This book is compiled with the goal of explaining the hidden history, significance, and meaning of the mantras used in common Hindu puja rituals performed by the Bengalis to the Bengali immigrants.

This book is compiled with the goal of explaining the hidden history, significance, and meaning of the mantras used in common Hindu puja rituals performed by the Bengalis to the Bengali immigrants.

The Advanced Puja is significantly more sophisticated than the original Durga Puja Beginner, adding several viddhis and stotrams, including the Durga Sahasranam. This book guides the spiritual seeker toward union with Durga, the Goddess who takes away confusion, replacing it with stillness and clarity.

In Vedic Sciences, the Sanskrit word Puja means honoring a force more powerful than you for inner gains. The word Durga is a Sanskrit word meaning Universal Motherhood and recognizing the power of the woman to give birth and make the universe exist continuously. In this book a simulated version of the Universe is constructed and a simulated trip is made to request the Goddess Durga to grant prosperous, happy and satisfactory life by rebirthing the performer and removing all that threatens his or her existence

During a nine-day period every autumn, Hindus in India and throughout the world worship the Great Goddess, Durgā--the formidable deity who is loved like a mother. One of the most dramatic and popular of these celebrations is the Durgā Pūjā, a rite noted for its visual pageantry, ritual complexity, and communal participation. In this book, Hillary Peter Rodrigues describes the Bengali style of Durgā Pūjā practiced in the sacred city of Banaras from beginning to end. A romanization of the Sanskrit litany is included along with an English translation. In addition to the liturgical description, Rodrigues provides information on the rite's component elements and mythic aspects. There are interpretive sections on puja, the Great Goddess, women's roles in the ritual, and the socio-cultural functions of the ritual. Rodrigues maintains that the Durgā Pūjā is a rite of cosmic rejuvenation, of empowerment at both the personal and social levels, and a rite that orchestrates manifestations of the feminine, both Divine and human.