1. isbn 979-8-88572-615-3

Content: Compiled from Paramahamsa Nityānanda's talk on Guru Pūjā in Los Angeles, USA and subsequently during the Himālaya Trip 2007

Content: Do Guru Pūjā yourself

Content: Nityānanda

Content: PUBLISHED BY LIFE BLISS FOUNDATION

Content: Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88572-615-3

Content: ॐ om home ॐ oṁ Rome

Content: अ a fun ट ṭa touch

Content: आ ā car ठ ṭha ant-hill

Content: इ i pin ड ḍa duck

Content: ई ī feen ढ ḍha godhook

Content: उ u put ण ṇa thunder

Content: ऊ ū pool त ta (close to) think

Content: ऋ ṛ rig थ tha (close to) pathetic

Content: ॠ ṝ (long r) द da (close to) father

Content: ऌ ḷ * ध dha (close to) breathe hard

Content: ए e play न na numb

Content: ऐ ai high प pa purse

Content: ओ o over फ pha sapphire

Content: औ au cow ब ba but

Content: अं aṁ ** भ bha abhor

Content: अः aḥ *** म ma mother

Content: क ka kind य ya young

Content: ख kha blockhead र ra run

Content: ग ga gate ल la luck

Content: घ gha log-hut व va virtue

Content: ङ ṅa sing श śa shove

Content: च ca chunk ष ṣa bushel

Content: छ cha match स sa sir

Content: ज ja jug ह ha house

Content: झ jha hedgehog ळ (Note 1) (close to) world

Content: ञ ña bunch क्ष kṣa worksheet

Content: त tra three ज्ञ jña *

Content: $ unpronounced (a) स śś '' Unpronounced (ā)

Content: Note 1: "'' itself is sometimes used.

Content:

• No English Equivalent.

Content: ** Nasalisation of the preceding vowel.

Content: *** Aspiration of preceding vowel

Content: What is Guru Pūjā?

Content: This pūjā is from the Vedic tradition, from the Advaita Parampara - lineage of advaitées - non-dualists; where the goal of our life is enlightenment and not just darśan or seeing God. Experiencing the Divine inside us is the goal.

Content: The root of the word pūjā is the Sanskrit word pūj, meaning worship or ‘to adore’. Pūjā is thus an act of worship or adoration. Performed daily, Guru pūjā is a personal way of remembering, honoring, and thinking of one’s Guru. It is an avenue through which we can concentrate and focus our thoughts on Him, thus imbibing Him in a joyful manner. It is an opportunity to express gratitude towards Him for everything He so compassionately bestows upon us. By consistently recalling and thinking of the Guru, we move forward in our spiritual journey. Through the steadfast practice of Guru pūjā, one develops a deep and intimate relationship with the Guru.

Content: We start the day with Guru pūjā, an offering to the feet of the Guru, by remembering the Guru śakti - energy. By remembering our Master who liberates us from this bondage through His words, through His presence, through His body language or any of His other mystical ways, we offer our gratitude to Existence itself. This is the essence of Guru pūjā.

Content: When we do the Guru pūjā or when we chant the Guru pūjā mantra, we tune in to the consciousness of the Master. By worshipping Him in our inner space - mānasa pūjā - and worshipping ritually with the paraphernalia of worship - bāhya pūjā - we tune in to His consciousness.

Content: By performing the Guru pūjā, we start the day with a fresh and ecstatic mood. If we remember the great Truths in the mantras used in Guru pūjā all through the day, we can experience the same ecstatic mood in all our activities.

Content: While we are asleep, the connection with the Guru gets disconnected, and our consciousness starts expressing our old memories. When we are in the waking state, one kṣaṇa takes birth from another kṣaṇa. Kṣaṇa is the time period between one thought and the next. If we start the day with Guru pūjā, every kṣaṇa is with an ecstatic mood. During sleep, the kṣaṇa stops and we go back into our causal body, or the space where our engraved memories or saṁskāras are recorded. When we wake up, we will be in the mood of those memories. So, the moment we get up from bed, if we remember the Guru pūjā mantra, the whole day, the ecstatic mood is maintained.

Content: The Guru pūjā brings us back to the Truth. It is a shift from our consciousness to that of the Master.

Content: Items for doing Guru Pūjā

Content: We offer Guru pūjā to either the feet of the Master or to the Guru pādukās - sandals of the Guru.

Content: Items needed for pūjā:

Content: 1 - Guru pādukā - sandals symbolizing the feet of the Guru on a plate

Content: 2 - Flowers (a handful) on a plate

Content: 3 - A bilva leaf (You could offer water if bilva leaf is not available)

Content: 4 - Pañcapātra and Uddharani - small water cup with a spoon (kośa kośi can also be used. It is a fish-shaped vessel)

Content: 5 - Conch

Content: 6 - Kamaṇḍalu - small holy water jug

Content: You can use the uddharani in place of the Kamaṇḍalu

Content: 7 - Camphor on camphor plate

Content: 8 - Sandal Paste

Content: 9 - Kuṅkum - vermillion - powder

Content: 10 - Two incense sticks

Content: 11 - Oil lamp and match box

Content: 12 - Small piece of saffron cloth

Content: 13 - Food for offering (any fresh / dry fruits, nuts, fresh cooked food.)

