Questions on puja

[squidgirl]

Namaste,

I am in the beginning of learning hinduism...and have been participating in the 1 year class through the Himalayan Monestary. After 12 weeks we are expected to do the Ganesa puja daily. I am having multiple problems with this.
I only have 3 rooms in my small house as well as neighbors bedroom on the other side of the wall. I have a partner who sleeps a good deal of the day...2 small children who get up early for school...all these things pose a problem when it comes to the chanting/ringing and lighting lamps and incense....the puja is so long and I feel uncomfortable doing it, not being a person who was ever religious before a couple of months ago. Pretty much everything about it is difficult for me. Do I HAVE to do this? I worship twice a day...but I feel this is making me feel so uncomfortable, when the rest of it does the opposite. ANy help here?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam squidgirl: I wouldn't be too concerned about expectations. Courses do have to put some sort of 'expectations' on things, but I don't think they're hard and fast rules. You can go at your own pace, I'm sure.

Please don't put so much pressure on yourself. Simplify the puja, and do your family duties would be my best advice. That and to stop worrying about it. Not much can happen to you in this situation. But hopefully you won't just call it quits altogether. I found with a young family, I lowered my own expectations a lot.

Best wishes on it.

Aum Namasivaya

[ShriBala]

Namaskar. Totally agree with what EM has posted.

A spiritual leader in India had said - work is worship.

Since you've small children, taking care of them is a form of pooja as well. Maybe, you can visualize Ganapati in your kids or your kids as Ganapati deva? Or, if you're sufficiently adept in chanting a Ganapati mantra/ remembering Him, while doing your chores and taking care of your kids, that IMHO would be something which might not stress you out?

As in the material world, it is the quality and not the quantity -- for instance, number of times a mantra is chanted w/o faith/concentration-- that counts.

Good luck.

[squidgirl]

Namaste!

Thank you both for your kind replys! I guess I am putting to much pressure on myself. I have a very hard time working up to things...and like it to be perfect from the start, which I know is impossible. I have also learned that I dont have to do all of it in Hindu?! The daunting thought of chanting in Hindu when I dont even know what Im saying was too much...now I think I will start off in English. Whew! I also watch Puja videos online when I can...I chant my mantra as much as possible and set aside time for meditation, chanting, reading and watching online...so I guess I AM getting a lot done!
Thank you all. This is a great place.
Namaste,
Shayna

[ShriBala]

Namaste!

and like it to be perfect from the start, which I know is impossible.

Namaskar. If it were perfect from the start, then there'd not be much to shoot for, huh?

I've heard some very highly evolved souls say -- "Each one of us 'evolve' independently, through various births, finally to realize that the entire journey was from ourself to ourself. That way, technically there is no pressure of accomplishing everything in one single birth, though that doesn't give the leeway to pipe down and become lax and stray. The destination - death- is fixed, the time isn't and the future role -- next birth being human or not -- isn't as well. So, spend time in this life, i.e. in the present, contemplating god and then let Him take the call about the future. "

I have also learned that I dont have to do all of it in Hindu?! The daunting thought of chanting in Hindu when I dont even know what Im saying was too much...now I think I will start off in English.

Shayna

i think you'd meant Hindi, the language, here. Hindu, to put it very simplistically, would be the person following Hinduism.

Though, most of the mantras are in Samskrit which looks and sounds - to some extent- like Hindi.

Stick with whatever you're comfortable and can do. That'll inevitably be from the heart.

Good luck.

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste!

Thank you both for your kind replys! I guess I am putting to much pressure on myself. I have a very hard time working up to things...and like it to be perfect from the start, which I know is impossible. I have also learned that I dont have to do all of it in Hindu?! The daunting thought of chanting in Hindu when I dont even know what Im saying was too much...now I think I will start off in English. Whew! I also watch Puja videos online when I can...I chant my mantra as much as possible and set aside time for meditation, chanting, reading and watching online...so I guess I AM getting a lot done!
Thank you all. This is a great place.
Namaste,
Shayna

Vannakkam: My take is that, in the west, its pretty natural to put undue pressure on oneself. There are a couple of reasons, subconsciously, without us even being aware. One is the overwhelming need to compete, the fast paced dog eat dog rat-race many of us seek to at least understand and distance from. The other is the dominant theme of only having one chance at it, from some western faiths. So once you rid yourself of those two concepts, neither of which has much role in Hinduism, life and goals and all that becomes easier, and more doable.

Aum Namasivaya

[squidgirl]

Namaste Eastern Mind,

Yes yes...LOTS of pressure! Where does it come from? I will try and let that go, but it's a doozy!

Shayna

[squidgirl]

Namaste again,

Is it ok to do Puja in English? Does anyone have any reccomendations on how they learned it if not?

Shayna

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam SQ: In some ways English is better at the beginning, because you learn the meaning. I learned that puja by repetition, and there is now an on-line chanting of it, so the pronunciation should get better. One strategy for memorization is to chunk it. Lean a few words at a time, and don't move on until you've mastered that. If you try to do it all at once its nigh impossible. I'm going to go relearn that puja now as well.

Aum Namasivaya

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste Eastern Mind,

Yes yes...LOTS of pressure! Where does it come from? I will try and let that go, but it's a doozy!

Shayna

Vannakkam: This can be very hard. In my teaching days, certain children were under a lot of pressure to perform, often originating from parents in subtle ways. In can be very difficult to let go. I have a relative who once dropped out of a university course because she got a 95 ..(too low for her personal high goal) . But like a lot of things, change takes time. My wife was a cleanaholic ast one time, but 5 kids took her out of that one. Like other stuff, I think its best to start slow. Suppose you 'need' to vacuum twice a week. Cut it back to 3 days out of two weeks. Sort of like the slow withdrawal method to quitting smoking.

Best wishes.

Aum Namasivaya