Prayers & Pujas

Prayer is the out pouring of love to the Divine from the heart. It can also be the way in which we connect to the Divine. On our path of Bhakti (Devotion) the majority of our prayers are offered through ritual ceremonies. This takes the form of prayer through Christian and Hindu Ceremonies. Prayer in general can be a very open and free way of worshipping the Divine whilst ceremonial forms of worship such as puja is more ritualistic. Both lead oneself to the same goal – the difference between the one praying and the one being prayed to disappears and one realises that which “is” - the Divine.

Hindu Prayers

Regardless of the form of Hindu prayer that is conducted – all involve the invocation and the worshipping of the Deity that the pujari is praying to. We carry out a number of different pujas. The pujas that we carry out are Abhishekam, Yagna and Kalash Puja.

Abhishekam

Abhishekam is a ceremony that is conducted to a deity normally in the form of a statue (murthi). This ceremony takes its current form from times past in ancient India. Guests in that time in Ancient India were welcomed with high regard and the guest would immediately be given a place to sit and the feet washed after walking to their destination in the hot sun. The guest was given food and drink and offered chandan to cool the body. Nowadays the abhishekam ritual has changed although the same intention of the prayer remains. The deity in this instance would be akin to the guest in Ancient times.

The deity is invocated by meditating upon and chanting Sanskrit mantras. The deity once present in the murthi, is then given a foot bath and their hands washed before being worshiped. Various substances are then poured over the deity. Five of these substances – milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey and sugar represent the five elements respectively – water, earth, fire, air and ether.

Kanchikamakshi Devi being bathed with water, milk and yoghurt

A mixture containing all of these five (called panchamrit) is also poured over the deity after the initially five have been offered. Whilst each of these substances are being offered, various Sanskrit mantras are chanted asking the deity to accept these items. By offering to the deity these five substances, we are also asking the deity to purify the five elements – water, earth, fire, air and ether; not just in the space where the ceremony is taking place but also within ourselves. The five elements also correspond to the five senses accordingly water – vision, earth – taste, fire – hearing, ether – smell and air – touch. Thereby when we offer these five elements we also are asking for the purification of the five senses.

We offer a bath of Ganges water. Ganges water comes from the holy river Ganges and is thought to wash and purify ones being of karma. We therefore offer this to the deity asking that they accept this offering. We then dress the deity and offer chandan, kumkum, perfume, incense, fruits (cooked Prasad) and water to drink.

Kanchikamakshi Devi and Mahakali Devi having been dressed and offered flower garlands and arati.

Once all the items have been offered with love and devotion to the deity we then offer arati (a ghee or camphor lamp). Whilst the arati is offered we sing the praises of the deity and ring bells and blow the conch to show our love and gratitude, for the deity coming into our presence and accepting our prayers. The offering of the arati is offered by moving the arati lamp in a clockwise direction around the deity whilst looking at the deity. The offering of the arati is symbolic that the Divine is the source of all light – fire, sun, stars and so as we light up the deity with the arati we turn our attention to the very source of this light.

Yagna

The term “Yagna” has several meanings. Firstly, yagna literally translated means to selflessly sacrifice for noble purposes. Whenever someone performs an act in the spirit of sacrifice, the person(s) is performing yagna. This could be a mother sacrificing her needs for that of her child for example. Secondly, yagna also means to worship the Divine. This can be a sacrificial act that is carried out to worship the Divine as an external ritual or an internal one – done within ones own being. Thirdly, yagna is the name given to a fire ceremony that is conducted where one offers sacrifices into a holy fire – where the fire becomes an aspect of god. Many yagna fire ceremonies are carried out in the company of a group of people. The aim of the yagnas are varied but in essence they are performed to bestow benefit to some or all people present, the surrounding environment and the world. 

The deity to whom the yagna is being performed is invoked into the yagna through meditation and chanting of Sanskrit mantras. Once the deity has taken up residence in the yagna, we then begin to worship the deity by offering ghee and a rice mixture containing Havan Samagri. The rice mixture symbolically represents the 9 astrological planets; so by offering the rice mixture into the yagna we are also offering all our negative astrological influences to the deity for purification. The Havan Samagri is made up of aromatic herbs, tree bark and roots. When these are burned they release powerful antibacterial chemicals into the air which helps to purify the surrounding environment.

Similar to abhishekam, we also offer into the sacred fire the elements milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, sugar and panchamrit – asking that the deity purify the five elements within us, the surrounding environment and the five senses.  Whilst chanting the name of the deity we offer ghee and rice mixture into the fire and contemplate the deity. Through chanting and contemplating the deity this helps us to connect and feel and/or see her/his presence. The most important offering in the sacred fire is the love that comes from within our hearts. This enables us to establish this connection of love which is paramount in surrendering aspects of ego to the beloved deity.  Yagna is a very powerful tool for transmuting the accumulated karmas that one builds up from ones lives. The more that one is able to offer through love from the heart ones egoistic aspects, then one will enjoy the fruit and devotion of such yagna ceremonies.