Content: 14 - Bell

Content: 5

Content: GURU DHYAAN

Content: (Meditating upon the Guru to invoke Him)

Content: नित्यानन्दं परमसुखदं केवलं ज्ञानमूर्तिं

Content: द्वन्द्वातीतं गगनसदृशं तत्वमस्यादि लक्ष्यं ।

Content: एकं नित्यं विमलमचलं सर्वधीसाक्षिभूतं

Content: भावातीतं त्रिगुणरहितं सद्गुरुं तं नमामि ॥

Content: nityānandam் paramasukhadam் kevalam் jñānamūrtim

Content: dvandvātītam் gaganasadrśam் tattvamasyādi lakṣyam I

Content: ekam் nityam் vimalam acalam் sarvadhī-sākṣi-bhūtam

Content: bhāvātītam் trigunarahitam் sadgurum் tam் namāmi II

Content: Invoke the presence of the Guru:

Content: Visualise your inner space to be a seat at your heart chakra. Take a flower in your hand, hold it with kūrmamudra, close your eyes, meditate on the Master and chant the mantra. Kūrma means tortoise. This mudra signifies your inner space. The tortoise has the power to go into concentration within one second. It can withdraw its five senses at once! This symbolically represents pulling all your senses inside in a moment. You just take your whole mind within you like a withdrawing tortoise. Just stop the wandering of the mind and start chanting.

Content: Explanation:

Content: Salutation to the inner Guru which is the state of Eternal Bliss; ultimate ease; the space of pure knowledge

Content: The inner Guru that is beyond all dualities, is expansive like the infinite sky, can be intuited with the Mahāvākya as 'That art Thou'

Content: The Only one – eternally pure, unwavering, the witnessing Self and innate intelligence in all beings

Content: That is the state beyond the play of emotions and the state wherein one transcends the three states of satva (tranquility), rajas (activity) and tamas (dullness) and becomes the Master deftly handling the states.

Content: nityānandaṁ: Eternal Bliss, or the state of expressing the Truth or Existence or bliss every moment.

Content: paramasukhadaṁ: Ordinary sukha or happiness, comes from doing something. Paramasukhadam is supreme happiness which happens continuously with no reason. It brings with it the ability to remain utterly relaxed in action and inaction.

Content: kevalaṁ: Established in aloneness

Content: jñānamūrtim: Pure knowledge, expression of enlightenment, embodiment of knowledge. Whatever He does radiates knowledge. He is the manifestation and complete expression of energy and wisdom in the human body.

Content: dvandvātītaṁ: Beyond duality. For Him, there is no rich or poor, happiness or sorrow. He is beyond all opposite or dual emotions. His inner space is always blissful.

Content: gaganasadrśaṁ: All pervading, pure like the sky, filled with animate and inanimate things, with whatever you know and don't know, with whatever you can perceive and not perceive.

Content: tattvamasyādi lakṣyam: Again and again, the Sadguru makes you realize that He and you are one and the same. He is the embodiment, the goal; you are That, the ātman Brahman. He enables you to experience and express that understanding. His very presence will remind you that you are That and that He is that lakṣya or goal, He is that embodiment and you are Him. Again and again through His body language, He indicates: you are That.

Content: There are three levels of progress in all of us: the first is understanding, the second is feeling and the ultimate is experiencing. Understanding is intellectual, feeling is emotional, and experiencing is what happens at the being level.

Content: To be with the Master, it is a basic necessity to have intellectual understanding. When you don't have the intellectual understanding, and the flood of devotion happens, all relationships disappear; you will be frightened; your whole will shrink in fear.

Content: In Bhāgavatam, the popular Hindu epic, Śiṣupāla started claiming himself as enlightened, having girl friends and calling them gopīs Somebody asked Vyāsa, the author of Bhāgavatam, 'Whatever Kṛṣṇa is doing, Śiṣupāla is also doing. Why do you call his actions as immoral and Kṛṣṇa's actions as madhura bhāva - a relationship where one sees the other as a beloved - and rāsa līlā - Divine play?'

Content: Vyāsa replied, 'The gopīs deeply know Kṛṣṇa is God. Their whole relationship is based on enlightenment. They are His disciples. They are around Him to realize the experience of the Divine. But in Śiṣupāla's case it is not so.'

Content: An intellectual base transforms the quality of the relationship. The gopīs are clear about what they are doing and with whom they are playing. They have a clear base of intellectual understanding.

Content: If there is no understanding, if we are not intellectually convinced, we would not be here. The moment it becomes a feeling, we will simply fall into the experience. But many times, we struggle between understanding and feeling.

