Priest service policy
Namaskar Devotee, Please find our priest service policy below. It provides information about steps involved in the priest service process, it is aimed at improving the overall devotee experience. We take constant feedback to improvise the process.
Request for Priest service
All the priest services requests should be entered here (link). Once a request is made, one of our team members will work with the devotee to finalize the date and time of requested service.
Devotees who need an in-person consultation should fill-out the priest service request form (link) before they walk-in. A priest is available for in-person consultation between 7:15 PM to 8:15 PM everyday. These hours are subjected to change, availability of priests will be limited on days with special events/pujas. Please be considerate of priest time and keep the interactions short.
Assignment of Priests
Confirmation of a puja indicates that one of our priests could perform the ritual/puja at scheduled date and time. The actual assignment of priest to a puja/ritual happen few days ahead of scheduled date. It is based on scheduled Temple events, priest availability and priests ongoing workload. All our priests are well qualified and are very good at performing Hindu rituals/pujas.
Devotees could request for assignment of a specific priest to requested service. In these cases, we request devotees keep their schedule flexible. We will try to accommodate the request when there is an opportunity to do so.
Travel
Due to limitation of driving skills and availability of transportation, We ask the devotees to be prepared to pick up and drop off priests on the day of the service (if needed). Please be considerate of priests time and try to pick them up and drop them off on time.
Dakshina
Dakshina to the priest performing puja is considered important part of Hindu ritual. Overtime, we received request from devotees to provide transparency and guidance around dakshina. Here is a (link) to list of regularly performed pujas, the time it takes to perform, and suggested dakshina. Suggested dakshina is determined based on the complexity of ritual/puja and time it takes.
In addition to the priest performing the puja, we have other priests working in background to keep our Temple operations going. To be equitable to all our priests, Dakshina is included in the invoice as a separate line time, and it is the part of total cost of the service. The amount paid by the devotee is pooled and distributed equally among all our priests. Any additional dakshina that devotees want to give is optional, it could be handed over to the priest performing puja.
We want devotees to fully understand the rationale behind this, please let us know if you have any questions or a feedback to share.
Puja samagri (items)
Temple or priests do not provide materials required for performing puja or service (except for materials such as Darbha, Kalasha, Yagnakund, ladels used for Yagna, photos of deities). A list of items for most common pujas could be found here (link). If you have any specific requirements, priests can let you know what you need for puja and it is devotee's responsibility to procure the materials. Temple or priests will not get any materials other than those specified above and there is no fee for those materials.
Rescheduling and Cancellation
If a devotee wants to cancel or reschedule a puja, we request them to let us know one week ahead of time. In cases where it is not possible, please us know at the earliest and we will walk them through available options.
There are times when Priests needs to take an unplanned day off, or an urgent request that cannot be postponed to a different day come up. In such cases, we try to reassign the existing priest service requests and make it seamless. In case when we run short of resources, we will talk to the devotees and work with them to find another time slot for their pujas. We understand the inconvenience, and try to minimize it as much as possible. We greatly appreciate Devotees cooperation.
Donation Receipts
No donation receipts would be issued for priest services.
Questions and Feedback
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us at our landline #801-254-9177 or send us an email at priestservices@utahganesha.org