Hari Aum.
My Guru Sivananda says that one way of doing japa is to combine it with visualisation of the deity. When one visualises the deity mentally, one can either imagine a static form, or one can visualise a dynamic form e.g. doing a manasik puja.
Doing manasik puja (mental worship) along with japa is a very enjoyable experience. One feels close to the deity, one build a bond, a relationship, with the deity through mental worship. If one is doing japa mentally, then keep the focus on the japa alone- this alone is an excellent practice. If one is doing japa verbally (audibly or whisperingly), then this can be combined with mental worship in the form of manasik puja.
I do manasik puja most of the time when I do japa. I wrote a blog post on this previously after I first started doing this practice in late 2014. The exact style of puja that I do has changed compared to then but the broad principles are still the same.
I would like to explain in more detail as to how one can do manasik puja along with japa (particularly for those readers who live outside India and may be less familiar with puja).
A puja is a form of worship that involves making offerings to a form of God. The external offerings symbolise offering of one's own mind and body to God as His/Her instruments.
During puja, one treats God as one would treat a dear relative or friend who visits one's home. One offers God a seat, food, drink, music and other articles as a gesture of love and affection.
The home in manasik puja is one's body. One can choose either the point between the eyebrows (ajna chakra) or the centre of the chest (anahata chakra) to conduct the manasik puja (mental worship).
Two popular puja methods involve making 5 offerings (panchopchara) and 16 offerings (shodashopchara):
Five offerings puja includes:
1. Gandha - sandalpaste, symbolising the Earth element
2. Pushpa- flowers, symbolising the Space element
3. Dhoopa- incense, symbolising the Air element
4. Deepa - light, symbolising the Fire element
5. Naivedya- food, symbolising the Water element
The puja engages our five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, and involves offering these in the service of God.
A simple puja involves calling God (avahanam), giving Him a seat (asanam) and then making offerings as above.
I suggest the following simple puja that can be done with japa:
- Invoke the presence of your favourite form of God in the heart-space or centre of the eyebrows
- Offer Him/Her a beautiful seat (people often imagine a seat of gold set with precious stones)
- Give Him/Her water to drink
-Now make the five offerings:
i) Apply sandalpaste to His/Her forehead (kumkum for the Goddess)
ii) Offer flowers to Him/Her
iii) Offer incense to Him/Her (e.g. imagine a plate with an incense stick and holder)
iv) Offer a lamp to Him/Her
v) Offer food and drink to Him/Her. Popular choices of food include milk and rice, jaggery and rice (various types of 'payasam'). Avoid offering anything hot and spicy/any meat or alcohol (rajasic and tamasic foods). Stick to sattvic foods only (vegetarian foods including fruits, vegetables, lentils, rice, milk, honey, jaggery - no eggs/onion/garlic!).
At the end of the worship, the japa can continue as needed until one has finished the planned number of malas for the session. While doing the japa, continue to visualise the form of the deity (even after the manasik puja ritual is complete). Sivananda says, imagine that the deity is smiling and that all virtues are pouring from the deity into your mind. He says manasik puja is more powerful and effective than physical external puja (as the mind cannot wander away from God as much in this practice compared with external worship).
Finally, at the end of the japa, prostrate at the feet of the deity and ask Him/Her to bless one with true devotion, peace,wisdom and bliss.
When one does this practice daily, one begins to feel the presence of God within oneself and others. One who worships God in the heart, begins to feel the presence of God in the heart at all times, even when not formally worshipping. In the Gita, God says that He is present in the hearts of all beings. Manasik puja helps us to connect with Him/Her as manifest within the temple of our own bodies.
A more elaborate worship with 16 offerings can also be made. This includes things such as offering a bath, new clothes, the sacred thread and so on.
One can be creative and offer God things that are sattvic such as flower garlands, ornaments and so on.
Having explained a simple procedure for manasik puja, I would like to say something about the emotional/feelings aspect of this which is even more important that the ritual aspect described above.
One should do manasik puja with feeling, not mechanically.
In the practice of bhakti yoga, one is encouraged to develop a certain emotion or relationship with God, e.g. as a parent, a friend, a servant, a lover of God.
