Learn Guru Pooja Yourself

Significance of Guru Pooja

Guru or the Master is the One who dispels the darkness of ignorance and illuminates our lives with pure knowledge. Guru Pooja is worship of

the Guru and offering of obeisance at His feet. By offering obeisance and gratitude to the Guru, we repose our faith in Him, whose feet are

roots of worship and the root of liberation. Guru Pooja, when done with profound sincerity can cause one to live a life of overwhelming

gratitude not just towards the Master but towards Existence as a whole.

Materials needed for Pooja:

Guru Paaduka (Feet symbolizing the feet of the Guru) on a plate

Flowers (a handful) on a plate

A bilva leaf (You could offer water instead, if bilva leaf is unavailable)

Udrani - small water cup with a spoon

C onch

Kamandalu (small holy water jug)

Camphor

Sandal Paste

Kumkum (Vermillion) powder

Two incense sticks

Oil lamp and match box

Small piece of saffron cloth

Food for offering (any fresh/dry fruits, nuts, fresh cooked food, etc)

Take a flower in your hands, remember the Master's form and chant the following. The following two verses offer humble

obeisance to the Master and the lineage of Masters who have time and again appeared to steer man towards realizing the

Self.

Guru Dhyaan

nityaanandam parama sukhadam - kevalam gnaanamoortim

dvandvaateetam gagana sadrusham - tatvamasyaadi laksham

ekam nityam vimalam achalam - sarvadhee saakshi bhootam

bhaavaateetam triguna rahitam - sadgurum tam namaami

Guru Paramparaa Stotram

sadaa shiva samaarambhaam shankaraachaarya madhyamaam

smadaachaarya paryantam vande guru paramparaam

Visualize your inner space to be a seat at your heart chakra (the heart center). Mentally invite the Master to this seat within.

Maanasa Pooja

om hrut padmam aasanam dadyaat - sahasraarachutaamrutaihi

paadyam charanayor dadyaat - manastu arghyam nivedayet

tena amrutena aachamaneeyam - snaaneeyam tena cha smrutam

aakaasha tatvam vasram - syaat gandha syaat gandhatatvakam

chittam prakalpayet pushpam - dhoopam praaNaan prakalpayet

tejastatvam cha deepaartham - naivedyam syaat sudhaambudhihi

anaahata dhvanir ghanTaa - vaayu tatvam cha chaamaram

sahasraaram bhavet Chatram - sabda tatvam cha geetakam

nrutyamindriya karmaani - chaanchalyam manasasthathaa

sumeykhalaam padma maalaam - pushpam naanaavidham tathaa

amaayaadyair bhaava pushpaihi - archayet bhaava gocharam

amaayam anahankaaram - araagam amadam tathaa

amohakam adambham cha - adveysha akshobhakau tathaa

amaatsaryam alobham cha - dasha pushpam vidurbhudaaha

ahimsaa parama pushpam - pushpam indriya nigrahaha

dayaa pushpam kshamaa pushpam - gnaana pushpam cha panchamam

iti panchadashair bhaava pushpaihi - sampoojayet sadgurum

Offer the flower at the Master's feet.

Pooja

While chanting the following mantras, do the following.

om aim etat paadyam - sree gurave namaha

Offer water from the udrani (cup) at the Masters feet (Symbolizes washing the Masters feet).

Offering water

om aim yesha arghyaha - sree gurave namaha

Offer water from the conch shell at the Master's feet. (Symbolizes offering rice, bilva leaf, flowers and arugam pullu - sacred

grass)

om aim idam aachamaneeyam sree gurave namaha

Offer water from the udrani at the Master's feet (Symbolizes offering of water to rinse His mouth).

Ceremmonial Bath

om aim idam snaaneeyam - sree gurave namaha

Offer water from the kamandalu (holy water jug) at the Master's feet (Symbolizes offering water for His ceremonial bath).

Clothing

om aim idam vastram - sree gurave namaha

Offer the saffron cloth at the Master's feet. This is done by taking water from the udrani and circling it over the saffron cloth

three times and offering the water at the Master's feet. (Symbolizes offering clothing to the Master).

