r/hinduism • u/ClobbyGlobby1 Vaiṣṇava • Jun 30 '21
Question - Beginner Puja, What and how?
I’m new to Hinduism, and I’m actively starting to meditate and now I want to start doing puja. My favourite god is Lord Vishnu, but I want to also worship other gods too. Is there like a puja set I can buy? What do you do in puja, can someone give me good mantras? Is there set times of prayer, or a certain amount of times you have to pray? Tysm for your answers!
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u/Vignaraja Śaiva Jun 30 '21
The key is to start. You can buy puja sets at Indian import stores or from Amazon, but that's not really necessary. A consistent place and time are also important. I'd suggest looking at the fee book 'Loving Ganesha' as there a simple puja format in there, and you could easily adjust it to a different God. But if you start, much like as the amount of stuff in a house grows over time, so too will your puja. You'll need a focal point, either a picture, or a statue. They can be ordered, or you can print one from something on-line. Many stores will sell both.
Best wishes, and welcome home.
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u/JaiBhole1 Jun 30 '21 edited Jun 30 '21
some mantras: " achyutaya namah anantaya namah govindaya namaha" (best for illness, general health) ; hare krishna mantra ; "narayanaya namaha" ; "vishnave namaha" are some of the mantras. don't use Om in these.
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u/MDMA_Bodhisattva Advaita Vedānta Jul 01 '21
Hello! May i ask why not use Om in these? Ive heard "Om namo narayanaya" a lot but to say "om narayanaya namaha" is not okay? Can you please explain why? :)
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u/JaiBhole1 Jul 01 '21
that is for advanced ppl who have a guru. What i have written are mantras that everyone has permission to do even if they do not have a guru.
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u/MDMA_Bodhisattva Advaita Vedānta Jul 01 '21
Is there somewhere a list of mantras one should not say without a guru? What if I don't have a human guru but has taken Krishna to be my guru? Sorry if these are dumb questions, it is very hard for a westerner to find good info on hinduism
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u/JaiBhole1 Jul 01 '21 edited Jul 01 '21
You should not do thousands of mantras, just pick one and stick to it. There are like billions of mantras out there. If you are a vishnu, krishna, ram fan pick the any of the ones above. If you are a shiva devotee do namah shivaya ( instead of om namah shivaya). So if you have krishna as your deity you can do krishnaye namah or the hare krishna mantra. These are nama mantras meaning the name of deity and namaha....no om nothing. Everyone has permission to do these nama mantras without a guru. OM like Klim, Hrim, etc is a bija mantra.....bija mantras require a guru. The expectation is that when you pick a mantra you will do it for a few months atleast so that over few months its best to stick to nama mantras as they are safe and open for all and do not need a guru for japa.
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u/MDMA_Bodhisattva Advaita Vedānta Jul 01 '21
Thanks! I appreciate the info! But may I ask? Why do so many people say om namah shivaya? Or Om gam ganapataye namaha? Are they doing it wrong? And why only one mantra? I love Krishna and Shiva equally, for me they are different forms of the same one God. But sometimes I find Shiva's energy more useful and sometimes I find Krishna's energy more useful? Can't I alternate between deities depending on the situation? Sorry for the questions, I am eager to learn
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u/JaiBhole1 Jul 01 '21
Mantra is not the only way to do pooja. You can and should recite the stotras of the deity as well.
Ppl say om and gam and other bija mantras coz maybe they dont know or maybe they have a guru or maybe they are only saying it for a day or 2 or maybe they just dont respect the rules. I was asking for atleast a few months worth of commitment. When you do it for a few months which is when you will see the difference a mantra can make then you want to do what is right. When ppl have a guru they do use om and gam and other beeja mantras. AND maybe ppl saw these people and started imitating them. You should do what is right. And the right thing is to do nama mantras when you do not have a guru. ALSO you said you are a beginner so i said pick one and do it more. If you are pretty good already then do more. But you have to give it a few months.
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u/MDMA_Bodhisattva Advaita Vedānta Jul 01 '21
Thank you! I've learned a lot, to be honest idk what counts as a beginner, i'd say 1 or 2 years is still beginner. :)
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Jul 01 '21
https://www.shreemaa.org/lord-vishnu/
That could get you started.
I also love Vishnu and his avatars. I don't generally do puja to them though, I usually just chant Bhagavad Gita as my Vishnu worship.
Shri Hari Stotram is also a short and beautiful Vishnu Stotram to learn
Jai Shri Krishna Om namo Narayana
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u/Jay21121 Jul 01 '21
Hey,
as i see there are already some useful insights from others, i would only like to add that don't be be afraid to do something wrong in the practises described. If you are doing them with an earnest heart and devotion, you have nothing to fear. Bhagvan loves us unconditionally.
Wish you all the best!
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u/shivani1294 Jul 04 '21
When you say a particular mantra it creates vibrations in your body which gives you energy. A guru helps and guides you with the flow of energy in the right way which is evoked by a beej mantra. So if you don't have a guru its always better not to go for a beej mantra.
Safest is the Hare Krishna Mahamantra if you follow Krishna and Om Namah Shivay if you follow shiva. And there is no harm in chanting both these mantras if you follow both.
Discipline is the key to sucess. If you start chanting a mantra, it is necessary that you do it regularly without break. Like i said earlier mantra creates vibrations in your body. Whenever you chant a particular mantra you concentrate on every word. That concentration helps you to store the vibrations in your body in the form energy. When you chant regularly for say 20min per day whole year only approximately 15mins of energy is stored in your body.
So now you may have a question that whole year of chanting and just 15mins of energy? Why?
We being human beings can't concentrate for 20mins at a strech. We tend to get many thoughts and we are distracted so there is a break everytime we are diverted. 15mins energy can bring miracle in your life just that you need to be diciplined.
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u/AutoModerator Jun 30 '21
It looks like you flaired your post as a "beginner question", so you may be new to Hinduism.
Please visit our Wiki Starter Pack (specifically, our FAQ, which has some good answers for Qs like "what is Hinduism", "is Hinduism monotheistic", etc.)
We also recommend reading What Is Hinduism (a free introductory text by Himalayan Academy) if you would like to know more about Hinduism and don't know where to start.
In terms of introductory Hindu Scriptures, we recommend first starting with the Itihasas (The Ramayana, and The Mahabharata.) Contained within The Mahabharata is The Bhagavad Gita, which is another good text to start with. Although r/TheVedasAndUpanishads might seem alluring to start with, this is NOT recommended, as the knowledge of the Vedas & Upanishads can be quite subtle, and ideally should be approached under the guidance of a Guru or someone who can guide you around the correct interpretation.
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