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e-Anjali, Issue 12, May
20, 2005
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Pooja
An explanation of its sixteen steps
By *Nandita Shankar, MD
(The Ultimate Supreme
Power is formless and present everywhere.
However, in the early stages of spiritual growth, one needs a
“Form” to focus our minds upon.
Through special prayers any aspect of the Supreme can be invoked into a
particular form or deity, and worshipped with due respect. Such worship
comprises what is called a Pooja.
This needs preparation, time and commitment, and is literally an
appointment with God!
Many of the rituals
and customs that are followed today have been
handed down through generations. It is faith in this handed down
spirituality that has allowed them to be followed
to perfection. However over time and with
changing social situations, many, especially the youth, may question its
utility. Yet others may
think, it is just too complicated for the common man
to understand!
To shatter such myths,
a unique presentation on the steps of a Pooja
using similes, was undertaken by this writer
especially for children, during the Official Annual Hindu Heritage Month
Celebrations held in Florida
in 2002. The chosen deity was Saraswati.
Reproduced below is an excerpt -NS)
While a simple pooja
can be five steps and an elaborate one can have sixty
four steps, it is the Sixteen Step Pooja
or Shodasa Upachara
Pooja that is most commonly practiced. All
programs such as dances, dramas, processions, including the food served,
are all technically part of the offerings and part of the worship
process. Therefore, all presentations should be carefully offered with
this in mind, whenever and wherever God is invoked.
Saraswati is the goddess of learning, fine arts and good
culture. All seekers of knowledge such as writers,
poets, students, dancers, musicians and all who desire good culture
worship her. Her symbolism is in brief as follows: Her four hands
represent the ego, the mind, the intellect, and conditioned
consciousness. In her hands she carries a chain
of beads, the holy Vedas, and the
musical instrument Veena, representing concentration, knowledge, and harmony
respectively. She is dressed in white representing pure knowledge. Her
vehicle is the swan, which represents the power of discrimination to apply
knowledge correctly, for the benefit of mankind.
She is seated on a lotus symbolic of spiritual
knowledge and indicating that She is indeed Herself rooted in the Supreme
Power.
Preparatory Steps
As in any function sacred or secular, certain
amount of preparation is required to ensure success. Here are a few basic
preparatory steps, undertaken with the appropriate chanting of sacred verses
(mantras).
Pavitri Karan - Making
yourself and your surroundings clean and pure. Symbolically water
is sprinkled and sandalwood paste or kumkum is put on all the participants to show that you are
making yourself presentable to meet God. In reality one should be clean
both physically and mentally (i.e. take a bath, not bombard your brains
with video games just before a pooja, be calm
and relaxed and rid your mind of negative thoughts.)
Ganesha Pooja
-
Invoking Lord Ganesha- that aspect of the
Supreme Power which removes obstacles, so that the Pooja
may start, proceed and end uninterrupted. (Think
of Ganesha as your savior. Ask him to allow
this pooja to proceed without any interruptions
such as telephone calls, a house alarm or some unexpected nuisance. Most importantly you ask Ganesha
to remove any obstacle that will make your mind wander away like the
mouse that sits near Ganesha and like the mouse
on your computer too!)
Kalasha Pooja
-
Purifying the pot into which the Power of Saraswati
is invited. While a picture or statue of Saraswati
is placed, it is actually into a pot of water,
that the spirit of Sarawati is invoked. The pot
has a coconut and 5 mango leaves placed on top of it.
Sankalpa - Pledge! Aside from other
things, attention also needs to be paid to the
purpose of the Pooja, which in this case is to
improve our intellect, to keep us focused on our studies as students and
to give us the strength to do our duties according to the stage in life. Hence no telephones, no beepers and no TV while Pooja is going on! A yellow or red thread is tied on the wrist of all the members participating
in the Pooja, indicating his/her pledge to also
stay focused and committed to the ceremony being performed.
So, now are you ready for the Pooja? Are you ready for this appointment with God?
