Advanced puja

Hari Aum.

I got home from work today a little while ago after another day. As I work as a family physician in a government-run clinic (rather than a private one), these are fully booked every day and overflowing. People whiz in and out of my room with multiple problems ranging from simple colds and chest infections, to more serious diseases such as cancer and severe depression. I see people of all ages and stages in life, from tiny babies to middle-aged people and the very elderly.

 I enjoy my job overall though it has to be said that it is full of challenges. Not least because of the sheer number of people I see each day. And most of these people come in with tremendous stress related not only to their medical problem, but also due to the many social issues they face - including stress from divorce, financial hardship, bereavement and so on. And naturally they want to discuss the social stresses with the doctor.

I try and listen sympathetically and provide whatever medical help is possible. Some patients are pleasant and easy to work with, others are angry, rude and demanding. Some are even abusive and threatening. One meets all sorts of people in this job, and one needs to be professional at all times.

I love this job overall as I like medicine and I find people interesting. It sounds cliched but it is true. However the world is becoming more rough, and people are becoming more aggressive. So it's  not always easy being at the receiving end of people's negativity and trying to be kind and helpful in return.

I tell myself to treat this job as a great tapas. I am happy to be able to play a part in trying to make other people's life easier in some way- to be able to relieve both mental and physical pain and suffering to some extent. This is a great privilege. Yet I feel this work becomes really fulfilling for me when I do it as an offering to God.

Because ultimately that is what I want. If God accepts my work as a puja, as a tapas, and is pleased with this, then I would feel ultimate satisfaction.

I was saying to God today (which was slightly more busy and tiring than usual): "Why couldn't you make me a priest, O Lord? It would be a piece of cake, absolute bliss, for me to spend the whole day in one of Your temples, worshiping Your idols with milk and honey, offering You flowers and incense and sweets and singing some nice kirtan with fellow yogis. How pleasant this would be, how easy for me to do. How nice your idols are- for one they do not shout, they do not express anger and abuse! 

But You have given me a tapas that is much harder for me to do O God. I am being made to worship Your manifestation in human form. This is a different ball game altogether, this is a very tough type of worship indeed. Here one has to deal with people's anger and abuse, with their stress and turbulent emotions, with their pain and suffering. This is no piece of cake O Lord.

And in return for the abuse I sometimes get, You want me to show patience, sympathy, kindness and understanding. It is easy to be kind when someone is being polite. It is hard to be kind when someone is being rude and insulting. But this is what You want in the form of my Guru "Bear insult, bear injury, Highest sadhana!". This is easy to say, and so difficult to do. You are giving me ample opportunity to put this into practice via my work.

Sivananda says "Serve the poor and sick with love and affection, this is service of God". Aside from my hour or so of japa daily, I spend 6-7 hours a day in service of the poor and sick. I tell myself this is a tapas, this is my sadhana.

I am not a yogi in an Ashram doing puja and havan with idols, I am a yogi in a clinic doing puja and havan dealing with my patients.

In this clinic puja that I do daily, the patient is the idol of God, and the stethoscope, thermometer and other diagnostic medical equipment are the tools of worship. The prescription for medication that I give to the patient is the offering, and the soothing words of comfort to the stressed, weeping, depressed, unhappy people are the hymns in praise of God. Every noble and virtuous act undertaken is a flower offered at the feet of God.

This is a very difficult puja, and the only way I keep my own sanity while trying to do it well, is by repeating my mantra (Om Namo Narayanaya) regularly throughout it. There is tremendous pressure of time during these clinics as they are very busy. However I ensure that I recite my mantra 4-5 times before I call any patient into my room. This only takes a few seconds but gives me peace and strength as I feel the protecting presence of God, no matter whom I have to face. Therefore, before the patient comes in, and after the patient leaves, I ensure I recite this mantra a few times.

