When you offer your soul to the divine with gratitude, you realise the true essence of life and live at peace with the universe, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Honouring is a sign of divine love and is called puja. Puja is a mixture of imitation, honour, playfulness and love. The ceremony of puja imitates what nature is already doing for you. The divine worships you in so many forms. In puja, you offer everything back to the divine.
The essence of puja
Flowers are offered in puja as it is a symbol of love. The divine has come to you in love through so many forms: Mother, father, wife, husband, children and friends. The same love comes to you in the form of the master to elevate you to the level of divine love, which is also your own nature. Recognising this flowering of love from all sides of life, we offer flowers.
Fruits are offered, because the divine offers you fruits in due season. You offer grain, because nature provides you food. Candles are lighted and offered in circles, in the same way nature continually revolves the sun and moon around you. Incense is offered for fragrance. All the five senses are used in puja, and it is performed with deep feeling. Through puja, we say to God, “Whatever you give to me, I give back to you.”
Puja is honour and gratefulness. The word puja means that which is born out of fullness (pu — fullness, ja — born out of). This, in turn, is born from purnata (fullness). When gratitude is overwhelming or the throat chokes in gratitude, then whatever action you perform in such a state is puja. We surrender everything — that bhavana (feeling) is puja. Just being grateful is also puja. Just offer a flower or even a smile. Seva is puja. Service to mankind is puja. When you bring a wave of happiness, wherever you go, that is puja. When you create happiness and patience, that is puja, truly worshiping the divine.
The best form of worship is to be happy, to be grateful. We search for the divine everywhere except within us. The process of puja is to lead us from the external world to within. The highest expression of puja is meditation. In puja, we use and honour the five elements which form the basis of this creation and we honour ourselves as well. When we offer oblations, we offer water to kesava, the divine within us. Each process in the puja leads us within. When you go to sleep at night, think that the divine is within you; meditate upon this and then go to sleep. Then see how the quality of your sleep is.
Puja means honour and worship, offering one’s self. When you are in deep love, you naturally want to offer something. But ordinarily, when you love something, you want to possess it. And in the process of possessing, you make the beautiful thing ugly. Puja is contrary to that. You appreciate, you adore, you recognise beauty. Worship is just the opposite of one’s desire to possess. Usually our relationships do not flower to this extent. Instead we start demanding. Between husband and wife, master and servant, there is a demand. “I have done so much for you. Now you must do this thing for me.” Demanding is contrary to honouring. The way to preserve a relationship is to honour.
One with the Divine
Devotion is an inner flowering. The mind always looks for charms, miracles, events and excitements. Yet once it goes there, the charm ceases to exist. The charm of the mind is a continuous mirage; it is always farther, it is always somewhere else. Charm is always an outside influence. Devotion starts from where you are, whereas a charm is something that pulls you away from your self. Unless you are lit in devotion to the divine, your life will remain restless. In devotion, in that process of burning, longing will arise in you. With love, there is bound to be longing. If there is longing, know that there is also love. They are two sides of the same coin; they cannot be separated. Usually when longing arises, we are in a hurry to finish it off. But this longing is fortunate and beautiful. It will transform your mind totally. When the flame of devotion is lit, the craving mind melts away like wax. As the mind melts, the flame of devotion becomes more alive and intense.
To pray is to honour
Honour the creation. look at a tree with respect. Feel grateful for its being here. It purifies the poison that we breathe out. It makes the air fresh. Divinity permeates everything in this earth. Puja is not complete without honouring the trees, mountains, rivers, earth and the people living on it. Have you ever thought, “These trees are mine. The sun, the moon, the air, the water — everything belongs to me. All these stars are mine. The people are mine.” When you honour the creation, you will feel this way.
Honour your body. Remember, when you eat, you are offering food to the divine that resides inside this body. When people are agitated, they eat more. Take your food, not in a hurry, not with violence, but with a sense of offering. This also is puja.
Have you ever looked at your breath with honourIJ Have you ever thought, “This breath is so beautiful, moving in and out; without it, my body would be thrown away.” With honour, look into your breath. With this depth of worship, all your feverishness will be transformed into love.
Honouring leads to devotion. You surrender to the divine and get total rest from all anxieties, from all wantings. Devotion brings that total rest from all your worries and troubles — a healing touch to the life which has been moving in so many directions.
Courtesy: www.artofliving.com