The Puja or Worship



Puja is a daily part of a Hindu person's life. It is as important as bathing and eating.

A Hindu person will go to the household shrine, remove the image of the favourite god from its resting place and prepare it for the day with a ritual cleansing.(Note how it is all set up in a shower tray...to help with the cleansing.)

The image will then be placed on the shrine and gifts of fresh fruit and flowers will be placed before it.

In the morning a very short form of puja (worship) is normally undertaken.

On the puja tray there is

  1. A pot of water for ritual cleansing.
  2. A bell to call the family to worship.
  3. A tiny pot of the red gum gum paste to mark the forehead. This mark means that a woman's soul (her husband) is with her.
  4. An arti lamp for the arti ceremony where everybody passes their hands over the lighted lamp and then over their forehead to make them feel closer to God.
  5. An incense burner or jos stick holder.

    The evening session will be a much longer session and will include reading of holy books, discussions, teaching, meditation and prayer. Hindu parents spend a lot of time teaching their children about their religion.

    Many Hindus meet for festivals at temples or mandirs, but most prayer is within the family at the family shrine. There is no need for regular church meetings for the congregation.

    In the puja Hindus use their senses to make them feel close to God. They use music and chant the aum to make their ears aware of God. They use beautiful images to make their eyes aware of God. They burn ghee butter and incense to make the air smell sweet so that people focus on God. Specially prepared sweets and foods are part of ceremonies so that helps Hindus think about God. Finally the arti ceremony is where the sense of touch is stimulated to make people think of God.