Pooja/Hom/Havan

Arrangement of Pandit for Poojas.

A Griha Pravesh pooja, or housewarming ceremony, is a ritual followed to bring good fortune on the day when you step into the new house. The ritual is performed to purify the surroundings and protect the house and new residents from any negative energy. People usually consult their family priest to refer to astrological charts to decide the auspicious date of the Griha Pravesh. It is believed that a house is made up of five elements: the Sun, Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. If these elements are in proper alignment, the house brings good health, prosperity, and most importantly, happiness.

The Satyanarayan Puja, worship of the lord Satyanarayan and the embodiment of eternal truth, is the most commonly performed ritualistic prayers in Hindu homes. Enthusiastic devotees have been performing this ritual for several reasons. It is observed that after performing this puja with devotion and faith, devotees generally benefit a lot – their problems are resolved and they can get over the difficulties in life.

A marriage in India is considered as a union between the two families and not just the couple. It involves many rituals which span over several days. Although the pre-wedding ceremonies vary from community to community, there are a few staples like a Grah Shanti pooja. So, if you are tying the knot soon, you might be interested to learn a thing or two about this ceremony like the importance and significance of this pooja. We share the details with you.

Kaal Sarp Dosh Puja is performed to remove the harmful effects of kaal sarp dosh. It arises in a condition when all seven planets come between Ketu and Rahu. Hence, a person comes under the influence of Ketu and Rahu. And devotees believe it to be a very harmful Sarpa Dosha.

The person born with a combination mentioned above is called a Manglik person. Since Mars is considered the planet of war, Mangal dosh creates highly unfavorable circumstances for marriage. In the married life of such persons, tensions, discomfort, unhappiness and separations are very much expected. Most of such people experience disharmony in family life.

But yes, there is a science where one can use their energies negatively to cause harm to somebody else. What is the protection? One thing is, if you are on spiritual sadhana, you need not bother about all those things. You need not even think about those things. Another way is, you can wear certain protections like a rudraksha , which is like protection against any kind of negativity. But you need not worry about such things. Just keep your focus in life and keep going. If you are in sadhana, you just don’t bother; it will be taken care of.

The Navagraha Shanti Puja is a comprehensive and potent Puja performed to invoke the blessings of the nine planets – Surya (sun), Chandra (moon), Mangal (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Bruhaspathi (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu (North lunar node), Ketu (South lunar node). This Puja is performed in nine stages with separate offerings and mantras for each of the nine planets, and is therefore the most powerful of the Navagraha Pujas.

According to Garuda Purana the souls that don't get Pind Daan, Tarpan and so forth meander erratically on the Earth. Shradh custom is done to satisfy the dissatisfied wishes of the predecessor's souls which are caught in our reality because of powerful urges that stay in soul even after death. The Shradh customs purify every wrongdoing and help them rest in peace with their souls freed and to look for their favours. The Shradh puja is offered amid Pitru Paksha period amid the Krishna Paksha fortnight in the Ashwin month.

The basis of sagun (Materialised) upasana as per Hindu Dharma is the puja vidhi (Ritualistic worship) of Deities. ‘Who has the time for puja in busy daily life?’ This is the type of negative outlook many people have. Today, what we see around is that in the name of puja, people just pour water quickly over an Idol, apply tilak of gandha (Sandalwood paste), offer some ﬂowers and wave an incense stick. However, can this hurried act be ever called puja of God, the one who takes complete care of our sustenance? Why should God shower His grace upon us? If we honour God by performing His puja in an appropriate manner, just as the respectful way in which we treat a guest, then God will be pleased with us and shower His abundant grace upon us. Hence, the scriptures have taught us to abide by Dharma (Righteousness) in a ritualistic and bhāv (Spiritual emotion) enriched manner by teaching us to worship God in sixteen sequential steps, such as invoking God, offering Him a seat, offering Him water to wash His Holy feet etc. Performing puja in this manner is known as Shodashopachar puja, that is, puja performed using sixteen speciﬁc substances. Out of these sixteen upachars (Specific steps in ritual); the five upachars, namely, Applying gandha, Offering ﬂowers, Waving dhoop (Frankincense), Arati and Offering Naivedya form the Panchopachar puja. If it is not possible to perform Shodashopachar puja, then one can perform Panchopachar puja.

Jyoti Sirsat is a leading astrologer based in the UAE. Ph. D in Vedic Astrology, Qualified and certified along with vast experince in Numerology, Vastu and Gemology.