What is Puja

8/7/2019 What is Puja

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What is Puja? The Philosophical Foundations of Worship

The meaning of inertia is well known. It is defined identically in both science and the ancient

scriptures (Shastra). Accordingly, an inert body is one, which can be activated only by an

external force and never by itself. For example, a stone remains immoveable as long as a boy

using some force does not throw it. Hence, we say that the stone is inert. There has to be an

external force to move it.

Further, even this force itself is inert. It cannot by itself determine its own magnitude, point of

application or direction. This has to be determined by an animate body. This is precisely the

reason why science measures force in terms of horsepower. The animation in the boy, which is

responsible for the movement of the stone, has features which are very much opposite to the

stone. Unlike the inert stone, it does not depend upon something else for its motivation. That is

why the boy applies the force out of his free will. This does not mean however, that the boy's

body is itself animate. His body too is inert. However, the animate soul within the body can

move the body, make it run, and rotate it by its own will. This implies that the source of all

activity in an inert body is an animate free will. This is God. It certainly exists, though one may

not see it. There is no rule that everything that exists has to be seen. The intelligence of a

scientist is invisible though it ce rtainly exists.

For example, inert air moves from one place to another, and the cause

f or it may be the pressure difference between the two places. There

could be another cause for this pressure difference also, but, the

ultimate cause for the blowing of the wind cannot be inert; it has to be

an intelligence with a free will. According to the Vedas, this

intelligence is none other than Vayu-devata, the wind-god. He is

invisible but is there. Similarly, for the rotation of the inert earth the

root cause will have to be an intelligence. This is Vasundhara, theearth-goddess. She is not seen but certainly exists. In fact, we can say

that air is the body of Vayu-devata and earth is the body of

Vasundhara.

Are there Many Gods?

Doubt: Then are there as many gods (devatas) as there are activities?

Answer: Even granting this, what is wrong with it?

Doubt: The very concept of several gods is misleading. There arises mutual dislike among people onlybecause each considers his own god as supreme.

Lord Vayu

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Resolution: Firstly, do not use the phrase

'concept of gods', because the word 'concept'means our mental construct. It has been shownabove that gods are not concepts in this sense, butrather they are inevitably existing realities. Further,the multiplicity of gods is not a cause for mutualdislike. Even within those religions who accept onlyone god, there are many groups with mutualdislikes. Amongst the communists also who do notaccept any god there are quarrels. Their mutualdislike is not something that is proportional to thenumber of gods; rather, it is greed and jealousyoperating through the contrived slogan that theirgod is the only true god and any other is a fake.

Role of Puja (Worship):

Doubt: If gods are undeniable, let them be. But why should one worship them?

Resolution: It is they who cause good rain and shine and

also perform all the involuntary functions in our bodies.Therefore, just as one pleases the bosses by his work andgets what he wants, we also have to please the gods forthe fulfillment of our desires. We have to do our duties andthen with obedience please them with our conduct. It is notsufficient to just perform the puja. The scriptures do notagree with this. We have to do our duty also along with ourpuja. It is this combination of duty and worship thatconstitutes the life cycle. One who does not complete thiscycle but enjoys life is like a thief, says the Gita.

Further Doubt: With bosses we deal directly. Hence,

we can directly experience the results of doing our duties

and therefore duly decide our conduct. However, in thecase of the invisible gods, how can we know whether theyare pleased or not?

Discovery of God

Krishna Delivering Gita Sermon







Reply: They are extremely pleased by our devotion and

worship, and they will certainly bestow favors on devotees.If people really had not got rewarded for their worship of thegods, they would not have been worshipping them sincetime immemorial. People continue to have faith in puja onlybecause have been rewarded quite often. This can neverbe denied. Further, it is the scriptures (Shastras) which tellus what conduct pleases the gods.

Further Query: Can you spell out clearly what exactly isthe mechanism between our puja and the fulfillment of ourdesires?

Reply: When gods are worshipped, they do not

themselves come directly and execute our needs. They donot build our houses or cook our food. However, when theyare pleased with our actions, they kindle the right thoughtsin us, which on execution by us will fulfill our desires. Theycan do this because they are also stationed in our ownbodies. For example, Agni, the god of fire, is not only in thesun but also in our body, etc.

There are several instances of this. One of them is as

follows:

A young lady in her advanced state of pregnancy once

got a severe headache. Her brother, a well-known

doctor, gave only mild medicine for fear of impacting her pregnancy. She was not cured. He then

brought her to another expert. The same happened with him too. Then someone suggested that

praying to Lord Vaidyanatheshwara in a nearby town would help her. The father of the girl

immediately did this. Later her brother took her to another doctor. He perchance asked her to

open her mouth and noticed a decayed tooth. He advised her to have it removed. When this was

done, she was cured without any medicine. Each of us has had many such experiences.Therefore, it is the idea for appropriate action that is kindled in us by the gods, which eventually

does us good.

Doubt: There is also confusion regarding the gods. For

example, people talk differently about Rama and Krishna.Rationalists say that Ramayana and Mahabharata areonly fictions and Rama and Krishna are merely theirrespective heroes. Some say they were only great men.Some others believe that they are incarnations (Avatars)

of Vishnu. What exactly do the scriptures say in thisregard?

