Puja and Its Ways of Expressing Hindu Beliefs and Values-Discussion
1). After reviewing the materials from this Unit and the video above, explain what puja is and how it expresses Hindu beliefs and values.
2). Identify and describe the yogic path you think puja best fits. Explain why you identified this yogic path as the best fit. Use textual support from Huston Smith’s The World’s Religions to make your case.
3). How would you develop your own puja? Explain how your puja relates back to your foundational values, goals, or duty in life. What “god” is placed on your shrine? How do you pay respect to this “god” in your daily life? What does your puja ritual look like? It might be helpful to think in terms of what you really want in life and how you can get what you want. What would your yogic path look like and how would that be expressed in puja form?
This last part might seem a bit tricky, so here is an example. I love music, so my puja would contain, among other things, a record player. This relates to the guiding values in my life of the arts and creativity. These are things that make me feel like I am connected to something larger than myself. I honor the record player daily by actively listening to music, cleaning the records I use, giving offerings to the record player of my of time and attention. If I were responding to the discussion prompt, I would flesh out this example with additional description and explanation, using the Unit 2 materials to help explain my puja ritual.
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