Content: At this point, we need something called smaraṇa - remembrance; remembering the Truth. Injecting the Truth in ourselves will remind us of the Ultimate Truth again and again. Whenever we have vested interests, nothing solid happens; this is the truth. If it becomes a deep feeling, then straightaway it becomes pure experience.

Content: The word laksya has a deep meaning; it means ‘goal’, the needle which is continously pointing towards the goal, like a compass. Tattvamasi is the vedic mahāvākya (great declaration) which means ‘Thou art That’.

Content: There was a disciple who asked his Master, ‘Master, please give me knowledge.’ The Master in response recited the whole Vedas. The disciple could not grasp anything of what he recited. He said, ‘Master, please simplify and tell me’. The Master now recited the whole Upaniṣad. The disciple again said, ‘This is also too much. Please teach me the gist of it.’ The Master now recited the entire Bhagavad Gītā. The disciple said, ‘No, no! This is too much. Please teach me the simple way.’ The Master then recited the Brahmasūtra! The disciple could not take it anymore. He said, ‘Please Master, give me just the essence.’ Then the Master uttered only one word: Tattvamasi - you are That. This mahāvākya - great declaration - is the essence of all spiritual Truths.

Content: There are five mahāvākyas given by the ṛṣis - ancient scientists of the inner world. They are:

Content: Tattvamasi

Content: Aham Brahmāsmi

Content: Prajñānam Brahma

Content: Ayam Ātmā Brahma

Content: Sarvam khalvidam Brahma

Content: Aham Brahmāsmi : I am Brahman. Brahman is what resides in us as ‘I’ consciousness. We usually associate ourselves with the body and mind. Each one of us thinks: I am the body and mind. If we eliminate ‘body’ and ‘mind’ in this sentence, whatever is remaining is Brahman. What resides in you as ‘I’ is consciousness, brahman, gñana, atman, whatever you may call it. Continuously, we repeat to ourselves: we are body and mind. We continuously believe: I am that, I am this. But if you eliminate ‘that’ and ‘this’, and just stop at ‘I’, it becomes pure consciousness. We are just as we are. We fall back into consciousness. We become enlightened, liberated.

Content: Ayamātmā Brahma : Whatever is my ātman is Brahman. Ayamātmā means ‘my ātma’; whatever we feel as the soul; the very life itself is Brahman.

Content: Prajñānam Brahma : This implies consciousness; what is there as ‘I’ feeling is also Brahman or God. Prajña means the ‘I’ feeling.

Content: The Master is the embodiment of these four mahāvākyas.

Content: The moment you start feeling this way, it means that the experience has started happening, and you don’t need a signboard. When you don’t even have an intellectual understanding, you don’t need a Master as yet. Let us say you are traveling from Seattle to LA. When you are in Seattle, you don’t need an LA signboard. The moment you enter into the suburbs of LA, that is when you have start having emotional experience also, then too you don’t need a signboard! But in the gap, while you are traveling, you need signboards. You need signboards to show the way. If you have intellectual understanding but it has not become emotional experience, in that gap, you need sign boards. The lakṣya or goal, which reminds you of your real state, which reminds you that you are That, is the presence of the Master.

Content: Again and again, He will remind you; He will not let you forget. His very presence will remind you. His very presence shows us how He is:

Content: living like a flower among us. The very presence of the Master is to remind you to come up to His level. The very presence of the Master is a compass needle that shows the path.

Content: The word lakṣya has got three meanings: the goal, the needle (the need in idle time!) and third that He is the embodiment of the Truth. His walking, sitting, living - everything reminds us of enlightenment.

Content: Ekaṁ nityam : The Master is eternal, with neither beginning nor end.

Content: vimalam : Beyond the state of being pure or impure; no impurity can touch Him.

Content: acalam: Steady. He is like an immovable mountain.

Content: saryadhī-sākṣi-bhūtaṁ: The witnessing self and innate intelligence. All of us have the delusion that we will live forever. We don't really believe that we are going to die; the understanding of impermanence of life is superficial. Have we really been shaken by death? Never! Even if we see death on the road, we never stop to think that one day we are also going to die.

Content: Whenever we fall back into pure consciousness, we feel a deep assurance of the Eternal. But we falsely associate this feeling of permanence or nitya mood with the body and mind. There is no partition between pure consciousness - pure energy, and the body and mind - pure matter. The quality of pure consciousness is that which knows, 'I will be forever'. The quality of body and mind is that it will perish.

Content: We attribute this quality of pure consciousness to the body and mind and that is the mistake. If we realize that the body and mind will perish one day, then we will be in this consciousness forever, eternally. Or if we know that pure consciousness is eternal, we naturally will not be caught in the body and mind. The quality of the energy is confused with the quality

Content: of matter. Now in every one of us, the quality of pure consciousness is present; it never dies. That is eternal consciousness, eternal bliss, nitya ānanda. We are the pure witnessing consciousness in all the elements. This is what the Master, who is the embodiment of pure consciousness, reminds us.

