The Vedic vision is that you are a whole and complete being.

Only if we know that as a fact, we are free from the sense of limitation and bondage. Unless we see ourselves as full and complete–right here, right now, exactly as we are–our searching and suffering will never come to an end. We will continue to try to become happy - and that is very painful. There is no way around it. We need to understand Devi, Ishvara. We need to understand that we are all connected and never separate from the whole; indeed we are the whole.

This important relationship has been under valued by many people and cultures. Puja with all its prayers helps us to reestablish that connection to the sacred, to God/Goddess; We find trust again.

The secret lies within graceful acceptance of everything that is, recognizing the order of the universe; the infallible order that is Ishvara.

Prayer is an action—much like preparing a meal. But unlike eating, which nourishes the body, prayer is more like an inner shower: it cleanses, quiets, and re-alings the mind, and brings us back to ourselves.

It is a way of thinking—a particular kind of inner movement. In prayer, there is the one who prays, and there is an altar—something we direct our attention, our intention, our presence toward.

The form of prayer can vary. It may be simple and spoken from the heart, or more elaborate and rooted in tradition. It can be voiced aloud or held silently within. There are physical, verbal and mental forms of prayer.

Like any action, prayer carries a purpose. We pray because we long for something—support, clarity, relief, understanding. There is always a movement of reaching, of asking, of opening.