Puja is a word in Sanskrit language. In Sanskrit, words are formed with meaning in mind. For instance in the word puja, With 'p' it removes all accumulated sins, and with 'j' it makes your life's (birth) purpose fulfilled.

The Lord being not accessible to our eyes, ears, nose, touch and beyond the intellect, the ancients devised a method of bringing Lord within the realm of the senses.

This method is to worship Him (Her or It) in an object (photo, water, fire, precious jewel, idol etc) which you can touch, feel, smell, see, feel the taste of. Thus all wandering senses are brought to a focus, by belief (faith) and by daily practice.

Unshakable faith and long practice, evokes and unfolds hitherto unknown dimensions in awareness, which are generally not communicable in the normal way.

To attain the blessings of God, our Hindu philosophy advocates two paths, namely

• the path of GNANA ( that of wisdom )
• the path of BHAKTHI (that of devotion).
  The Wisdom path considers the Almighty as a concept with out any form or any feeling etc., On the other hand the Bhakthi path considers God as One, with or without a form, but as one who incorporates many divine feelings. 'PRARTHANA' in other words 'Prayer' or 'Worship' is the first step towards pursuing the Bhakthi route for Godliness.

The second step is Pooja. In other words, a specific form of worship which also involves a physical offering of either a material object, or the body, mind or soul to God. The Pooja, when done properly guides oneself towards God, and while doing 'Prarthana' (praying), the Almighty draws closer to the devotee. Therefore it is a two-way motion that brings the Worshipper and the Worshipped closer. By means of puja, the appropriate Gods are appealed to for removal of affliction, protection and prosperity.