Introduction and links to related topics Puja - A sanskrit word meaning "worship". A ceremony performed before sacred wisdom is to be received or imparted. Puja ceremonies are common ways or worshipping God, and often involve fires (purification), and reciting the 100 names of God in sanskrit (devotion).
Puja - Puja (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root puj to honor, worship]
An offering of reverence and honor; veneration; homage and respect to superiors or to something held divine or sacred, whether made to living beings or even to idols.
Mantra - (Sanskrit) "Mystic formula."
A sound, syllable, word or phrase endowed with special power, usually drawn from scripture. Mantras are chanted loudly during puja to invoke the Gods and establish a force field. Certain mantras are repeated softly or mentally for japa, the subtle tones quieting the mind, harmonizing the inner bodies and stimulating latent spiritual qualities. Hinduism''s universal mantra is Aum. To be truly effective, such mantras must be given by the preceptor through initiation.
See: Aum, incantation, japa, puja, yajna, mantra, mantra yoga, meditation.
Mrigendra Agama - (Sanskrit) First subsidiary text (Upagama) of the Kamika Agama, one of the 28 Saiva Siddhanta Agamas. It is especially valuable because its jnana pada (philosophical section) is complete and widely available. Other noted sections are on hand gestures (mudra) used in puja and on establishing temporary places (yagashala) of special worship.
See: pada, Saiva Agamas.
Tarakajit - Tarakajit (Sanskrit) Conqueror of Taraka, name given to the Hindu god of war, Karttikeya, because he conquered Taraka, a daitya whose austerities had made him formidable to the gods -- the daityas being those early beings or races who, because of their developing intellectual powers, were found to be identical with the asuras, who were opposed to the more or less passive spiritual forces -- devas or suras. In another sense, because of this developing intellectuality, the daityas, somewhat like the Greek titans or giants, were the opponents of the gods of mere ritualistic or scholastic theory, and hence the enemies of puja (ritualistic sacrifices).
Kriya Pada - "Religious action; worship stage."
Stage of bhakti yoga, of cultivating devotion through performing puja and regular daily sadhana. It is also known as the satputra marga, "true son''s way," as the soul now relates to God as a son to his father. A central practice of the kriya pada is performing daily puja.
See: pada, jnana, nirvani and upadeshi.
Blessing - Good wishes; benediction. Seeking and giving blessings is extremely central in Hindu life, nurtured in the precepts of karunya (grace), shakti (energy), darshana (encountering/seeing the divine), prasada (blessed offerings), puja (invocation), tirthayatra (pilgrimage), diksha (initiation), shaktipata (descent of grace), samskaras (rites of passage), sannidhya (holy presence) and sadhana (inner-attunement disciplines).
Guru Jayanti - (Sanskrit) Preceptor''s birthday, celebrated as an annual festival by devotees. A padapuja, ritual bathing of his feet, is usually performed. If he is not physically present, the puja is done to the sri paduka, "holy sandals," which represent the guru and hold his vibration.
See: padapuja.
Pada - (Sanskrit)
"A step, pace, stride; footstep, trace."
"The foot (of men and animals); quarterpart, section; stage; path." Names the major sections of the Agamic texts and the corresponding stages of practice and unfoldment on the path to moksha.
According to Saiva Siddhanta, there are four padas, which are successive and cumulative; i.e. in accomplishing each one the soul prepares itself for the next. (In Tamil, Saiva Siddhanta is also known as Nalu-pada, "four-stage," Saivam.)
charya pada: "Good conduct stage." Stage one, learning to live righteously, serve selflessly, performing karma yoga. It is also known as dasa marga, "path of the slave," a time when the aspirant relates to God as a servant to a master. Traditional acts of charya include cleaning the temple, lighting lamps and collecting flowers for worship. Worship at this stage is mostly external.
kriya pada: "Religious action; worship stage." Stage of bhakti yoga, of cultivating devotion through performing puja and regular daily sadhana. It is also known as the satputra marga, "true son''s way," as the soul now relates to God as a son to his father. A central practice of the kriya pada is performing daily puja.
