Atlanta Dunia

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Do it yourself=20 - Pooja Ritual

Timing: Preferably midnight or = in the=20 evening

Preparations:=20

Clean the=20 pooja room or pooja alter in your house or apartment.

Obtain a=20 picture or idol of Shiva or a Shiv-Ling.

Place the=20 picture or idol of Shiva on a raised platform or a table decorated = with=20 flowers. The picture or idol should face West.

A mat or=20 aasana for the person who performs the pooja should be placed in = front of=20 the deity. The person performing the pooja should face = East.

Haldi=20 (turmeric powder), Kumkum, Akshat (colored and scented rice = grains),=20 flowers, Bilva Patra (Leaves of Bilva) Agarbatti (incense sticks), = Deepak=20 (oil or ghee lamp), dryfruits and sweets (mithai).

Have a bath=20 before the pooja and preferably wear traditional Indian attire. = Apply=20 kumkum-tilak on your forehead. If you are married your wife should = be=20 seated to your right. Do not forget to remove your shoes. = Shivaratri is a=20 day of fasting. You should not eate any thing except fruits and=20 milk.

Light the=20 agarbatti and deepak.

The Pooja=20 Ritual:

Meditating and=20 concentrating on the picture or idol of Shri Shiva chant the = following=20 mantra 108 times with folded hands

Om Namah=20 Shivay

If = you have=20 placed a shiva-Ling for pooja, place it in a thali and bathe the = Shiv-Ling=20 with milk, honey and water. While bathing the Shiva-Ling chanting = of Om=20 Namah Shivay should continue.

Offer haldi, kumkum, akshat and flowers to Shri Shiva = with the=20 following mantras:

Om Shivaya = namah. haridram=20 samarpayami

(I offer haldi = to Shri=20 Shiva.)

Om Shivaya = namah. kumkumam=20 samarpayami.

(I offer kumkum = to Shri=20 Shiva.)

Om Shivaya = namah. akshatan=20 samarpayami.

(I offer akshat = to Shri=20 Shiva.)

Om Shivaya = namah. pushpani=20 samarpayami.

(I offer flowers = to Shri=20 Shiva.)

Om Shivaya = namah. Bilva=20 Patrani samarpayami.

(I offer Bilva = leaves to=20 Shri Shiva.)

Offer dhoop and=20 deep to Shri Shiva by rotating the agarbattis and diya (in = clockwise=20 direction) in front of the deity with the following=20 mantras.

Om Shivaya = namah. dhoopam=20 samarpayami.

(I offer dhoop = to Shri=20 Shiva)

Om Shivaya = namah. deepam=20 samarpayami.

(I offer deep to = Shri=20 Shiva)

After dhoop and=20 deep you should offer naivedya (offering of dryfruits, = sweets etc.)=20 to the deity by placing the eatables before the deity with the = following=20 mantra.

Om Shivaya = namah. naivedyam=20 samarpayami.

(I offer food to = Shri=20 Shiva)

After offering=20 the naivedya you should perform aarati by rotating the diya in = front of=20 the deity (clockwise) and singing songs in his glory. While = performing the=20 aarati every one present must stand-up in reverence to the deity. = After=20 the aarati flowers should be offered to the deity. This = should be=20 followed by singing of Bhajans or listening to devotional music.=20

Thereafter=20 prasad should be distributed amongst all those present. You should = then=20 recite the following mantra and bid farewell to Shri Shiva who was = invoked=20 for the pooja.

yantu devganah = sarve=20 poojamadaya parthivim
ishtakaam prasiddhyartham punaragamanaya=20 cha

Thanks O=92 Lord = for accepting=20 our pooja. Please come again, whenever we invoke you, to fulfill = our noble=20 desires

With this the=20 ritual of pooja concludes, after which all flowers, agarbatti etc. = (nirmalya) should be removed and put in a disposal bag and the bag = should=20 be deposited in the trash with the following=20 prayer:

aavahanam na = jaanami na=20 jaanami visarjanam
poojam chaiva na jaanami kshamyatam=20 parmeshwar

(I do not know = the correct=20 procedure of invocation, nor do I know the procedure of = dissolution. I=20 also do not know the ritual of pooja, hence O=92 Lord please = forgive my=20 sins.)

At the end you = should bow=20 down and do namskar to your elders like mother, father, elder = brother,=20 bhabhi, elder sister etc. by touching their feet and receive their = blessings for your health, wealth and prosperity.

On the "Trayodashi" or the thirteenth day of the waning = moon in=20 the month of Maagh the festival of Mahashivratri, symbolizing the = wedding day of=20 Shiv and Parvati is celebrated with great devotion by all sections of = the Hindu=20 society.

Listen to a = commentary on Lord=20 Shiva
Listen to a = Bhajan

Shivratri is a very auspicious day. The married and the = unmarried girls=20 perform puja with great faith, fervor and feeling, since Parvati is = considered=20 'Gaura' the giver of 'suhag' - married bliss and a long and prosperous = married=20 life. The unmarried girls pray to 'Gaura' to give them handsome husbands = with=20 wealth, knowledge and talent.

