POOJA/ PUJA
Pooja/ Puja is a Sanskrit word which means reverence, honour, homage, adoration, worship etc. In Hinduis term pooja is used for ‘ritualism performed before idols of those mythical gods to whom they want to please for boons’. For them, it is a ritual prayer ritual performed for devotional worship of one or more deities, or to host and honour some spiritual celebrity or a guest, or an event. Pooja may be performed daily in the home, in temples or on the occasion of some festival events. Among the Hindus there are annual pooja rituals for Durga (in Bengal), Ganesh (in Maharashtra), Lakshmi (mainly in Western, Northern India). Puja rituals are also held by Buddhists and Jains.
Sikhism considers such ritualism as hypocrisy and rejects it.
He who has duality in his heart, his muttering of mantras, his austerity,
his fasting and his worship are in vain.
(Guru Granth Sahib, p. 324).
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)