White Lotus Aromatics Newsletter - Tuberose
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Puja Perfume
The word Puja is an ancient Indian word which means "to worship with flowers." At some very early time, in India, the rishis and sages created a very simple means of expressing the deepest, most pure and innocent feelings of the heart for the Hidden Power out of which all life came into being. This was to offer lovely fragrant flowers at a small alter in some special place in the home which was set aside for meditation and prayer or in local temples where people gathered communally to share in morning and evening worship.
In that earlier era local flowers were chosen according to season and with the passage of time were invested with special symbolic significance to help the common man keep before his eyes the simple truths which help a person through the ups and downs of life. The rich colors, the beauty of form, and the delicious fragrances pouring forth from these simple natural botanical gems which were available at little or no cost were very easy for people from all strata of life to relate to. The result was that Puja became an integral part of the religious life of the Indian people and continues to practiced in millions of households throughout the length and breadth of the country.
Indeed this love of flowers and their use in worship has been partly responsible for an immense floraculture trade in India which has been increasing year by year. Because there has been a major shift in population from the country to the city there has arisen in major metropolitan areas flower markets which are specifically geared to the offering of special flowers like champa, bakul, jasmin sambac, rose, marigolds for worship at home and in the temples. In ancient times many temples use to have their own gardens that were specially designed just for growing sacred flowers for use in special ceremonies.Many times the priests who lived at the temples also were practicing physicians and so the garden included medicinal plants as well which were used for treating different ailments of the local people. Over the years many of these gardens were abandoned but there is now again an interest in reestablishing them in certain temples.
During the course of many trips to India I have become quite familiar with the integral role flowers play
in the lives of the India people in both sacred and secular levels. Journeying from north to south and east to west, I have seen flowers being cultivated and growing wild in many diverse situations. Early morning visits to flower markets in both country and city have afforded a glimpse into an enchanting world of aromatic plants that reveals the ancient love for natural aromatics is as alive today as in the past. It has been a total delight to see children and adults alike collecting flowers or buying them from small stalls where they are taken home for home worship or to adorn various shrines within the Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh communities. At that time of day the fragrance of flowers floats on the air creating its own divine perfume. The commingling of roses, lotus, jasmine, marigold, basil and other scents has such a soothing effect upon the heart and soul and naturally brings one into a contemplative frame of mind.
On one journey in particular we visited the Sacred Forest between Bangalore and Mysore which had been created through the efforts of Mr. Yellapa Reddy, the retired Chief Forest Officer of Karnatika State. He had gone through many ancient sacred scriptures and carefully studied which plants had been integral parts of the temple gardens. He then collected them and planted them in a large garden for the education of the people. It was a remarkable experience, recounted in a journal I wrote at:
--from the Fragrant Harvest "Sacred Garden Newsletter"
Several days later I had a chance to visit Mr. Reddy and his lovely wife at their home on the outskirts of Bangalore. In
him I found the wisdom, kindness and sweetness of the ancient rishis and sages who had such a profound love and respect for nature. He and his wife had planted a lovely garden and in that home they had a small shrine which she decorated with great love and devotion with the fragrant jewels coming from their miniature botanical garden. It was like a great painting in which harmony, balance and beauty were perfectly combined with the added dimension of fragrance bestowing upon it a unique life and vitality.
Here is a short quote from an interview with Mr. Reddy that reflects his refined thinking on the subject.
"HT: Have you discovered why certain plants have become more sacred than others?
DYR: I determined that whoever originally had included these flowers as part of worship, had done so with scientific insight. For example, I found that when we gently press the petals of these flowers, the glands will burst and it will produce certain volatile oils. This will generate certain chemicals which enrich the atmosphere and becomes beneficial to humans, creating an environment that induces the mind to greater concentration. Additionally, these plants have various medicinal healing properties long established by ayurveda."
In the Puja Perfume I have combined the essences of many flowers that are central to the tradition of home and temple worship. I have tried to capture something of that soft quiet peace that radiates throughout the country in the early morning hours.
"There is an hour of the Indian night, a little before the glimmer of the dawn, when the stars are unbelievably clear and closer, shining with the radiance beyond our belief in this foggy land. The trees stand silent wround one with a friendly presence. As yet there is no sound from the awakening birds, but the whole world seems to be intent, alive, listening, eager. At such a moment the veil between the things that are seen and the things that are unseen becomes so thin as to interpose scarcely any barrier at all between the eternal beauty and truth and the soul which would comprehend
them."-John Hayland
Puja Perfume Recipe
1/4 ounce Pomegranate Absolute
1 ounce Bakul Attar
1/2 ounce White Lotus Attar
1/4 oz Jasmin sambac Absolute
1/16 oz Pink Lotus Absolute
1/4 oz Jasmin grandiflorum Absolute
1/8 oz Ambrette CO2 or Absolute
