Pooja is the process of worshiping God with pure mind and heart. Pooja is done every day at home and in temples. Those who know the procedure of pooja will do it at home every day in the morning, and some people do it in the evening too. The duration of a basic pooja is anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours. It all depends upon the type of pooja one performs. In the temples regular pooja is done in the morning and also in the evening. In addition to regular pooja many special pooja take place in the temples during the day and evening.
A simple pooja is a very basic one in which a devotee says some prayers glorifying God’s attributes and thanking Him for everything that he/she has been given in this life. These prayers are the in the form of chants and verses from the Holy Scriptures like the Vedas, Bhagavat Gita, Ramayana, Bhagavtham, etc. Depending on the length of the prayer, this pooja will take only 5 to 15 minutes. Every faithful Hindu performs this prayer everyday in the morning after the shower and before eating food. When performing this pooja usually a devotee stands or sits in front of God’s idol or pictures.
In a detailed pooja a devotee worships God in several steps, and all these steps demonstrate his/her love and devotion to God. The duration for this pooja is anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours. A detailed pooja contains 16 services offered to God with love and devotion. These steps are similar to how we honor and treat our beloved guests during their visit to our place.