Content: bhāvātītaṁ: Beyond the emotional states. You cannot place the Master in any single frame. He is most unpredictable. The moment you predict the Master, you lose Him; you are lost. You will be caught in His reflection. You are no more a disciple. Arguing with the Master doesn’t refer only to the outside; all our related inner chatter is also included. All our inner chatter is arguing with Existence that is reality. If we have total acceptance, we will not have inner chatter. If we have inner chatter, it means that we don’t have acceptance; it may be a verbal argument or silent argument, it’s all the same. The Master is beyond comprehension, beyond imagination.

Content: trigunarahitam: One who is beyond the 3 basic qualities of satva - pure intelligence, rajas - dynamic activity, and tamas - dullness. The Master is not married to any of the three guṇas. He just moves with and beyond all three. None of them touches Him and He is not attached to any of them. He simply plays with all three of them. When He displays tamas, He refrains from activity. When He displays rajas, He exhibits his dynamism and does multitasking. When He displays satva, He radiates pure intelligence.

Content: sadguruṁ taṁ: There are many Gurus: our mother, our father, our teachers etc., but the Sadguru is the one who removes all darkness of māyā or illusion. He is the only one who can do it.

Content: namāmi: Mā means mine, āmi means I. Mine and I, I offer at Your feet. Why do we need to offer the concept of mine? It has been proven that children start developing 'I' consciousness when they know what is theirs (mine). Only based on your ownership, you start developing 'I'. Based on the notion of mine, you develop 'I'. The moment mine is taken away, 'I' will be shaken. Try to snatch a toy from a child; he will be shaken. He will start crying, because for him, that is his very being. Children build their I-consciousness based on their concept of mine.

Content: We have built our consciousness based on what we have. That is why we surrender.

Content: Here, in this pūjā, there is no giving because there is nobody who is taking. There is only offering; you only offer, you surrender everything to Him. You are offering whatever you think is yours and you. From your birth, your personality is based on mine; on that which is our property or what we think as ours. When the mine is taken away, we are shaken inside, and feel our whole being is taken away. It will never be taken; it's the attitude that matters. Only a man who has surrendered 'mine' and 'I' can utter this śloka: Oh Sadguru! I offer 'mine' and 'I' at your lotus feet.

Content: You don't need any meditation if you remember the meaning of this mantra throughout the day. You will simply know that an intelligent, supreme energy is there. That's all. Nothing more is needed.

Content: सदाशिवसमारभ्यं शङ्कराचार्यमध्यमाम् । अस्मदाचार्यपर्यन्तां वन्दे गुरुपरम्पराम् ॥ sadāśiva-samārambhāṁ śaṅkarācārya-madhyamāṁ । asmadācārya-paryantāṁ vande guruparamparāṁ ॥

Content: ॐ हृत्पद्मासनं दद्यात् । सहस्रारच्युतामृतैः ॥ पाद्यं चरणयोर्दद्यात् । मनस्तु अर्घ्यं निवेदयेत् ॥ तेन अमृतेन आचमनीयम् । स्नानीयं तेन च स्मृतम् ॥ आकाशतत्वं वस्त्रं स्यात् । गन्धः स्यात् गन्धतत्वकम् ॥ चित्तं प्रकल्पयेत् पुष्पम् । धूपं प्राणानं प्रकल्पयेत् ॥ तेजस्तत्वं च दीपार्थम् । नैवेद्यं स्यात् सुधाम्बुधि: ॥ अनाहतध्वनिघण्टा । वायुतत्वं च चामरम् ॥ सहस्रारं भवेत् छत्रम् । शब्दतत्वं च गीतकम् ॥ नृत्यमिन्द्रियकर्माणि । चाञ्चल्यं मनसस्तथा ॥ सुमेखलां पद्ममालां । पुष्पं नाना विधं तथा ॥ अमायादैरभावपुष्पैः । अर्चयेत् भावगोचरम् ॥ अमायं अनहङ्कारम् । अरागं अमदं तथा ॥ अमोहकं अदम्भं च । अद्वेष-अक्षोभकौ तथा ॥ अमात्सर्यं अलोभं च । दश पुष्पं विदुर्बुधा: ॥ अहिंसा परमं पुष्पम् । पुष्पमिन्द्रियनिग्रहः ॥

Content: Visualize your inner space to be a seat at your heart chakra - the heart center. Mentally invite the Master to this seat within.