During the puja, one can take the opportunity to strengthen and express this relationship with God. For example, if you see God as a friend, do the puja with the love that you have for your best friend. If you see God as your master, and yourself as His servant, then do the puja with the feeling of service.
A manasik puja essentially involves spending 'quality time' with God. It is an ideal opportunity to close the eyes, turn the mind inwards and connect with that Being who is ever present within us. It is a chance to develop bhakti (devotion) and move closer to the One who is our closest relative and truest friend. It takes us closer to God-experience and attaining the spiritual purpose of life.
Just to add, always begin any form of worship, whether japa or puja, by invoking Ganesha and your Guru (or the general teaching principle of God if you do not have a specific Guru). Ganesha removes all obstacles, the Guru grants you protection. At the end of the worship, surrender the doer-ship to God, and pray for His/Her grace upon all beings (this expands the heart and purifies the mind).
Also, really take your time and enjoy visualising your deity during manasik puja (especially if you are not feeling rushed/having a busy day).
If it is Shiva, imagine His beautiful form, take a moment to let your mind's eye rest on the crescent moon in His hair, the Ganga flowing from His matted locks, the king of snakes garlanding His neck, the tiger-skin around His waist, the trident in His hand.
If it is Durga that you worship, then imagine Her beautiful form, radiant like gold, wearing a red dress, with ornaments on Her person, wearing a flower garland, holding divine weapons in Her beautiful hands. Imagine Her smiling face that destroys fear and bestows blessings upon Her devotees.
If it is Krishna that you worship, imagine His handsome form, of a divine blue colour, a crown with a peacock feather in His hair, a garland of various flowers around His neck, ornaments upon His person, wearing a yellow silken cloth, a flute tucked into the cloth around His waist (or in His hands).
Whatever form your deity has, enjoy seeing this fully in your mind.
If you see your deity smiling, winking, laughing or joking with you, enjoy the experience. Let your deity come alive within you. He/She is a dynamic living being that encompasses everything (not a static picture/photograph).
Since you are relating to God in the personal aspect, with name and form, let that name and form come alive within you. I often imagine Krishna responding as a friend would if I say something to Him. I like mentally talking to Him within me (I imagine Him in the heart space). It may be just my imagination, but so what? Thinking about God is meditation. As Krishna undoubtedly has a playful side, I imagine this playful side when I talk to Him. My Krishna winks and smiles at me when I say something I feel is funny to Him. I imagine holding His hand and walking in beautiful gardens in my mind's eye. This makes Him come alive in my mind, in my consciousness. Many times when I have spoken to Him for help, I have felt and experienced His living response. I always call to Him when I am in need of help and feel that He responds in whatever way is appropriate.
God is a living force within us. Not a picture or a photograph. The practice of manasik puja develops a loving relationship with this divine, dynamic, living force within us.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
P.S. My current method of manasik puja is as follows:
After the usual starting prayers to Ganesh, Guru and various forms of God, I begin to verbally recite the ashtakshara mantra. While listening to the sound of the mantra, I close the eyes and visualise the form of Krishna in the anahata chakra/centre of the chest/heart space. Here, I imagine Him seated on a golden throne. I then imagine offering Him milk, kheer (milk and rice), sweets, fruits and so on. Mentally I imagine a table with a golden plate in front of Him, on which there is a ghee lamp with a cotton wick and a fire burning brightly. There is also a stick of incense in the holder of the plate. (I also light a physical fire and burn incense at the altar before starting the mental puja).
On the golden plate, are Tulasi leaves and flowers and a small container with sandal paste. Sometimes I imagine offering Him a flower garland and at other times, I visualise a more elaborate puja with some of the sixteen traditional offerings such as a bath, new clothes, sacred thread and so on. But mostly I do a simple mental puja. After completing the puja (which may take about 5-10 minutes), I imagine sitting at His feet and completing the japa (which may take 30 min or so. There are variations in the puja but this is my basic format. I almost always do this mental puja or visualisation exercise when I do japa. If I am very tired, I just chant the mantra and skip the puja, or may just imagine His feet.
One can be creative with this and vary the puja based upon one's own mood, taste and temperament. Like with other forms of worship, it is good to do this practice regularly to establish a strong connection with the God within us.
