Paying Tributes To The Divine Is A Way Of Life In India
Rich Heritage And Traditions India is a vast country with an extremely rich cultural and religious heritage.
This is the land of gods and goddesses; of sages and saints and a population with a deep sense of respect for the divine.
Such is considered to be the power of Indian Puja that devotees firmly believe that bowing to their preferred deities will show them the path to success and grant them what they desire.
Puja done with complete devotion and in the prescribed manner ignites a self-belief in the devotee, eventually helping him through troubled times.
Many Forms But Purpose, The Same Whether one is worshipping a deity at home or participating in one of the many Historic Temple Poojas conducted to celebrate a festival or to simply honor a deity; the purpose is the same.
Historically, temples were built by kings and those with resources at their disposal to provide a haven to the population at large in times of adversities like famines, floods or even invasions.
Besides, with deep inclination in religious beliefs, all the Ancient Puja Temples have intriguing legends attached to them.
In its simplest explanation, a puja is nothing but a display of reverence for gods or a display of adoration.
Basics While the basic purpose of performing pujas may be the same, there are procedures and detailed 'vidhi's laid down for different pujas.
The two basic forms of Pujas are 'Nigama' and 'Agama'.
In 'Nigama' a fire is kindled in the honor of Agni Devta and here no idols or images are required to be displayed.
On the other hand in pujas performed as per rituals specified in 'Agama' the ceremony has to be performed in the presence of an idol.
During both the types of Pujas, the atmosphere becomes serene and gives one a sense of inner peace and belief; the worshipper or a trained pujari goes about lighting 'lamps' and 'incense sticks', chanting hymns in the praise of the deity.
The offerings are often in the form of fruits and sweets which are distributed as 'Prasadam' after the ceremony culminates.
If one was to follow the laid down rituals strictly, full attention has to be paid to the manner in which each type of puja is to be conducted and this includes the timings, the frequency, the items required and the procedure to be followed.
Nothing Is Untouched No facet of our lives is untouched with a puja.
In its simplest form it could take the form of a daily ritual like Shiv Pooja in your own home to more elaborate ceremonies conducted in relation to weddings, festivals and other occasions like child-birth, laying the foundation of a new business or simply to pay respect to the gods where rituals could be accompanied by a 'Hawan'.
Performed in numerous temples spread across the country, the more elaborate forms are related to celebration of major periodic events like Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja or prayers offered in praise of the lord on many regional festivals.
Not to be missed are regular pujas conducted at designated temples to seek remedies for Happy Married Life, Pooja for Career and many other blessings.
Paying tributes to the divine is a way of life in India and is a tradition we all should be proud of.
This is the land of gods and goddesses; of sages and saints and a population with a deep sense of respect for the divine.
Such is considered to be the power of Indian Puja that devotees firmly believe that bowing to their preferred deities will show them the path to success and grant them what they desire.
Puja done with complete devotion and in the prescribed manner ignites a self-belief in the devotee, eventually helping him through troubled times.
Many Forms But Purpose, The Same Whether one is worshipping a deity at home or participating in one of the many Historic Temple Poojas conducted to celebrate a festival or to simply honor a deity; the purpose is the same.
Historically, temples were built by kings and those with resources at their disposal to provide a haven to the population at large in times of adversities like famines, floods or even invasions.
Besides, with deep inclination in religious beliefs, all the Ancient Puja Temples have intriguing legends attached to them.
In its simplest explanation, a puja is nothing but a display of reverence for gods or a display of adoration.
Basics While the basic purpose of performing pujas may be the same, there are procedures and detailed 'vidhi's laid down for different pujas.
The two basic forms of Pujas are 'Nigama' and 'Agama'.
In 'Nigama' a fire is kindled in the honor of Agni Devta and here no idols or images are required to be displayed.
On the other hand in pujas performed as per rituals specified in 'Agama' the ceremony has to be performed in the presence of an idol.
During both the types of Pujas, the atmosphere becomes serene and gives one a sense of inner peace and belief; the worshipper or a trained pujari goes about lighting 'lamps' and 'incense sticks', chanting hymns in the praise of the deity.
The offerings are often in the form of fruits and sweets which are distributed as 'Prasadam' after the ceremony culminates.
If one was to follow the laid down rituals strictly, full attention has to be paid to the manner in which each type of puja is to be conducted and this includes the timings, the frequency, the items required and the procedure to be followed.
Nothing Is Untouched No facet of our lives is untouched with a puja.
In its simplest form it could take the form of a daily ritual like Shiv Pooja in your own home to more elaborate ceremonies conducted in relation to weddings, festivals and other occasions like child-birth, laying the foundation of a new business or simply to pay respect to the gods where rituals could be accompanied by a 'Hawan'.
Performed in numerous temples spread across the country, the more elaborate forms are related to celebration of major periodic events like Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja or prayers offered in praise of the lord on many regional festivals.
Not to be missed are regular pujas conducted at designated temples to seek remedies for Happy Married Life, Pooja for Career and many other blessings.
Paying tributes to the divine is a way of life in India and is a tradition we all should be proud of.
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