A Puja, not done in temples, but it is a worship of Shiv Tatva within. Explore the Shiv Manas Puja!

I was in a WhatsApp conversation with my friend "J" from Kolkata last month. This is our actual conversation, that lead me to introduce shiv Manas Puja to her.

"J": Finally getting hospitalised today after almost a month of being in bed and suffering.

"Me": Let me see what i can do.

From a different City, i could not do much, other than change the perspective and give her the confidence that all is well, not from the mind, affirmations or healing, but going far beyond that.

The goal of my life is to give, to guide, to contribute. In whatever way i can.

"Me": Everyone at every stage finds something relevant. Just like the audio came to me at the right time! Which lead to the last blog you read.

Today, i will tell you about shiv Manas Puja, one of the three short sources, on which my entire study is based. (Mandukya upanishad (12 shlokas on aum, nirvanashatakam (6th shloka on nirguna) and shiv Manas Puja (4th out of 5 sholkas on self-saguna)

In the shiv Manas Puja shloka 4, acharya says... Become Shiva and do Manas Puja (in the heart region,not the third eye) of Shiva. Manas Puja is done in the mind. Not physically. The physical puja is a essential preparation, a means for Manas Puja, the goal.

Shiv Manas Puja is a beautiful composition by adi shakaracharya.

It says in the 5th shloka.

What you are is the home of the lord, as the body. 5 Pranas are shivas ganas, girija or Parvati is the intellect and Shiva himself is you, the atman.

All the material objects in the world is for your bhog/consumption/enjoyment.

Deep sleep (thoughtless state) is your state of samadhi.

When you walk, you are doing parikrama of the the lord.

When you say anything, it is shiv stuti.

Whatever actions you so, it is the aradhana of Shiva.

This simply means that your body, it's intellect, it's sleep, it's wal hu uk, talk, enjoyment, actions are are all Shiva.

Connect to this higher purpose and let your heart be filled with abundance to give with love to everyone. The immense desire to give fills the heart.

And watch the body heal itself quickly, post the procedure.

Make the best use of your time. Read blogs, links, videos, books, study. Analyse. You have have the time as you rest and recover.

Always remember. Its your body. You are not the body. Its the first layer. Annamaya kosha.

All the best for the procedure.

"J":Awesome! Thanks so much!

I then shared some of my notes and links with her on the shiv Manas Puja. The content of this blog comes from these links and notes...

I got lot of time in the lockdown to study. Before that, i have had my share of an emotional roller coaster ride of life as well. Different people used lockdown for different purposes. Drinking, fitness, study, certifications etc. I used it for self study, which needs total concentration.

This study needs time and focus. Which is hard to get in today's day to day life. That's the biggest challenge. It can't be done in bits and peices.

And without the self realisation, life still goes on. So big deal! Anyways...

J will get the focussed time she needs for this. To contemplate on this aspect of being. So the event of not being well and in the bed itself can be used greatly to one's advantage.

If even one of us, who reads the blogs, gets even one insight, all the effort is worth it. The purpose of giving, however small, is achieved...

Seeking something gives hope. Getting it gives pleasure, which is short lived. The pursuit of eternal happiness, takes to you a place, where everything is blissful. As there are no attachments and aversions, related to desires.

With this context and intention, let us now deep dive and understand the shiv Manas Puja, and essence.

Saguna Brahman

Just as the essence of nirguna brahman is given in atma shatakam, The essence of saguna brahman within is given in shloka 4 of shiv manas puja by adi Shankaracharya. This is the context with which one has to study, imbibe and ultimately live the manas puja.

Worshipping the purest form of self - Shiva within.

"You are me; Parvati is my reason. My five pranas are your attendants, my body is your house" So the worship is going to the purest of the pure forms within, which is you, yourself!

Why Manaspuja

The objective of physical puja is to enable us to do manaspuja ( worship by the mind) within the heart, internally, without going anywhere or without any objects like flowers, prasad etc. The importance of physical puja is that, you can only visualize what you have already done, very easily.

Objective of rituals

Most of us are still stuck in doing physical rituals, not understanding that it is the starting point, ending point being the ability to perform manaspuja within. You can only visualize what you have seen, tasted, felt, smelt, heard. Hence the objective of the puja (ritual) you perform is to enable you to do manaspuja within, in the heart chakra. It is the fourth shloka of the manaspuja, that reveals the true meaning of anandmaya kosha. I am everything. I am everywhere. I am all actions.

Listen to the manaspuja here.

Manaspuja. https://youtu.be/nmmKE2TUiH4

Immersing yourself in Manaspuja

The more I contemplate, understand and immerse into it, the more this physical existence gets aligned to the supreme consciousness.

