How do hindus worship at home

In a suburban home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, a Hindu woman has transformed a large kitchen cabinet into an altar space, where Balaji and the other Deities are present, in the heart of the house, where she works.

In Pittsburgh, a devout couple has built a separate room, opening off the kitchen. From south India, they brought wooden doors carved with images of the Gods to install at the doorway to this special home shrine. They spend a few moments in prayer here every day. In Louisville, a biochemist and his wife have created a home altar in what was formerly a closet space off the family room in the basement.

In many homes, a small altar table will be set in the living room. Studying the scriptures and singing bhajans in the living room of a private home is still one of the most common expressions of Hindu life. The shrine is usually kept in the cleanest room in the house to show respect to Brahman.

However, the most important thing is to make sure that all members of the family can take part in daily worship. The shrine will contain important objects that are used for worship. The most important type of worship is the puja ceremony, which uses all five senses.

For this a Hindu needs the following:. Other objects placed in a home shrine can include water and diva candles or lights. The bell is rung, which indicates the start of the puja ceremony. The incense is lit, which fills the room with a scent to show that God is everywhere.

Incense holder and incense joss sticks. Worshippers will light an incense stick and move it around the shrine in circles. This purifies the air and brings a pleasing aroma to the shrine for the gods. Water container and spoon. Worshippers will offer water to the gods on a spoon. This is to show respect to the gods. Traditionally in India, people welcome a guest into the house by offering them water to drink and to wash.

At the start of the day, the mother of the household will wash the murtis — again to show devotion and respect to them. Container for kum kum powder. Worshippers will make a paste out of the red kum kum powder. A Hindu who dies at Varanasi and has their ashes scattered on the Ganges is said to have experienced the best death possible. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.

Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. Worship Last updated On this page Find out more Page options Print this page. Puja Hindu worship, or puja, involves images murtis , prayers mantras and diagrams of the universe yantras. A shrine to Ganesh Individual rather than communal Hindu worship is primarily an individual act rather than a communal one, as it involves making personal offerings to the deity.