Worship Centre in your Living Space

When one considers the major religions of India like Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, a very striking difference may be observed. While Muslim children are trained in their religious rituals by Madrassas and the Christian children are initiated into the necessary understanding of their religion by Sunday Schools and Catechism classes, there is no such agency for Hindu children. The children just imbibe and absorb Hinduism – its teachings as well as practice by following what their parents and other relatives do in homes. If these elders in the family are agnostic (non-believers of rituals) they have no role model and their understanding of the religion as well as its practices is sketchy at best.

As I entered the sixth decade of my life, I realized that my children have very vague and ambiguous ideas of what it is to be a Hindu and very hazy concept of even the minimum rituals required of a Hindu especially the women. This dismal state of affairs was partly due to my preoccupation with my profession and partly due to their absence from home during the crucial years of adolescence. This may be the case in many other Hindu families belonging to the present generation. It is true that a sea of information is available on the World Wide Web but very few have the patience to wade through the sea to find the pearls. So the next few items in this blog will be on the basic practices of Hinduism as perceived by me a Tamil, non-Brahmin who grew up in the North. I will refer some literature and try to present information – some of it may be a repeat from other sites but most of it from my personal knowledge gleaned from my mother, aunts and other women who were more pious than me. I will start with an important practice followed in most Hindu families all over India – Setting up a Worship Corner / room referred to in most languages as the Puja room.

It is very necessary to set aside a special area for worship in the home so that it becomes a centre of tranquility in times of stress or when one wants to be at peace. To those who say God is everywhere why do we need a special place, I would like to repeat what one Swamiji said about temple. He said “Air is everywhere but why do we go near a fan? Because the air near the fan is more intense and has a more relaxing effect.” So  though God may be everywhere in your house, create a centre where you can perceive and feel the spiritual energy better in order to experience rejuvenation of mind and spirit. A worship centre will help you to get charged with positive vibrations that will energize your body, mind, soul and the environment. Your work efficiency will increase leading to peace, progress and prosperity.

According to your capacity and capability, the Worship centre may be as small as  an image of Om on the wall; just a table mat with a lamp on it ; a small shelf with  an image of your favorite deity and a lamp or an elaborate room with all the paraphernalia needed for Hindu worship.

Worship centers located in North-east are excellent for getting peace of mind and prosperity in life; North and East quadrants also provide good results but the   South and South-west locations should be strictly avoided since they are harmful. Facing East or North while praying, is beneficial.

The basic requirements of a Worship centre is an icon (of your choice but do not clutter up with too many), a small lamp (of brass, bronze, bell metal or silver and avoid iron/stainless steel) and an incense stick holder. For other details and tips on setting up this corner you can surf the net for more information. I do not want to repeat it here. My objective is only to inspire you to set up a worship corner if you do not have one.

Make the corner as aesthetically pleasing as you can so that you are drawn to go near it regularly. Clean it regularly and change the decorations from time to time. Spend at least five minutes in this centre regularly in the morning before leaving for work and in the evening at dusk  to pray, meditate or just remain still and feel the presence of the Supreme Being.