540. Pooja and Prarthana: Is there any difference between the two

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/faith-and-rituals/pooja-and-prarthana-is-there-any-difference-between-the-two

At the first place is Pooja different from Prarthana??? Yes, these two words may sound similar, but they are different. Is not Prarthana or Pooja asking Absolute for His grace or thanking for His grace?? No, it is an irony to know that Pooja and Prarthana today has become more of an act of petitioning or putting up requests unto the Absolute. It is quite common to see many putting up a list of their desires while performing a Pooja or while practicing Prarthana. 

Pooja and Prarthana should not be a mere list of materialistic wantons, pride, self-interest & ego but rather for the well-being of the individual and all others. It has to be an act of submission to the Absolute sincerely and purely without other worldly apprehensions. Hence there is a need to know the difference between Pooja and Prarthana.

Pooja is an act done physically while Prarthana is mental. Mental Pooja is Prarthana and physical Prarthana is Pooja. Pooja has its base in ritualism; it needs articles, a particular place, time and an image. Pooja leads to ritual growth and is basically to know the Divine. Pooja has a lot of rituals and it is a technique used to detach the individual from routine life. It is a way of imposing discipline and regulation in a seeker and letting him to deviate from the monotony of life. It consists of religious practices like adorning, adoring and admiring the deity. It is a way of showing your love towards the Absolute. Pooja is sometimes done in groups and requires a certain procedure to be followed. Pooja needs mantras and guidance of the priest. And it is a lifestyle.

Prarthana is the vital breath of spirit. It means to communicate with the Absolute without any articles and irrelevant of time and place. Prarthana is for the spiritual growth and to achieve Divinity. It does not require any particular procedure to be followed and is done mostly in solitude without any mediators.

As a young boy I used to watch my father cleanse the idols in the altar every morning and on every Friday he gave them an ablution with milk, curds, honey, ghee and sugar. Then he would apply turmeric and vermillion and offer betel leaves, areca nut and a fruit. At the end there were incense sticks and waving of a ghee lamp as Aarthi with the reciting of Mangalasasanam. In the evening my father used to just sit in a room closing his eyes. Though the morning rituals by my father were fascinating to me, I could not grasp the intention behind his silence at the room in the evening at that age.

Now I do understand that his ritualistic Pooja in the morning was to get me and my sister in the groove. Though he was connected to the Absolute in the morning by doing the ritualistic Pooja, it was the evening Prarthana in silence which now I understand is necessary and more fascinating. I came to know that what my father did in the morning was Sagunaopasana (Ritualistic Pooja) and in the evening it was Nirgunopasana (Mental Prarthana). Now it is my turn so that my daughter also gets to understand them. Years later she will know the difference between Pooja and Prarthana.

It is remarkable to note that Pooja and Prarthana gets blended very well. In fact if they are done together it brings benefit to the individual and at the same time the young in the house will also make a habit to follow. This is the belief in every religion and hence even though Sri Sri Sankara had mentioned about Nirgunopasana, He composed many Stotras and Slokas of different deities. But it is generally believed that Pooja sans Prarthana does not have any sense.