Hindu Rituals and Routines… Why do we follow them?

[Guest guest]

Hindu Rituals and Routines… Why do we follow them?

 

 

 

2. Why do we have a prayer room?

 

 

 

Most Indian homes have a prayer room or altar. A lamp

is lit and the Lord worshipped each day. Other

spiritual practices like japa - repetition of the

Lord’s name, meditation, paaraayana - reading of the

scriptures, prayers, and devotional singing etc are

also done here. Special worship is done on auspicious

occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and

the like. Each member of the family - young or old -

communes with and worships the Divine here.

 

 

 

The Lord is the entire creation. He is therefore the

true owner of the house we live in too. The prayer

room is the Master room of the house. We are the

earthly occupants of His property. This notion rids

us of false pride and possessiveness.

 

 

 

The ideal attitude to take is to regard the Lord as

the true owner of our homes and us as caretakers of

His home. But if that is rather difficult, we could

at least think of Him as a very welcome guest. Just

as we would house an important guest in the best

comfort, so too we felicitate the Lord’s presence in

our homes by having a prayer room or altar, which is,

at all times, kept clean and well-decorated.

 

 

 

Also the Lord is all pervading. To remind us that He

resides in our homes with us, we have prayer rooms.

Without the grace of the Lord, no task can be

successfully or easily accomplished. We invoke His

grace by communing with Him in the prayer room each

day and on special occasions.

 

 

 

Each room in a house is dedicated to a specific

function like the bedroom for resting, the drawing

room to receive guests, the kitchen for cooking etc.

The furniture, decor and the atmosphere of each room

are made conducive to the purpose it serves. So too

for the purpose of meditation, worship and prayer, we

should have a conducive atmosphere - hence the need

for a prayer room.

 

 

 

Sacred thoughts and sound vibrations pervade the place

and influence the minds of those who spend time there.

Spiritual thoughts and vibrations accumulated through

regular meditation, worship and chanting done there

pervade the prayer room. Even when we are tired or

agitated, by just sitting in the prayer room for a

while, we feel calm, rejuvenated and spiritually

uplifted.

 

 

 

3. Why do we do Namaste?