( Shodasa Upachara Pooja)
Sixteen special articles are
offered to God. It is said that Indian hospitality has emerged
from the saying “ Atithi devo bhava”-meaning
“ A guest is God “ In fact if one really thinks about it, God
is really treated as a guest and the hospitality we extend our guests is
actually an extension of this welcome.
1. Dhyanam ------------Contemplation on the chosen
deity. Think of Saraswati. Think how simple and
serene she looks. Recall
in your mind what she represents, and what each object on her and around
her represents (Simile: When we are preparing to receive
guests, we often have them in our thoughts before they come, wondering if
it is their car in your driveway.) Visualize Saraswati in your mind in white serene
clothes coming in her vehicle -her swan!. (Simile: This
is again, similar to looking through the peep hole of your front door
expecting to see your invited guest..)
2. Aavaahanam-----------Extending
the invitation
(Invitation of Saraswati. Simile: Once
you open the front door you ask your guest to please come in and have a
seat, similarly we tell Saraswati ”Oh Saraswati, mother
of all knowledge, come in, please come in!” )
3. Aasanam-------------Offering a seat,
with greetings. (Simile: when a guest comes in we tell him
“Please have a seat. Here, sit on this couch, it is more
comfortable”!
4. Paadyam-------------Offering water to wash feet with
rose water drops.( Simile:
“You have come a long way .Would you like to freshen
up.?”. In towns of India,
a bucket of water or a tap is usually available near the front door for
visitors to help themselves, wash their feet. In some homes, the host may
even stand with a pot of water to pour on the feet of his guest, before
he enters the house. A similar custom exists while receiving holy saints,
bridegrooms and even brides. )
5. Arghyam-------------Offering
water for washing hands. (Hands
are washed because traditionally water was drunk while it was poured into
the palms held together, to form a cup)
6. Aachamaniyam------------Offering
water for drinking ( Simile; Water is always offered first, soft drinks come
later. Nothing quenches thirst better than a clean glass of cold water,
especially after a long journey. Water is generally stored in mud pots
that make the water cold and subtly even sweet to taste! )
7. Snaanam--------------Offering
water for bathing (Simile; Guests who
come to stay over are asked “ Would you
like to shower now or later? Bathrooms are checked for cleanliness; soap,
towel and bathrobe etc are provided. In India,
during winter, special care is taken to ensure hot water for a bath is ready and available for the
guest.)
8. Vastram, aabharanam,
upavitam---------------Offering
clothes, jewellery and the sacred thread. (Simile: We ask our casual guests “
Do you want to borrow some nightwear?” but to formal guests
we always have a new set available. That aside, holy people are generally
offered a shawl as a sign of respect. Special women guests visiting the
home for the first time are still offered a blouse
piece or a sari as a mark of respect. A silver/ gold coin or jewellery is also gifted to very important people and
new brides)
9. Madhuparkam---------Offering
a sweet drink or sweets. In the olden days, this used to be a drink of
Honey. ( Simile: A guest is often asked as soon
as he comes in “ What would you like to drink? Something cold or
hot?” The drink is usually a sweet drink such as Lassi, Lime juice, mango juice or now a days
unhealthy carbonated drinks such as coke and sprite!. Additionally we
also place candies and chocolates on the coffee table, just in case the
guest wants to taste those impressive chocolates!)
10. Gandham and kumkumam --------------Applying sandal-wood
paste (gandham) on the forehead, which
is a perfumed cooling agent.
Red dot( kum
kumam) when placed over the third eye area, represents that
the person has been made special through the pooja
and he sees things through God's eyes. Kum
kumam is placed in
between the eyebrows, to represent the third eye of
wisdom and knowledge. Often times, when one falls hitting the head,
some remark “ I hope my third eye opened
and I got that long awaited wisdom!”
( Simile; By the
guest room mirror we
generally keep a comb,
powder, perfume or perfumed
lotion that is applied on the wrist and sticking bindis
etc. In traditional Indian homes, kum kumam is still placed in a silver holder)
11. Akshatam--------------Offering
grains of rice colored with saffron (Simile: Showering rice on esteemed guests or a newly
wedded couple is a mark of respect or blessing, as rice is a sacred
commodity. Saffron too is an ancient
flower, whose stigmas are dried to make saffron.