Also after my clinic is over, and as I drive away back home, I chant the following prayer in the car to offer the day's work to God:

Kayena vacha, manasendriyairva budhyatmanava prakriti svabhavat, karomi yadyat sakalam parasmayai, Narayanayeti samarpayami.

This means: whatever I do with my body, senses, mind, intellect, soul and entire nature, I offer as worship to Narayana.

Therefore I refuse to believe that my tapas is any less than that of a meditating yogi high up in the Himalayas worshiping God for hours daily via stone idols, milk, flowers and incense.

I tell myself again and again to motivate myself that I too do a puja of God lasting several hours per day. This puja is an advanced puja, a vishwa puja, of the type advised by my Guru Sivananda, which he too did during his time of intense sadhana (he combined japa with service of sick people as a doctor). I remind myself again and again that this sadhana can also lead me to God and to keep it up every day with zeal and determination and the right attitude.

I hope and pray that Narayana may be satisfied with this puja and that I may become fit for His darshan in this very lifetime, that I may develop parabhakti, supreme devotion, in this very lifetime.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Puja and homan rituals

Hari Aum.

As yogis, we are well aware of the ancient yogic form of worshiping God in fire. This is known as "homam" or "havan" in India. Essentially this is a process of invoking the Omnipresent God in fire and then placing offerings such as ghee, rice and herbs into the fire. Similarly puja involves invoking God in a sacred sculpture and offering worship to Him/Her there.

Some people scoff at pujas and havans. They say, God is omnipresent, He/She is everywhere, He/She is formless-  what then is the point in worshipping Him/Her in a sculpture or idol during puja, and in a fire during havan? They pose such questions.

My Guru Sivananda provides a fitting reply He says just like a person is pleased when you shake their hand, similarly the omnipresent God who is present in the idol and the fire as well, as everywhere else is pleased when He/She is worshiped in the idol and fire. Yes the idol and fire are only a tiny part of Him/Her, but God is pleased by our showing our love for Him/Her by giving attention to this small portion.

Just like a parent is pleased when a small child makes a painting and gives it to him/her as a present (even if the painting is a complete mess), God is pleased when we, His/Her children, take the trouble to do something like a puja or havan which is basically a way of spending some time remembering God with love.
And the yogis say, God' love for us is very deep and unconditional. He/She does not need our pujas/havans to love us. But we need our pujas/havans to help our mind remember Him and thus be able to experience His love and ever-present Grace. We can feel His Grace when our minds think of Him. One way this is achieved is through puja and havan.

As an aside, God is regarded as being both with and without form according to yogis. The sculptures made of God are not simply based on the fanciful imagination of a human mind. Yes creativity is employed when making sculptures of God, but there is a serious element of Truth in them. The forms of God represented in stone/metal and other physical sculptures are based on the forms seen by the rishis and advanced masters in meditation.

The form of Vishnu represented with four arms holding the conch, discus, mace and lotus is real in that it is eternal and has been seen by yogis in meditation. The same applies to the forms of Durga riding a lion, of Shiva holding the trident and Saraswati holding the veena. The pictures and sculptures help to form an image of the real forms of the Divine in the mind. One can then meditate on these forms with eyes closed visualising these in the space between the eyebrows (ajna chakra) or the centre of the chest (anahata chakra). In time, one begins to feel the presence of God in this space and an intimate connection is formed between God and us.

There is great meaning and value in these pictures and sculptures of God, they are an extremely valuable aid to meditation and remembrance of God. And a mind that remembers God attains God, so paintings and sculptures can become a means to liberation by leading to the remembrance of God. So only the ignorant, who do not really understand, scoff at these rituals. These rituals are a great science and a great art- the art and science of the worship of God. Those artists and sculptors who make beautiful paintings and sculptures of God are truly worthy of our salutations. They are helping humanity to remember God and attain the purpose of life.

