Puja (Hinduism)

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Puja Poojan
Babasteve-ganges water.jpg
Individual puja
Morning Aarti of the Ganges at sunrise, Varanasi.jpg
Sunrise puja
Kali-puja.jpg
Prayers to Kali in West Bengal
SriMalaiperumalIdol.jpg
Prayers to Sri Malai Perumal in Tamil Nadu
Puja, or prayers, in different forms.
Puja or Poojan is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to host, honour and worship
one or more deities, or to spiritually celebrate an event.[1][2] Sometimes spelt
phonetically as pooja or poojah, it may honour or celebrate the presence of special
guest(s), or their memories after they die. The word puja (Devanagari ????) comes
from Sanskrit, and means reverence, honour, homage, adoration, and worship.[3] Puja
rituals are also held by Buddhists and Jains. In Hinduism, puja is done on a
variety of occasions, frequency and settings. It may include daily puja done in the
home, to occasional temple ceremonies and annual festivals, to few lifetime events
such as birth of a baby or a wedding, or to begin a new venture.[4] The two main
areas where puja is performed are in the home and at temples to mark certain stages
of life, events or some festivals such as Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja.[5] Puja is
not mandatory; it may be a routine daily affair for some Hindus, periodic ritual
for some, and infrequent for other Hindus. In some temples, various pujas may be
performed daily at various times of the day; in other temples, it may be
occasional.[6][7]

Puja varies according to the school of Hinduism. Puja may vary by region, occasion,
deity honored, and steps followed.[5][6] In formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be
lit in honour of deity Agni, without an idol or image present. In contrast, in
Agama ceremonies, an idol or image of deity is present. In both ceremonies, a diya
or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or hymn is sung. Puja is
typically performed by a Hindu worshipper alone, though sometimes in presence of a
priest who is well versed in procedure and hymns. In temples and priest-assisted
event puja, food, fruits and sweets may be included as offerings to the deity,
which, after the prayers, becomes prasad blessed food shared by all present at
the puja.[6][7]

Both Nigama and Agama puja are practiced in Hinduism in India. In Hinduism of Bali
Indonesia, Agama puja is most prevalent both inside homes and in temples. Puja is
sometimes called Sembahyang in Indonesia.[8][9]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Origins
3 Significance
4 Temple puja
5 Structure, services and steps
5.1 Elaborate puja
5.2 Quick puja
6 In Balinese Hinduism
7 Guru puja
8 As a social and human rights event
9 Critique of puja in the Purva Mima?saka school
10 Regional names
11 See also
12 References
13 External links
Etymology[edit]
Puja (Sanskrit ????,[3]Tamil?????? ) is an ancient culture or way of life, with
unclear origins. Joshi claims the word puja was first used in vedic times when
Sutra were composed, to describe prayers and worship before yajna or homa fire
deity, Agni.[10] Charpentier suggests[11] the origin of the word Puja may lie in
the Dravidian languages. Two possible Tamil roots have been suggested Poosai to
smear with something and Poochei(??????) to do with flowers.[12]

Prayer ceremonials
Evening prayers on the banks of Ganges, Muni ki Reti, Rishikesh.jpg
Group puja in North India
Madurai Meenakshi temple prayer.jpg
A puja in a South Indian temple
Boy with tray Bull Temple.jpg
Aarti at puja
(A) family puja in progress.jpg
A family puja inside a home
Diverse forms of puja
Origins[edit]
According to scholars,[13] one of the earliest mentions of puja is in the Grihya
Sutras, which provide rules for domestic rites. These Sutras, dated to be about 500
BC, use the term puja to describe the hospitality to honor priests who were invited
to ones home to lead rituals for departed ancestors. As with vedic times, the
general concept of puja remained the same, but expanded to welcoming the deity
along with the deity's spiritual essence as one's honored guest.[13] The Puranic
corpus of literature, dating from about 6th century CE, contain extensive outline
on how to perform deity puja (deva puja). Deity puja thus melds Vedic rites with
devotion to deity in its ritual form. As with many others aspects of Hinduism, both
Vedic puja and devotional deity puja continued, the choice left to the Hindu.

As a historical practice, puja in Hinduism, has been modeled around the idea of
hosting a deity, or important person, as an honored and dearest guest in the best
way one can, given one's resources, and receiving their happiness and blessing in
return. Paul Thieme suggests from passages in the Ramaya?a that the word puja
referred to the hospitable reception of guests and that the things offered to
guests could be offered to the gods and their dwellings.[14] The rituals in
question were the five great sacrifices or pacamahayaja recorded in the G?
hyasutra texts (for this literature, see Kalpa).[15] The development of puja thus
emerged from Vedic domestic traditions and was carried into the temple environment
by analogy just as important guests had long been welcomed in well-to-do homes and
offered things that pleased them, so too were the gods welcomed in temple-homes and
offered things that pleased them. Copper-plate charters recording grants of lands
to temples show that this religious practice was actively encouraged from the mid-
4th century.[16][17]

Significance[edit]
In the earliest texts describing Vedic puja, the significance of puja was to host
the priest so that he could make direct requests to the gods. An example petition
prayer made during a Vedic puja, according to Wade Wheelock,[18] is

Indra-Agni, slayers of Vrtra with the beautiful thunderbolt, prosper us with new
gifts;
O Indra, bring treasures with your right hand;
O Agni grant the enjoyments of a good household;
Give (us) vigor, wealth in cattle, and possession of good horses.
svS
In contrast to Vedic pujas, the significance of deity pujas shifted from petitions
and external goals to the experience of oneness with the deities and their
spiritual essence. It became a form of Yoga whose final result aimed to be the
consciousness of god through homage to god. Nevertheless, even with this evolved
theoretical spiritual significance, for many people, puja continued to be a vehicle
to petition desires and appeals, such as for good health of one's child, speedy
recovery from illness, success in venture envisioned or such. In the structure and
practice of puja, the mantras and rituals focus on spirituality, and any petitions
and appeals are tacked only to the end of the puja.[18]

Zimmer[19] relates puja to yantras, with the rituals helping the devotee focus on
the spiritual concepts. Puja in Hinduism, claims Zimmer, is a path and process of
transformation of consciousness, where the devotee and the spiritual significance
of the deity are brought together. This ritual puja process, in different parts of
India, is considered to be liberating, releasing, purifying and a form of Yoga of
spirit and emotions.[20][21]

Puja in Hinduism sometimes involves themes beyond idols or images. Even persons,
places, rivers, concrete objects or anything is seen as manifestations of divine
reality by some Hindus. The access to the divine is not limited to renunciatory
meditation as in yoga school of Hinduism or idols in bhakti school. For some the
divine is everywhere, without limit to its form, and a puja to these manifestations
signifies the same spiritual meaning to those who choose to offer a prayer to
persons, places, rivers, concrete objects or anything else.[22][23]

Temple puja[edit]
Temple (Mandir) puja is more elaborate than the domestic versions and typically
done several times a day. They are also performed by a temple priest, or pujari. In
addition, the temple deity (patron god or g