Satyanarayan Pooja: Significance, Benefits & Method

Satyanarayan Pooja: Significance, Benefits & Method

Kali Yuga, which comes as the final phase of the 4-Yuga cycle, is an epoch well-known for the wicked and sinful ways of the people. Hence it remains a much-feared age when people commit sins, are plunged in sorrow, and suffer as a consequence. Still, even Kali Yuga has a few redeeming features that can pull people out of their wretched existence; one of them is Satyanarayan Pooja

Lord Satyanarayan 

Narayana is Lord Vishnu, the Supreme God of Protection and Sustenance, and Satya is truth. Satyanarayan is thus a Narayana aspect, who is an embodiment of truth. He is a merciful divinity who can relieve people of their misery and fulfill their wishes.

Satyanarayan Pooja is a popular worship to this Lord, which, when done with devotion and faith and as prescribed in the scriptures, can earn his benevolent blessings for the devotees.    

Significance of Satyanarayan Pooja

Satya, the truthfulness, is the bedrock of any Dharma, the moral order. When we invoke Narayana, who, by his very name, highlights the significance of Satya in life, it can become an inevitable part and parcel of our existence. Also, it is Pournami, the Full Moon day when Satyanarayan Pooja is usually performed. The Moon can affect our minds, thoughts, and emotions, and the Full Moon can leave us mentally disturbed, erratic, and inconsistent in our actions and behavior. But rooting oneself firmly in truth, and dedicating such a difficult day entirely to noble thoughts and Divine worship, can help us stabilize in all respects. Besides, while the fast people observe on that day can also help overcome negative aspects, chanting, prayers, and virtuous thinking can purify the self, free us of despicable thoughts and attract positive energy.    

     

Satyanarayan Pooja Procedure

It is ideal to do Satyanarayan Pooja on the Pournami, Full Moon days, which occur once a month. This worship can also be done on the monthly Sankranthi days, when the Sun transits into a Rasi, the Moon sign.  

Devotees can organize the materials required for the Pooja in advance, which include – Lord Satyanarayan's Divine idol or image for Pooja, traditional lamp, incense, banana plants and mango leaves, raw rice, yellow cloth and rick, sandal paste, kumkum, flowers, fruits, ingredients to prepare Panchamrit and Prasad, and materials for fire ritual, when performed.    

Satyanarayan Pooja has to be performed with a pure body and mind, along with complete devotion, faith, and focus. The devotees can make a pledge to the Lord himself to this effect, before they start the worship, which can be done at home or in a hall.  

Accordingly, the devotees can freshen themselves up in the morning, clean the place meant for the Pooja, decorate it with banana plants and mango leaves, place the Satyanarayan idol or picture on a cloth, spread the yellow fabric in front with the rick on it, and place a Kalash, the pot with water on the rice spread out. They can also prepare the sweet dish Panchamrit using milk, curd, ghee, honey, and sugar.

 Satyanarayan Pooja, per se, would start with a Sankalpam, when the devotee seeks Divine permission to perform the Pooja for the fulfillment of their wishes. It is followed by Vigneshwara Pooja to Lord Ganapati, Gayatri Mantra chanting, Pranayama, the breath-purification, Kalash Pooja to Satyanarayan in Kalash-form, then praying to the 5 divinities Ganesha, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Parvati, Navagraha Pooja to the 9 Planetary Lords, Pooja to Indra and the Lords of the 8 directions, and finally the Pooja to Lord Satyanarayan.  

This Satyanarayan worship involves Pran Pratishta, filling the divinity with Prana, the life force, by chanting Satyanarayan's 108 names in his praise and offering flowers at the feet of the image. Then, the devotees can take flowers in their hands, invoke the Lord to fulfill their wishes, and bless family members and others for prosperity and abundance.   

People wishing to do havan can do the fire ritual by offering pieces of wood with ghee to the holy fire. Then they can read or recite 5 chapters from the holy text Satyanarayan Katha. Subsequently, they can distribute the food offering made of wheat, ghee, sugar, and banana. Devotees can then break their fast by partaking in the Prasad.  

Anyone, irrespective of caste, creed, age, and gender, can perform the Satyanarayan Pooja with sincerity and faith.

Benefits

Satyanarayan Pooja can eliminate sorrows and sufferings from the devotees' lives, grant prosperity, wealth, abundance, victory, and harmonious married life, and bestow progeny blessing and healthy children.