How to perform Home pooja for a Moorthy

Let us see how to perform the pooja at home offered to a Moorthy as a figurine or a picture. To perform this, one does not need the special deeksha. This can be performed in a simple short way. First, one should understand the proper rules and methods to perform the pooja. Let us first see which way we should keep the figurine or the picture and which way the person should sit to perform the pooja.  If the picture of figurine is kept facing east, the person should sit on the right side facing North. If it faces north, they should sit facing east. They should not sit in front of the image facing it directly.

 

If these two directions are not possible, then we can set the image facing west and sit in front of the Image facing east and perform pooja. When the Moorthy is set facing west, one should not sit on the right side which is facing south to perform pooja. One should not sit on the left side of the Image. The Image should not be set facing south. The person should not sit facing south. It is not proper according to Sasthra to eat food prior to performing the pooja. When it is possible, one should always learn from a Guru about the proper sasthras and rules and receive deeksha before performing pooja at home.

 

To pray and to invite the Divine which is in our heart to come out to reside in the Image that is being worshipped. Then, light a lamp, offer argyam, paathyam, achamaneeyam and do an abhishekam. Then decorate the image with cloth and flowers. Then pray with offering of flowers. Then we can light a lamp, agarbhatti or burning incense or camphor to perform the pooja.  Then the regular pooja will be conducted with one of the several methods.

 

Japa Samarpanam: Through the Manthras of the Deity, recite the prayers manthras 108 or 54 or 27 times in the mind and offer flowers.

 

Prarthana: Recite Devotional prayer songs in any language of choice, like Thevaram, Thiruvachagam or any other devotional songs.

 

Yathasthanam, Padhyam, Achamaniyam, and Argyam are offered to the Image and praying with thanks to the Divine force which came from our heart to get in back there.

 

Dhvanichandar Pooja: Performing a pooja to Dvanichandar – the Upa-Devatha of the Deity like Chandikeswarar for Siva - offering the flowers and Prasadam that was offered to the Divine and praying to bless us with the effects of the service to us.

 

At the conclusion of pooja the prasadam are taken by everyone. The above are the rules of pooja rules according to Agamas and Sasthras.  

MODERATION

Practise moderation in speech as it will help you in many ways. When the foot slips, the wound heals after a few months; when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life. The tongue is liable to four big errors â€" uttering falsehood, finding fault with others, excessive articulation and indulging in scandals. These have to be strictly avoided if there has to be peace for the individual and the society. The bond of love and brotherliness will be stronger if people would speak less and speak sweetly. Silence (mounam) has been prescribed as a spiritual practice, for this same reason. You are all spiritual aspirants at various stages of the road and so this discipline is valuable for you also.
When the house catches fire, you run about in desperate haste to get succour and to put out the flames. But you do not realise that the fire raging inside you is far more devastating and devouring. You must take up the duty of firefighting in right earnest and never rest until those flames are put out. Start the fight right now. That is Sadhana, spiritual effort. Start serving your parents, teachers, elders, the poor, the diseased and the distressed. Do not foster factions and divisions. Promote love, concord, co-operation and brotherliness. You all are in the state of bondage to the senses and to the objective world. Join the company of the good, the striving and the yearning aspirants and you will soon reach the stage of peace within and harmony without.

tHARPANAM

Amavasya tarpanam is the offering of water mixed with gingelly to the dead ancestors and it means “That offering which satisfies (our pitrus)”. The offering is addressed to three generations of father, grand father and great grand father along with their wives in one’s family and maternal grand father, his father and grand father along with their wives in our mother's birth family. Only those whose father is dead are eligible to do tarpanam. If maternal grand father is alive tarpanam is not done for his family but restricted to one’s family.

Dead ancestors are supposed to live in Pithru loka for some time and either reborn as any being or are in lokas like deva loka, Vaikunta etc or even attained salvation by merging with god. The pithru loka is populated by three group of pithru devas viz, Vasu, Rudra and Adhithya. These devas receive our oblations and make it reach to our ancestors wherever they are and in whichever form they are. The pithru loka is supposed to be on the unseen side of the moon. This portion gets exposed to sun on the new moon days. It is lunch time for the people populating the pithru loka. These pithrus — since they have left the world and are solely dependent on only their progenies to feed them — feeding them through tarpanams assumes importance and therefore it is assumed anyone not doing it will be cursed by Pithru devas leading to absence of male descendents to offer tarpanam to us when we are dead and gone.  

