In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores the five-element puja and how this ritual helps bring the five great elements into harmony.

The word puja means ritual worship of almost any kind. Pancha means five, and upachara means offerings, so the Panchopachara Puja refers to a set of five offerings. It is a ritual intended to encourage the five Mahabhutas, the five great elements, to come into alignment with us and become harmonized.

Any offerings can be made to the five Mahabhutas, and various sets of five offerings have been described in traditional texts. These include the well-known Pancha Makara, the five M offerings, which include meat, fish, parched grain, alcohol, and sexual intercourse. However, for an ordinary daily Panchopachara Puja, the simplest offerings are a flower representing the element of space, incense representing the element of air, a lamp representing the element of fire, something pleasant to taste representing the element of water, and fragrance representing the element of earth. Traditionally sandalwood paste was used, but today many essential oils are available and can be used for this purpose.

These offerings can be made in either direction. You do not have to offer according to the order in which the elements are created or dissolved, although there is value in understanding this movement. When making these offerings, it is useful to recognize that they represent not only the external Mahabhutas but also the elements within ourselves.

For example, if I am making an offering connected with the sense of taste while sitting here on Maui, I can acknowledge the great Pacific Ocean behind me as a representation of the water element. At the same time, I can recognize the water element within my own body, especially the water within the bloodstream. That water was originally part of the greater ocean and has simply become enclosed within the body of a living being.

The elements can be approached in different directions. You can move from earth to water, fire, air, and space if you are encouraging your awareness to move toward subtler levels, toward less manifested states. If you are trying to become more stable and grounded, you may prefer to move in the opposite direction, from space to air, fire, water, and earth, encouraging yourself to become more rooted and established, especially at the Muladhara, the root center.

The purpose of Panchopachara Puja is to encourage the five elements to cooperate with one another in a positive way. When the elements are harmonized, they are less likely to obstruct our ability to perceive what we need to perceive and to move from perception toward a clearer understanding of reality.

The aim is to create the best possible relationship with the elements, both within ourselves and throughout the world, so that our understanding of reality can become as clear and balanced as possible at each moment.