My Guru Sivananda says that one way of doing japa is to combine it with visualisation of the deity. When one visualises the deity mentally, one can either imagine a static form, or one can visualise a dynamic form e.g. doing a manasik puja.
Doing manasik puja (mental worship) along with japa is a very enjoyable experience. One feels close to the deity, one build a bond, a relationship, with the deity through mental worship. If one is doing japa mentally, then keep the focus on the japa alone- this alone is an excellent practice. If one is doing japa verbally (audibly or whisperingly), then this can be combined with mental worship in the form of manasik puja.
I do manasik puja most of the time when I do japa. I wrote a blog post on this previously after I first started doing this practice in late 2014. The exact style of puja that I do has changed compared to then but the broad principles are still the same.
I would like to explain in more detail as to how one can do manasik puja along with japa (particularly for those readers who live outside India and may be less familiar with puja).
A puja is a form of worship that involves making offerings to a form of God. The external offerings symbolise offering of one's own mind and body to God as His/Her instruments.
During puja, one treats God as one would treat a dear relative or friend who visits one's home. One offers God a seat, food, drink, music and other articles as a gesture of love and affection.
The home in manasik puja is one's body. One can choose either the point between the eyebrows (ajna chakra) or the centre of the chest (anahata chakra) to conduct the manasik puja (mental worship).
Two popular puja methods involve making 5 offerings (panchopchara) and 16 offerings (shodashopchara):
Five offerings puja includes:
1. Gandha - sandalpaste, symbolising the Earth element
2. Pushpa- flowers, symbolising the Space element
3. Dhoopa- incense, symbolising the Air element
4. Deepa - light, symbolising the Fire element
5. Naivedya- food, symbolising the Water element
The puja engages our five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, and involves offering these in the service of God.
A simple puja involves calling God (avahanam), giving Him a seat (asanam) and then making offerings as above.
I suggest the following simple puja that can be done with japa:
- Invoke the presence of your favourite form of God in the heart-space or centre of the eyebrows
- Offer Him/Her a beautiful seat (people often imagine a seat of gold set with precious stones)
- Give Him/Her water to drink
-Now make the five offerings:
i) Apply sandalpaste to His/Her forehead (kumkum for the Goddess)
ii) Offer flowers to Him/Her
iii) Offer incense to Him/Her (e.g. imagine a plate with an incense stick and holder)
iv) Offer a lamp to Him/Her
v) Offer food and drink to Him/Her. Popular choices of food include milk and rice, jaggery and rice (various types of 'payasam'). Avoid offering anything hot and spicy/any meat or alcohol (rajasic and tamasic foods). Stick to sattvic foods only (vegetarian foods including fruits, vegetables, lentils, rice, milk, honey, jaggery - no eggs/onion/garlic!).
At the end of the worship, the japa can continue as needed until one has finished the planned number of malas for the session. While doing the japa, continue to visualise the form of the deity (even after the manasik puja ritual is complete). Sivananda says, imagine that the deity is smiling and that all virtues are pouring from the deity into your mind. He says manasik puja is more powerful and effective than physical external puja (as the mind cannot wander away from God as much in this practice compared with external worship).
Finally, at the end of the japa, prostrate at the feet of the deity and ask Him/Her to bless one with true devotion, peace,wisdom and bliss.
When one does this practice daily, one begins to feel the presence of God within oneself and others. One who worships God in the heart, begins to feel the presence of God in the heart at all times, even when not formally worshipping. In the Gita, God says that He is present in the hearts of all beings. Manasik puja helps us to connect with Him/Her as manifest within the temple of our own bodies.
A more elaborate worship with 16 offerings can also be made. This includes things such as offering a bath, new clothes, the sacred thread and so on.
One can be creative and offer God things that are sattvic such as flower garlands, ornaments and so on.
Having explained a simple procedure for manasik puja, I would like to say something about the emotional/feelings aspect of this which is even more important that the ritual aspect described above.
One should do manasik puja with feeling, not mechanically.
In the practice of bhakti yoga, one is encouraged to develop a certain emotion or relationship with God, e.g. as a parent, a friend, a servant, a lover of God.