It is so valuable, expensive and difficult to get, that they are generally
kept in a locked safe, even in America’s
Indian stores!
12. Pushpam---------------Offering
flowers (Simile; The guest
room is always
decorated with flowers in a vase. In all cultures, flowers are
a way of exchanging good wishes and mark of respect between friends and wellwishers)
13. Dhoopam--------------Offering
incense. (Simile: This is similar to room fresheners used to make a
room smell good, before the guest arrives)
14, Deepam----------------Waiving
a lit lamp before the deity amidst its surrounding dimness, allows us to ‘see’ the face of God called Darshan. (Simile: When guests are expected we put on all the lights
in the house, change bulbs , put on table lamps , and make sure even the
lights outside the garage are
in working order!)
15. Naivedyam------------Offering food. (Food is a blessing
from God, hence it is offered back, first to God
himself. It is prepared in clean surroundings, using fresh vegetables.
Betel leaf with nut (tamboolam or
paan ) is offered (Simile:
The mouth wash and/or tooth picks is offered to a guest).
16. a) Namaskaaram………….Salutation means I
salute and bow to the god in you! (Simile: Doing Namaskar to a guest before leaving in any culture, a
guest who leaves without bidding farewell indicates he is displeased at
the hospitality he received.)
b) Kshama
Prarthana-------- Is seeking
forgiveness for any omission or commission on the part of the devotee.( Simile: Even today, we often ask our guest
“ we hope the food was not too salty or too hot” Or “we
are sorry your kid, fell off our swing set” so on…. Apologies
must always be expressed in a timely manner, without undue delay)
Dakshina- Money for God, is
offered in the donation box of the temple, in return
for all the bounties God has bestowed upon us. The
respected priest who did the Pooja on
our behalf, and who is adept in chanting all the appropriate Vedic
verses at each step, is also offered a gift in cash and/or kind for his
services, as a sign of gratitude. In a house pooja,
it is generally the parent or grandparent who leads the daily Pooja.(Simile:
Unfortunately, now a days , a priest is often treated as if he
is an employee of a temple just coming for a service. This is not proper.
Even if he is providing a service, he should be
received with respect, offered his dakshina in
an envelope on a tray with
flowers, fruits and also
offered a meal before he leaves His mental frame of mind is very
important for the Pooja to proceed unhindered,
and generally speaking he has to undergo his own set of preparations before
starting a Pooja at your home. If it is your parent or grandparent who does the Pooja, the same manners apply. Nothing can be
worse than treating them as just providers of a service!)
Finale:
Visarjan – This is
almost similar to a farewell, whenever a deity is
temporarily invoked. However, there is no bidding farewell to the
deities in temples wherein life force is invoked permanently during the Prana-pratishtha
ceremony, through recitation of special chants.
Entertainment is also part of offerings to God, in the form of music, dance, plays and
parades. Therefore only
spiritual music, ethical plays, cultural processions with a moral message
and traditional dances are performed such as Mohiniattam, Kathakali,
Bharatanatyam, etc. Movie songs
and dances are obviously out of question, as it takes our minds to the
particular movie, the particular scene in the movie, the actor, his life,
other movies he acted in and from there tangentially far way from God and
so on. It takes us swiftly away from the spiritual focus that we are
trying so hard to keep during the few minutes of Pooja.
Saraswati Aarati: This is the singing of devotional
songs in praise of goddess Saraswati and
signals the grand finale of the Pooja , after which
food is taken as a blessing from God, in the form of Prasadam.
----------------
(*The writer is an
educator, critical thinker, poet and spiritual speaker with particular interest in
religious education of
children & youth. She has been active at a local temple in Florida
for the past seven years in Education and Publication. She was its
Chairperson of Education and Editor of its newsletter ‘Sanatana Sandesh’ for
most of her public service tenure and finally President of South
Florida Hindu Temple.
