People are returning to normal life slowly after the Covid pandemic. However, many people fear going out to crowded places like temples, cinema theaters, and shopping complexes. Online temple services are an alternative to visiting temples as it enables people to do pujas and receive prasadam without the risk of going out of their homes.
Temples can have an online presence and offer all types of pujas online to satisfy the needs of the devotees. Remedial pujas, which provide solutions to specific problems, can also be done online. Highly qualified and experienced pandits perform all temple services.
The purpose of puja
Puja is a powerful form of worshipping God and seeking his blessings to stay healthy, safe, and free from problems. Puja can be done simply or elaborately. The simplest form of puja is offering flowers and fruits to the deity.
It is often done when people worship God at home. People recite prayers while doing puja. The temple priest does the puja in the temples. The duration of puja can be anywhere between five minutes to three hours and depends upon the type of puja.
People do puja at home for a few minutes by reciting some prayers. While performing a puja, a devotee or priest stands or sits in front of the deity. The regular puja done every day at home or temple is called Nitya Puja.
Pujas are performed to earn God’s blessings. The traditional 16 step puja is called shodashopachara puja. It is done on special occasions or festival days.
Common rituals during puja
The first step is the invocation, cleaning the place where puja is done. The deity is invoked before performing the main puja. People pray to God to accept the puja and answer their prayers. The idol is adorned with new clothes, garlands, ornaments, sandalwood paste, and vermillion.
Special food is prepared, which is offered to God, and it is known as Naivedyam. In the end, the deity is honored with incense sticks and camphor. The rituals end after thanking God for accepting the puja.
Popular pujas
- Satyanarayan puja
- Durga puja
- Lakshmi – Kubera Puja
- Subramanya puja
- Lakshmi Narayan puja
- Mahalakshmi puja
- Navagraha Puja
- Shiva puja
- Ayyappa puja
- Gayathri puja
Online temple services enable people to offer prayers in any temple when they cannot go there. The priests perform the puja on their behalf and send the prasadam through the mail. Devotees make payments to the temple office in advance, and pujas are done on the specified date.
Online services offered by a temple enable people to perform puja in a temple far away from their place, located in another part of the world. It saves the time people have to wait to find time to visit the temple. Some temples send the video recording of the puja along with a picture of the deity and prasadam.
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Temples can receive payments and donations online, and devotees can see the list of special pujas done in the temple on festival days and special occasions. The dates for special pujas may not be the same for all temples.
The lockdown caused by the pandemic forced people to stay indoors. Some devotees feel happy only through a darshan in the temple. Some feel peaceful by visiting different temples throughout the year.
Live online darshan’s and online temple services help to soothe the minds of devotees who are upset about not making a pilgrimage. The online services enable devotees to offer pujas and make donations in any temple located in any part of the world.