Shivji is reputed to be of = frightening=20 aspect with ash smeared all over his body and wearing garlands of human = skulls,=20 live snakes and malas (necklaces) of rudraksh around his neck and arms. = He has=20 matted hair piled up on his head (jata) with the new moon stuck in front = of the=20 jata and the Ganga (river) coming from heaven and falling into his = locks, so as=20 to find a soft spot to fall upon (or else she would have gone into the = earth due=20 to the impact of the fall). From his hair Ganga gently finds her way on = to the=20 plains of 'Bharatvarsh'. Shivji's neck is blue, because he was the one = who=20 consumed the poison when the sea was churned and out came the various = things=20 that are relevant to life. The devtas eagerly wanted the good things, = but none=20 would take the poison, so Shivji took it and drank it, retaining it in = his=20 throat, thereby giving the neck the blue colour. It is said that the = bird 'Neel=20 Kanth' with its blue neck is specially dear to Shiv and will take your = message=20 straight to him, if you tell it to do so.

Shivji is easily = pleased and=20 grants boons and wishes to his devotees without going in to the pros and = cons of=20 the situation or the consequences thereof, usually landing everyone in a = mess !=20 Shiv was specially close to Ravan whose 'isht devta' (family god) he was = and=20 always helped him although Ravan was an Asur. Shiv came to Ravan's side = during=20 the great war with Ram, but was disenchanted due to the arrogance of the = King of=20 Lanka, and took refuge in the fact that although Brahma had granted = Ravan near=20 immortality and given him the knowledge of ten heads, he had still = withheld one=20 which enabled Ram to kill him. Shiv did not then interfere, or else the = fight=20 would never have ended.

There was another Asur named = Banasur, the=20 grandson of Prahlad, who was a great bhakt of Shiv. Banasur ruled the = mountain=20 kingdom of Shonita (now known as Sarahan, about 200 m from Shimla). = Banasur had=20 a beautiful daughter named Usha, who fell in love in her dreams with = Aniruddha=20 the grandson of Krishna and Rukhmini and, as usual, wanted to marry him = in real=20 life. She got Aniruddha kidnapped from Dwaraka through her friend = Chitralekha=20 who could fly. There was a great war between Krishna and Banasur and = Shiv came=20 to fight on the side of Banasur. The two indestructible aspects of the = Almighty=20 - Vishnu and Shiv - could not lose to each other nor could be slain ! = All the=20 other gods beseeched Shiv and Vishnu to reach a compromise or else the = world=20 would have been destroyed.

Shiv is as much in the hearts of = the=20 Hindus as Vishnu and most of the Hindus pray to both with equal=20 devotion.

The Hindus believe the 'Supreme' to be unmanifest but = to=20 visualize and understand such a phenomenon, the Hindus have projected it = in to=20 the forms of 'Brahma', 'Vishnu' and 'Mahesh', i.e., Brahma the creator, = Vishnu=20 the preserver, and Mahesh or Shiv the destroyer (all facets of the = Supreme Power=20 equal in strength and knowledge never born, never destroyed). Brahma, = after=20 creating leaves the work of the world in the hands of Vishnu and Shiv. = That is=20 why those that live on this earth pray to them. The devtas are not = 'supreme' but=20 only ministering angels, and a Hindu never mixes the two.

Vishnu = comes=20 down to earth as an avtar (incarnation) whenever the people stray away = from the=20 path of righteousness, whereas Brahma and Shiv do not come down to earth = in=20 human form. While Brahma washes his hands off after creating, Shiv has a = lot to=20 do with the world. He does a lot himself, or through his doots = (emissaries). The=20 chief of the doots in Yama, who takes away those that have finished = their span=20 on this earth.

On Mahashivratri, the devotees bathe the Shiv Ling = with=20 the water mixed with milk, by pouring the liquid slowly on top of the = Ling. The=20 puja is then done with water, roli and rice and then flowers are = showered on the=20 Ling. Fruits and other stuff are then offered to the deity and the small = jyot is=20 lit and arti performed by circling with the thaali three to four times = in front=20 of the ling.

In homes, the persons who have observed the fast = prepare=20 the phalahaar which is taken during mid-day and consists of non-cereal = food such=20 as boiled potatoes made into chaat or made into a curry without garlic, = onion,=20 adrak or haldi but with zeera, salt and a little chilli if required; = arvi in any=20 form is eaten. Kuttu singhare ki puri or pakori is also prepared. Fruit, = mithai=20 made from milk - like barfi (without lentils) - is taken and so is curd, = Tea,=20 coffee or milk is allowed, but should be restricted. Water can be taken. = No meal=20 is taken at night and the next meal can be taken only in the morning of = Amavas=20 or the third day, after a special alms-giving.