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Shri Shiva Manasa Puja
A Hymn Attributed to Adi Shankaracharya

The Mental Worship of Lord Shiva

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Recited by the music ensemble in Gurudev Siddha Peeth.

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Shiva Manasa Puja

Singing the devotional hymn Shri Shiva Manasa Puja, and absorbing one’s mind in its meaning, offers a powerful way to evoke the presence of Lord Shiva.

This hymn is attributed to the eighth-century spiritual Master Adi Shankaracharya and has been sung in Siddha Yoga Ashrams since Baba Muktananda introduced it to the daily schedule in the 1960s, along with the recitation of Shri Shiva Mahimna Stotram. Verses 4 and 5 of Shri Shiva Manasa Puja are also regularly recited by Siddha Yogis as they begin their offering of seva, dedicating their actions in service to the Guru and God.

In Shri Shiva Manasa Puja, the outer act of worship is internalized, with the beauty, fragrance, and sweetness of the offerings created by the unlimited resources of the worshipper’s imagination. By becoming absorbed in the mental worship of Shiva, the worshipper comes to recognize that the one they worship is present within them as their own Self.

This hymn can also serve as a model for establishing your own practice of mental worship. Mental worship of the Guru, or your chosen deity, helps to focus and purify your mind and to unite your awareness with the object of your devotion.

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    I decided to sing The Mental Worship of Lord Shiva in honor of Mahashivaratri. I immediately connected with a stirring—a heightened sense of enjoyment and total presence—deep within my body and spirit. I was ecstatic. 
     
    I am so grateful to be on this extraordinary path to the Self.

    New York, United States

    This hymn has always been a favorite of mine. Listening to it just now brought me right back to my life in the Ashram where we sang it every night before retiring.

    As I listened today, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to revel in a warm surge of love welling up from within. For me, this love is the essence of gratitude, inspiring me to offer pranam with reverence.

    Pennsylvania, United States

    The verses of Shri Shiva Manasa Puja remind me of stages in my sadhana. In the beginning stages, I offered tangible and beautiful gifts: oils, flowers, incense.

    Then, as in verse four, I became aware that offering my actions, especially through the practice of seva, is the greatest of the offerings I can make. And, once I realized this, I didn’t stop making tangible offerings; I simply added them to my offering of seva. I found that bringing all of the offerings under the umbrella of seva made seva and those offerings sweeter and more endearing.

    New York, United States

    For over thirty years, I worked as a high school classroom educator. Each day I would arrive at my classroom at least an hour early, so that I could unlock a special cabinet that I had turned into a puja. Before I performed any task related to my job, I would stand before my altar and sing the Sri Shiva Manasa Puja with devotion. Regardless of what happened during the course of the day, I always felt the protection and grace of this practice.
     
    Thank you, beloved Gurumayi, for giving me access to such a powerful and meaningful prayer.

    Georgia, USA