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Ashtha Prakari Puja (Eight Types of Puja for Tirthankars)

 

1. Jala Puja : (Water)
Water symbolizes the ocean. Every living being continuously travels through life ocean of Birth, death and misery. This puja reminds that one should live his life with honesty, truthfulness, love and compassion towards all living beings. This way one will be able to cross the life ocean and attain Moksha or Salvation. This is known as Samyak Darshan, Samyak Jnan and Samyak Charitra in Jain religion.

2. Chandan Puja : (Sandal-wood)
Chandan symbolizes Knowledge (Jnan). By doing this puja, one should thrive for Right Knowledge. Jainism believes that the Path of Knowledge is the main path to attain Moksha or Liberation. Bhakti or Devotion helps in the early stages of one's effort for Liberation.

3. Pushpa Puja : (Flower)
Flower symbolizes conduct. Our conduct should be like a flower, which provides fragrance and beauty to all living beings without discrimination. We should live our life like flowers with full of love and compassion towards all living beings.

4. Dhup Puja : (Incense)
Dhup symbolizes monkhood life. While burning itself, Dhup provides fragnance to others. Similarly true monks and nuns spend their entire life selflessly for the benefit of all living beings. This puja reminds that one should thrive for a monkhood life.

5. Deepak Puja : (Candle)
The flame of Deepak represents a Pure Consciousness, i.e. a Soul without any bondage or a Liberated Soul. In Jainism such a Soul is called Siddha or God. The ultimate goal of every living being is to become liberated. By doing this puja one should thrive to follow Five great Vows: Non-violance, Truthfulness, Non-stealing, Chastity and Non-possession. Ultimately these Vows will lead to Liberation.

6. Akshat Puja : (Rice)
Rice are the kind of grain seeds which are non fertile. One cannot grow rice plants by seeding rice. Symbolically it means that rice is the last birth. By doing this puja one should thrive to put all the efforts in the life in such a way that this life becomes one's last life and after the end of this life one will be Liberated and will not reborn again.

7. Naivedya Puja : (Sweet)
Naivedya symbolizes a tasty food. By doing this puja, one should thrive to reduce or eliminate the attachment to tasty food. Healthy food is essential for survival, however one should not live for a tasty food. Ultimate aim in one's life is to attain a life where no food is essential for survival and that is the life of a Liberated Soul, who lives in Moksha for ever in ultimate happiness.

8. Fal Puja : (Fruit)
Fruit is a symbol of Moksha or Liberation. If we live our life without any attachment to worldly affair, continue to perform our duty without any expectation and reward, be witnessed to all the incidents that occurred surrounding to and within us, truly follow monkhood life and have a love and compassion to all living beings, we will attain the fruit of Moksha or Liberation. This is the last Puja symbolizing the ultimate achievement of our life.

 

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