Sandal and vermillion

om aim yesha gandhaha - sree gurave namaha

Dab your finger in the sandal paste and kumkum powder. Apply the sandal paste to the Master's feet first, followed by the

kumkum on top of the sandal paste. (Symbolizes offering sandal and kumkum to the Master)

Flowers

om aim idam sachhandana pushpam - sree gurave namaha

Take a flower, dip it into the sandal paste and offer it at the Master's feet. (Symbolizes offering of our desires to the Master)

Bilva leaf

om aim idam sachhandana bilva patram - sree gurave namaha

Take a bilva leaf, dip it into the sandal paste and offer it to the Master's feet. (The bilva leaf is believed to have a cooling

effect on the deity to which it is offered. It's three leaves stand for creation, sustenance and destruction. It also symbolizes

the three eyes of Lord Shiva)

Incense

om aim yesha dhoopaha - sree gurave namaha

Ring the bell with your left hand, take the lit incense sticks in your right hand and move it in a circle near the Master's feet.

(In the incense, we see the potential that is in ourselves, just as the incense itself is worthless until it is put to the flame. We

know that our lives are useless too, unless our potentials are fulfilled. In the incense we also recognize that our lives are just

as fleeting as its sweet smoke.)

Lamp

om aim yesha deepaha - sree gurave namaha

Ring the bell with your left hand, take the lit lamp in your right hand and move it in a circle near the Master's feet. (The glory

of the Master's feet is intensified by the light emanated by the lamp)

Food

om aim idam sopakarana naivedyam - sree gurave namaha

Offer the food at the Master's feet (Symbolizes offering food to the Master).

om aim idam paanaarthodakam - sree gurave namah

Offer water from the udrani at the Master's feet (Symbolizes offering drinking water to the Master).

om aim idam punaraachamaneeyam - sree gurave namaha

Offer water from the udrani at the Master's feet (Symbolizes offering water to rinse the Master's mouth).

Lit camphor

Offer Aarati (lit camphor) to the Master while chanting the following mantra. Ring the bell with the left hand while moving the

lit camphor in a circle with right hand. (Camphor burns itself out completely without leaving a trace. It represents our

unmanifested desires. So also if we were to take refuge in the Master's feet to obtain knowledge, these desires will get burnt

out. Although the camphor burns itself out, it emits a nice perfume. On a human plane it means that we should sacrifice

ourselves to serve society, in the process spread the perfume of love and happiness to all.

Aaraatrikam (waving lamps as an offering)

Fold your hands in a namaskar (bring both your palms together at chest level)

karpoora gauram karunaavataaram

samsaara saaram bhujagendra haaram

sadaa vasantam hrudayaaravinde

bhavam bhavaani sahitam namaami

aaraatrikam samarpayaami – sadguru charana kamaleybhyo namaha

Take a flower in your hands, make three circles around the lit camphor with it and offer it to the feet of the Master.

Take a few flowers, position them between folded hands and chant these mantras.

Pushpaanjalim (An offering of flowers)

gurur bramhaa gurur vishnu - gurur devo maheshvaraha

gurur saakshaat para bramhaa - tasmai sree gurave namaha

akhanda mandalaakaaram - vyaaptam yena charaacharam

tatpadam darshitam yena - tasmai sree gurave namaha

agnyaana timiraandhasya - gnyaanaanjana shalaakayaa

chakshuhu unmeelitam yena - tasmai sree gurave namaha

aneka janma sampraapta - karma bandha vidaahine

atma gnyaana pradaaneyna - tasmai sree gurave namaha

mannaatho sri jaganaatho - madguruh sri jagad guruhu

madh atma sarva bhootaatma - tasmai sree gurave namaha

eeshwaro guru raatmeyti - moorti bheda vibhaagine

vyomavad vyaapta dehaaya - dakshinaa moortaye / nityaananda gurave namaha

nityaanandam parama sukhadam - kevalam gnaanamoortim

dvandvaateetam gagana sadrusham - tatvamasyaadi laksham

ekam nityam vimalam achalam - sarvadhee saakshi bhootam

bhaavaateetam triguna rahitam - sadgurum tam namaami

ushpaanjalim samarpayaami - sadguru charana kamaleybhyo namaha

Offering flowers

Offer the flowers to the Master's feet.