Your e - Acharya on Indian Tradition

POOJA/PRAYER(Continued..)

The room marked for pooja or the platform used for worship should be clean at all the times. It is a common practice not to enter the pooja room or near the auspicious platform except at the time of worship, that too after bath. The vaidic literature, which prescribes the method of worship,

has also provided a standard series of practices that have to be observed while performing pooja. The series is as follows:

Ringing the bell (Ghantaa naada)
Abhisheka
Clothing
Offering sandal paste
Akshataas (unbroken rice grains)
Archanaa (Worship) with flowers and leaves like Tulsi, Bilwa, etc.
Offering dhoop sticks,
Lighting the oil lamp
Offerings (coconuts, sweets or other eatables) to God

CLOTHING WHILE WORSHIPING
Before getting into the clothes, it is necessary for a devotee to take a bath. Then one can wear fresh clothes. However, silk clothing is preferred since there is also a scientific reason entailed to it. Silk clothes have the capacity to attract and store electro magnetic energy. With the friction between the body and the silk clothes, electric energy is produced, which gives rise to electro static attraction.

This energy, according to shastras, would act on the mind of the devotee. It is also said that the vibrations, which are generated while worshipping, are also stored by wearing the silk clothes. The external clothing, which prevents the loss of these vibrations, would work on the mind to sustain the much needed concentration. It is also said that any worship, without concentration is useless.

One should not use any aasana (material to sit on and worship) made of a conducting material. Aasanaas should always be made of non-conducting material, which give the effect similar to wearing silk clothing.

Later one should sip water (Aachamana) and wear the traditional symbols like kumkum or vibhoodi. For those, who perform sandhyaa vandana and Gaayatri mantra, it is important to perform them before any other pooja.

To be continued....

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