Coming to homam, the sacred fire, is a very effective way of worshiping God. The traditional view held by orthodox people is that only Brahmin men are entitled to perform these.
This view is completely rejected by yogis and spiritual Masters. They say anyone (man/woman from any caste/race/background) can worship God, using these rituals, whether for material or spiritual purposes.
If the ritual is being done for spiritual purposes, simply to show love for God, in fact, one need not even worry about a perfect procedure with perfect mantras (though one should certainly try one's best to do it perfectly). If it is being done for material purposes, then it does need to be done as perfectly as possible to give results- whether by oneself or by an experienced priest. This is the advice I obtained after speaking to monks belonging to the Sivananda and Ramakrishna traditions.

I must say that I really enjoy the performance of homams. I perform a simple short one once in a while, and sometimes I call a priest home to perform an elaborate full ritual. I had one such homam with the Mahamrityunjaya mantra done by a priest last week at home for general health of the family particularly my parents, and also for world peace. This also involved a quick puja beforehand of Shiva, Durga, Vishnu, Ganesh and the navagrahas as per the priest's style. At the end of the puja and havan, I felt just so satisfied. During the three hour ritual, we had worshiped God's manifestations as water, earth, fire, prayed for the peace and welfare of plants, animals, humans, celestials/demi-gods and all beings in the Cosmos. We had called God with love, offered Him/Her food, drink, a bath, new clothes (exactly as one would do for a beloved relative). We chanted mantras and offered ghee and rice into the fire. Although God gave us all that which we offer Him, He accepts our offering these back to Him and we feel His ever-present blessings in return.
The whole procedure was so beautiful, so immensely satisfying. The yogis say the demi-gods reside in our own body, that the human being is a microcosm of the macrocosm. It is also believed that the demi-gods are nourished by the offerings made into the sacred fire. I thought this might be the reason for my sensation of complete contentment and satisfaction afterwards (a bit like after eating a wonderful meal)! 

Anyway I highly recommend pujas and havans to anyone who is interested. We may not feel able to do these daily due to our busy schedule. Japa is in my view the easiest and most direct way to connect to God as a daily sadhana/spiritual practice. But pujas and havans are beautiful to do when one has a bit more time. (Some people do a simple puja/havan daily which is wonderful).

There is an excellent resource of online havan/homam manuals provided here (see link below) for anyone interested in trying a homam at home. There are documents containing the proper procedure for worship of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Ganesh and some of the Navagrahas. Each manual contains two versions of the homam- a very simple one (called "super-short" homam) and a longer version. I highly recommend these manuals. I have used them repeatedly for doing "super-short" homams for Vishnu, Lakshmi, Durga and Shiva (Mahamrityunjaya). One must laud the efforts of Shri Narasimha Rao who wrote the manuals and his Guru for making this wonderful ritual of homam easily available to all via these online manuals.

http://www.vedicastrologer.org/homam/

I have mainly done havans for spiritual progress and world peace, but on occasion I have done some for health of my father and I feel they help greatly. The super-short homam takes about 20 minutes once you get used to the mantras, which are easy to pronounce. The author of the above manuals Shri Rao also once wrote in an online forum that one can perform a havan using the following bare minumum homam procedure (see link below). This is really really easy to do.
 I have done this when I have really wanted to do a havan but had limited time- it is very satisfying especially as most of the time is dedicated to the main mantra of the havan. One doesn't spend much time at all in setting up/winding down, and one can really concentrate properly on one mantra alone for the main deity of the havan.

http://www.indiadivine.org/content/topic/1325193-bare-minimum-homam-procedure/


One final thing. One should feel completely at ease when doing a homam. Therefore choose a procedure you are comfortable with (whether a short or long version). And do it for that form of God that you feel completely at ease with, who you feel would not be strict/upset in any way even if you make an error.