yoga pada: "Stage of union." Having matured in the charya and kriya padas, the soul now turns to internalized worship and raja yoga under the guidance of a satguru. It is a time of sadhana and serious striving when realization of the Self is the goal. It is the sakha marga, "way of the friend," for now God is looked upon as an intimate friend.
jnana pada: "Stage of wisdom." Once the soul has attained Realization, it is henceforth a wise one, who lives out the life of the body, shedding blessings on mankind. This stage is also called the San Marga, "true path," on which God is our dearest beloved. The Tirumantiram describes the fulfillment of each stage as follows. In charya, the soul forges a kindred tie in "God''s world" (salokya). In kriya it attains "nearness" (samipya) to Him. In yoga it attains "likeness" (sarupya) with Him. In jnana the soul enjoys the ultimate bliss of identity (sayujya) with Siva.
See: pada, jnana, nirvani and upadeshi.
Yajna - (Sanskrit) "Worship; sacrifice."
One of the most central Hindu concepts - sacrifice and surrender through acts of worship, inner and outer.
1) A form of ritual worship especially prevalent in Vedic times, in which oblations - ghee, grains, spices and exotic woods - are offered into a fire according to scriptural injunctions while special mantras are chanted.
The element fire, Agni, is revered as the divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers to the Gods.
The ancient Veda Brahmanas and the Shrauta Shastras describe various types of yajna rites, some so elaborate as to require hundreds of priests, whose powerful chanting resounds for miles. These major yajnas are performed in large, open-air structures called yagashala.
Domestic yajnas, prescribed in the Grihya Shastras, are performed in the family compound or courtyard. Yajna requires four components, none of which may be omitted: dravya, sacrificial substances; tyaga, the spirit of sacrificing all to God; devata, the celestial beings who receive the sacrifice; and mantra, the empowering word or chant.
While puja (worship in temples with water, lights and flowers) has largely replaced the yajna, this ancient rite still continues, and its specialized priestly training is carried on in schools in India.
Yajnas of a grand scale are performed for special occasions, beseeching the Gods for rain during drought, or for peace during bloody civil war. Even in temples, yajna has its Agamic equivalent in the agnikaraka, the homa or havana ceremony, held in a fire pit (homakunda) in an outer mandapa of a temple as part of elaborate puja rites.
2) Personal acts of worship or sacrifice. Life itself is a jivayajna.
The Upanishads suggest that one can make "inner yajnas" by offering up bits of the little self into the fires of sadhana and tapas until the greater Self shines forth.
The five daily yajnas, pancha mahayajna, of the householder (outlined in the Dharma Shastras) ensure offerings to rishis, ancestors, Gods, creatures and men. They are as follows.
brahma yajna: (also called Veda yajna or rishi yajna) "Homage to the seers." Accomplished through studying and teaching the Vedas.
deva yajna: "Homage to Gods and elementals." Recognizing the debt due to those who guide nature, and the feeding of them by offering ghee and uncooked grains into the fire. This is the homa sacrifice.
pitri yajna: "Homage to ancestors." Offering of cakes (pinda) and water to the family line and the progenitors of mankind.
bhuta yajna: "Homage to beings." Placing food-offerings, bali, on the ground, intended for animals, birds, insects, wandering outcastes and beings of the invisible worlds. ("Let him gently place on the ground [food] for dogs, outcastes, svapachas, those diseased from sins, crows and insects" Manu Dharma Shastras 3.92).
manushya yajna: "Homage to men." Feeding guests and the poor, the homeless and the student. Manushya yajna includes all acts of philanthropy, such as tithing and charity. The Vedic study is performed in the morning.
The other four yajnas are performed just before taking one''s noon meal. Manu Dharma Shastras (3.80) states, "Let him worship, according to the rule, the rishis with Veda study, the devas with homa, the pitris with shraddha, men with food, and the bhutas with bali."
Mystics warn that all offerings must be tempered in the fires of kundalini through the power of inner yajna to be true and valuable, just as the fire of awareness is needed to indelibly imprint ideas and concepts on one''s own akashic window.
See: dharma, havana, homa, puja, sacrifice.
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