During the puja, one can take the opportunity to strengthen and express this relationship with God. For example, if you see God as a friend, do the puja with the love that you have for your best friend. If you see God as your master, and yourself as His servant, then do the puja with the feeling of service.
A manasik puja essentially involves spending 'quality time' with God. It is an ideal opportunity to close the eyes, turn the mind inwards and connect with that Being who is ever present within us. It is a chance to develop bhakti (devotion) and move closer to the One who is our closest relative and truest friend. It takes us closer to God-experience and attaining the spiritual purpose of life.
Just to add, always begin any form of worship, whether japa or puja, by invoking Ganesha and your Guru (or the general teaching principle of God if you do not have a specific Guru). Ganesha removes all obstacles, the Guru grants you protection. At the end of the worship, surrender the doer-ship to God, and pray for His/Her grace upon all beings (this expands the heart and purifies the mind).
Also, really take your time and enjoy visualising your deity during manasik puja (especially if you are not feeling rushed/having a busy day).
If it is Shiva, imagine His beautiful form, take a moment to let your mind's eye rest on the crescent moon in His hair, the Ganga flowing from His matted locks, the king of snakes garlanding His neck, the tiger-skin around His waist, the trident in His hand.
If it is Durga that you worship, then imagine Her beautiful form, radiant like gold, wearing a red dress, with ornaments on Her person, wearing a flower garland, holding divine weapons in Her beautiful hands. Imagine Her smiling face that destroys fear and bestows blessings upon Her devotees.
If it is Krishna that you worship, imagine His handsome form, of a divine blue colour, a crown with a peacock feather in His hair, a garland of various flowers around His neck, ornaments upon His person, wearing a yellow silken cloth, a flute tucked into the cloth around His waist (or in His hands).
Whatever form your deity has, enjoy seeing this fully in your mind.
If you see your deity smiling, winking, laughing or joking with you, enjoy the experience. Let your deity come alive within you. He/She is a dynamic living being that encompasses everything (not a static picture/photograph).
Since you are relating to God in the personal aspect, with name and form, let that name and form come alive within you. I often imagine Krishna responding as a friend would if I say something to Him. I like mentally talking to Him within me (I imagine Him in the heart space). It may be just my imagination, but so what? Thinking about God is meditation. As Krishna undoubtedly has a playful side, I imagine this playful side when I talk to Him. My Krishna winks and smiles at me when I say something I feel is funny to Him. I imagine holding His hand and walking in beautiful gardens in my mind's eye. This makes Him come alive in my mind, in my consciousness. Many times when I have spoken to Him for help, I have felt and experienced His living response. I always call to Him when I am in need of help and feel that He responds in whatever way is appropriate.
God is a living force within us. Not a picture or a photograph. The practice of manasik puja develops a loving relationship with this divine, dynamic, living force within us.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
P.S. My current method of manasik puja is as follows:
After the usual starting prayers to Ganesh, Guru and various forms of God, I begin to verbally recite the ashtakshara mantra. While listening to the sound of the mantra, I close the eyes and visualise the form of Krishna in the anahata chakra/centre of the chest/heart space. Here, I imagine Him seated on a golden throne. I then imagine offering Him milk, kheer (milk and rice), sweets, fruits and so on. Mentally I imagine a table with a golden plate in front of Him, on which there is a ghee lamp with a cotton wick and a fire burning brightly. There is also a stick of incense in the holder of the plate. (I also light a physical fire and burn incense at the altar before starting the mental puja).
On the golden plate, are Tulasi leaves and flowers and a small container with sandal paste. Sometimes I imagine offering Him a flower garland and at other times, I visualise a more elaborate puja with some of the sixteen traditional offerings such as a bath, new clothes, sacred thread and so on. But mostly I do a simple mental puja. After completing the puja (which may take about 5-10 minutes), I imagine sitting at His feet and completing the japa (which may take 30 min or so. There are variations in the puja but this is my basic format. I almost always do this mental puja or visualisation exercise when I do japa. If I am very tired, I just chant the mantra and skip the puja, or may just imagine His feet.
One can be creative with this and vary the puja based upon one's own mood, taste and temperament. Like with other forms of worship, it is good to do this practice regularly to establish a strong connection with the God within us.
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