Offering seat. Once someone comes to our place, we offer them a place to sit. We offer a seat to the Bhagwaan. This seat is not a physical one but our own heart filled withlove and devotion to Bhagwaan. After we invite someone to our place, we request them to make themselves comfortable and offer them water to freshen up. The next three steps correspond to this. 3. Paadyam Washing the feet. We walk with our legs. So offering Bhagwaan water to wash the feet represents the removal of sins committed due to our actions. 4. Arghyam Washing the hands. We perform various tasks with our hands. So offering Bhagwaan water to wash the hand represents the re- moval of sins committed due to our actions. 5. Achamanam Offering water to drink (to wash mouth). We speak with our mouth. So offering Bhagwaan water to wash the mouth represents the removal of sins committed due to our words. 6. Snaanam Bathing. We offer Bhagwaan water to bathe. Bathing removes all dirt. Offering Bhagwaan water to bathe represents the removal of all our impure thoughts and giving us a mind full of devotion. 7. Vastram Offering clothes. After bathing, we offer Bhagwaan clothes. The clothing protects us. These offerings of clothes signify the divine protection that Bhagwaan gives us. 8. Yagnyopaveetam Offering sacred thread. We offer Bhagwaan the Sacred Thread. This signifies the omniscience of the Lord. 9. Aabharanam Offering ornaments. Once we offer clothes, we then offer ornaments. The
Om vakratundaaya nama: Om shurpakarNaaya nama: Om herambaaya nama: Om skanda-purvajaaya nama:
ornaments are used for decoration which is just
external. The offering of ornaments signifies our surrender of our ego to Bhagwaan. 10. Gandham Offering Sandalwood paste. After decoration, we offer perfume/sandal wood paste to the Lord. Just like how the sandal wood is fragrant and acts as a coolant, our mind has to be fragrant with good thoughts always. 11. Pushpam Offering flowers and doing puja. After offering the fragrant paste, we then offer Bhagwaan flowers and chant the holy names of the Lord. Offering of flowers signify the purity of our mind. 12. Dhoopam Offering perfumed Incense. We then offer Lord incense. Incense has fragrance but not a shape. It vanishes without a trace. Similarly offeing incense to Lord signifies that the world we see is perishable and our prayers to give us the knowledge. 13. Deepam Offering a lighted lamp. A lamp removes the darkness. Similarly offering Bhagwaan the deepam signifies the removal of darkness or ignorance and the illumination or knowledge. A pure mind comes fromcomplete surrender to Bhagwaan 14. Naivedyam - Offering food. We should offer any- one who comes to our home water to drink and food to eat. Offering food to Bhagwaan signifies that everything that we have in our universe, all belongs to him and we offer it back to him. We offer our thanks to the Lord for providing us various things from food to clothes etc. 15. Taamboolam Offering betel leaves with caustic and betel nut. The taamboolam helps in digestion of the food. It acts as a mouth freshener too. We offer Bhagwaan this to signify that even if there are any shortcomings in our services to Him, we offer him the taamboolam with devotion which overcomes all these shortcomings. 16. Namaskaram Salutations of the deity. Bhagwaan, who is omnipresent, has taken the form that we wanted Him to take. So we prostrate before him. This represents unconditional surrender to the Holy feet of the Lord. We pray to Him to give us what we seek and what is right and ask him to forgive all our mistakes and bless us.