Puja

Puja or Pooja may refer to:

Religion

People

Other uses

Puja (Hinduism)

Pūjā or Poojan is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to host, honour and worship one or more deities, or to spiritually celebrate an event. Sometimes spelt phonetically as pooja or poojah, it may honour or celebrate the presence of special guest(s), or their memories after they pass away. The word pūjā (Devanagari: पूजा) comes from Sanskrit, and means reverence, honour, homage, adoration, and worship. Puja rituals are also held by Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.

In Hinduism, puja is done on a variety of occasions, frequency and settings. It may include daily puja done in the home, to occasional temple ceremonies and annual festivals, to few lifetime events such as birth of a baby or a wedding, or to begin a new venture. The two main areas where puja is performed are in the home and at temples to mark certain stages of life, events or some festivals such as Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja. Puja is not mandatory; it may be a routine daily affair for some Hindus, periodic ritual for some, and infrequent for other Hindus. In some temples, various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day; in other temples, it may be occasional. K Puja varies according to the school of Hinduism. Within a given school, puja may vary by region, occasion, deity honored, and steps followed. In formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be lit in honour of deity Agni, without an idol or image present. In contrast, in Agama ceremonies, an idol or image of deity is present. In both ceremonies, a diya or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or hymn is sung. Puja is typically performed by a Hindu worshipper alone, though sometimes in presence of a priest who is well versed in procedure and hymns. In temples and priest-assisted event puja, food, fruits and sweets may be included as offerings to the deity, which, after the prayers, becomes prasad – blessed food shared by all present at the puja.

Puja (Buddhism)

In Buddhism, puja (Sanskrit & Pali: pūjā) are expressions of "honour, worship and devotional attention." Acts of puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting. These devotional acts are generally performed daily at home (either in the morning or evening or both) as well as during communal festivals and Uposatha days at a temple.

Etymology

Pūjā is derived from the verbal root "pūj" (to revere/honour)

Bows

In the context of puja, bowing refers to the act of raising one's hands together (anjali) and lowering one's head in a gesture of homage and humility. As a devotional act, one bows to the Buddha's likeness in a statue, to a stupa (a pagoda that enshrines bodily relics of the Buddha) or to the Bodhi tree. Traditionally, one also bows to parents, teachers, the elderly and monastics.

When bowing before a sacred object such as a Buddha statue, one usually bows three times, recalling with the first bow the Buddha, then the Dharma and then the Sangha. One may simply offer a head-lowered bow with palms-together hands held in front of one's heart or forehead, or one may move one's hands in a single flowing movement from the head to the lips to the chest (representing thought, speech and body). More formally, one may bow with a series of head-to-floor prostrations.