Before we understand Manaspuja, it is required that we study Nirvanashatam / Atmashatakam. Please click on this link to know more.

https://www.limaye.org/post/nirvana-shatakam-6-verses-to-nirvana-freedom-you-only-have-to-realize-that-you-are-already-free

Knowing the true nature of shiv lingam.

Shiva is the purest form of the self represented by Lingam, a symbol. It is not a nuclear reactor, electron proton, Brahma Vishnu Mahesh or genitals as some people believe. (This is given in another blog).

https://www.limaye.org/post/what-is-shiv-lingam

Now that the fundamentals are known. lets understand the profound meaning of the manas puja composition.

As the manaspuja progresses, the smell, the taste, the sound, all move the energy up through the chakras...

• Mooladhara Chakra – Four-petalled Red Lotus  (Sense of Smell)

• Swadhisthana Chakra – Six-petalled Vermillion/ Orange Lotus  (Sense of Taste)

• Manipura Chakra – Ten-petalled Yellow Lotus  (Sense of Sight)

• Anahata Chakra – Twelve-petalled Green/ Blue Lotus  (Sense of Touch)

• Visshudha Chakra – Sixteen-petalled Blue/Purple Lotus  (Sense of Hearing)

• Ajna Chakra – Two-petalled Silver/ Violet Lotus  (Sense of Sight)

Manas puja with Meaning

मानस पूजा (Shiv Manas Puja)

The sanskrit shloka

The transliteration in english

The english meaning

The detailed meaning

are given in sequence for each of the 5 shlokas

रत्नैः कल्पितमासनं हिमजलैः स्नानं च दिव्याम्बरं

नानारत्नविभूषितं मृगमदामोदाङ्कितं चन्दनम्।

जातीचम्पकबिल्वपत्ररचितं पुष्पं च धूपं तथा

दीपं देव दयानिधे पशुपते हृत्कल्पितं गृह्यताम्॥१॥

Rathnai Kalpitham asanam, Himajalai snanam cha divyambaram, Naana rathna vibhooshitham mruga madha modhanvitham Chandanam, Jathi champaka bilwa pathra rachitham, pushpam cha deepam Thada, Deepam deva dayanithe pasupathe, hrud kalpyatham gruhyatham. || 1 ||

O Ocean of mercy, O master of bound creatures, I have imagined a throne of precious stones for you, cool water for you to bathe in, divine robes adorned with many jewels, sandalwood paste mixed with musk to anoint your body, jasmine, and Champaka flowers and bilva leaves, rare incense, and a shining flame. Accept all these which I have imagined in my heart for you, O God. || 1 ||

This shloka describes smell. Here the muladhara chakra is activated as the mind can actually sense the smell within... And feel that it's real...

सौवर्णे नवरत्नखण्डरचिते पात्रे घृतं पायसं भक्ष्यं

पञ्चविधं पयोदधियुतं रम्भाफलं पानकम्।

शाकानामयुतं जलं रुचिकरं कर्पूरखण्डोज्ज्वलं ताम्बूलं

मनसा मया विरचितं भक्त्या प्रभो स्वीकुरु॥२॥

Souvarne nava rathna Ganda Rachithe, pathre Grutham Payasam, Bakshyam pancha vidam Payo dadhiyutham, rambha phalam panakam, Saaka namayutham jalam ruchikaram, karpoora gandojwalam, Thamboolam manasa maya virachitham Bhakthyo prabho sweekuru || 2 ||

Sweet rice in a golden bowl inlaid with the nine jewels, the five kinds of food made from milk and curd, bananas, vegetables, sweet water scented with camphor, and betel leaf – I have prepared all these in my mind with devotion. O Lord, please accept them. || 2 ||

This sholka describes the sense of taste, associated with the second chakra. The energy moves up, to the sacral chakra, visualising the taste of the payasam, pachamrut water with leaves, Kapur, beetle leaf...

छत्रं चामरयोर्युगं व्यजनकं चादर्शकं निर्मलम्

वीणाभेरिमृदङ्गकाहलकला गीतं च नृत्यं तथा।

साष्टाङ्गं प्रणतिः स्तुतिर्बहुविधा ह्येतत्समस्तं मया

सङ्कल्पेन समर्पितं तवविभो पूजां गृहाण प्रभो॥३॥

Chathram Chamarayoryugam vyajanagam, chaa darshakam nirmalam, Veena bheri mrudanga kahala kala geetha nruthyam thada, Sasthangam pranthi sthuthir bahu vidha, hyethat samastham maya, Sankalpena samapitham thava vibho , poojam gruhana prabho || 3 ||

A Canopy, two yak-tail whisks, a fan and a spotless mirror, a veena, kettledrums, a mridang and a great drum, songs and dancing, full prostrations, and many kinds of hymns – all this I offer you in my imagination. O almighty Lord, accept this, my worship of you. || 3 ||

This shloka describes the sense of sight accompanied by divine sound. This is the third chakra.

