In the last issue, we discussed personal rituals involved in five limbs of ashtang yoga. In this sixth  article, we discuss rituals of morning worship known as nitya puja.

Hindus practise puja ritual after having their obligatory morning bath. Obligatory because it purifies the body and refreshes the mind. Hence, this ritual is known as pratah snan – morning bath.

Many perform a simple puja ritual such as lighting and waving a diya  or burning an incense stick in front of the deity in the home shrine. Others may offer slightly more elaborate rituals as prescribed in their sampradaya.

In the Swaminarayan Sampradaya about 16 rituals constitute nitya puja which collectively span about 25 or more minutes. After bathing and wearing washed clothes, devotees sit down facing either north or east – the two auspicious directions for puja. Males then imprint tilak-chandlo on their forehead while females apply only a chandlo. For the tilak, chandan (sandwood paste) is used and kumkum for chandlo. These are auspicious substances which charge the agna chakra on the forehead throughout the day.
Then one meditates (dhyan). This involves atmachintan – regarding oneself as ‘atma’, ‘akshar’ which transcends the three bodies: physical, mental and causal. Then one contemplates about the goal of life: to become aksharrup to realize and worship Parabrahma Bhagwan Swaminarayan. Mahant Swami Maharaj has also added another important sentiment to introspection, “What have I come to do and what am I doing [to realize this goal]!

One then does mansi  – mental visualization of awakening and bathing Bhagwan and guru Mahant Swami Maharaj, offering them shangar of rich garments, garlands and other adornments. Now they are ready to be invoked in puja. The principle of worshipping the Gunatit guru with equal reverence as Bhagwan is advocated in the following shloks – Guru Brahma, guru Vishnu…, Guru Govind donu khade…, and by Bhagwan Swaminarayan in Vachanamrut Vartal 5.

One then arranges the puja murtis on the cloth asan and utters the ahvan mantra to invoke Bhagwan and the Gunatit gurus in puja (Satsang Diksha 64–65):

Uttishtha Sahajānanda Shri-Hare Purushottama;
Gunātitā’kshara brahmann-uttishtha krupayā guro.
Āgamyatām hi pujārtham āgamyatām mad-ātmataha;
Sānnidhyād darshanād divyāt saubhāgyam vardhate mama.

“O Sahajanand Shri Hari! O Purushottam! O Aksharbrahma Gunatit gurus! Please shower compassion [upon me] and awaken. Please come forth from my atma, to accept my puja. I become more blessed due to your divine presence and darshan.”

One then does 11, 25 or more malas, chanting the ‘Swaminarayan’ mantra while turning each bead. The benefits of mantra chanting were discussed in article one.

For a detailed explanation of all the rituals of nitya puja, see chapter 28 in Hindu Rites & Rituals: sentiments, sacraments & symbols, 2010, 2nd ed. Then the tapni mala is performed by standing on the left leg, with the right leg bent at the knee, in the same posture as Nilkanth Varni, in remembrance of his austerities at Muktinath during his 7-year kalyan yatra.

One then performs 5 or 11 pradakshinas, after which  males offer six dandvat pranams and females offer panchang pranams. The underlying sentiment of this ritual is sharanagati – accepting Bhagwan’s refuge with total humility. Bhagwan Swaminarayan advocated the sixth dandvat in Vachanamrut Gadhada II 40, as a form of atonement for knowingly or unknowingly maligning (commiting droh) a devotee.

After pranams one sits in mansi with both palms facing upwards to offer delicious foods which one likes. Then one offers prarthana with palms joined for “protection from one’s indriyas, attachments of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, undesirable company (kusang) and blessings for any other upcoming stressful event such as an exam, interview, etc.” Then it is time to bid farewell and gratitude by chanting the punaragaman mantra  (Satsang Diksha 73):

Bhaktyaiva divya-bhāvena pujā te sam-anushthitā,
Gachchhā’tha tvam mad-ātmānam Akshara-Purushottama.

“O Purushottam Narayan together with Aksharbrahma! I have performed your puja with devotion and divyabhav. Now, please reside within my atma.”

One then does charan sparsh of the murtis with the second and third fingers of the right hand and then touches one’s eyes with them. Then one reads five shloks from the Shikshapatri and Satsang Diksha and for a few moments reflects upon their meanings and how sincerely one is abiding by them.

Then one gathers the murtis and other puja objects, folds them in the cloth asan, and places them in the puja case. One then offers panchang pranams  to one’s parents, grandparents and other elders in the home.

Nitya puja personally connects us with Bhagwan and guru. By their immense krupa – compassion or grace – they manifest in puja by our chanting of the ahvan mantra. On 28 October 2021, Mahant Swami Maharaj revealed, “In puja, we have a chance to talk with Bhagwan. In puja Bhagwan and the guru parampara are specially present. Whether we believe it or not, even if our mind is distracted elsewhere, even then they certainly arrive in puja.”

It is a way of offering sakhya bhakti by regarding them as intimate friends to whom one can divulge all personal problems uninhibitedly. It is a most sacred and fulfilling ritual. Seemingly simple, this 20-minute ritual acts like a sustained release medication which invigorates us for the next 24 hours without any side effects. How do we know whether Bhagwan has accepted our prarthana? Simple. One feels de-stressed and spiritually charged to face the day’s silent ripples or stormy turbulences.

On introspection in the evening after the day’s activities, one may realize how smoothly the day passed despite the potential obstacles one had expected. This indicates that one’s prarthana in puja was heard. Yet occasionally, when our wishes during prarthana do not materialize we should believe that Bhagwan probably considered it unfavourable for us in the long term.

In the next and seventh article, we shall discuss the personal ritual of mansi puja, in which one performs puja mentally.