Worship And Ritual (Puja)

In daily ritual, a Hindu (generally the wife, who is thought to have more power to intercede with the Gods) makes offerings (puja) of fruit or flowers before a small shrine in the house. Many villages, and all sizeable towns, have temples, where priests perform ceremonies throughout the day: sunrise prayers and noises to awaken the God within the holy of holies (the garbagriha, or “womb-house”); bathing, clothing, and fanning the God; feeding the God and distributing the remains of the food (prasada) to worshipers.

Virtually all rituals in Hinduism possess multiple meanings, including symbolic interpretations. Even the way Hindus regularly greet each other may be regarded as hands together, which symbolizes the meeting of two people;  placing the hands over the heart where Brahman dwells, indicating that one meets the self in the other; bowing the head in recognition of this meeting; and saying nameste, a Sanskrit word that means “I bow to you” and signifies “I bow to the divine in you.”

Puja

Hindu worship (puja) consists essentially of an invocation, a reception, and the entertainment of God as a royal guest. It normally consists of 16 “attendances” (upacaara): invocation by which the omnipresent God is invited to direct his attention to the particular worship; the offering of a seat, water (for washing the feet, for washing the hands, and for rinsing the mouth), a bath, a garment, a sacred thread, perfumes, flowers, incense, a lamp, food and homage; and a circumambulation of the image and dismissal by God.” (p. 550)

“In the temple the God was worshipped by the rites of puja (reverencing a sacred being or object) as though the worshippers were serving a great king. In the important temples a large staff of trained officiants waited on the God., He was awakened in the morning along with his Goddess, washed, clothed and fed, placed in his shrine to give audience to his subjects, praised and entertained throughout the day, ceremoniously fed, undressed, and put to bed at night. Worshipers sang, burned lamps, waved lights before the divine image, and performed other acts of homage.

The God’s dancing girls (devadasis) performed before him at regular intervals, watched by the officiants and lay worshipers, who were his courtiers. These women, either the daughters of devadasis or girls dedicated in childhood, also served as prostitutes.

The association of dedicate prostitutes with certain Hindu shrines can be traced back to before the Christian era. It became more widespread in the post-Gupta times, especially in South India, and aroused the reprobation of 19th century Europeans. Through the efforts of Hindu reformers the office of the devadasis was discontinued.”

Lingam

(Sanskrit: “sign,” “distinguishing symbol”)

In Hinduism, the phallus, symbol of the God Siva, worshipped as an emblem of generative power. The linga is the main object of worship in Saivite temples and private family shrines throughout India. Anthropomorphic representations of Siva are less commonly worshipped.

The Yoni, which is the symbol of the female sexual organ (and thus of the Goddess Parvati consort of Siva), often forms the base of the erect linga; the two together are a reminder to the devotee that the male and female principles are forever inseparable and that together they represent the totality of all existence.