In the sixth part, we discussed the personal
daily morning worship ritual of nitya puja.
In this seventh article, we discuss the personal
ritual of mansi puja. Mansi puja means performing
puja mentally, without recourse to any physical
offerings such as flowers, leaves, chandan or food.
One performs puja mentally with
intense devotion (bhav).

In Vachanamrut Gadhada III 23, Bhagwan Swaminarayan meticulously describes how devotees should offer mansi puja. He describes the details applicable to the three seasons in India, namely summer, monsoon and winter. These details will not be discussed here. At the end, he reveals two benefits of mansi puja, namely, that a devotee “increases his love for Bhagwan and his jiva benefits tremendously”.

If one has not seen Bhagwan, how can one do his mansi puja and increase one’s love for him? Here the Svetashvatara Upanishad (6.23) guides us:

Yasya deve parā bhaktih yathā deve tathā gurau,
Tasyaite kathitā hi arthāh, prakāshante mahātmanaha.

“If one who offers devotion to Bhagwan similarly offers devotion to the guru, then one attains moksha.”

Similarly, Bhagwan Swaminarayan enjoins such equal devotion to the Aksharbrahma Satpurush in Vachanamruts Gadhada I 54, III 26, 35, 38, and Vartal 5 and 11.

From these Vachanamruts one can also glean the meaning of the phrase, ‘his jiva benefits tremendously’, which is eradication of swabhavs and vasana and attainment of moksha.

In BAPS, Shastriji Maharaj and the subsequent gurus have also advocated performing mansi puja five times a day. This is equivalent to mini-meditations of about five minutes. In these one visualizes offering delicious foods appropriate to the time of day and also praying to Bhagwan and the guru to accept yog-nidra which is a more appropriate phrase for sleep or rest – in the afternoon and at night.

Singing the nitya cheshta at night is also a form of mansi in which devotees visualize the daily and seasonal activities of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. This includes the minute description of his persona and mannerisms as poetically verified by Premanand Swami. It lasts about 25 minutes and acts as a de-stressor and also serves as a spiritual balm. In Vachanamrut Gadhada II 48, Bhagwan Swaminarayan praises Premanand Swami when he composed and sang the “Vandu” poems, to the extent that he wished to prostrate to Premanand Swami. Moreover, he revealed the immense fruit of such visual contemplation of Bhagwan’s lila by a devotee, stating, “He has attained the highest state of enlightenment while alive… and has become fulfilled and has nothing more left to do.”

Having briefly discussed the spiritual benefits of mansi puja, we now briefly discuss its physical and mental benefits. This inspires us to motivate ourselves to sincerely do mansi puja since we are more attached to the body and mind than we are with our atma.

Mansi puja is ultimately meditation, but rather than trying to achieve a state of ‘no-thoughts’ which is very difficult for lay people, it is easier, visually feasible and fulfilling. Researchers have noted greater benefits of meditating with meaningful syllables, words, mantras or vivid imagery. Here we cite the combined results of such meditation studies as well as those of Transcendental Meditation (TM).

If mansi puja or mental imagery is performed diligently, it induces a state of relaxation which affects many systems in the body.

It decreases metabolism – the rate of chemical reactions that are ongoing in the body.1 This leads to a decreased need for oxygen and increased elimination of carbon dioxide.2 It increases the secretion of melatonin at night. This hormone boosts sleep and immunity.3 A deficiency of serotonin, which regulates mood, leads to depression. TM practitioners have high levels of serotonin.4

Relaxation leads to a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure.5,6,7 Indian researchers have discovered that meditation also improves cholesterol levels.8
For people with ischaemic heart disease, it improves exercise tolerance.9 It decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke.10

Meditation decreases stress, anxiety and depression and hence lessens the need for medications.11 People who meditate achieve better relaxation and alert states of mind. This is reflected in brain electroencephalograms (EEG) and fMRI. They have higher alpha and theta waves. The latter waves induce the ability to process information faster. Anxiety-prone individuals have lower alpha and theta waves.12 The secretion of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol decrease.13 These hormones are secreted during the ‘fright, fight or flight’ situations in daily life which cause ‘burnout’. Perhaps the greatest and most welcoming benefit, especially during middle age and later, is that long term meditation actually increases blood flow to the brain and increases brain ‘cortical thickening’.14, 15 This means one can still increase the brain’s efficiency, especially memory and concentration in certain daily activities.16, 17

Mental imagery is being increasingly used by psychopathologists to treat mental and emotional disorders such as phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety.18, 19

The vivid visualization involved in mansi puja boosts right brain function. In turn this boosts creativity and facilitates greater neuronal connections to the left brain which increases overall brain function and power. This helps delay or even prevent mental decline in old age. The more vivid the visualization with the ‘mental senses’ of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, the greater the beneficial effects on the body, mind and atma.

Mansi puja then is an extremely important daily ritual with powerful benefits to the body, mind and atma. It has a holistic effect on the body by regulating or boosting its major systems, such as metabolism, stress hormones and cardiovascular system. Secondly, it boosts brain function, especially concentration and memory, and delays the effects of aging. Finally, its most important effect is spiritual in that it aids aspirants to develop profound love for Bhagwan and the guru. This leads to eradication of swabhavas and vasana, which then help aspirants to become brahmarup and attain moksha.

In the next, eighth article, we shall discuss the personal rituals of prayashchitt – atonement and upvas – fasting.

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