Diwali is a
time for celebration, grandeur, happiness and most of all - devotion. Diwali is
the best time to bring the family together and overcome common problems. The
following is a special ‘Diwali Aiswarya Pooja’ which is said to usher in
auspiciousness and shower prosperity on the family which conducts it. This
Diwali Aiswarya Pooja can also help to bring better understanding between
quarrelling family members, better health for children and success for the head
of the family.
On the
night before Diwali, clean a section of your ‘pooja room’ or ‘living room’ and
sprinkle a pinch of powdered salt on the floor and then keep things ready for
the next day’s Diwali pooja.
On the day
of Diwali, after everyone finishes their bath in the morning (ideally before 7am), keep a photo or idol of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna . Then light a lamp in front of the photo/idol. You may
light any number of lamps to enhance the beauty of the pooja area, but keep one
main lamp in front of the photo/idol and place it on a plate. Also light a few
incense sticks beside the photo. You may also place garlands on the idol/photo
or place some flowers at the base of the idol/photo. Now place a folded cloth
or mat and sit in front of the lamp (preferably the whole family should sit down
n take part, elders can sit on chairs also). Then the head of the family (or
anyone who has genuine interest) can sit beside the main lamp and perform the
following pooja.
Take a bowl
of rice and a bowl of sugar, and keep it beside you. Take a grain of rice with
the ring finger and thumb of your right hand and chant the following : om
vakratundaya ekadantaya lambhodaraya namosthuthe. Then place the grain of rice
at the foot of the main lamp. Now take a pinch of sugar in the same way and
place it at the foot of the lmap after chanting the same mantra. Repeat this
process 7 times, such that you provide rice and sugar alternately. This is done
to appease Lord Ganesha and to get his blessings so that there may be no
obstacles in the pooja and in the household.
Now dip
your right hand in water to wash off any excess sugar or rice, and then place
your right palm over your left palm and chant : om namo narayanaya ,21 times
along with your family members.
Then take
some rice with the ring finger,middle finger and thumb of your right hand and
chant the following sloka (other members of the family can chant along with
you) :
om namo bhagavathe
vasudevaya govinda
veera raja
mangaladayaka prajapati namo
mukunda
sarvadevata hari shree namah om
and then
place the rice at the foot of the lamp. Repeat the same with sugar. Continue
the above process 108 times. Then chant om namo narayanaya as many times as you
wish and maybe even sing a few bhajans to enhance the devotional atmosphere.
In the end, light some camphor and perform aarti in front of the photo. Then take the rice
and sugar mixture and boil it in water. You may all consume this Prasad after
your lunch.
Hope you
have a happy and prosperous Diwali.
[Tip: to
keep track of the number of chants without diverting your attention, keep aside
an equivalent number of flowers or dried black pepper. For example, if you are
supposed to chant a mantra 21 times, then keep aside 21 flowers on a plate, so
that you can move one flower after chanting the mantra once. This will prevent
you from worrying about losing track of the number of repetitions. ]
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