Nobody knows for sure what happens to the soul once it leaves the body. Suppose the soul has been reborn as per the karma theory? If our pitrus are reborn than whom are we feeding? Chances are that dead man would have been born sooner than later rather than he being irretrievably merging with God. Probably for saints like Tyagaraja this could hold true. But for millions of us we can sense the truth of being trapped in cycle of births and deaths owing to our sins that brought us to this earth in the first place. However we are ready to argue and fight till eternity that pitrus are waiting to be fed by us on the premise that our sastras can “never be wrong” and if someone refuses to agree to our views we can straightaway abuse him calling him names to show that how wiser we are indeed in our commitment to sastras.

The point is we have wilfully shaped our belief as definitive and refuse to except a differing viewpoint especially if someone with a different religious denomination disagrees with us. Once a close Muslim friend of mine told me, “why bother and waste money on a dead man once he is laid to rest? Forget him.” Should we take it as hurting our sentiments by an Islamist who cannot but be “anti-Hindu” or should we ponder if there is some truth in what he said? Nobody can say or dare say he holds the patent for the esoteric truth when no saint has even dared to do it. {For those who are waiting to pounce on me that I am questioning the very core of sastras and not intent on preserving Brahminism I wish to say that I am a believer in tarpanams and sradhams}

True, for many of us when we practice age old rituals we feel satisfied and feel there is less tension after we dutifully do the act and see our vadiyar go home satisfied. We feel God will reward us many times more than we paid the vadiyar. It acts as a soothing balm to our troubled mind. The real problem is when we consider rituals as en end in itself it becomes dangerous as we go overboard tending to undervalue the living. Many of us would happily neglect our parents, especially in their old age, than miss performing elaborate sradhams after they are gone. This is a tragedy as the honour for the living comes too late.

A FOOD FOR THOUGHT

This is something to think about when negative
people are doing their best to rain on your parade. So
remember this story the next time someone who knows nothing
and cares less tries to make your life miserable.

A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair
styled for a trip to Rome with her husband. She mentioned
the trip to the hairdresser, who responded:

"Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's
crowded and dirty. You're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are
you getting there?"

"We're taking Continental," was the reply. "We got a
great rate!"

"Continental?" exclaimed the hairdresser. "That's a
terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight
attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are
you staying in Rome?"

"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on
Rome's Tiber River called Teste."

"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody
thinks it's gonna be something special and exclusive,
but it's really a dump."

"We're going to go to see the Vatican and maybe get
to see the Pope."

"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. You and a
million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size
of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours.
You're going to need it."

A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo.
The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.

"It was wonderful," explained the woman, "not only
were we on time in one of Continental's brand new planes,
but it was overbooked, and they bumped us up to first class.
The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome
28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot. And the
hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million
remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in
the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and
gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!"

"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that's all well
and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."

"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured
the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, and
explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors,
and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and
wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five
minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my
hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me."

"Oh, really! What'd he say?"

He said: "Who has spoiled  your hair?"

THOUGTS

Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram
Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram
Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram
Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram!'

As a mirror reflects all things held

before it, so when your feeling and

mind mirror remain perfectly calm,

you will be able to see reflected in it

the true quality of others. If you are

busy doing good to all, remaining

calm, the true character of whoever

comes to you will be revealed to you.

Vain is the search for Heaven,

and vain the evasion of Hell

so long as man is held by his

shadow. For both Heaven and

Hell are states inherent in Duality.

You must pay attention to the small details in your daily life, for devotion is not just a pose one strikes. It is a series of little acts, directed by the attitude of reverence for Divinity in all beings. Watch for the lie that lurks on the tongue, the violence that lurks behind your fist, the ego that lurks stealthily behind a deed. Restrain them before they grow into habits and settle down as character to thwart your destiny. God is like a shopkeeper who has a store full of all the things that you need in your life. If you, as customer, go to the shop and ask for a towel, can the shopkeeper hand out a shirt? God is like that, He hands out exactly what you ask for. Material things are not at all important. Discriminate and ask God for Devotion  and Spiritual Wisdom .

