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.