Puja / Pooja

Puja (alternative transliteration Pooja, Sanskrit: reverence, honour, adoration, or worship) is a religious ritual that Hindus perform on a variety of occasions to pray or show respect to their chosen Gods or Goddesses. Most practicing Hindus perform puja once or twice a day. Puja should be done after a shower or bath and it is recommended that rites be performed before food intake to ensure sattvic qualities and full concentration (dhyana). Puja is also performed on special occasions in addition to the daily ritual. These include Durga Puja, Pongal and Lakshmi Puja and other religious occasions.
Puja or Pooja is also a very popular Hindu female first name.

Puja rituals:
Puja consists of meditation (dhyana), austerity (tapa), chanting (mantra), scripture reading (svadhyaya), offering food (thaal) and prostrations (panchanga or ashtanga pranama, dandavat). The individual also applies a tilaka mark on the forehead with sandalwood paste, and then a vermillion (kumkum) dot (chandlo) in its centre. This signifies submission to the Almighty and also His Omnipresence. Puja is usually concluded with aarti to the Lord.
Puja may be performed by an individual worshipper or in gatherings. The ritual may be observed in silence or accompanied by prayers. Sometimes a puja is done for the benefit of certain people, for whom priests or relatives ask blessings. A Hindu priest (called a Pundit) will chant prayers in Sanskrit or some other language while performing puja.
Large pujas request the presence of fellow believers and pray to the god or goddesses in question. This usually involves a full day ritual where people are present for the actual puja ceremony and have puja prasad, followed by bhajans (religious prayer songs) and an all-vegetarian dinner.

Steps of a puja:
Most sects, families or even individuals have their own way of conducting puja. A typical puja might involve the following 27 steps:

1. Dhyaanam Samarpayami (Think or meditate on the Lord)
2. Aawaahanam Samarpayami (Invite the Lord into your home/heart)
3. Aasanam Samarpayami (Offer a seat)
4. Paadyam Samarpayami (Offer water to wash the feet)
5. Arghyam Samarpayami (Offer water to wash the hands)
6. Aachamaneeyam Samarpayami (Offer water to drink)
7. Snaanam Samarpayami (Give bath)
8. Maha Abhishekam Samarpayami (Main head bath)
9. Pratishtaapayaami (Make Him seated)
10. Vasthram Samarpayami (Offer clothes)
11. Yajnopaveetham Samarpayami (Offer the Holy Thread)
12. Gandham Samarpayami (Offer sandlewood paste/powder)
13. Akshatham Samarpayami (Offer Akshatha (rice))
14. Pushpam Samarpayami (Offer flowers)
15. Ashthothtra Poojam Samarpayami (Say the holy names of the Lord)
16. Dhoopam Aaghraapayaami (Offer fragrance)
17. Deepam Darshayaami (Offer light)
18. Neivedyam Samarpayami (Offer food)
19. Phalam Samarpayami (Offer fruit(s))
20. Taamboolam Samarpayami (Offer betel nut and leaves)
21. Dakshinam Samarpayami (Offer wealth)
22. Maha Nirajanam Samarpayami (Perform aarti)
23. Pradakshinam Samarpayami (Continue aarti)
24. Namaskaram Samarpayami (Prostrate before Him)
25. Mantra Pushpam Samarpayami (Offer incantations and flowers)
26. Praarthanaam Samarpayami (Offer prayers, request your desires)
27. Kshamaapanam Samarpayami (Admit wrongdoings and ask for forgiveness)

• Durga Puja
• Kali Puja
• Saraswati Puja
• Lakshmi Puja
• Narayana Puja
• Shiva Ratri Broto
• Ganesh Puja
• Monosha Puja