I personally like to do havans for Vishnu/Krishna. As I see all other forms of God as manifestations of Vishnu, I also feel relaxed and happy when doing havans for Durga and Shiva (although they may be seen as fierce by some). Then I have no fear or worry. In fact, when I do a havan for Lord Vishnu, I sometimes feel it is my Mother Durga who is holding my hand with the spoon offering ghee into the fire, that She is supporting me in this sadhana. I also feel that when I worship the Mother, I have Hari's full support and participation in this, that He is providing the energy and will to do this practice.
My point is, I feel that a havan is not meant to be a stressful procedure, but rather, it is meant to make one feel relaxed and comfortable by spending time with one's favourite deity/beloved Divine Parents and drawing closer to them, and offering oneself as Their instrument/tool, i.e. saying Thy Will be done.

I recently purchased a new house and am planning to call a priest to do a proper Griha Pravesh puja and havan in a few weeks after some refurbishment works are done, prior to moving in. However I did a very simple homam for Lord Krishna/Shiva/Devi in the new house using a tiny copper havan kund (palm-sized, they come in various sizes). I followed the bare minimim procedure detailed in the link above, and offered ghee with uncooked rice into the fire. This lasted about 30 minutes and the whole house felt purified afterwards. It is so satisfying to be able to do these simple things oneself.

 It is sad that orthodox people over the centuries deprived the majority of Hindus the opportunity to learn and perform these beautiful rituals that draw us closer to God, and provide relief for material and spiritual problems alike. Thankfully, many spiritual organisations are now firmly rejecting the orthodox view that these rituals can only be performed by a priest, and are teaching them to all. Of course, priests have great value as they are specialists in pujas and havan and have spent years studying these- so one should certainly go to them if one would like an elaborate homam/puja done- I feel one should support them anyway as they have preserved vital vedic mantras and knowledge which would otherwise have been lost. They provide a valuable service to society. (Some are noble, some are unfortunately rather money-obsessed).
However I agree with the spiritual Masters, that one certainly can perform havans and pujas oneself, no matter what one's gender/race/caste/background, for spiritual purposes, and also for simple material gains (probably better to both do the ritual oneself and also go to a priest if the material gain is a significant one- this depends on each one's personal preferences of course).

So friends, if interested, please try doing a homam or puja occasionally for world peace (use a book or the above manuals). I personally feel that homams for world peace are very powerful and feel we should all be doing them at least from time to time in addition to japa for world peace. 

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Manasik Puja

I am currently visiting India for four months with my husband. We are planning to spend time with my family and also undertake a pilgrimage in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rishikesh. I have heard about the great temples of Tamil Nadu and am looking forward to seeing them for the first time- we will be visiting Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Sri Rangam, Tanjore, Rameswaram and Madurai. This way we will be able to pay respects to three wonderful forms of the Divine-  Devi, Hari and Hara! Am hoping to do some extra japa as well as some puja/homam in these places.

Speaking of puja, I have recently been doing some manasik puja. It is really quite interesting. Especially as I was someone who could barely visualise the form of my ishta devata Hari/Krishna when I started my first purascharana in 2011. My Guru Sivananda said, try to visualise the deity in the anahata or ajna chakra during loud (vaikhari) or whispering (upamasu) japa. One cannot do visualization during mental japa because then the japa stops. One can do loud/whispering japa with mental visualization however.

My mind could not do this at all well in the past- I could barely see the deity- so I did as Sivananda advised in this situation, and simply tried to concentrate on the sound of the mantra that I was saying.

I somehow slid into a regular habit of doing manasik puja since last month. During the Navaratri sadhana last month, I decided to do manasik puja of different forms of Devi. I felt I needed to worship my Guru and Hari also with Her. I thought it would be fun to worship all three together- it felt more complete. I see Hari as the origin of my Guru and Devi (three forms of the same God) so this made sense to me.

Swami Chidananda, a wonderful disciple of Swami Sivananda, used to say one should use imagination and creativity in one's bhakti. One should find some way or the other of directing one's thoughts towards God. Bearing this in mind, I decided to use the basic knowledge I had of physical puja procedures and carry these out mentally- adding in my imagination.