Eating food with the hands in today’s Western society can sometimes be perceived as being unhygienic, bad mannered and primitive. However within Indian culture there is an old saying that,

” Eating food with your hands feeds not only the body but also the mind and the spirit”.

In the Big Brother series some years back, an English participant complained about an Indian participants use of her hands during food preparations and her eating habits, “They eat with their hands in India, don’t they? Or is that China? You don’t know where those hands have been.”  Within many Indian households nowadays, the practice of eating food with the hands has been replaced with the use of cutlery. Have you ever thought of why previous generations in India ate with the hands? There is a reason for their this.  The practice of eating with the hands originated within Ayurvedic teachings. The Vedic people knew the power held in the hand.

The ancient native tradition of eating food with the hands is derived from the mudra practice, which is prevalent in many aspects within Hinduism. Mudras are used during mediation and are very prominent within the many classical forms of dance, such as Bharatnatyam

The hands are considered the most precious organ of action. This is linked to the Vedic prayer of

“Karagre vasate Laksmih karamule Sarasvati Karamadhye tu Govindah prabhate karadarsanam”

(On the tip of your fingers is Goddess Lakshmi, on the base of your fingers is Goddess Saraswati; in the middle of your fingers is Lord Govinda), which we recite whilst looking at our palms. Thus, this shloka suggests that all the divinity lies in human effort.

Our hands and feet are said to be the conduits of the five elements. The Ayurvedic texts teach that each finger is an extension of one of the five elements. The thumb is agni (fire) (you might have seen children sucking their thumb, this is nature’s way of aiding the digestion in children at an age when they are unable to do an physical activity to aid the digestion), the forefinger is vayu (air), the middle finger is akash (ether - the tiny intercellular spaces in the human body), the ring finger is prithvi (earth) and the little finger is jal (water).

Each finger aids in the transformation of food, before it passes on to internal digestion. Gathering the fingertips as they touch the food stimulates the five elements and invites Agni to bring forth the digestive juices. As well as improving digestion the person becomes more conscious of the tastes, textures and smells of the foods they are eating, which all adds to the pleasure of eating. You may have noticed that elders in the family hardly ever use utensils to measure all the different type of masala, and would instead prefer to use their hands to measure the quantity instead. As each handful is tailored to provide a suitable amount for the own body. Overall there are 6 main documented forms that the hands take when obtaining a measurement a certain type of food ranging from solid food to seeds, and flour.

Every Individual can sustain two hand full to keep him active, that is why the palm size are different from person to person.

This is a prime example of how many things within Hindu culture may seem weird and unusual at first glance, but once a closer look is taken it is surprising, but a vast amount of knowledge is revealed.

Kaliyug = India of Today

Bhagavad Purana, the 12th Chapter (Skandha) has the following
description of Kaliyug (in which we are living) which , seemingly ,
has a striking resemblance to the prevailing conditions in India:

" As the Age turns to evil (that is, when Kaliyug begins) every virtue
decays and vanishes : honesty, forbearance, kindness, memory and
strength disappear.

Wealth replaces a noble birth, character and conduct. Might becomes
right, for might alone determines dharma and justice.

Trade and fraudulent practice become synonymous.

The law will favour only the rich, and will have no regard for
justice. He that can curse and swear best will be considered thefinest
scholar.

Poverty will be sufficient cause to establish guilt in the eyes of the
law, while wealth and ostentation will be indices of character.

Rudeness and brashness of speech will be equal to dharma.

He that maintains his family by the foulest means will be considered
respectable. Dharma will be observed only for exhibition.

Whoever is strong and daring will become the king, and will rule like
greedy lustful bandits, with plunder and rapine of their own subjects,
who will often flee such tyranny and seek refuge in forests and
mountains.

Exhausted by cruel taxes, deprived of rains in lands from which true
dharma has fled, the people will subsist on wild vegetation,
roots,flesh, fruits, flowers, etc.

Kings will become mere robbers, and men, driven by despair and
poverty, will become thieves, liars and murderers.

Men will become bestial and perverse-- miserly, ruthless, greedy and
vindictive for the flimsiest reasons.

Arrogance, hypocrisy, deception, dishonesty, sloth, somnolence,cruelty
of every kind, delusion, terror and wretchedness will rule.

