How to Do Puja or Worship at Home

Puja is the worship of God and involves sixteen services, according to our Vedic texts and shastras. Among these sixteen services, some are repeated (like arghyam, padyam, and achamanam). So, I omit some of those repetitions during my daily worship. 

So, here are some simple steps to perform your daily puja at home.

1. Arghyam: Offering water to the idols’ hands.
2. Paadyam: Offering water to the idols’ feet.
3. Snaanam: Pouring or sprinkling water over the idols’ bodies.
4. Aachamanam: Offering water to God’s mouth three times.
5. Stotram: Paying obeisance to one’s mother, father, teachers, and the Lord of Obstacles; reciting Vishnu’s 24 names; and chanting basic hymns praising the Almighty God.
6. Dhoopam: Lighting sandalwood sticks and wafting them around the idols.
7. Deepam: Using your right hand to show the oil lamps' light to God.
8. Naivedyam: Offering fruits and food to God.
9. Aachamanam: Washing God’s hands, mouth, and feet, then offering water to God to drink.
10. Mangala Haarati: Lighting camphor or showing the lit oil lamps around the Gods while reciting the Mangala haarati slokas. 

After performing daily puja for many years, I have shortlisted the procedure above and would now like to share a detailed account of my experiences performing puja at home, following these steps. Any novice can easily follow these tips and personalize the process using these simple suggestions.

For example, you can skip steps that feel inconvenient, such as sprinkling water, wearing silk, or reciting numerous slokas or hymns.

Puja Materials

• An idol of God/Goddess or Photos/Images
• Lamp holder (either bronze, steel, or of any metal)
• Oil for lighting the lights
• Wicks and Matchbox
• Flowers (optional)
• Incense sticks (Agarbatti) and Camphor (camphor is optional)
• One or two small Metal Pots/vessels and Spoons (preferably copper or silver) filled with water for performing puja.
• A plate or wide bowl for dropping water into it as if offering to God or washing God's hands and feet. (The water is shown to God and then dropped into the bowl/plate) 
• Naivedyam

Preparations for Starting the Puja

Before starting puja or worshiping God, one must get oneself clean and pure by bathing and wearing pure and clean clothes. This keeps your body and mind cool and well-prepared for meditation.

Dress for Puja

In our Orthodox tradition, a silk dress is often reserved for puja. Afterward, it is stored in a sacred place for future use, so it does not need to be washed daily. It can be washed weekly or dry-cleaned every two weeks or once a month, since it is worn for only about an hour during the daily puja.

If you are not used to wearing silk, do not worry. You can wear any clothes that are washed daily and kept in a clean place, separate from other dresses. Wash them at night before bed and wear them in the morning for puja.

Select a Clean, Good Place for Worship

Remember these guidelines for keeping your place of worship clean:

Keep the area where you place your deity clean. You can set your deity in a peaceful room, preferably in a corner or, if available, in a dedicated puja room. Keep the space tidy by wiping it with a wet or dry cloth or using a small broom reserved for this purpose. Ideally, place your deity facing East or North, and sit to the deity’s right for ease of worship. If your home’s layout makes this difficult, simply explain the situation to God and place the deity wherever it is convenient.

How to Perform  Daily Puja at Home

• Clean the place of worship before beginning Puja. The idols may be cleaned periodically.
• Sit beside the place of God on a wooden plank or mat, but not directly in front of Him.
• Sprinkle a few drops of water around the place of Puja and on the puja materials.
• Before worship, light an oil lamp, or deepam, according to Hindu customs. Lamps are generally made of brass or panchaloha metal. Keep them simple and small to prevent smoke. Wash and clean them about once a week to keep them neat.
• Change the cotton vattulu (or wicks) daily, and fill the lamp holder with oil to no more than 60% capacity to prevent spilling or overflowing. Then light it with a matchstick.
• You may place two lamps on either side of God.
• If you light a single lamp, combine two wicks into one. The combined wick represents a family or the bond between a man and a woman. This is believed to bring harmony and happiness to the family.
• After lighting the lamps, sprinkle water over the idols as if bathing the Gods. Puja resembles the daily activities of your own life: getting up early, washing and bathing, wearing new clothes, and then eating. In the same way, you wash God's hands, legs, and body, dress Him (offer a flower instead of clothes), and offer prayers and food.
• Keep a separate glass or small vessel of water and an empty plate/bowl nearby. Use a small copper or metal spoon, a mango leaf, or a flower to offer water to God, then drop it into the plate to symbolize a bath. Instead of clothes, you can offer flowers as if dressing God.
• After bathing the idols and placing one or two flowers, chant or recite hymns and slokas (for Lord Ganesha, Lakshmi, Vishnu, Parvati, and Shiva. First of all, recite the guru stuthi, paying respects to your mother, father, and the teachers in your family lineage. Begin by offering salutations to your mother, then father, and the guru of your oldest ancestors, and end with your present guru.
• Recite the 24 Keshava Namas in order, followed by the Vishnu Stuti and Lakshmi Stuti slokas. 

• 
  
• Then, recite hymns and slokas in praise of God, known as stothram. Read or recite as many as your available time and family traditions allow. Puja books are available at shops selling puja materials. Or, you can recite/ copy down from my articles (available by clicking the Faith/Festivals button at the top of my Blog). 
• If you can afford it, you may also worship with flowers.
• After completing the worship and prayers, light the incense sticks and wave them before your Gods.
• Then, with your right hand, wave the lamps’ light before God.
• Now, offer food and fruits by holding them in your right hand before God's mouth, as if feeding Him.
• Finally, light the camphor and recite aarti lines or songs.
• Your puja is now complete. You can take the prasadam and offer it to your family members as well.
• Those who chant the Gayatri mantra daily will first perform the Gayatri puja while standing or sitting facing the Sun, and then begin the puja.

Benefits of Doing Puja or Worship

You may ask about the benefits of performing puja. My answer is that it brings us happiness and satisfaction.

Performing puja brings us happiness and peace of mind. It gives us a sense of satisfaction, relief, and joy. It is like meditation: for a while, we free our minds from tension and experience tranquillity and peace.

It can improve your health and brainpower, helping you concentrate. This brings happiness and can lead to success in all your endeavors. You can face and solve your problems peacefully.

So, performing puja is always good for your life.