Content: दयापुष्पं क्षमापुष्पम् । ज्ञानपुष्पं च पञ्चमम् ॥ इति पञ्चदशौर्भावपुष्पैः । संपूजयेत् सद्गुरुम् ॥

Content: om hṛt-padmamāsanāṁ dadyāt / sahasrāracayutāmṛtaiḥ / pādyāṁ caranayor-dadyāt / manastu arghyaṁ nivedayet //

Content: tena amṛtena ācamnīyam / snānīyaṁ tena ca smṛtam // ākāśatatvaṁ vastrāṁ syāt / gandhaḥ syāt gandhatatvakam //

Content: cittāṁ prakalpayet puṣpaṁ / dhūpāṁ prāṇān prakalpayet // tejastatvaṁ ca dīpārthaṁ / naivedyaṁ syāt sudhāṁ budhiḥ //

Content: anāhatadhvanirghaṇṭā / vāyutatvaṁ ca cāmaram // sahasrāraṁ bhavet chatraṁ / śabdatatvaṁ ca gītakam //

Content: nṛtyam indriyakarmanī / cāñcalyaṁ manasas-tathā // sumekhalāṁ padmamālāṁ / puṣpāṁ nānāvidhāṁ tathā //

Content: amāyādyair-bhāvapuṣpaiḥ / arcayet bhāva-gocaram // amāyaṁ anahaṅkāraṁ / arāgaṁ amadaṁ tathā //

Content: amohakam adambhaṁ ca / adveṣa-akṣobhakau tathā // amātsaryam alobhaṁ ca / daśapuṣpaṁ vidurbudhāḥ //

Content: ahirṁsā paramāṁ puṣpaṁ / puṣpaṁ indriyanigrahāḥ // dayā puṣpaṁ kṣamā puṣpaṁ / jñānapuṣpaṁ ca pañcamam //

Content: iti pañcadaśair-bhāvapuṣpaiḥ saṁpūjayet sadgurum

Content: Offer a flower at the Master's feet

Content: om hṛt-padmamāsanaṁ dadyāt

Content: sahasrāracyutāmṛtaiḥ

Content: pādyam் caraṇayor-dadyāt

Content: manastu arghyaṁ nivedayet

Content: tena amṛtena ācamanīyam

Content: snānīyam tena ca smṛtam

Content: ākāśatatvam vastraṁ syāt

Content: gandhaḥ syāt gandhatatvakam

Content: cittam prakalpayet puṣpam : Citta is the collected saṁskāra or engrams or engraved memories that are stored in us as a result of our past and they affect our decision-making. The citta, the many thoughts that come to our mind, I offer as flowers at His feet. The old memories, the visualization, I offer as flowers at His feet, and they will never be taken back.

Content: dhūpam prāṇān prakalpayet : The whole prāṇa - inhalation and exhalation - is the incense stick for Him. The breath which is going in and out, I offer as incense stick to Him. It means that your whole life is made only for the Divine. Breathe only for Him. Let Him breathe to His heart's content.

Content: tejastatvam ca dīpārtham : The light that shines without any outside source, this source-less effulgent light is tejas. Even Sūrya, the Sun, is not tejas. Scientific research says that Surya may cool down after a few million years. The only source-less light is the ātma, the soul of the individual consciousness. That, I offer as ārati. I offer my very soul, my very consciousness, the very individual feeling of 'I' as an ārati to Him.

Content: Another deeper level meaning according to Advaita philosophy of non-duality is, the individual consciousness is the reflection of the super consciousness in the mirror of your body-mind. If your body-mind is polished so deeply, your consciousness reflects and that reflection is the individual consciousness. You offer that reflection directly towards the source itself. You turn yourself towards your enlightenment. Now your individual consciousness is directed in so many directions: I am this…I am that…Instead, if it is used this way, you see the source. You use that light to see God. The individual consciousness is the light to see God or Enlightenment. What you think as you, should be directed to see that Light. Tejastatvam ca dīpārtham -The source-less light which is in me is the light to see God.

Content: In our body, there are seven places that shine with tejas, for example - the eyeballs, the center of the nails, etc. Tejas is the energy which shines in our body. Once the soul leaves the body, at the time of death, this tejas leaves the body. The One who locks the tejas within, the enlightened Master, his body never perishes. This tejas tatva we offer as dīpam (lamp) to the Master.

Content: naivedyaṁ syāt śuddhāṁ budhiḥ : The pure intelligence, which happens with enlightenment and the constant remembrance of purposelessness or nirvāṇa, I offer as naivedyaṁ - food - to the Master. The nectar flowing in the sahasrāra on the attainment of inner clarity is offered as the naivedyaṁ or offering of gratitude.

Content: anāhatadhvanirghaṇṭā : The anāhatadhvani - the uncreated sound of silence - is the bell for the pūjā or offering. The unheard sound or the sound which is created when the planet Earth or the whole Existence is moving, is the bell! Āhata is the sound that is created with two objects. Anāhatadhvani is the sound which is created without even in the presence of any object. It is the sound that we hear in our heart when we are silent, when our mind is not crowded by thoughts. It is the vibration of our very being.

Content: vāyutatvaṁ ca cāmaram : Vāyu is the breeze or air that I offer as fan for Him. Inside us, there are 5 prāṇas or vāyu or air movements: air that is going in, stay in, spreading all over, cleaning and coming out. These five air activities, I offer as cāmaram for Him.

