Can I perform a Pooja Ceremony myself?

With the invention of the internet and many convenient tools to access information therein, there is no stopping for people to D.I.Y. any type of activity they so desire.

As a hobby one can learn a musical instrument and thereafter become a professional. One can even go as far as learning carpentry and build one’s own furniture or even build your own property. Become a fitness expert. On the adverse side, build your own destructive device or better still, build a preventative device. The list is endless …

Anything is possible, anything at all! Well, almost anything …. Some actions, I’m afraid will be beyond practical or economical use of one’s resources such as performing your own medical operation or flying your own commercial airline unless you are Richard Branson. How about a less expensive hobby? Such as trying to speed race your car through the rush hour in central metropolis. Yea Right!!

Sure, one can buy books to teach oneself almost anything and to learn about Pooja is practically a kid’s game. All you have to do is invest some time in studying the actions required to perform the ceremony. Better still, visit somewhere where a Pooja is being conducted, observe and thereafter come home and repeat the ceremony as previously seen and noted. Although the religious books suggest that only a Brahman should carry out this Pooja, surely no one is ever going to find out if you don’t tell anyone, correct?

Wrong, your conscience knows about it. Then again, Lord Vishnu knows; the one who in the form of Lord Krushna made sure that he invited Brahmans to carry out the Pooja accordingly. The 10th Skandh of Srimad Bhagwat is saturated with examples.

Now consider this:

Even if you knew how to carry out the ceremony yourself because you have seen your parents, grand parents, uncles, aunts, friends, neighbours and so on perform these Pooja; the chances are that one has very little knowledge of the reasons for the Pooja or the understanding and the meaning behind each Pooja.

Take for example the simple situation of sitting down cross legged to perform a Pooja. Are you aware of why this is the case? Or, what, how, when and why did the use of beetle nut become a significant part of the Pooja?

To make things simpler, let me throw a couple more questions in to see if you can answer them correctly as a learned priest would:

Why sit on something like a cushioned blanket or a pillow and why cover such seating area with silk sari or silk material? Why perform a send-off ceremony at the end of each Pooja when we are fully aware that God is Omnipresent?

On the other hand, there are those who say that they carry out Pooja’s every morning and have done so for many years. They feel adequate in not inviting a priest, a Brahman, to carry out a Pooja once every year, if not once every other year. Under such circumstances, not only do the above apply but my other article “Don’t Agree with Religion …” also becomes an apt solution to the situation.

Well, I hope I have answered your question. If however, you feel that you require further clarification, please do email me at indianmaharaj [at] hotmail.com. The usual pre-condition applies. This being that you must provide your personal details including means to communicate with you other than by email.