Brigands and robbers will rule the land. Kings will all be tyrants.
People will espouse gluttony, lasciviousness and venality of every kind.

The vilest men will become the foremost traders, making cheating and
thievery the common practice of the marketplace. Even when they are
not threatened with any danger, men will take to forbidden means to
earn their livelihood, and pride themselves on it.

Relationships between parents and children, brothers, friends and
relations will not be valued.

Seated upon the sacred thrones of great and holy gurus of yore, men
that are masters only of vice will expound dharma to the gullible
populace.

Depleted by dreadful taxes, tormented by drought, starved, owning none
of the bare necessities of life ...homes, clothes, food and drink, a
bed, a bath, etc. men will seem more like bhutas and pisachas.

Over small matters, members of the same family will fight their own
blood relations, even unto death, forgetting all ties of affection.

No one will bother to look after their old parents any more, they will
only live for themselves, and will neglect their own children. "

--Bhagavad Purana- 12th Chapter.

Is this not a glaring reflection on the condition of Indian society
today ? And this was written two thousand years ago !

Truly, our ancestors were men of great vision, who could see two
thousand years into the future.

The Urine.

Urine is the renal secretion of animals or human beings. It has many properties. The goats' urine has medicinal values. The Ayurvedic tablet called Vilwadi gulika is prepared by soaking and drying for many days. To soak goat's urine is used. The cows' urine too has medicinal value. To cure gastric ulcers it is drunk. It is also a fertilizer. It is sprinkled in arakkeerai thadam [The seed-bed of a kind of spinach] adding sufficient quantity of water.
The doctors detect certain diseases , testing the sample of urine. The polar bears convert urine into protein during their hibernation. They do not urinate during the hibernation. If this could be done in human beings, kidney failures will not matter.
Urine is used to scent-mark by certain animals. The dogs cock their legs by every trees/lamp posts and urinate. Only the mature dogs cock their legs to urinate. The bitches and pups do not. The males of certain animals detect if the female is on heat by sniffing the urine and have flehmen. Flehmen; they curl up their lips and bare the teeth. The bull elephant puts the females urine into the mouth to detect if she is in heat or not. There is a saying in Kerala Moothram manaththa moori pole [ like a bull that has sniffed the urine] The he-goat [billy goat] sprays its body with urine to attract the mate. They stink when comes near. This is also a saying Kottanaadinte manam polay[ stinking like a he-goat].
In the past , it was believed that if a person's urine attracted ants, he was diabetic. The test for jaundice was putting some cooked rice into a bowl of urine. If it turned yellow, he was suffering from jaundice.
The camels urinate over their legs to cool their body. Their urine is twice as salty as the sea water. The porcupines urinate all over its female mate. Reindeers drink urine to compensate the deficiency of salt. The brown [ coco-cola] urine is a symptom of liver dysfunction.
As men age, the speed of their urine stream declines. Men urinate faster than women up until around the age of fifty. And then women urinate faster.
Snakes do not have any urine bladders. So their voided as it is made.

Ironies of life:

The Lawyer inwardly wishes you to get into disputes.

The Doctor hopes you fall ill.

 The Police expects you to have problems.

 The Auditor is glad if you are stupid about tax laws.

 The coffin maker prays for your end.

 Only A THIEF wishes you prosperity.

 

Practice consideration and goodness

until you are like a beautiful flower

that everyone loves to see. Be the

beauty that is in a flower, and the

attractiveness that is in a pure mind.

When you are attractive in that way,

you will always have true friends.

different thoughts.

Be kind and hospitable to all your guests

whatever be their mein and their behavior;

for they in truth are but your creditors.

Give the obnoxious ones in particular even

more than is their due that they may go

away thankful and satisfied, and should

they visit you again, they would come

back as friends and not as creditors.

The best time to prevent divorce is before marriage. There is nothing wrong with deciding to get out of a very bad situation. But, why get into the bad situation in the first place? Would it not be better to give attention to the real cause of marital problems, to really get at the root of the matter in the first place.

The problems of marital unhappiness, discord, separation, and divorce are no different from other problems of men and women. They can be traced directly to lack of knowledge of the working and interrelationship of the conscious and subconscious mind.