Content: sahasrāraṁ bhavet chatram : When we become enlightened, our sahasrāra blossoms with gratitude like a thousand petalled lotus; which I offer as an umbrella for Him.

Content: śabdatatvaṁ ca gītakam : The śabda, the principle sound of the universe, is the music for him. Śabdatatva means that which converts air into sound. In the area near the throat, this śabdatatva is present. The Sanskrit language has been created to purify the śabdatatva. There is a mechanism which converts part of air into sound. When we chant in Sanskrit, the remaining part of the air also gets purified. Sanskrit is the only language, which vibrates from the mūlādhāra - base of spine. All other languages come just from the lips. At least for ten minutes, if we chant any Sanskrit mantra, it will completely clear the śabdatatva. The vibration created by Sanskrit language goes inwards also, unlike other languages. This śabdatatva, I offer as music at the feet of the Master. It also means, we should maintain the purity of our words. Whatever comes out of the throat is a song sung for the Master. So only healing words should come out.

Content: nrtyam indriyakarmāṇi : Whatever our indriyas or five senses do, whether smelling, eating, seeing, touching or listening, we offer everything at the feet of the Master. They are offered to the Divine as a dance for him. Only in the presence of the Master (universal consciousness), these senses function. By offering these senses back to Him, we pay our deep respect to Him. All the movements of our body are a dance that we perform in His presence. It means that we cannot have ugly body language! Our whole body language should be graceful - a dance that we are performing to please Him. Decide today that everything you do will be done with patience and in a graceful way.

Content: cāñcalyam் manasas-tathā : The ever wavering mind is offered as a dance to Him!

Content: sumekhalām padmamālām puṣpam nānāvidham tathā : I offer this girdle of lotus flowers, made of the blossomed emotions as described further

Content: amāyādyair-bhāvapuṣpaih : The absence of māyā; illusion becomes this flower we offer at the feet of the Master.

Content: arcayet bhāva-gocaram : I offer all my blossomed emotions at the feet of the Master.

Content: amāyam anahaṅkāram : Ahaṅkār is the ego which is constantly putting itself between us and the Self. It is the identity that we show to the outer world. I offer the flower of freedom from this ego at the feet of the Master.

Content: arāgam : Freedom from attachment and not giving power to your fantasies. When your body gets filled with the power to actively involve itself in sexual pleasure, when your body has enough energy to enter into the sexual act, the same fantasy, the same visualization will fill your inner space so much, but after the act is over, after the release of the fluids, the same fantasy does not have the same influence on your inner space. The energy which empowers your fantasies along with your hormonal build is called raga. When the power is about to give life to these fantasies, your whole body will have a special energy. If you do not allow those fantasies to become active, these energies will stay with you forever.

Content: amadam tathā : Mada means pride and amadam means no pride. Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa says that one has to give up attraction and repulsion that constantly trigger our lust and greed, and are not allowing our mind to be contented in the present moment.

Content: amohakam : Freedom from illusion

Content: adambharī ca : And freedom from the instinct of flaunting

Content: adveṣa : Freedom from hatred

Content: akṣobha : Steadfast

Content: kau tathā : Constant awareness

Content: amātsaryam : Freedom from jealousy

Content: alobharī ca : Freedom from greed

Content: daśapuṣpam vidurbudhāḥ : The wise ones count these ten blossomed qualities as flowers

Content: ahirṁsā paramam puṣpam : Non-violence is the Supreme flower among all the flowers, and is the most fragrant.

Content: puṣpam indriyanigrahaḥ : Refraining the senses from speaking out to the world or not reacting to anything brought to the mind's eye through the senses

Content: dayā puṣpam : Flower of compassion

Content: kṣamā puṣpam : Flower of forgiveness,

Content: jñānapuṣpam ca pañcamam : Flower of enlightenment.

Content: iti pañcadaśair-bhāvapuṣpaiḥ sampūjayet sadgurum : We offer these 15 supreme emotions in the form of flowers at the feet of our most revered and respected Guru.

Content: These 15 types of flowers that we are offering for worship have their own qualities with respect to colour, form and fragrance. They are symbolic representations of our feelings. Our feelings have their own role in our lives. Just like flowers give happiness to others by sacrificing their lives, likewise, we have to sacrifice our life through mind, body and deeds, for the welfare of society. We are offering them as a sacrifice close of love at the feet of our Beloved Master. Those who can offer all these things will be close to being a Master by himself.

Content: With the above mantras we worship the Master in our inner space. Once you understand the meaning and along with the chanting have the 'click', it is enough. Remembrance is enough.

Content: बाह्य पूजा

Content: Bāhya pūjā

Content: (Ritual or outer worship)

Content: Light the lamp and start the pūjā

Content: ॐ ह्रीं एतत् पाद्यं श्रीगुरवे नमः

Content: om hrīm etat pādyam śrīgurave namaḥ

Content: Offer water from the kośa kośī (the fish-like vessel) at the Master's feet (symbolizes washing the feet of the Master).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं एष अर्घ्यः श्रीगुरवे नमः

Content: om hrīm esa arghyah śrīgurave namaḥ

Content: Offer water from the conch shell (with flowers placed on the conch) at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering rice, bilva leaf, flowers and arugam pullu - sacred grass). Offer the flower as well to the Master.

