Do not get up from your place immediately after the puja, know why it is very important to pray ‘forgiveness’ in front of God.

In Sanatan culture and religious traditions, worship has a very important place in our lives. Most of the people believe that lighting a lamp, offering flowers, offering bhog and performing aarti in front of God is the complete worship. But do you know that this entire process of worship does not end here? Often most of us immediately get up from our place without stopping for a moment as soon as the puja is over, whereas it is clearly instructed in our scriptures and Sanatan traditions that it is mandatory to pray to God for forgiveness right at the end of the puja. This rule is considered extremely important to correct any unintentional error during puja, wrong pronunciation of mantras or lack of method.

What is the mythological apology mantra and its deep meaning?

There is a very simple and effective mantra given in the scriptures to seek forgiveness from God for your mistakes at the conclusion of the puja:

Avahanam na janami na janami visarjanam. Pooja Chaiva Na Janami Khamsva Parmeshwar. Without mantra, without action, without devotion, Janardan. Yatpoojitam maya deva perfectam tadastu mein.

The meaning of this very beautiful and soulful mantra in simple words is that O God! We neither know the correct rules for invoking you nor do we know how to perform immersion as per the rituals. Apart from this we are also unaware of the correct ritualistic method of worship and we also lack complete knowledge of mantras and true devotion. Despite this, whatever service we have done according to our capacity and faith, O Janardan! Please accept our incomplete worship with your grace and forgive every mistake we have committed knowingly or unknowingly.

Correct method and rules of asking for forgiveness at the end of puja

From the religious point of view, after the completion of the puja, a special and simple way of praying for forgiveness has been described, which every believer should follow. When your Aarti and main puja is completed, first of all take some Akshat i.e. clean rice and fresh flowers in your right hand. After this, close both your eyes and meditate on the idol or picture of God with a completely calm mind. Now, accepting the shortcomings of your worship in your mind, pronounce this apology mantra with complete humility. After the completion of the mantra, offer the flowers and rice kept in your hand at the feet of God with reverence and at the end prostrate or bow and pay obeisance to Him.

God is hungry for your humility, not just your ego

It has always been emphasized in our scriptures that God is not hungry for any kind of expensive offerings, ostentation or difficult mantras, rather He only sees the true spirit of the devotee and his humility. This prayer for forgiveness at the end of the puja eliminates the ego within us and teaches us to accept our mistakes easily. Therefore, next time whenever you perform puja in your home temple, instead of getting up in a hurry, take out two minutes at the end and do this forgiveness prayer, so that your puja can become complete and fruitful.