Mansic Puja

What is Mansic (mental) Puja?

It is mental worship or a mental ceremony. You may be poor, without the facilities for external puja and your Guru may be far away. So in this case you do mansic puja.

Why to worship?

To get close to God, to purify the heart and to steady the mind.

How to do mansic puja?

External worship is easier than internal worship. We offer to God because we love Him, not because He needs us to. It is for our spiritual benefit. So we start the mansic puja and choose to do it to Swamiji. We invite Him to sit on a singhasan, give Him a flower mala, put a shawl around His shoulders and make a tilak on His forehead. We wash His right big toe with Ganga water. When that is finished, we offer panch amrit, five nectars, to His feet. First we offer the milk, remembering that we grew on milk in our childhood and that we were so innocent at that time. Then we offer the yoghurt and then the ghee which is the essence of milk. We continue with honey, which comes from nature, and finish with sugar which stands for our senses for we like sweet. Afterwards we wash His Feet with water and dry them with a cotton cloth. Then we tie a raki on His right big toe and put a tilak on His nail and a little rice. After doing that we offer different sweets, nuts, among which the coconut stands for ego, and flowers. In addition to that, we give Him dakshina-money. At the end we sing a short prayer with the oil lamp and agarbhatee-incense. 

We repeat
GURUR BRAHMĀ, GURUR VISHNU, GURUR DEVO MAHESHWARA
GURUR SĀKSHĀT PARABRAHMA, TASMAI SRI GURUVE NAMAH
The Guru is Brahmā, Vishnu and Shiva
He is also Parabrahman, the Supreme Self.
I bow before the Guru with the greatest adoration.

At the end we thank Gurudev to be with us.

Shree Deep Narayan Bhagawan Kee Jaya

Swami Haripuri