There Are Three Kinds of Puja

Para, Apara, and Parapara

Para – द्वैतभानसामान्याभावे परा
Apara - अद्वैतभानसामान्याभवे अपरा
Parapara - द्वैतविलयाभ्यासदशायां परापरा

Worship in which complete absence of duality is there is called Para. Puja in which complete absence of non-duality is there is called Apara. When you are somewhere in between or keep switching from one to the other, it is called Parapara – a mix of both.

सपर्या सर्वभावेषु सा परा परिकीर्तिता
In Para worship, everything is dedicated to divinity.
जपो जल्पः शिल्पं सकलमपि मुद्राविरचना
गतिः प्रादक्षिण्यक्रमणमशनाद्याहुतिविधिः
प्रणामः संवेशः सुखमखिलमात्मार्प्पणदृशा
सपर्यापर्यायस्तव भवतु यन्मे विलसितम्

Whatever I speak, every single word that I speak, they are like chanting your mantras. Every single gesture that I show with my hands, they are like showing your mudras. Every step that I take, they are pradakshina of you. Whatever I eat, it is like performing homa for you; in the fire present in my stomach called jatharagni, I am offering everything that I eat as ahutis for you. If I lie down, that becomes my namaskara, my sashtanga pranama for you. Every single action of mine, even casual actions like opening and closing my eyes, they are all meant for you, dedicated towards you.

When someone attains this state, whatever he or she does is called Para Saparya or the Para form of worship. This is not samadhi; this is not inaction. Here, action is there, but every action is dedicated to divinity. It is not like, 'This I am doing for God, and this I am doing for myself.' For example, 'From seven to seven-thirty, I do puja, and after that, I have breakfast meant for myself.' This is not Para Puja. When that breakfast also becomes a homa, then it is Para Saparya, Para Puja.

It is a perpetual thought, perpetual thinking that this is all dedicated to divinity. There is no differentiation between noble acts and ordinary acts; every act is noble. Because nothing that your body does is meant for you, it is a puja because there is action, recognition of that action, and conviction that this is dedicated towards divinity.

This is not a new concept. When agnihotris grow old, having offered ahutis of milk in the morning and evening throughout their lives, they have an option. If they are not physically capable of doing it anymore, they can take back that agni inside them and drink milk in the morning and evening. When they drink it, they don’t think, 'This has calcium; this has protein; this will give me strength.' They think, 'I am offering ahuti in that agni which is inside me now, the same agni that was outside, now inside me, and I am performing the same agnihotra in this way.' This is Para worship.

The same concept is expressed in the shloka:
आत्मा त्वं गिरिजा मतिः सहचराः प्राणाः शरीरं गृहम्
पूजा ते विषयोपभोगरचना निद्रा समाधिस्थितिः
संचारं पदयोः प्रदक्षिणविधिःस्तोत्राणि सर्वा गिराः
यद्यत् कर्म करोमि तत्तदखिलं शंभो तवराधनम्

My body is your temple. My atma is you. My mind is Devi Girija. My pranas are those who assist me in your puja, those who join me in your puja. Whatever I do, they are all your puja. When I sleep, that is the state of samadhi or inaction. When I walk, every step that I take is your pradakshina. Whatever I speak, they are all your stotras. In this way, whatever I do, they are all your puja, worship of Shambhu Mahadeva.

The benefit of Para Puja, the result, is that this compulsive adherence to name and form – like 'he is so and so,' 'she is so and so,' or 'this is an apple,' 'this is an orange,' and all thoughts arising from this recognition – starts getting weaker. When you see an object, you see the essence of it, not the properties or characteristics of it.

So, Para Puja is an advanced state of puja, worship. This is still a state of action, not a state of samadhi. Non-duality here is in terms of the disappearance of distinctions like 'this is puja' and 'this is my personal thing.' Everything becomes puja.

In contrast to this is Apara Puja or Apara Saparya. Apara only leads to Para. You can’t start with Para; you have to go step by step. Just because somebody else is in that state, if you also try to do it, it will only be imagination without real meaning or essence. So, it must always begin with Apara Puja.

Apara does not mean it is inferior. Just because more subjects are taught in higher classes, it does not mean that the first or second standard is inferior, nor does it mean that you can skip all that and go straight to the tenth or twelfth. In fact, the real transformative acts are the external pujas, the simple standard pujas. Don’t ever presume that they are inferior.

The teachers who contribute most to a child’s character formation are the ones in the lower classes, play school, first standard – they are the ones who actually set the path for the child’s growth. We often think primary school teachers are inferior to higher class teachers. In terms of salary, maybe yes, which is an injustice, but in terms of responsibility and impact on the child’s life, they are more important.

अपरा तु बहिर्वक्ष्यमाण चक्रार्चनाविधिः
So, Apara is the regular puja, the simple puja that you perform on idols, yantras, chakras – with flowers, chandana, dhupa, and deepa. Here, there is an absence of non-duality. For someone doing Apara Puja, he or she is quite different and separate from the god or goddess. There is a complete recognition of duality and a clear separation of acts into divine and non-divine. 'I wear this dress during puja and this during other times.' 'I wear tilaka during puja and wipe it out when going to the office.' This clear distinction between divine time and non-divine time is characteristic of Apara Puja.

The third, Parapara, is the state in between. You are in both, sometimes here, sometimes there—not fully here, not fully there. In Apara Saparya, but also delving into Para Saparya at times, first getting glimpses of it, then delving into it.

Knowledge Bank

Some vahanas in temple festivals

Vahanas or vehicles are used for taking out processions during festivals in temples. Some of them are - Surya Mandala, Chandra Mandala, Simha, Ashwa, Gaja, Hamsa, Garuda, Mayura, Hanuman, Nandi, Kalpavriksha, Meru, Pushpa Mandapa, Anantha, Andolika, and Brahma Ratha.

What is the meaning of Panchakshari Shiva mantra?

Panchakshari Shiva mantra, Om Namah Shivaya means - Salutation to Shiva.