So I let myself imagine. I imagined a beautiful house made of solid gold and studded with precious gems in the centre of my chest (anahata chakra). Surrouding the house were lovely gardens, beautiful trees, flowers, lakes and birds singing pleasantly. The sunlight was perfect - neither too hot nor too cold. Into this house in this beautiful realm, I invited Lord Hari, Devi and my Guru to stay. I imagined an elegant bed in the room of the house where they slept at night.

In the morning, when I started japa, I would imagine going to wake them up. I would lead them outside the house to where three clean ponds with lotuses were located- each pond was dedicated to one of them. They would step into the ponds clothed in special cotton clothes (covered up of course as per Indian tradition!) to bathe. They would then step out and I would provide each of them with towels to dry themselves and with new clothes made of silk and soft velvety slippers. Always yellow garments for Hari, pink/red/white clothes for Devi and orange clothes for my Guru. I would then offer them each a unique flower garland- tulasi leaves with white/blue flowers for Hari, variegated flowers of pink, red and white for Lakshmi and marigold/orange and yellow flowers for Guru.

I would then lead them to a place in the front courtyard of the gold house where a stunning throne was present. The throne was one with three seats- Hari would sit in the middle, with my Guru Sivananda to His right, and Goddess Lakshmi to His left.

I would then offer them a drink of water to start. Then offer various foods in dishes made of gold (I am rich enough to do this in this realm!). Fruit, kheer, kitchri, jaggery rice, payasam- all kinds of different sattvic foods to eat. Buttermilk and water to drink. Sometimes also pots of pure ghee, butter and curds for Hari (given His infamous fondness for these). While doing all this, I would of course continue the loud japa without a break with one part of my mind. I felt as though Hari, Guru and Devi could hear the japa while all the other stuff was going on and that they were pleased.

After they finished the main meal, I would offer them the traditional betel nut with leaf or tamboolam (for proper digestion). Then I would clear away all the used dishes and wash them up and leave them to dry. After doing the washing up, I would then imagine myself taking a quick dip in a separate pond set aside for me, and return in clean crisp white clothes to sit in front of them and do the japa. Or I would allow myself to do any other form of worship I liked afterwards- offering incense, waving lights, offering flowers etc. Whatever I felt like doing. The key was to enjoy it, be spontaneous and keep up the concentration.

I notice my mind wanders much less away from God during japa as a result of this. Previously during loud japa, my mind would wander hither and thither. Now it is harder for it to wander. My concentration generally remains on the mental puja and the mantra. At the end of the puja, I ask for true bhakti and jnana and to become the type of devotee and disciple that God and Guru want. I also ask that all beings may be blessed with bhakti, jnana and attunement to the Divine Will, and also for peace everywhere on Earth.

I find that manasik puja has made my japa practice much more interesting. I now do this puja every day with the morning japa. I don't tell myself that I have to- but I enjoy doing it now. I do a simpler less elaborate version when I am tired. If I am very tired for any reason, I skip it and just try to hear the sound of the mantra. But most days now, I do manasik puja with japa.

I am able to visualise the deities much better now (though still not perfectly) than I ever used to be able to. I feel this is the result of purification by repetition of the mantra regularly for nearly three years. Whatever progress has been made feels like it is due to the grace of the mantra, of Guru and Devi. I cannot describe the greatness of the mantra because I do not fully understand it myself, and have not fully experienced it yet. But the little I have experienced is wonderful. When God Himself cannot explain the glory of His Name, we need not try! However we certainly are advised to practice and experience it. I am very grateful to my wonderful Guru Swami Sivananda for giving me the mantra and for his inspiration and to Devi for providing the skakti to keep up the sadhana. And to the mantra itself for effecting such wonderful changes. The Name of God is certainly something quite extraordinary and wonderful.

Hari Om Tat Sat