In Hinduism, puja is essentially a ritual suggestive of symbolic offering of our lives and activities to God and enjoying whatever that comes out of it as a gift from Him. In Hinduism puja is the most popular form of divine worship.

The way a puja is conducted in Hindu households is akin to the way a guest is invited into the house and treated with utmost respect. The Hindu tradition equates a guest with God with this simple expression, "Athidi devobhava", which means a guest is verily God Himself.

The outer aspect of puja we have discussed else where in the pages of Hinduwebsite. Here we will discuss the symbolic significance of puja and of the various objects used during the ceremony. The meaning of puja: The word "puja" consists of two letters, "pa" and "ja". "Pa" means "parayana" or continuous repetition of the names of God and "ja" means "japa" or continuous mental recitation of the names of God. So according to this interpretation "puja" is essentially a kind of worship in which both parayanam and japam are practised by the devotees.

According to another interpretation, "Pu" means "pushpam" or flower and "ja" means "jal". In the puja ceremony both flowers and water are offered to the deity during the worship. The letter "ja" can also mean simultaneously "japam". So if we take these twin meanings of "ja" into consideration, puja becomes that ceremony during which water and flowers are offered to God along with recitation of His names.

Lastly "pu' means "purusha" and "ja" means "janma" , to arise or wake up. During the puja ceremony life breath is installed in the deity and He is brought to life or into His dynamic aspect. It also means that the purusha in the worshipper also wakes up after the ceremony as he receives a new life and new consciousness (with the partaking of prasad) from the deity.

Vigraham: Vigraham means the statue or the image of the deity. Vigraha (vi+graha) also means that which removes the ill effects of the grahas or planets.

Purna kumbha or Purna kalasa (the sacred vessel): It is generally placed as the chief deity or by the side of the chief deity before starting the puja. Symbolically it stands for mother goddess in general, or goddess Lakshmi in particular. It consists of an earthen or a metal pot with either water or rice in it , with leaves (of generally five specific species) in its mouth and a bowl of rice, flowers and coconut at its top. The pot represents mother earth, the flowers represent the ornamentation, the rice in the bowl represents either the material wealth or the powers of the goddess or both and the coconut represents the divine consciousness.

Naivedyam: It is our ignorance (avidya) which we offer to the deity. The food symbolically stands for the earth element and in human beings for the gross body. So it can also means the body and the mind (which stand for the ignorant consciousness in us) which we place in front of the deity for transformation. When it is blessed by the deity it becomes the bestower of knowledge.

Pushpam: It stands for the good in us. We offer the deity the good that has blossomed in us. On the side of the elements it stands for the element of water because the flowers (especially the lotus) grow out of water.

Phalam: It is the fruit of our action which we are supposed to offer to God as a symbol of our detachment, self-sacrifice and surrender.

Gandham: It stands collectively for the desires (vasanas) and the desires we have for various things in life, which we are supposed to offer to the deity in order to become free from the cycle of births and deaths.

Dhupam: It is the smoke or the clouded consciousness (the very mind with all its thoughts and ignorance) that exists in us which is also an obstacle on our path to self realization. As long as this cloud is there, we cannot see the light or illumination in our consciousness. Dhupam also stands for the illusion which keeps us chained to this world. When we offer dhupam to God, we offer symbolically our illusions and our fickle mindedness. On the elemental side, it stands for the element of air or the breath body in us. It stands for prana which we offer to the deity with a sense of sacrifice.

Deepam: It is the light in us, the very soul that exists in us which we offer to the deity as acknowledgement of our surrender and devotion. On the elemental side it stands for the element of ether that exists in us as Atman.

Kumkum and turmeric powder : The red powder stands for our emotions or for our inner wisdom. The turmeric powder stands for our inner purity and on the negative side, for our inner pride and egoism.

Prasad: When we offer our ignorance to God He suffuses it with knowledge and light. The word "prasad" is a combination of two words, "pra" + "sad". That which is near life and truth. The food that is offered to God is symbolic representation of the gross body into which at the end of worship God breathes new life new light making it divine. When we share the prasad with others, we share with them symbolically the knowledge we so gained during the worship.

Navratri Special..