Her most noteworthy contribution to the History of Hinduism, is
the founding of Hindu Heritage Month(HHM)
celebrated in February
each year, in honor of Saraswati. It is a purely educational month
with inspirational, motivational and informational activities, explaining
all aspects of Hindu rituals, customs and beliefs. “HHM” started as a local county celebration but
now it has been officially proclaimed as such throughout the State of
Florida, with other States to soon follow!
She is
presently involved in writing / editing, articles and books on Hinduism and conducting local satsanghs. A practicing
neurologist, she lives in Fort Lauderdale
with her husband and two teenage daughters. She may be contacted at
ritimuna@aol.com )
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Announcements
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Gita Chanting -
Chapters 1-18
All
attendees of the convention: Please prepare for Gita
Chanting - Bhagavad Gita
Chapters 1 to 18 .
(Bhagavad Gita will be
available at the Convention Book Stall)
Akshara Sloka Sadas
Kerala's traditional Akshara
Sloka Sadas returns to Chicago Convention
with a competitive spirit. Come prepared and enjoy.
Any questions, please call Rajamma
Gopalakrishnan at 630-790-0638.
Souvenir
We are no longer accepting any matter for
publication in the Souvenir. Please do not send any more material for the
Souvenir. Thank you.
--- Souvenir Committee
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Transportation
Convention
committee has arranged transportation from O'Hare Airport to the
Convention venue. Please reserve your flights to O'Hare Airport only,
if you would like to avail of the transportation provided by the
convention committee.
Please contact Mr. Aravind Pillai at 847-297-1187 if you have any
questions about transportation.
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Registration
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Hotel accommodations
are reserved only for those who have made
payments. If you have not
submitted payments with registration please send
your check now so that hotel accommodations can be reserved.
If you have any special requests regarding hotel room allocations
please contact directly the Facilities Committee Chairman Aravind Pillai at 847-297-1187.
Information regarding your registration and hotel reservation will be made available to you within the next few
weeks.
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KHNA Registration
News
The Registration Package:
It is broadly classified into Lotus ($10,000),
Jasmine ($5,000), Rose ($3,000), Sunflower ($1,000), Family Package with
accommodation ($750), Family Package without accommodation ($500), Single
with accommodation ($400 – Double room occupancy), Single
without accommodation ($300) and Student Registration ($300).
What constitutes a complete registration?
An
application form filled out in its entirety and full payment based on
package chosen. The state wise list has been forwarded
to the regional coordinators to ensure that the information contained is
accurate and current.
What does the registration package contain?
1.
Kuthuvilakku
2.
Bag
3.
Letter
Pad
4.
Pen
5.
Registration Badge
6.
Food
coupons and Entrance Passes
7.
Calendar
8.
Souvenir
9.
Directory
10.
Folder
How will the registration stall look like?
We will have more than a dozen representatives helping out with the registration formalities on the
opening day. We are planning on having separate
tables for states with more than 25 families. California,
New York, Texas,
Philadelphia and Illinois
are currently the states that will have separate tables to handle
registrations. The Registration numbers of the registrants have been sent out to the regional coordinators.
Action Items:
v
Those of you, who have payments pending,
please remit the balance payment ASAP.
v
Those of you, who have more than 4 people in your group with the exception of Lotus,
Jasmine and Rose Sponsors, please ensure that you have enrolled the
additional attendees with the Registration Committee and remitted the extra
payment. Also, let us know if you would be requiring additional rooms for
the additional attendees in your group. The cost of additional room is $100
per night or $270 for the 3 nights of the convention.
To Keep in Mind
v
We
request that only one person per family approach the registration desk when
you go for registration.
v
Wear the badge at all times.
v
Bring the
food coupon when coming for meals.
v
Keep the Entrance
Pass
handy for attending the programs.
v
The Hotel authorities will provide the room
keys after procuring credit card information to cover any incidental
expenses like telephone usage, food or beverages ordered, damage to
property and the like.
v
If you have any questions or comments,
please contact
v
Mr. Suresh Balachandran
 (847)
977 3584
 b_suresh@yahoo.com
v Mr.
