“I Am Awed!” Hindu Youth Q & A Series
Why do Daily Puja?
A series of “Little Questions, Lucid Answers” sessions were conducted to explore the greatness and depth of Hinduism through questions posed by global Hindu Youth to Sri Ramanujamji.
The excerpts of each of these questions and answers will be presented every month by our youth.
Also watch Sri Ramuji answer this question on our “I Am Awed” short video series on our Namadwaar E-Satsang YouTube channel -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXHfb07DkOg
What is puja?
Puja is the process of praying and offering to the Lord in order to express our gratitude
towards him. We express our gratitude to thank him for what he has given us.
Why do we do puja?
The reason we do puja is to show our gratitude to Bhagavan. In addition, doing daily puja or worship develops a positive habit. When an action is repeated enough
times, it becomes a habit. Habits can be beneficial to us in many ways, and puja is another such habit that impacts us in a positive way. Puja relieves the mind of conflicts and makes us feel at ease. When providing gratitude, the human mind tends to feel happy and satisfied. Such actions can put us in a positive mood and help us through the rest of the day. As long as you can think of puja as a time of gratitude, it will become a beneficial habit to your daily life.
How to do puja?
The easiest and best way to do puja is to chant the Mahamantra with gratitude in our heart. In addition, if available, we can light a diya, light an incense stick, or offer some
dry fruits, also with heartfelt gratitude. Another way is to talk to the Lord and directly express gratefulness to him. Slowly, it is possible to come to adore the Lord and do all the actions out of pure love. A puja that is done soulfully, gratefully, and happily even for a few minutes makes a great change in mindset.
Why start puja at a young age?
Ultimately, puja is a good, useful habit that when inculcated at a young age can help us immensely when we grow up and start questioning about life or if we want to grow in spirituality later. Habits will seem hard to get into, but once you get
started, there is no stopping! The earlier the start, the faster it will adapt into your schedule. Eventually, it will become an effortless process like brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, or exercising. And when we really need it, the habit of doing puja will come to our aid. Puja, not only helps in our psychological wellbeing but also instills positivity in us so that we emerge as successful individuals in society.
Govind Ramgopal, 16 yrs, Fremont, CA
Excerpts from Sri Ramanujamji’s “Little Questions and Lucid Answers” Q and A series.
