puja

"Pūjā (Devanagari: पूजा) (alternative transliteration Pooja, Sanskrit: reverence, honour, adoration, or worship) is a religious ritual that Hindus perform on a variety of occasions to pray or show respect to their chosen Gods or Goddesses. Puja basically involves making offerings to a chosen deity(s) so as to seek their blessings. The offerings are made with an acknowledgement – “I dedicate to you O God, what is truly yours.” The whole Puja is thus an acknowledgement of one’s smallness and humility, i.e. performance of Puja removes Ego, which is truly the only hurdle on the path to success." ~Wikapedia

Through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals, puja is preformed. An essential part of puja for the Hindu devotee is making a spiritual connection with the divine. Most often that contact is facilitated through an object: an element of nature, a sculpture, a vessel, a painting, or a print.
During puja an image or other symbol of the god serves as a means of gaining access to the divine. This icon is not the deity itself; rather, it is believed to be filled with the deity's cosmic energy. It is a focal point for honoring and communicating with the god. For the devout Hindu, the icon's artistic merit is important, but is secondary to its spiritual content. The objects are created as receptacles for spiritual energy that allow the devotee to experience direct communication with his or her gods.

Often during puja, especially if in the presence of a priest, the reciepant may be smudged on their forehead with a colored power and a few grains of rice.