Anil Kumar Pillai
(847)
674 7694
malayalam05@namaha.org
Report on the KHNA National Committee Meeting
KHNA held a national committee meeting on Saturday, May
21, 2005, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
O'Hare International, Chicago.
The meeting was a huge success as delegates from different parts of the
country were in attendance.
The meeting started with a prayer by Ashwin
Pillai. Jay Chandran,
Convener, KHNA, presided over as the MC, and introduced the chairman, and other members at the podium. P. Raveendran,
President, Geetha Mandalam,
initiated the meeting with a welcome speech. He was pleased to report about
the progress of Sevabharathi’s work for
Tsunami victims he witnessed during his recent trip to Kerala. He acknowledged
the presence of delegates from New York, Pennsylvania,
Detroit, Dallas,
Houston, and California
regions.
Anil Pillai, Chairman, KHNA declared this convention
will be a historical event. He expressed gratitude towards various
subcommittees for their efforts. He hoped this level of dedication and
coordination will continue even after this convention. He acknowledged the
invited guests from electronic and print media, and thanked them for their
support. Chairman
informed the committee that participation in KHNA has grown to the extent
that other regions have started to make requests to host the 2009 Hindu
convention.
Presenting a general report Venkat
Sarma highlighted the overwhelming enthusiasm
this convention has created among the Malayalee Hindus. He suggested that
they (Malayalee Hindus) have responded with massive registrations for the
convention, and that the movement is growing in geometric progression
compared to previous conventions.
Gopalakrishnan, Treasurer,
KHNA, expressed satisfaction about the revenue and called for full payments
from the registrants at the earliest. Dileep Koottanal presented an update on youth activities.
Various subcommittees presented detailed reports, Mrs. Gomathi Viswappan informed
that the cultural committee is in full swing and will have quality program.
There are a great number of requests from various cities for their cultural
programs and they are trying to accommodate the maximum requests. Narayanan
Kuttappan informed the committee that the art work for Vedic Nagar, Gate and stage settings, are
aimed at bringing the attendees close to the temple atmosphere of their
home towns. This work is nearing completion. Rajappan
Koottanal informed the committee that various
prayer sessions are planned to bring a spiritual atmosphere
to the convention. Suresh Balachandran, Registrartion Chairman, provided details regarding the
current registration numbers.
He informed the committee that the materials for the Registration
kits are ready. Ravi Mundackal
from Banquet Committee and Food Committee Chair person, Mrs. Rajamma Kurup informed that
their committees are fully prepared..
Jayaprakash Balakrishnan informed the committee on the status of VIP
invitation. He mentioned that
visa interviews for the VIPs from India
are underway and giving positive signs so far. Satheesan Nair updated the committee on media related activities and also introduced the media people present in the
meeting.
Presannan Pillai informed the
committee on the progress of publishing Souvenir, E-Anjali and
Directory. He mentioned that
there is good progress on the work, and it will be of the best
standards. Sivan
Muhamma informed the committee on his fund
raising efforts,
He informed that the sale of Raffle tickets are progressing
well. He asked every one to sell more raffle tickets and requested that the
sales account may be given to him soon. The
response to the Kathakali performance organized
for fund raising was very encouraging, he highlighted. Anilal
updated the committee on their activities regarding publication of Anjali,
suggested that the next publication can come after the convention with
final report. This idea was well taken and
applauded Anilal for his great work. Anil Nair talked about
the web site www.namaha.org
Dr. Ramadas Pillai from California
expressed his wish that California
would like to
host the 2009 convention. T. N. Nair
from Dallas updated the committee
on decision regarding the KHNA constitution. Viswanathan
Pillai from Pennsylvania, Radhakrishnan, Purushothman Nair, and Sree Kumar from Michigan,
updated the committee on their registration and fund raising
activities. They reiterated
their support for the Hindu Convention.
The meeting was adjourned after Appukuttan
Nair presented vote of thanks.
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