Sacred Ceremonies

I love participating in pujas (also spelled poojas), or what I've been calling sacred ceremonies in this blog. Pujas are an important part of the religion of Hinduism - they are not yoga. Pujas are "considered to be an especially powerful form of worshipping the Divine because it combines physical, verbal, mental, and vibrational aspects of worship." https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/hindu-puja-instructions

Remember, yoga says the divine that you should be worshipping is inside you. Pujas are about worshipping the divine outside of you, in one of the many Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The effects of a puja, however, are very similar to the effects of my yoga practices. Both practices quiet my mind. Both practices give me a feeling of connection to the divine within me. And I love the ritual of a puja - it is a sacred and holy experience. It involves chanting and mantra repetition, as well as a chance to pray or offer blessings for myself and my loved ones.

This trip, I've participated in five pujas. Four of these pujas were for other people. I served as their in person representative since they could not be here in Ganeshpuri. Three were for the health of a loved one, and included a havan (a fire ceremony), which made it extra powerful! The cool thing about those ceremonies is when I serve as someone's in person representative, I become a conduit of Grace. The Grace washes through me. I benefit tremendously when I serve in this way, and it is a great honor to do so.

The pujas are performed by Brahmin priests, and involve ancient and sacred rituals. Brahmin priests go through years of training in mantras and the ancient texts. They are highly skilled and live lives devoted to service. I have been doing pujas with the same priest for over four years now. Shortly after the first time I came to Ganeshpuri, I arranged to start doing pujas online with Balkrishna. He is a priest at Nityananda's temple, and has extensive schooling in thousands of mantras. When I am in Ganeshpuri, it's a real treat to do them in person!

I've been doing pujas weekly (or most weeks) since I began. I was motivated to do weekly poojas for several reasons. One, I want to cultivate weekly clients, and I felt that committing to a weekly practice of my own was a good way to support that effort. Two, I appreciate being able to offer Balkrishna dakshina. His full time job at the temple is seva, or volunteer work. Dakshina is the offerings of goods, services, or money to the Guru or a priest. After the puja, offering dakshina is most important to acknowledge the blessings received. Learn more about dakshina here. Third, Balkrishna shared with me the benefits of doing a weekly puja, and how a weekly puja progresses your sadhana (yoga practices). I was (and am) interested in reaping those benefits!

While pujas online take about an hour, in person pujas can be more elaborate, and longer. There are so many options! When I am here, I like to do a puja and a havan (a small fire ceremony). My basic understanding of the difference between the two ceremonies is that a puja is to receive blessings and pray for things. A havan burns your karma, Both are incredibly beneficial. At the end of the havan, we do Arti, which is a candle flame ceremony. Here is a short video from the Arti at the end of the ceremony. You'll see the elaborate pujas, and the fire with a coconut burning away. It is a good sign when the coconut sizzles and cracks open at the end. Mine did!

The video is rather dark, so here are some pictures that will give you an idea of the beauty and power of the ceremony. This picture is before we began.

My puja was a combination Guru puja and Shiva puja. That meant I had two murtis (sacred statues) to honor and decorate. The top arrow is pointing to the Shiva Lingam. You can't even see it amidst the flowers. The bottom arrow is pointing to Nityananda's statue. He is my Guru's Guru's Guru - like a great Grandfather. He is also the great being that the village of Ganeshpuri sprung up around. And, no Guru puja would be complete without a picture of my Guru, Gurudevi. She is well known in Ganeshpuri, and this picture of her stays at this puja house, among pictures of other Gurus and great beings. There are offerings of fruit, flowers, rice, grains, and cloth.

This is after. I am bringing that Nityananda murti home with me, so I will have Ganeshpuri in my yoga room as well as in my heart. There are other priests involved in these more elaborate ceremonies, but I did not get their permission to post any pictures of them. Balkrishna was the head priest of these ceremonies, and went all out to make sure they were perfect and divine. He is a devoted servant of Nityananda's Grace, and I am grateful and lucky to receive some of that through him.