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Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं आचमनीयं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ ācamanīyaṁ śrīgurave namaḥ Offer water fom the kośa kośi at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering of water to rinse His mouth).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं स्नानीयं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ snānīyaṁ śrīgurave namaḥ Offer water from the kamaṇḍalu (holy water jug) at the Master's feet with the right hand and ring the bell with the left hand (symbolizes offering water for His ceremonial bath).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं वस्त्रं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ vastrāṁ śrīgurave namaḥ Offer the saffron cloth at the Master's feet. This is done by taking water from the kośa kośi and circling it over the saffron cloth three times and offering the water at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering clothing to the Master).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं एष गन्ध: श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ eṣa gandhaḥ śrīgurave namaḥ Dab the middle finger in the sandal paste and fore finger in kuṅkum (vermillion) powder. First apply the sandal paste to the Master's feet, and then the kuṅkum on top of the sandal paste (symbolizes offering sandal and kuṅkum to the Master).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं सचन्दनपुष्पं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ sacandanapuṣpam śrīgurave namaḥ Take a flower, dab it in the sandal paste and offer it at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering of our desires to the Master).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं सचन्दनबिल्वपत्रं श्रीगुरवे नमः

Content: Take a bilva leaf, dab it in the sandal paste and offer it at the Master's feet. (The bilva leaf is believed to have a cooling effect on the deity to which it is offered. Its three leaves stand for creation, sustenance and destruction. It also symbolizes the three eyes of Lord Shiva.)

Content: ॐ ह्रीं एष धूपः श्रीगुरवे नमः

Content: 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 potential is fulfilled. In the incense we also recognize that our lives are just as fleeting as its sweet smoke.)

Content: ॐ ह्रीं एष दीपः श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ eṣa dīpaḥ śrīgurave namaḥ

Content: 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).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं सोपकरणनैवेद्यं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ sopakaraṇa naivedyaṁ śrīgurave namaḥ

Content: Offer the food at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering food to the Master).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं पानार्थोदकं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ pānārthodakaṁ śrīgurave namaḥ

Content: Offer water from the kośa kośī at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering drinking water to the Master).

Content: ॐ ह्रीं इदं पुनराचमनीयं श्रीगुरवे नमः om hrīṁ idaṁ punarācamanīyaṁ śrigurave namaḥ

Content: Offer water from the kośa kośī at the Master's feet (symbolizes offering water to rinse His mouth).

Content: आरात्रिकम्

Content: कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् ।

Content: सदावसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि ॥

Content: ārātrikaṃ

Content: karpūragauraṃ karuṇāvatāraṃ samsārasāraṃ bhujagendrahāram I

Content: sadāvasantaṃ hṛdayāravinde bhavaṃbhavānīsahitaṃ namāmi II

Content: Offer ārati (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 un-manifested desires. So also if we were to take refuge in the Master's feet to obtain knowledge, these desires will get burnt out. As the camphor burns itself out, it emits a nice perfume. On a human plane it means that we should sacrifice ourselves to serve society, and in the process, spread the perfume of love and happiness to all.

Content: Salutations to that inner guru the pure consciousness, the form of supreme compassion, the essence of existence, adorned by the coiled serpentine divine (kundalini) energy,ever established in the inner space represented as the union of the male and female aspects.

Content: 29

Content: ārātrikaṁ samarpayāmi sadgurucaraṇakamalebhyo namaḥ

Content: Take a flower in your hands, make three circles around the lit camphor with it and offer it at the feet of the Master, while chanting this line below.

Content: Explanation:

Content: karpūragauraṁ : Whitish like camphor

Content: karuṇāvatāraṁ : The avatār (incarnation) who is the embodiment of compassion

Content: samsārasāraṁ : Helping to cross the ocean of samsāra or endless cycle of life

Content: bhujagendrahāraṁ : With a snake as an ornament

Content: sadāvasantaṁ : Forever and permanently blissful

Content: hṛdayāravinde : Who resides in my very soul, the center of my being

Content: bhavambhavānīsahitāṁ namāmi : I bow down to Śiva and Devi and offer myself at their feet, three times

Content: To the Lord of whitish glow like the camphor, the avatar who is the very embodiment of compassion, the one who alone helps in crossing the ocean of samsāra, to the Lord who wears the snake as a garland, who is forever and permanently blissful, who resides in my heart-lotus, I bow down in surrender to the Lord, who forever is in the company of Bhavāni.

