How to Perform Puja

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Last Updated: September 5, 2025 Approved

In the holy scripture Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna proclaims "patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati tad aham bhakty-upahritam ashnami prayatatmanah"

"He who offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it wholeheartedly"

Hinduism as a religion caters to all types of people, be they believers in God with form or without form. It is believed that God can be attained by ritualistic worship or by meditation or even by simple utterances of the holy names.^{[1]
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Expert Interview} Ritualistic worship can be elaborate, spanning over several hours, with the chanting of mantras, offering Prasadam (consecrated food) and Harathi (swinging of lamps), or it can also be as simple as offering a single leaf of Tulasi (the holy basil) or Bael(for Lord Shiva) and offering Prasadam.^{[2]
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Expert Interview} While ritualistic worship satisfies some people, the others are happy with meditating on the Lord or chanting His name. Needless to say, any form of worship requires a pure and steadfast mind that is thoughtful of God, adherence to Dharma and abhorrence to sin.

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While bathing, chant the names of the Lord. While ordinary bathing cleans us externally, uttering the name of the Lord purifies our mind, body and soul (trikarana shuddi).

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Sounding the conch is an auspicious omen that indicates an invitation to God and wards away all evil.
If you do not have a conch, you may just ring the bell.
The others that may not have the time and/or means to do it or have a picture of the Lord in their worship, can do it mentally.
Water
Milk
Yogurt
Ghee
Honey
Sugar
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Can I perform puja even if I'm not a Hindu?

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Why not? Your devotion to God is enough, so yes.

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Can I keep flowers on the head of Ganesha?

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No, the flowers should be kept on his feet or at the bottom of the figure.

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Is it more auspicious to use copper and brass thalis for prayer instead of stainless steel and other white metal?

NILESH MUKHERJEE

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Yes, according to Shastras, gold silver copper and brass are auspicious metals. Instead, you can use thalis made of stone or clay.

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