Offered on Your Behalf Invoke the Divine’s presence and blessings in your life by having a special puja performed either at Kali Mandir or in your own home.

What is Puja?

Revealed by the ancient sages, puja is the science and art of invoking and honoring the living presence of God. The Sanskrit mantras and practices of traditional puja come to us from the Vedas, Puranas and Tantras. The main goal of puja is the offering of our loving devotion to the Lord of our heart. Puja awakens divine vibrations and aligns us with cosmic forces, bringing peace, solace, sustenance and happiness into our lives.

Special pujas offered on your behalf

Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati or Brahmachari Parameswara Chaitanya, Ma Dakshineswari’s monastic pujaris (priests), who are trained in the technical nuances of Hindu ritual, performs most special pujas. These sacred ceremonies, performed either at Kali Mandir or in your home, take approximately one and a half hours and include:

• Kalash sthapana—establishing the Divine Presence within a sacred vessel.
• Ganesha puja—worship of the Remover of Obstacles
• Navagraha puja—worship of the nine planetary deities
• Lakshmi puja—worship of the Goddess of Auspiciousness
• Ishta/kula devata puja—worship of your personal and/or family deity
• Homa/Agni Hotra—offerings into the sacred fire

Special pujas performed at Kali Mandir

Special pujas can be performed at Kali Mandir on your behalf, or on behalf of your loved ones. All pujas are done in the presence of the awakened deity of the Divine Mother, Ma Dakshineshwari Kali.

Puja is an auspicious way to celebrate important events in your life, such as birthdays, to help counteract inauspicious doshas in your astrological chart, or simply to invoke the blessings of God in your and your family’s lives through devoted worship

If you are not present during the special puja, we will send you a letter confirming the performance of the puja, prashadi flowers & sweets offered on your behalf, and sacred ash from the fire ceremony.

The minimum donation for a special puja performed at Kali Mandir is $108. This offering covers the cost of all necessary items such as flowers, sweets, wood, ghee (clarified butter), etc., as well as a donation for the continued work of Kali Mandir and pujari dakshina (token gift to priest).

Special pujas performed in your home

Performing a puja in the home brings the blessings of the Divine to the household. The sacred mantras and rites of traditional worship remove negative energies and fill the home with a tangible presence of auspiciousness. Having a puja performed in your home is an ideal way of blessing a new home or commemorating a special event in your life.

Home pujas also include special rituals designed to bless the family and home. The minimum requested donation for a home puja is $151.00. We request that you provide the wood, ghee, flowers and food offerings.

How to gain the most benefit from a special puja

The more you are personally involved and connected to the worship, the greater the effect in your life. If you are present during the puja, you can participate in the chanting of the mantras and in offering into the sacred fire. You can also prepare some traditional offering such as halava (farina pudding) or paisha (sweet rice). Some devotees also fast, pray or chant extra japa (mantra meditation) on the day of the puja. Many also decide to sponsor the cost of Ma Dakshineswari’s daily sweet and flower offerings on the day of the special worship (approximately $20.00).

How to request a special puja

To request a special puja either at the temple or in your home, simply call Kali Mandir at (949) 494-1906, or e-mail Swami Bhajanananda at bhajanananda@yahoo.com.

Let us know the occasion, your ishta-devata (chosen diety), kula-devata (family diety), and your gotra (name of the sage from which your family descends), if known. After requesting a puja, we will choose an auspicious day and time according to the Hindu astrological almanac. If you have a specific day you wish the puja performed, we will try to accommodate your request, if the temple schedule permits.

Your tax-deductible donation can be made by cash, check or credit card.