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Content: पुष्पाञ्जलि: puṣpāñjalịḥ (An offering of flowers)

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

Content: गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुरिवष्णु: गुरुदेवो महेश्वर: । गुरुः साक्षात् परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ gurur-brahmā gurur-viṣṇuḥ gurur-devo maheśvaraḥ I guruh-sākṣāt parabrahma tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ II

Content: अखण्डमण्डलाकारं व्याप्तं येन चराचरम् । तत्पदं दर्शितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ akhaṇḍamaṇḍalākāraṁ vyāptaṁ yena carācaram I tatpadaṁ darśitaṁ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ II

Content: अज्ञानतिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जनशलाखया । चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ ajñānatimirāndhasya jñānāñjanaśalākhayā I cakṣurunmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ II

Content: अनेकजन्मसम्प्राप्त-कर्मबन्धविदाहिने । आत्मज्ञानप्रदानेन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ anekajamma-samprāpta-karmabandha-vidāhine I ātma-jñānapradānena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ II

Content: मन्नाथः श्रीजगन्नाथो मद्गुरुः श्रीजगद्गुरुः । ममात्मा सर्वभूतात्मा तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ mannāthaḥ śrījagannātho madguruḥ śrījagadguruḥ I mamātmā sarvabhūtātmā tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ II

Content: I bow down to the Guru who is my Lord and who is the Lord of the Universe, my Guru, who is the Guru of the Universe, who is the Self in me and the Self in all beings.

Content: ईश्वरो गुरुरात्मेति मूर्तिभेदविभागिने । व्योमवत् व्याप्तदेहाय दक्षिणामूर्तये नमः ॥

Content: īśvaro gururāmeti mūrtibhedavibhāgine I vyomavat vyāptadehāya dakṣiṇāmūrtaye namaḥ II

Content: I prostrate to the Master with the cosmic form of Sri Dakṣiṇāmūrti, who came down to remove the differences of forms of God, Master and the soul.

Content: नित्याननदं परमसुखदं केवलं ज्ञानमूर्ति‌ द्वन्द्वातीतं गगनसदृशं तत्वमस्यादि लक्षणम्‌ । एकं नित्यं विमलमचलं सर्वधीसाक्षिभूतं भावातीतं त्रिगुणरहितं सद्गुरू तं नमामि ॥

Content: पुष्पाञ्जलिं समर्पयामि सद्गुरू चरणकमलेभ्यो नमः ।

Content: nityānandam paramasukhadam kevalam jñānamūrtim dvandvātītam gaganasadrśam tattvamasyādi lakṣyam I ekam nityam vimalam acalam sarvadhī-sākṣi-bhūtam bhāvātītam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namāmi II

Content: puṣpāñjalim samarpayāmi sadgurucaranakamalebhyo namaḥ

Content: Offer the flowers at the feet of the Master

Content: Do Guru Puja yourself

Content: Do namaskār (prostrate) to the feet of the Master.

Content: About Paramahamsa Nityānanda

Content: Paramahamsa Nityānanda is an enlightened master living amidst us today. With a worldwide movement for meditation and inner bliss, Nityānanda offers solutions for situations as practical as every day stress to the quest for something as profound as enlightenment. He left home at a young age and traveled the length and breadth of India, visiting holy shrines and associating himself with spiritual masters and mystics. He realized his intrinsic knowledge through the paths of meditation, yoga, tantra, knowledge, devotion and other Eastern metaphysical sciences. With an enlightened insight into the core of human nature, Nityānanda has defined his mission for humanity at large. Rooted in the ancient tradition of living enlightenment, and embracing all world religions as sacred and unique, Nityānanda draws people from around the globe, crossing all societal, cultural, language, age and gender barriers.

Content: About Nityānanda Mission

Content: Nityānanda Mission is a worldwide movement for spreading meditation and inner bliss. The services provided by the organization include meditation • yoga • corporate leadership programs • free energy healing through the Nitya Spiritual Healing system • free education to youth • promoting art and culture • satsangs (spiritual gatherings) • free medical camps and eye surgeries • free meals at all ashrams worldwide • a holistic system of education for children through the ashram gurukul and a host of specially designed meditation programs.

Content: 35

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Content: Inner Awakening is a 21-day ‘master’ program that is intensely transformative.

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Content: Kalpataru

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Content: Contact Us

Content: USA:

Content: Los Angeles

Content: Life Bliss Foundation

Content: 9720 Central Avenue, Montclair, CA 91763

Content: USA

Content: Ph.: +1 909 625 1400

Content: Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Content: URL: www.lifeblissfoundation.org

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Content: INDIA: Bengaluru, Karnataka (Spiritual headquarters and Nithyananda Vedic Temple) Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, Nithyanandapuri, Off Mysore Road, Bidadi, Bengaluru - 562 109 Karnataka, INDIA Ph.: +91 97422 03311 / +91 92430 48957 Email: [email protected] URL:www.nithyananda.org Visit www.nithyanandagalleria.com or www.lifeblissgalleria.com for more information. E-mail: [email protected] & [email protected]

Content: Over 500 FREE discourses of Nityānanda available at http://www.youtube.com/lifeblissfoundation