आत्मा त्वं गिरिजा मतिः सहचराः प्राणाः शरीरं गृहं

पूजा ते विषयोपभोगरचना निद्रा समाधिस्थितिः।

सञ्चारः पदयोः प्रदक्षिणविधिः स्तोत्राणि सर्वागिरो

यद्यत्कर्म करोमि तत्तदखिलं शम्भो तवाराधनम्॥४॥

Aathma thwam Girija Mathi sahacharaa, prana sarreram gruham, Pooja theey vishayopa bhoga rachana, nidhra samadhi sthithi, Sanchara padayo pradakshina vidhi, , sthothrani sarva giraa, Yadyath karma karomi thathad akhilam, shambho thavaradhanam || 4 ||

You are me; Parvati is my reason. My five pranas are your attendants, my body is your house, and all the pleasures of my senses are objects to use for your worship. My sleep is your state of samadhi. Whenever I walk I am walking around you, everything I say is in praise of you, everything I do is to honor you, O benevolent Lord. || 4 ||

This is the key shloka of the manaspuja composition.

Atma is the self, shiva. The buddhi is parvati, shivas consort. (Here only one part of the mind is taken. The other three are not. Aligned with shiva, there is not identity ahamakara, there is no memory, as all memories are linked to identity, there is no manas feelings as they emerge from chitta and ahamakara.)

The ganas of shiva are the pranas. Ganas obey shiva. In manaspuja, pranayama is automatic. The physical body the home for all of them, shiva, parvati and ganas. The entire consciousness and its manifestation is now within. Not in a temple, outside.

All the material aspects are created to worship shiva. When i enjoy through my senses, i am actually doing puja or worshipping lord Shiva within me. (This is opposite of withdrawal of senses from the material world, which is very difficult). This changes the relationship with the material world completely. A profound insight.

Here nidra means deep sleep, not just sleep in dream state, where there is no active mind, hence no dreams, by which we get rest...and feel we had a good night's sleep. In samadhi state too, we don't have awareness of the mind. (We are in samadhi state every night, but we can not control it). This is to make us aware of the nature of the samadhi state. Once mind is silent, all the aspects related to mind, emotions, identity, memory, even intellect dissolve.

In santana dharma, parikrama (circling) of the supreme being has great importance. Here as the Lord resides within, and is the atman or the consciousness itself, when I walk, that itself is the parikrama of the Lord. There is no need to go to temple for parikrama anymore.

Whatever I speak are the stotras, as all languages and sounds are derived from aum. And aum is within, the consciousness, manifested by eternal sound, I can hear at all times, even in sleep.

Whatever actions I take are all worship of lord shiva. There is no karma attached, no good, no bad, as everything is submitted to the Lord.

This shloka describes the sense of touch and is about the heart chakras...

करचरण कृतं वाक्कायजं कर्मजं वा

श्रवणनयनजं वा मानसंवापराधम्।

विहितमविहितं वा सर्वमेतत्क्षमस्व

जय जय करुणाब्धे श्रीमहादेवशम्भो॥५॥

Kara charana krutham vaak kayajam karmajam vaa, Sravana nayanajam vaa maanasam vaa aparadham, Vihithamavihitham vaa sarva methath Kshamaswa, Jaya Jaya katunabdhe sri Mahadeva Shambho. || 5 ||

Whatever offenses I have committed with my hands, feet, voice, body, actions, ears, eyes, or mind, whether prohibited or not, please forgive them all. Hail! Hail! O Ocean of compassion! O, great God! O, benevolent Lord! || 5 ||

In the last stanza, the kshmapan stotra, asking for mercy, is about the state when one is not in tune with the inner state of Shiva, and actions are some, thoughts come etc. With a false identity of the role. When the self is in tune with aum, this does not happen as everyone, everything all actions, thoughts are all shiva.

This shloka is a prayer for forgiveness, and is associated with the sound sense of hearing in the 5th chakra is the throat region

॥ इति श्रीमच्छङ्कराचार्यविरचिता शिवमानसपूजा संपूर्ण॥

In a physical puja or worship, things work in a sequence due to physical limitations. In manajpuja, its simultaneous and eternal. Even with eyes open...

Blessing

May you always be in eternal awareness of the devotion to Shiva within. May you be blessed with abundance of being and acceptance of having. May you be in eternal sound of aum, a manifestation of the lord himself.