Answer: The first opinion is incorrect because Rama

and Krishna are worshipped since aeons, and we havenever ever, anywhere in the world, come across anyoneworshipping heroes of novels or celebrating theirbirthdays however good a novel may be.

Why? Hinduism defined scientifically

and rationally

Standing Krishna with Aureole of

Peacock Feathers







Horoscopes of both Rama and Krishna also exist. Their dates of

birth have been verified using modern equations of astronomy.

According to astrological analysis, their horoscopes agree with

the momentous lives they led. So they cannot be just heroes of

fictitious novels.

As to the second opinion, they are of course, great men. But

they are much more than that for the following reason: All

persons, great or otherwise, are born due to their mixed (bad and

good) karma, done in the previous lives. That is, their karma

includes both sin and merit. As a result of the former, they

invariably suffer from some disease or the other, at least at some

point of their lives. However, Rama and Krishna did not face any

such situation. So, we cannot say that they were just ordinary

human beings. This implies they are Avatars of God. Nor are the

Ramayana and Mahabharata fictions. The only vicarious

pleasure the self-styled rationalists can derive is by asserting that

they are exaggerated reports of some simple events.

Some More Doubts About Puja:

Query: Sometimes we hear that only one God should be worshipped.Is it wrong to worship more than one?

Answer: Different gods (devatas) will have to be worshipped for fulfillment of different requirements. For

example, the moon (Chandra) is worshipped for mental stability, Surya, the sun god for good health and

so on. The fulfillment of such particular desires may not happen by worshipping some other god.However, we should remember that as gods do not have mutual jealousy, they do not hate us if weworship another god. There are great men who have worshipped only one god throughout their lives.There are some great men who have worshipped several gods. Therefore, it depends upon one'sproclivity. One can worship either one god or several gods. But the most important factor to remember isthis: whichever god is worshipped, it reaches only the supreme God.

Doubt: Majority of the people indulge in idol worship; but some do not agree with it. Is idol worship rightor wrong?

Reply: The Supreme God is indeed formless. Therefore some people think that He cannot be

worshipped in any form. This statement is not wrong. But everyone does agree that He has to beworshipped. Then how is a formless God to be worshipped at all? 'By Dhyana' they reply. That is correct.This is what we all do, though of course for very short durations!

Objection: How can you say that everybody worships by Dhyana only?

Resolution: Consider the following example:

Horoscopes of Lord_Rama

and Lord Krishna




We all know that it is only with great difficulty

that we go to the Shri Tirupati Balaji Temple for

darshan. When we reach there, the rush is so huge

that the organizers give us only about 10 seconds

for viewing the Lord (darshan). And what do we do

during the time of actual darshan? We join our

palms in prayer, see the idol for about three

seconds and bend our heads, closing our eyes in

meditation! Notice that the idol (murti) only serves

the purpose of reminding us of the formless God in

our own hearts.

But for doing dhyana over longer intervals, without

the help of a murti, one needs a very well trained

mind in which there is no fickleness. However, it is

a universal experience that the mind is frustratingly

fickle. Therefore, Lord Krishna advises common

people like us to take to God with a form. As the

mind evolves and transcends this level, one can

then go straight to the dhyana of the formless God.

The Procedure of Doing Puja:

Question: What exactly is the procedure of doing puja?

Mirabai Adorning Beloved Lord Krishna with a Garland

The Holy Image of Tirupati Balaji







Answer: Suppose you bring home aperson for whom you have great loveand respect. When he comes to yourhouse, you respectfully take care of him to please him. The same is being done in the case of the godstoo. For example, you give the person an asana (seat), then give him a bath, then give clothes, thenperhaps some cosmetics, then feed him, then ask him to rest, then take his permission to leave for yourwork. These are called 'upacharas.' Similarly for the god, depending upon the available time, you can do64 or 16 or even 5 upacharas. In daily puja, an upachara is generally represented by a symbolic gesture.For example, in place of offering clothes, you may offer just a flower.

Fear: It is told that any error in the performance of the puja may be dangerous. Is it so?

Resolution: The lapses lie more in the ashraddha (lack of

faith), than in the error itself. That is why elders haveadvised us to puja with shraddha (faith), and then at the endof the puja we should ask forgiveness for any error thatmight have occurred due to ignorance. This will certainlyremove the effect of all the errors committed.

Doubt: If a mistake is committed even in our prayer offorgiveness at the end of the puja then?

Resolution: Such doubts may appear when we one worships God out of fear. This is not correct. God is

full of mercy by his very nature. Bhagavan Krishna excused even hundred insults hurled at him byShishupala and only punished him when he crossed the limit. Though it is true that God does not likeashraddha, it should not be imagined that He is always holding a whip at his devotees to lash them themoment they make a mistake. Indeed, He has a special love for innocent people. The boatman Guha inthe Ramayana and the Gopas and Gopis of the Shrimad Bhagavatam bear testimony to this. Always

living in our hearts, God can easily distinguish between a mistake due to ashraddha and a mistake due toinnocent ignorance.

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