At the end of the yagna we offer arati to the deity and ask all the deities who have attended the yagna and offered their help and assistance to return to their dwelling place.  

In Shree Peetha Nilaya there are normally two main large yagnas per year – the first usually beign the yagna dedicated to Bhu Devi (mother Earth) and the second for Gayatri Devi. Both ceremonies last all weekend. The yagna for Bhu Devi helps mother earth to purify and release  negative energies that she is trying to purify that have built up over many years. Wars, famine, chemical pollutants and poor management of the land by humanity have all had an impact upon the natural cycles and rhythms of mother earth. The Gayatri yagna is dedicated to Gayatri Devi. Gayatri Devi is that universal aspect of the divine mother who holds all powers of creation, sustainance and destruction in herself. She is able to bestow liberation to those who chant the Gayatri mantra with devotion and concentration. This yagna benefits those greatly who attend in person. 

Kalash Puja

Kalash puja is the ceremony that is undertaken to purna-kumbha or Kalash as it is known. The kalash consists of a brass/ copperpot filled with water and other auspiscious articles on which mango leaves are place in the open neck of the pot. Onto the mango leaves is placed a coconut.  The kalash itself is the vessel into which the deity is invoked to and worshipped.

Picture of Swami with the Kalash during the Bhu Devi Yagna (top) and energising the kalash with the kussa grass (right). Bottom – kalash with offerings of flower garland, Prasad (food) and oil lamp. In large prayer ceremonies more than one kalash can be used.

The whole Kalash puja ceremony involves also Gauri / Ganesh puja, Guru puja, puja to the Kalash and also yagna and abhishekam ceremonies. Initally purification of the pujari (the person(s) doing the puja) and the surrounding environment and puja items in undertaken. Following purification the pujari undertakes Gauri / Ganesh puja seeking that all internal and external obstacles towards a successful puja are removed, so that the full benefit of the prayer can be received for those it is intended for.

Following the Gauri / Ganesh puja, Guru puja is carried out. This is done so that the pujari may also receive his blessing and guidance from the Guru and that his blessings may also benefit the puja. In many spiritual ceremonies it is traditional that when a sacred ceremony is conducted that the sacred space be sealed energetically so that there is no interference with the ceremony. In this instance the six directions – east, west, north, south, up and down are sealed. We then invoke Varun (god of water) to enter into the water in the kalash to purify the water prior to invoking the main deity. The main deity is then invoked into the kalash as well as in ourselves through a series of invocations known as the praana pratishta.  We then offer puja to the main deity now residing with the kalash. At the end of the puja we light a camphor arati and offer the arati to the kalash. After arati, we light the yagna with the arati camphor and invoke the presence of Agni – god of fire. We then undertake the yagna to the main deity that was invoked into the kalash and end the yagna by offering a coconut into the fire. The coconut represents the heart of man – the outer shell being hard like the ego whereas the inner part of the coconut is pure and clean much like the inner sanctum of the heart of man.

Coconut has been offered into the Yagna kund and the kussa grass lying around the kund is collected and burned.

If we have a murthi of the deity we then carry out abhishekam to the deity and finish the abhishekam by pouring over the deity the energized water from the kalash. Before the water is poured over the deity we recite a mantra to thank the deity for their help and to leave the kalash and return to where it normally resides. In the process of the kalash puja we bring the Divine consciousness of the deity through the different elements finally anchoring the energy and consciousness of the deity into the earth element. Initially at the beginning of the puja we meditate and invoke the presence of the deity into the atmosphere where the ceremony will take place – element ether and air. Then through chanting specific mantras we invoke the energy of the deity into the element of water in the Kalash. After this we then light the yagna and invoke the presence of the deity into the yagna – element fire. After transferring the energy from the yagna into the kalash water we finally pour the energized water from the kalash over the murthi. By bathing the murthi of the deity in the kalash water this helps anchor the energy of the deity into the element of earth (in most cases the murthi is made of metal or stone). This whole process amplifies the energy of the murthi and thereby also helps the individual to more easily connect to their beloved deity when meditating upon the murthi.  

This whole ceremony is extremely uplifting for the devotee and this ceremony really helps to purify and help connect with the beloved deity. Many times after performing a kalash puja we are blessed with rain. A very auspicious sign from mother earth and the deity that the ceremony was very beneficial for the environment, and that much purification took place for all people present and the whole area.