I have encountered many beginners whose fear of making mistakes in Puja stop them from even starting.
Now when it comes to deeper sciences like Mantra Sashtra and Kriya Kundalini Yoga of course proper guidance and observing protocol is paramount, but never be afraid of taking the Nama of your Ishta.
Here is a little story I found on India Divine..
In Every Purana, Narada plays an important role being a great devotee of Lord Narayana.
Narada roams about singing the glory of Narayana and utters his name day and night without a break. Narada was very proud of his devotion to the Lord and he wanted to get an affirmation from the Lord about his Bhakti to Him.
He went tothe Lord and asked Him, “Who is the greatest devotee of Narayana?” The Lord wanted to teach Narada that true Bhakti should be expressed without an iota of ego and He replied,
“The Farmer Karman who lives near
Srirangam is the greatest devotee.”
Narada was rather angry and told the Lord that he wants to see Karman and wanted to understand why he is the greatest Bhakta.
Narada had aspecial boon by which he can wander all over the world and watch all happenings without anyone knowing his presence.
He went to the village of Karman and started observing for few days to check how Karman worships Narayana.
Karman worked a hard life toiling in the fields all day. Daily when he woke up he uttered the word Narayana , before he ate , he uttered Narayana and before sleeping he uttered Narayana.
Narada observed this daily routine for few days and was quite furious with the Lord for not recognizing the devotion of Narada who uttered
Narayana millions of times.
Narada went back to the Lord and asked him, “What is so special about Karman?” The Lord smiled and asked Narada whether he will be agreeable for a simple test to check Narada’s devotion.
Narada was quite happy that he got a chance to prove his devotion. The Lord gave him a tablespoon filled with oil and asked Narada to take it in his hand and go round the world without spilling a drop of oil.
Narada thanked the Lord and he went round the world with the spoon of oil with the fullest attention on the spoon to make sure it doesn’t spill.
Narada returned back to the Lord after a month completing the task without a drop of oil being spilled. Narada was quite happy and pleased that he was able to prove that he is better than Karman.
When he went before the Lord, Narayana asked him, “How many times did you utter the word of Narayana during the past one month?”
Narada was stunned and shocked by the
question because he did not utter the word of Narayana anytime.
While carrying out this simple task, his entire focus was on the oil and not on the Lord. The Lord smiled at Narada and told him the following:
Karman had much a greater burden of completing the multiple responsibilities and even with all these burden, he remembered the Lord regularly every day without failure.
Narada immediately understood the message and felt ashamed for his false pride and ignorance.
Narada was able to appreciate and understand the
True Bhakti expressed by Karman.
If you daily responsibilities hinder you from doing what you want for your Ishta , chant their name whenever you can, and very soon they will give you an opportunity to serve them daily.
Don’t Fret.
Narayana Narayana Narayana